April 10, 2025
Dear TC Alumni, I have appreciated hearing from many of you over the past month and I am writing to provide an update on Teachers College, particularly in the context of changes at Columbia University. As you are likely aware, there has been a leadership change at Columbia, with their former Board Co-chair Claire Shipman now serving as Acting President. On Friday, March 21, the University had responded to the stipulations put forth by the Trump administration, resulting in these agreements that affect the Columbia campus; we have reminded our community members that, as always, while on Columbia or any affiliate campus, they are responsible for adhering to their policies. At Teachers College: We remain steadfast in our support of TC students, faculty and staff. Our TC community is a microcosm of the communities we serve, diverse in terms of racial and ethnic background, religion, gender, viewpoint, geography, and much more. That diversity is important to our scholarship, and it’s important to who we are. It is in TC’s DNA. I also want you to know that under no circumstances do we, nor have we, tolerated any form of antisemitism, bias or discrimination of any kind. TC’s Federal Grants: I previously shared the news that the federal government’s cancellation of $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia, reported on March 7, have also impacted TC — even as we are an independent institution, guided by a separate Board of Trustees, with a separate endowment and enforce our own set of anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies. Ten Department of Education grants to TC, amounting to approximately $17.5 million, were cut, with impacts to our faculty work and student support across multiple academic programs and the Community College Research Center (CCRC). This also impacts TC’s operating budget through overhead contributions. Additional losses are due to one subcontract award through Columbia, and several grants supporting student fellowships have also been terminated or delayed. How Are We Responding? We are working on several broad strategies to support our community and challenge these cuts:
- Student Services: We recognize that federal actions have direct impact on our students — from research funding, to loans, and concerns about visas affecting our international community. We have provided a number of resources to support our community members, including education sessions specifically for international students and listening sessions through which to share concerns.
- Coalition Building: There are a number of associations, both formal and informal, with which we are aligning in response. TC is now a member of the Learning and Education Academic Research Network (LEARN) coalition of education school deans, which has begun efforts to engage the administration in restoring the core research, evaluation and data functions of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). We are also coordinating with higher education associations including the American Council on Education.
- Administrative Appeal: Last week, we submitted administrative appeal requests to the Department of Education to restore federal funding cuts. This is an important step in our broader legal strategy.
- Raising Public Awareness and Galvanizing Support: We are working to promote how these cuts are causing harm to our larger community, through media interviews, articles, and placements.
- Advocacy and Action: We are working directly with members of Congress; the TC community can also engage through our Take Action 2Day campaign: two actions everyone can do daily that will make a difference. The TC community has already written nearly 750 letters to Congress in support of education since March 7.
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Going Forward: We are not backing away from our values, our emphasis on research, or our recognition that all learners, whether in PK-12 public, private, charter or independent schools, community colleges, institutions of higher education and graduate schools, bring a great variety of cultures, styles, viewpoints — and therefore strengths — to the classroom that make us all better. Our jobs as educators are to help our students identify and build those strengths across a full range of subjects. We know that education across the lifespan is required not only for a functioning democracy, but for self agency, and fulfilling our collective mission to build a smarter, healthier, more just and equitable world.
I have encouraged our community members to continue that work, and that includes our alumni. Our most important action during these challenging times is to pursue our scholarship, research, teaching and learning.
I will do everything I can to build on TC’s historic legacy and support its vital future.
Sincerely,
Thomas Bailey
President
Teachers College, Columbia University
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Teachers College, Columbia University
525 W 120th St
New York, NY, 10027-6605
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