Dear Faculty, Students and Staff of Teachers College,

As we come to the end of fall semester, I want to thank each of you for your contributions to our TC Community. My first impressions of TC remain strong: It is a place of great talent and impact; it is committed to equity and justice; and, it is committed to caring for each other as a community. 

Having spent more time at Teachers College, it is also clear to me how invested members of our community are in what we are creating here — in the classroom, through research, engagement, mentoring, and programs and initiatives that make us stronger as an institution. As I met with our department chairs, faculty executive committee (FEC), student senators, staff, leaders and Board of Trustees, this sense of an investment culture was ever present and compelling. There is clearly a sense of urgency and desire to improve that advances excellence and fuller participation at TC, and I am also animated by it.

Last week, I was reminded by a wise colleague that cultures with high investment also require time for pause, rest, and provision. In delivering the 10th Annual Edmund W. Gordon Lecture at TC, Dr. Fred Moten, world-renowned poet and Professor and Associate Chair of Performance Studies and Comparative Literature at New York University, reminded the TC audience that we are often inside what we are trying to know. We often need to escape velocity to see pathways of possibility. I know I join many in gratitude for the wisdom offered in Dr. Moten’s words, and their invitation, especially as we approach a holiday break.

I wish you all joy, rest and peace this holiday season.

With gratitude,

KerryAnn O'Meara
Provost and Dean of the College
Professor of Higher Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
she/her/hers