Dear Baker community,

By now, many of you have heard of the passing of H. Kent Baker, Distinguished Professor of Finance and Real Estate in the Kogod School of Business. The outpouring and multiple expressions of his generosity, gratitude, commitment, and steadfastness are a testament to the life he lived, those whom he loved, and the example he was to us at AU and the School (to be named the Linda A. and H. Kent Baker School of Education later this spring).

Although we were just getting to know Kent as a community (and I only met him a year ago), we were overjoyed at his enthusiasm and immediate reaction to becoming a member of our community. He last attended our fall opening-of-school meeting, sat in the front row, and looked like he had been a member of our community for years. In fact he has.  Of Kent’s 8 advanced degrees, 4 are in education, 3 of which are from our unit (when the School was located in CAS). Despite his stellar academic and professional career, he was unassuming and low key, brilliant in his achievements and subtle in demeanor, much like what Rudyard Kipling writes in the poem, “…if you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch...”.

In one of my many meetings with him over the last 11 months, I recall vividly a walk to lunch at Wagshal’s just before the beginning of the semester. He reminisced his love for his wife, spoke less of his amazing accomplishment (see pics: one of the tree dedicated to his wife; and his receipt of the Lifetime Leadership Award of the Executive Management Institute for “49 years of exceptional leadership and unwavering dedication to education” he received over the summer, and two others on the account of the tree dedication, fall 2025), and the memorialized gift to the School.

We walked down and up New Mexico Avenue, back on to campus, walked by the tree dedicated to his wife adjacent to Kay Spiritual Life Center, chit chatting all the way about music, education, family, AU. I will relive that moment repeatedly, in awe and honor of the man, the servant he was, and the indelible example and legacy he has left for the School and future generations of those who walk through the halls of the School.

With loving memory,
Rodney Hopson

“Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.” ~ Frantz Fanon

Welcome back!

What a year 2025 was! In this moment of volatility and shifting priorities in higher education at the federal level, the possibilities that await us this year are endless. As a fulcrum to the local and larger communities in which we serve, we at SOE seek to fulfill our purpose and our destiny. #WeAreSOE!

With the new year comes new ideas, new possibilities. SOE’s spring will bring forth mission-driven, community building, and fun-filled events, designed to highlight our community as we usher in the next generation of teachers, scholars, practitioners, and policy makers to address challenges in education locally and globally, including:

• For the first time in over 45 years, a school at American University will be named! The School of Education and will be renamed the Linda A. and H. Kent Baker School of Education, with gratitude to Prof. Baker who gave the largest individual gift in AU history. His support for the naming, school leadership, graduate scholarships, and community partnerships will be transformational and used to support the school’s signature collaborations and the student experience and success.

• Look for invitations to alumni events in Philadelphia in March and Washington, DC, in April. These “AlumniEverywhere” events will continue to foster SOE’s alumni culture that acknowledges the importance of relationships with and between graduates. During the visit to Philly, we will plan to visit with prospective parents and students from the tri-state (NY/NJ/PA) region. The DC event will focus on recognizing the alumni of the International Training and Education (ITEP) program.

• Thanks to the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, SOE will host a convening of key philanthropic, nonprofit, university, and government players in late April around the evaluation field’s opportunities and challenges. It’s the third of three convenings collaborated with Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA), College of Education at University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, and the Mary Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University.

• Our Big Ideas has been rebooted! We are excited to share our new Big Ideas That Matter podcast. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube or Spotify. Thanks to Annice Fisher and Ju’Quay Collyear for getting this initiative started!

SOE faculty and staff continue to explore and provide innovative research, thoughtful to the needs of our students and stakeholders, while building mechanisms for offerings that inspire new knowledge and possibilities for the future. Among them include, with congratulations for those recognized below:

• Sung Ryung Lyu (Principal Investigator) and Ocheze Joseph (Co-PI) recently funded a project from the Spencer Foundation Small Grants Program, titled "Teaching and Living in Gentrifying Immigrant Communities of Color: Learning from the Lived Experiences of Early Childhood Educators," through March of 2027.

• SOE has a new center! Under Founding Director Corbin Campbell, we launched the Advancing College Teaching and Student Success (ACTSS) National Center. Its vision is for all students in every college course across the US to experience teaching that uses evidence-based practices for student learning. This effort will serve as a hub for organizations nationally and include a leadership coalition of higher education associations, policy makers, scholars, media, disciplinary associations, and key leaders.

• Rob Shand will be on sabbatical this semester as a Scholar in Residence at Columbia University Law School studying how teachers adapt to new curricula, including preparing a book proposal based on a presentation at AERA 2025. Big thanks to Rob for stepping in to the role of Director of Faculty Affairs during the fall 2025 semester.

• Welcome to Brian McGowan who will be serving as Director of Faculty Affairs for the rest of the academic year. Brian is already diving into developing relationships with the executive committee, City Teaching Alliance, and launching new ways of collaborating with faculty, including spearheading sessions with new scholars of residence.

• Congratulations to Lizzie Worden who will be serving as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Faculty Co-Lead for the Encounters First-Year Program.

• Tracy Spesia will serve as the President of the of the newly formed DC-American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) affiliate. She will be serving in that role to facilitate a local DC chapter that uplifts the efforts of the teacher education in collaboration with the national organization.

• Welcome to Jennifer Lynch, our new Director of Development. In the weeks ahead, look forward to meeting with her as we launch new ways of supporting our advancement agenda in the School. Having served as Director for Institutional Advancement for The River School where she developed comprehensive annual development plans, Jennifer will fit right into the innovative and collaborative spirit of SOE.  

This semester, I return to the classroom for the first time in three years, teaching two sections of Teaching Baldwin as part of AU Encounters where “we will use the work of admired writer James Baldwin to consider what it means to pursue such intellectual engagement from the university into the outside world, with an emphasis on a critical assessment of the institutions of that world”. I hope you share my excitement about returning to the classroom this semester and what amazing things are in store for AU SOE this semester.

With best wishes and may your semester (and year) be filled with the spirit of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s messages and inspiration for our country and our world,

Rodney Hopson
Interim Dean and Professor

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. (frequently attributed to Anaïs Nin)

November gives us pause to reflect on the effects of our recent federal government shutdown, the ongoing changes to federal higher education policy, and the contestations that frequent our media and in our communities. We hear and feel the responses to these changes and dynamics that expose the volatility of higher education, while still building on the public confidence of higher education at this current moment.

Still, we continue to reimagine what is possible in higher education. Inspired by Anaïs Nin’s quote above on the courage it takes to grow, we embrace the uncertainty of change with fortitude, guided by our mission, vision, and values, and by the legacy and strategic priorities of our School of Education. #WeAreSOE!

October Highlights

Highlights this month included accompanying field experience classes (shout out to Dr. Ocheze Joseph’s class “EDU 321 Field Experiences: Observation and Analysis”) on visits to Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science, Plummer Elementary School, and Bishop McNamara High School. The charter middle, public elementary, and catholic high school schools, respectively, allowed our undergraduate students an opportunity to observe and document learning and teaching strategies in real time. It was especially rewarding to see our AU alumni in practice such as Paige Abbott (BA in Elementary Education ’24) and assistant principal, Dr. Kyrissa Denson (Cohort 6, EdD), who recently defended her dissertation (and will graduate next month!), during the visits.  See pictures below with Paige and Dr. Joseph, including from our tours.

These exhilarating visits showed our undergraduate students how our educator preparation programs and their subsequent degrees prepare them for many schooling types in the region and the country.  As evidence of this rigor and the importance of our educator preparation programs in Washington, DC, we received an announcement in October that SOE was approved through 2029 by the Office of Superintendent's Office (OSSE).  In the letter from Dr. Antoinette Mitchell, State Superintendent of Education, she writes, “I would like to congratulate the AU SOE team on this achievement and thank you for your commitment to providing educator preparation for educators in the District of Columbia.  As we work to ensure that all DC students have access to well-prepared educators, I am grateful to AU SOE for its continued partnership in this important work.” Congratulations to our program leaders who make these benchmarks possible and to our accreditation and learning assessments lead, Dr. Tracy Spesia, for her shepherding our processes of approval.

Another highlight were presentations at the Council of Academic Deans From Research Education Institutions (CADREI) meeting of US Research 1 colleges and schools of education deans. As a panelist at a session on deans in politically turbulent times and on another session on advancement and resilience, I shared the promise and impact of our efforts in SOE, especially in light of American University’s recent Research 1 status, denoting us as “very high research spending and doctorate production” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. CADREI was a moment to lift up the SOE banner through the role we play as community lever in DC and the region, amidst the current administration’s campaign for greater oversight of higher education and the potential impact at the local level in the city. 

I also want to shout out to the EdD students who were in full force at the recent The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) convening. During the two days of convening over a dozen SOE alumni, faculty, and current students presented papers, posters, and roundtables at the CPED convening on topics related to their dissertations of practice and the community of education doctorate scholar practitioners from other education schools around the country. SOE prides ourselves with the largest doctoral program on AU’s campus, including award-winning teachers, leaders, and educators who matriculate through our EdD program.

These highlights signal the school’s continued efforts through this year’s priorities to ensure we 1) maintain and strengthen our laser-like focus on the strategic enrollment and viability of our programs, 2) leverage our partnerships through our vibrant and innovative research, development, and donor support, and 3) remain an active, optimistic, and engaged school at this critical moment.

Cherishing Our Beloved Community of SOE Students, Staff, and Faculty

As we enter the holiday season, we cherish our beloved community of students, staff, and faculty, wishing and holding space for each at the end of the year (and what a year it has been!).  With the recent deplorable and unsettling images sent by one of our university’s registered groups, we do not tolerate anti-Muslim messages, racism, and other harmful “isms" that continue to spread divisive and harmful messages.  As I continue to be in contact with key stakeholders around the responses and next steps to support our community, I encourage students, staff, and faculty to embrace those affected with empathy and courage. The faculty executive council issued a statement of support.  An excerpt of it reads:

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

We are deeply disturbed by the hateful and Islamophobic statements recently posted on social media by the American University College Republicans following Zohran Mamdani’s election as the first Muslim Mayor of New York City. Such actions have no place in our community and stand in direct opposition to our shared values of respect, inclusion, and mutual care.

We want to express our unequivocal support for all those who have been targeted or affected. You are not alone...

We are working closely with university leadership on a continued response to ensure that our campus remains a safe, welcoming, and respectful environment for everyone. Should you need support, please reach out to the Center for Well-Being.

With care and solidarity,
The School of Education Faculty Executive Council

 #WeAreSOE!

November events in SOE are plentiful and bountiful. I encourage you to stay engaged with our vibrant and innovative team of amazing SOE staff and faculty during the month ahead. See the picture below at the annual university staff recognition event where we honored Mr. Scott Gilbert (for 5 years) and Mrs. Jessie Terrell (for 10 years)!

With your abiding support and commitment as we enter the holiday season,
Rodney Hopson
Interim Dean and Professor

It never fails to surprise me (after entering my 28th year in the academy) how quickly July and August roll around the calendar. I hope you have settled into the new semester with time to refresh and revitalize yourselves.  Self-care is important, especially in light of the changing landscapes in education.  

I stand on the shoulders of former deans Charles Tesconi, Sarah Irvine Belson, Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, and Corbin Campbell in living the vision of what SOE will become as a community lever as noted in the AU Board of Trustees proposal for SOE’s independence in 2019.  SOE’s work is more important than ever as higher institutions leaders respond to the current higher education reality during the Trump presidency, with implications for domestic and international students who seek innovative and transformative programs like ours. And we have been busy:

• Summer kicked off with our annual SIEEJ conference and an amazing group of panelists and speakers, including the Edmund W. Gordon Distinguished Speaker, Prof. AD Carson, Associate Professor of Hip Hop and the Global South, University of Virginia (pictured below).
• I joined President Alger and other faculty at a Sports Major Collective meeting, a group of higher education institutions and stakeholders in higher education to talk about a sports major in NYC, following a recent article and in preparation for a national symposium in October co-hosted by the Knight Commission at AU.
• Summer was also a productive time for SOE leadership: redesigning our leadership team for input from a broader representation of SOE: retreating with EdD program faculty and staff, meeting with Deans Council and President’s Council, and retreating with our strategic consultant, Annice Fisher on themes on visioning, culture, and conscious leadership.  We look forward to Dr. Fisher’s continued and deepening role in advising and collaborating with SOE leaders, faculty and staff.

Review of SOE Community Welcome Back, 8/29/25

Slides are available to faculty and staff from our welcome back meeting and lunch where we updated all regarding faculty and staff councils, student engagement, alumni affairs, communications (check the updated SOE website!), the SOE task force, budget, and enrollment. Provost Wilkins confirmed the search for a permanent dean this academic year and thanked the task force and SOE community for its work in carrying out its charge to develop a redesign and make recommendations (strategies, guidelines, budgetary, structural) to facilitate optimal SOE administrative functioning, programming, and sustainability in the face of university restructuring, allowing us to retain independence, self-governance, and representation on university governing bodies. SOE leadership continues to work with the Provost and other academic units on shared services and in anticipation of other staff and administrative restructuring.

Celebrations/Accolades

Congratulations to faculty and staff who assume new roles this year!

• Shaina Ayers will be serving in a Graduate Program Coordinator role to support the EdD Program,
• Sarah Irvine Belson was named the AU Faculty Athletic Representative.
• Eugene Pringle will be serving as Associate Director, EdD Program.
• Rob Shand serves as the Director of Faculty Affairs (through December 2025)
• Welcome to Shari Watkins, who will be serving as Director of Faculty Initiatives and Engagement, AU’s Center for Excellence

• Elizabeth (Lizzie) Worden will serve as Faculty Co-Lead for the First-Year AU Encounters Program (formerly AUx)

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! Join us in co-sponsorship with Student Groups for Change for their event with speaker, former US Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona on Thursday, September 18^th in the Mary Graydon Student Center.  More details to follow.

Positioning SOE for the Future, Priorities for 2025-26

Reimagining our continued success in SOE will require meeting the moment head-on. Meeting with university leaders across the country in response to the federal shifts and dynamics, it is clear that we are not alone. We continue to bear witness to what some describe as unprecedented moments in higher education.

I highlight three priorities for us this year in reimagining our success for this academic year, 2025-26 as harbinger for years to come: 

• Toward strategic enrollments, right sizing, and program quality, innovation and growth to refresh our SOE programs with shared governance, norming, level setting leadership and incentives while maximizing and optimizing our student experiences

• Toward realizing our fundraising and collaborative potential through advancement, development, and partnership opportunities while refreshing advisory board, partnerships and affiliates and leveraging the Linda A. and H. Kent Baker gift support or through our signature work with the Teacher Pipeline Project and Dual Enrollment

• Toward strategic thinking, reimagining and visioning SOE in the current moment amidst external and internal shifts and dynamics in the context of leveraging our strengths in Washington, DC

In the days and weeks ahead, I will continue to report out about the updates relative to the priorities in subsequent messages.

Forward Ever, Backward Never

President Alger’s strategic plan implores us to participate and to develop our civic muscles for this moment through civic engagement, discourse, and life at SOE. His vision for AU requires an informed and engaged AU SOE community. Our history as a school rests on the shoulders of greatness—we are known for our Big Ideas in Education (rebooting this fall, with a Sine Institute partnership), as well as seen in growth in key indicators in our student graduates, research and development, quality programs, and impact with local, regional and national partnerships…and we are poised for even more.

In the AU archives’ history of the education department (later to become School), I read where the former President George Williams’ cabinet included Bernard Hodinko, then AU VP of Student Affairs and Professor in Department of Education, who became the mentor and supervisor of Kogod Professor H. Kent Baker, the benefactor of our recent school gift. This is more than coincidental. At a time yet to be determined in the spring semester, we will celebrate the naming of the Linda A. and H. Kent School of Education, an indelible and auspicious mark on the greatness that is to come.

Onward to the new year and even greater fulfillment of our mission, vision, values, and commitments! #WeAreSOE!

All best to the school year!,
Rodney Hopson
Interim Dean and Professor

Commencement as a beginning, and the role of universities in our democracy

I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.

  ~ Angela Y. Davis 

Ending the year on a high note with achievements and community

Congratulations! We made it to the end of the academic year!

Change has been dizzying the last few months and with so much happening in our world, it is the time of the year that most university faculty and students end one tradition, only to begin another in the months ahead of the fall semester. This is a great time to reflect on the amazing achievements and graduates in SOE at the end of the spring semester, including Dr. Pamela Higgins-Harris who completed her doctorate degree (and third AU degree) at the age of 75! #WeAreSOE!

On the heels of the successful American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2025 conference in Denver in April where over 40 SOE faculty, alumni, students, and staff presented important papers and ideas in nearly 50 sessions. The theme of the conference, Research, Remedy, and Repair: Toward Just Education Renewal, left us renewed and rejuvenated upon our return and ready to celebrate our graduates and carry on the core mission, vision, and values of the School of Education.  

An inspiring commencement

In a combined ceremony with the School of Communications, Mr. Almar Latour (SOC ’ 96), CEO, Dow Jones and Company and Publisher, Wall Street Journal, gave an inspiring and touching address to the graduates. His message was poignant, personal, and lasting with five core themes: i) be humble, ii) be grateful for second chances, iii) take your seat at the table, iv) persevere, and v) fight for your beliefs in service to others.  

Mr. Latour’s message resonates during the changing sociopolitical and higher education landscape at the federal level, especially where it impacts the higher education arena. We continue to witness historic rollbacks in arts and culture; funding support for college students; international student visas; educational research.  As a response to the changing federal research funding and , we educational leaders and social change agents appreciate how philanthropy is attempting to meet the current moment.

Universities responding to the moment

As philanthropic institutions redefine their impact in our current milieu, we continue to look to universities and higher education to serve as harbingers of social change. History, as illustrated in Eddie R. Cole’s book on the role of college presidents amidst pressing civil rights issues of the 1960s, shows one such case summarized in the Kalvern Committee Report in 1967 at the University of Chicago. A summary in response to questions about how the university was addressing housing discrimination in Black communities adjacent to the prestigious institution, the committee wrote: 

…a university must sustain an extraordinary environment of freedom of inquiry and maintain an independence from political fashions, passions, and pressures. A university, if it is to be true to its faith in intellectual inquiry, must embrace, be hospitable to, and encourage the widest diversity of views within its own community.

This passage shows a sentiment still held the past few months with collective responses across higher education constituents from university faculty, law scholars, professional educational research associations, and academic alliances to legislative science committees and university and college presidents and other educational leadersaround the country, including President Alger, a signatory on the public statement, A Call for Constructive Engagement.

Reflecting on the moment as harbinger for more engagement

As we reflect on the post-commencement celebrations and prepare for the summer, we also know commencement is just the beginning. With diplomas and degrees in tow, our American University SOE graduates have—and will always be—trailblazers in schools and communities. Now, the moment calls for even more engagement, constructively, collectively and courageously, which James Baldwin addresses:

 I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.

We need transformational leadership and advocacy for the next generation of students, leaders, and citizens. #WeAreSOE!

As we head into the summer, I ask you to consider what does it look like to exercise the type of constructive, collective, and courageous engagement?  

Enjoy the summer respite and refueling time ahead!
Rodney Hopson
Interim Dean and Professor

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Self-care and Service of Community

Radical self-care and doubling down on SOE’s mission, vision, and values in service of community

It’s not enough to be afraid of the laws and rules we don’t want to see in schools. We have to clarify our visions of what, how, and where and with whom we want our beloveds to learn.

~ Eve Ewing

Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.

~ Audre Lorde

Spring! and taking care
Spring Break last week could not have come at a better time. The beginning of Women’s History Month, the encroaching sounds and smells that go with warmer weather, and the aura of soon budding cherry blossoms confluence to springtime. Hopefully, you had an opportunity to rest and take time off from the routine of the semester, reflect on the year thus far, and recharge for the remainder of the semester. And what a semester it has already been…

A few years ago, I became aware of a blog by a colleague on Being Lazy and Slowing Down. I was immediately drawn to it firstly by its subtitle: Be Mindful, Trust the Process, Let Go of Outcomes. And now, it rings true as an important reminder to do some radical self-care without responding to the onslaught of pronouncements from the Department of Education and the current presidential administration.  

Monitoring federal policy changes and responses to education
Keeping track has been challenging. Our university’s Office of Sponsored Awards and Research Administration (OSARA) has been keeping us updated on guidance on federal research policy changes. and our school’s research website is a key resource to keep track internally. There are also external resources to keep us updated on the federal landscape, especially related to executive order actions and legislation related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Still, we have had some successes resisting the loss of federal funding. On February 12^th, the School of Education’s Residency in Excellence for Teaching and Learning project was terminated by the Department of Education. The School of Education was part of litigation that reinstated these grants.

Notably, we continue to pay attention to calls to surveil universities who do not conform to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Most recently, they included statements regarding the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities or who do not fulfill obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, especially considering the cancelation of $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University due to the school’s supposed inaction to protect Jewish students from discrimination. Still, these efforts have not gone without significant pushback highlighted in district and federal court rulings, and responses to the funding cuts from key higher education and legal institutions and advocacy groups in the US.  

As you read above, American University was one of 60 institutions to receive a letter which outlines all universities’ responsibilities under Title VI but does not reference any specific actions against American University. While the university is not currently under formal investigation for antisemitic conduct in violation of Title VI, the university leadership is actively addressing concerns raised by our AU community. In SOE, we realize the core of our antiracism focus includes addressing antisemitism and other forms of hate and terror waged against members of our diverse, multicultural, multi-ethnic, multilingual community. #WeAreSOE!

Doubling down on SOE’s DNA and service to our community
SOE’s independence in 2019 was born out of the school serving as a “community lever.”

And the questions remain:

• How do we use our “civic muscle” to serve as catalyst, as anchor, as a community lever for ourselves and those most affected by the aftermath of the federal executive orders, investigations, and increased anxiety because of the august policy shifts in education?  
• How might we tap into our university support centers and support networks (career, leadership and diversity, lifelong learning, etc.) to share and educate ourselves and others?
• How do we create spaces to talk, process, organize, convene in pursuit of and aligned with our SOE identity and with the very educators, counselors, policymakers, and teachers to recommit and reimagine a “new kind of ‘public education’”?
• How do we reimagine our curricula, research agendas, and institutional practices to not only respond to the moment, but to actively disrupt the systems that make such moments possible?

As the university enters a new phase of strategic planning this year, President Alger has invited us to explore what makes AU unique and distinctive. With representatives from SOE on these strategic planning working groups, we will continue to double-down on living out our mission, vision, and values in service to our SOE and larger AU community. And because #WeAreSOE!, we anticipate leading conversations around civic life, social change, and action consistent with our mission, vision, and values.

As an opportunity to join us in community during President Alger’s Inauguration events we will host our next, Big Ideas panel entitled (in person!), “How Civil Discourse Shapes School Board Policy”. This event promises a thought-provoking session of experts who will highlight key issues often in conflict and contention at local levels, the role of civil discourse, and how educator preparation programs in preparing future educators for understanding local school board pressures and policy shifts. Register here and join us on campus next Thursday. #WeAreSOE!

Look for more opportunities to be in community in the weeks and months ahead!

With all my best as we charge forward to the end of semester,
Rodney Hopson
Interim Dean and Professor

Countering erasure of history and committing to equity

In honor of Black History Month 2025 and the efforts to understand, engage, and reclaim this important moment in American history, we are reminded of the architect of the song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”  by James Weldon Johnson. The third stanza of the song begins:

Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chast’ning rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet, Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

Johnson’s anthem penned in 1900 was both a reflection of a journey shortly after the Reconstruction Era, the rollback of policies and laws that eliminated freedoms previously provided to an enslaved class of Americans of African descent, and a reminder about the perseverance needed to pursue American dreams and ideals unseen nor unrealized.  The sonnet, “The New Colossus”, written by Emma Lazarus about the Statue of Liberty, and its rededication, “Harbor” written by US poet laurate, Tracy K. Smith, are timely messages that highlight this very reminder about the pursuit of values of diversity and inclusiveness enshrined in our country’s motto: E Pluribus Unum.

We are a school unwavering in our support and space as reflected in our mission, vision, and values that recognize the need for us to be catalysts in our universities, recognize the role of history in the formation of coalitions to address social and civic change, and aspire to prepare the next generation of educator and teacher preparation for the world that awaits them. #WeAreSOE!

Last week at Tuesday night’s Committing to Equity in Turbulent Times Big Ideas webinar, a group of distinguished legal and historical scholars and leaders of schools/colleges of education and associations dedicated to teacher education participated in an intriguing and timely panel on the topic that addressed pursuing equity amidst the wide array of policy actions, ranging from de-funding and removal of educator and teacher pipeline programs, educational and public health data and funding, and monuments. They also discussed threats to rescind race conscious student programming, resources and financial aid, and international aid dedicated to support to global communities, families, and children in most need.

 “This is not new”, as each panelist echoed. Participants recognized that today’s rapid policy actions have historical roots. Martin Luther King Jr’s quote delivered from his Remaining Awake through a Great Revolution, reminded us that the “arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”

 University leaders have roles to play in navigating the current policy environment and related uncertainties. And in doing so, we have roles to play in contributing to the public good and lifting the levels of civic discourse and imagination. For instance, American U President Alger’ s strategic thinking on the role of civic discourse has an opportunity to be far-reaching within and beyond our campus in Northwest, Washington, DC. In fact, building coalitions among key private industry, nonprofit associations, academic journals and publishers, religious, sport, and philanthropic leaders is a prerequisite for engaging in the type of discourse and action to advance our values and missions.

The panelists echoed the need to reclaim stories and narratives related to the power of equity and the hope and possibility for a better tomorrow. Flashback two weeks ago to SuperBowl LIX halftime performance by Pultizer-Prize and Grammy-Award winner Kendrick Lamar, reflected in layered lyrics and allusions and the opening to the poem by Langston Hughes, Harlem Renaissance poet who wrote in the early 20^th century, both quotes reflect indictments and broken promises of equality and accessibility for all. 

Forty acres and a mule, this is bigger than music.

Yeah, they tried to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence.

- Kendrick Lamar @ SuperBowl LIX Halftime, 2/9/25

Let America be American again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.

– Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America Again”

In our school, we will not be passive nor equivocal about the current moment but be ready to use our knowledge of history and struggle to tell what makes SOE a special place to recruit and equip our teachers, schools, and communities for reimagining ways to build strategies for collective and collaborative coalition building for social change and justice … now more than ever. #WeAreSOE!

Aluta continua (the struggle continues)!
Rodney Hopson
Interim Dean and Professor

An incredible gift that reinforces SOE’s leadership 

In an extraordinary act of love and dedication to our community, our School of Education has received a groundbreaking gift from SOE alumnus and Kogod School of Business faculty member H. Kent Baker, in memory of his wife Linda. The Linda A. and H. Kent Baker School of Education will be named in recognition of Kent’s remarkable generosity. As AU’s first school naming gift in 45 years and the largest gift by an individual donor in AU’s history, this is a profound gift with a special story. Now, take a breath… 

A quadruple Eagle, Kent has earned multiple advanced degrees from the School of Education, has been a member of the Kogod School of Business faculty for more than 50 years, and continues to publish at a prolific rate on a variety of topics in his field. His father and brother are also AU alumni. Linda was a double alumna of the Kogod School of Business and served for many years as assistant treasurer in the university’s Office of Finance. Through this gift, Kent hopes his and Linda’s story will be shared with and inspire the community that meant so much to them both.  

As a nationally recognized educator preparation school with growing distinction for our innovative equity-based degree programs, robust network of interdisciplinary and community partnerships, and high-profile research led by our distinguished faculty and phenomenal staff, the School of Education is honored to receive such an extraordinary gift. Not only are we to be the only named school or college of education in the Washington, DC-region, we join a select number of top-ranked graduate schools of education that have been named. Through this gift, we are better positioned to achieve our aspirational goals and continue our upward trajectory. 

This gift aligns with our School’s mission, vision, and values, supports our signature academic offerings, and bolsters our notable community programs and partnerships with District of Columbia Public Schools (such as the Teacher Pipeline Project and the Dual Enrollment Program) that carry on a proud legacy at SOE. Our high standards for collaboration are also found within our Advancing Early Education Collaborative, an initiative between AU, Trinity Washington University, and Martha’s Table. #WeAreSOE! 

With this gift, Kent desires to further distinguish the School of Education and position us for continued success. The gift ensures that the school will be a leading nexus for education programs and research into the future and can continue to recruit, enroll, and prepare the critically needed next generation of educators. It will provide permanent endowed resources for the school and establish an endowed leadership chair, which will be the first endowed leadership position for a school at AU.  The gift will also provide resources to enhance areas of distinction, including expanding the school’s existing community partnerships and interdisciplinary, translational, and transdisciplinary research, as well as scholarship resources to recruit and retain graduate students. 

We look forward celebrating upcoming milestones related to the gift and the great work we will continue to do to motivate the next generation of educators! 

With gratitude and inspiration for this amazing gift! 

Rodney Hopson
Interim Dean and Professor 

(with acknowledgements to Vicky Wilkins, Dan Lupercio, Jackie Mabry, Jason Pier, and Danielle Bowes for their contributions to this announcement)

What a time to be alive! What a time to be a teacher, counselor, or educational policy advocate with economic, educational, environmental, climate, and social justice commitments in 2025! #WeAreSOE!

Those of us who came of age in a time of great civil and human rights change in the US could not imagine the current challenge to these very notions. In one week, President Trump’s presidential actions, executive orders, and fact sheets have been prolific and wide-reaching. In particular, pivots to recent policies and sweeping rollbacks to longstanding policies favoring civil rights and social justice are an attempt to reset the dreams that those like Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. lived and died for. In a recent meeting of the AU President’s Council, we heard from Jon Fansmith at the American Council on Education about expectations for higher education from the Trump administration. He referenced the following topics (with links provided from varied media, non-profit and government sources below):

• Fansmith’s opinion piece about the higher education implications of the Chevron case (Chevron v. NRDC);
• CCRA – The College Cost Reduction Act and holding universities accountable for student loan debt;
• Opinions on JD Vance’s statement regarding speech, “Universities are the enemy” and his perspectives on higher education;
• Implications of Title IX ruling in Kentucky, including why the federal district court vacated ruling;
• Transgender rulings covered here by Fox News; and
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce’s findings on antisemitism on college campuses.

Last Monday during the federal holiday that honors this Nobel-Peace-prize winning, humanitarian, and civic and religious leader of the highest order, instead of being glued to the regular news outlets, we found ourselves at home listening to Rev. King’s speeches replaying on YouTube. Two months before his untimely death and assassination, he may be known for the speech in his pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where he references the distinctiveness and uniqueness of being a drum major. He proclaimed,

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice…Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.

Now more than ever we at SOE heed the drum major calling of our mission, vision, values, and our community committed to eliminating oppression through the education ecosystem. What a tall order in these times! Our ability to collaborate, connect, build, and leverage with others sharing our drum major instincts will be our lifeline during the days ahead.

I hope you will register for the upcoming Big Ideas webinar, Committing to Educational Equity During Turbulent Times on February 18 at 6pm ET. Moderated by Dr. Annice Fisher, with current and former education deans and other experts in history, civil rights, and law, we ask, “How can education practitioners and schools/colleges of education navigate the shifting environment while advancing access, opportunity, and outcomes for all learners?” Together, we'll discuss strategies for fostering access, addressing inequities, and driving lasting social change with renewed purpose and commitment, especially given the current environment. #WeAreSOE!

Comings and goings.

• A big welcome to Shawna Russo Vidmar who will serve as the Graduate Program Coordinator for the Master’s in Education Policy and Leadership program and contribute to our amazing team of GPCs(!). Until recently, she served as the Program Assistant for the Master’s in Public Leadership Program and the U San Francisco in DC Program. She brings 7 years of global experience as a graduate program administrator with 7 years of global experience managing the operations of and coordinating the events for a master’s program in public leadership, a military transition assistance program, think tanks, non-profits, and a high school.
• We wish Alex Ward, his wife Stacy, and newborn daughter Selina the best in their relocation to NYC! Alex began a PhD program in clinical psychology at Teacher’s College, Columbia University. As the Director of Academic Administration, Alex has adeptly managed and administered graduate programs, working collaboratively with key internal and external marketing stakeholders, to bolster admissions, and was a key member of the Leadership Team.

In honor of the legacy of Rev. King and the work that we continue to commit at SOE,
Rodney Hopson
Interim Dean and Professor

Errata from Welcome Back message of 1/13:

• Ricardo Garcia is the president of the Graduate Student Council (GSC) and Carlos Gamez serves as the vice president of GSC.
• Correct spelling of Greek poet is Dinos Christianopoulos. The original line was written in Greek (translated: what didn’t you do to bury me, but you forgot that I was a seed):

Be bold, sang Time this year,
Be bold, sang Time,
For when you honor yesterday,
Tomorrow ye will find.
Know what we've fought
Need not be forgot nor for none.
It defines us, binds us as one,
Come over, join this day just begun.
For wherever we come together,
We will forever overcome.

~ Amanda Gorman, 12/31/22

Welcome Back - It’s a New Day!

Reading the last 10 lines of Amanda Gorman’s poem, New Day’s Lyric, reminds me of this current moment in the School of Education honoring the legacy and leadership of former Dean Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, being bold and building on our collective and collaborative efforts now with mission, vision, and values as our core. #WeAreSOE!

It's a new day. There is a lot to be excited about in the SOE community as we come together at this time in our existence. As you read the news about impending legislation, the possibility of the rollback of the values and commitments that we stand for are in contestation. Still, we plan for Big Ideas webinars to respond to the ever-changing education landscape on topics such as the School's commitment to antiracism and equity in education. In mid-February, we address the topic of education practitioners and schools of education to navigate the shifting environment while advancing access, opportunity, and outcomes for all learners. And stay tuned for one in late March (during President Alger’s inauguration weekend) on the role of school boards in shaping our public and civil discourse.

It’s a new day. Most may be familiar with the Greek poet, Dinos Christianopoulos’ phrase, Quisieron enterrarnos, pero se les olvido que somos semillas (“what didn’t you do to bury me, but you forgot that I was a seed”) for his well-known symbol of hope, empowering, and call to rise, and to seed. As a School, we continue to plant seeds toward our continued growth; here are a few efforts we’re seeding by building off our historical roots and towards the end of the first decade of independence:

• Thanks to those faculty, staff, and students committed to the charge of the Task Force on SOE’s Optimal, Efficient, and Sustainable Independence: for developing a redesign and make recommendations (strategies, guidelines, budgetary, structural) to facilitate optimal SOE administrative functioning, programming, and sustainability in the face of university restructuring, allowing us to retain independence, self-governance, and representation on university governing bodies.
• Thanks to those faculty and staff who are revisiting SOE’s Antiracism Aspirational Vision. This subcommittee, convened with Annice Fisher, our Antiracism Pedagogy Scholar, will build on the feedback we gathered during the retreat, working together to shape a vision that reflects our collective aspirations and commitments at this point in history and for the future. 

• Thanks to those faculty and staff committed to thinking about ways to build on our higher education program strengths, and for helping to maintain the productive and healthy relationships with Noodle, City Teaching Alliance, and other partnerships that reinforce our commitment to the city, region and country.
• Thanks to those staff who have helped to develop the new Staff Council, an important arm of SOE who contribute to leadership and who collectively build on the well-being of SOE.
• Thanks to our students who continue to remind us why we do what we do, especially the leadership of undergraduate council, (outgoing) Shayna Caruso and (incoming) Anna Russell, and graduate student council, Carlos Gamez, respectively. With support from Ju’Quay Collyear, our new Associate Director for Student Engagement and Events, we look to keep our students engaged for success.

It’s a new day. With the loss of key leadership team members (Dean Cheryl and Chris, Finance Director), we have added the following to the leadership team:

• Corbin Campbell will serve in the role as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Innovation, a role that taps into her unique expertise;
• Carolyn Parker will serve in the role as Associate Dean for Research, Programs, and Partnerships, adding to her current role and building on her collaborative support of the research unit in her duties;
• Jessie Terrell as Finance Coordinator, thanks to her willingness and adaptability during the last couple of months, and
• Danielle Sodani as Staff Council rep, who with Jody Hagen-Smith and Emma LaPrade will lead our capable and thoughtful staff.

In addition, Jessie has moved to Chris’ old office and Ju’Quay Collyear has moved to a shared space with Danielle Bowes, our Chief Development Officer. We are updating our organizational chart and responsibilities and roles document to reflect the current personnel changes.

The snow last week took away from the normality of the day and its significance. It did not go unnoticed that my first day as interim dean fell on the same day as the unfortunate and uncivil events 4 years ago. But, here we are and Gorman’s open lines of the same poem ring hopeful, resilient, and perseverant in the true SOE spirit; she wrote: at the beginning of the poem in the opening lines: “May this be the day/We come together.” #WeAreSOE!

Forward ever…

Best wishes on a successful semester ahead!,
Rodney