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)

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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):

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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