Dear Members of the TC Community:

I am delighted to announce the recipients of the Teachers College 2024 Medal for Distinguished Service — the highest honor we bestow.

This year’s medalists are Dr. Thomas A. Parham, president of California State University, Dominguez Hills; Michael J. Fox, iconic actor, best-selling author and founder of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; Dr. Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School; and Jody Gottfried Arnhold, dance educator, champion of the arts and founder of the Dance Education Laboratory. The medalists Parham, Edmondson and Arnhold will address TC’s graduating Masters and Doctoral students at the Convocation ceremonies. Deborah W. Brooks, The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s CEO and Co-Founder, will address the graduates and accept the medal on behalf of Michael J. Fox.

Dr. Thomas A. Parham is the honoree at TC’s first ceremony (Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Human Development) on the morning of Tuesday, May 14. Dr. Parham is the 11th president of California State University, Dominguez Hills, a diverse university serving the South Central and South Bay areas of Los Angeles County. For the past 40+ years, Dr. Parham has been an academic clinician and scholar whose research focuses on racial identity, and he has authored or co-authored six books and close to 60 journal articles and book chapters. He has sustained a scholarly focus in the areas of African psychology and multicultural counseling. Dr. Parham received his B.A. in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine, his M.A. in counseling psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, and his Ph.D. in counseling psychology at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. A fellow and distinguished psychologist, Dr. Parham is an active member of the community, contributing his talents in the areas of social advocacy, community uplift and youth empowerment.

Michael J. Fox will be honored at our second ceremony (Biobehavioral Sciences, Health Studies and Applied Educational Psychology, International and Transcultural Studies) midday on Tuesday, May 14. Fox’s Hollywood career has been marked by worldwide acclaim, honor and awards. In 2000, after publicly disclosing his 1991 diagnosis at age 29 with Parkinson’s disease, Fox launched The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Described by the New York Times as “the most credible voice on Parkinson’s disease research in the world,” the Foundation has funded more than $2 billion in Parkinson’s research programs to date. Fox has spoken and written extensively about his predisposition to look at challenges, including his Parkinson's disease, through a lens of optimism and humor. His many awards include five Emmys, four Golden Globes, one Grammy, two Screen Actors Guild awards and the People’s Choice award. In the fall of 2022, Michael J. Fox was presented with an honorary Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The documentary film Still, about Fox’s remarkable life, was released by Apple TV+ in the spring of 2023. Thanks to generous support from the Foundation, TC faculty are engaged in a variety of research and therapeutic efforts on behalf of Parkinson’s patients, including a new exercise guide.
 
Dr. Amy Edmondson will be honored at our third ceremony (Math, Science and Technology, Organization and Leadership) on the evening of Tuesday, May 14. Dr. Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, is a management scholar best known for research on psychological safety and team learning. She has been recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers since 2011 (ranked #1 in 2021 and 2023). She is the author of eight books and more than 100 academic articles. Her most recent book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, was the Financial Times and Schroders Best Business Book of 2023, and is being translated into 26 additional languages. Dr. Edmondson received her Ph.D. in organizational behavior, A.M. in psychology, and A.B. in engineering and design from Harvard University.

Jody Gottfried Arnhold (M.A. ’73) will be honored at our fourth ceremony (Arts and Humanities, Curriculum and Teaching, Education Policy and Social Analysis) on the evening of Wednesday, May 15. Arnhold’s 25-year tenure teaching dance in NYC public schools has been the catalyst for her visionary support of dance education. Her contributions to dance in higher education have created unparalleled opportunities for dance to be taught, researched, measured and analyzed — providing substantial evidence that dance is essential to every child’s education. She founded the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) 92NY, supports the NYC Department of Education dance program and created the Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program at Hunter College. Arnhold’s founding and visionary support for the Doctorate in Dance Education and the Arnhold Institute for Dance Education Research, Policy & Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University is generating valuable thought leadership for dance education in public policy. The Arnhold Dance Education Research Studios at TC will open this year. Arnhold is Executive Producer of the documentaries, PS DANCE! Dance Education in Public Schools, and PS DANCE! The Next Generation, raising awareness for her mission — Dance for Every Child. 

These extraordinarily worthy recipients of the College’s Medal for Distinguished Service are a tribute to the outstanding accomplishments of our 2024 graduates.

As a reminder, the last day for 2024 grads to register for their guest tickets for Convocation is Friday, April 19 at 5:00 p.m. EDT. Visit the Convocation website to reserve your seats.

I look forward to celebrating with all of you in May!

Warmly,

Thomas Bailey
President
Teachers College, Columbia University