Teachers College will honor five recipients of the 2024 Alumni Awards at this year’s TC Alumni Day on Saturday, Oct. 19 — a dynamic reunion for College alumni, friends, students and more.
“As stewards of our revered Teachers College, we are called to make a profound difference when we leave 120th Street and continue our work out in the world,” says Brian Kennerly (M.A. ’92), President of the Alumni Council. “The recipients of this year’s Alumni Awards embody that meaningful tradition, and to honor them at this year’s TC Alumni Day is among our greatest experiences as a community bound by this shared commitment to a better world.”
Learn more about this year’s honorees below, and join the TC community in our celebrations on campus.
The Distinguished Alumni Award
Claudia Schrader (Ed.D. ’02, Ed.M. ’01, M.A. ’92) is currently serving as the interim president of York College, CUNY. Previously, she was president of CUNY’s Kingsborough Community College, which was recognized as one of the nation’s top 10 community colleges under her leadership. Schrader has also held top roles at Bronx Community College, William Paterson University and Medgar Evers College. A peer evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Dr. Schrader is a member of the NYC Habitat Board of Directors and is the head of the Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Louis N. Wool (Ed.D.’ 14) has served as the superintendent of Westchester County’s Harrison School District for 22 years. By prioritizing equity and access — like through Harrison HS’s International Baccalaureate program — Wool’s leadership has resulted in academic advancements for students in the district and notable recognition from publications like U.S. News & World Report. His career in education has also included service as Harrison’s assistant superintendent for instruction, as well as 18 years in the Mount Vernon City School District as a teacher and administrator. Dr. Wool was recognized as superintendent of the year (2010) by the NY State Council of School Superintendents.
The Early Career Award
A. Brooks Bowden (Ph.D. ’14, M. Phil. ’13) is a leading education policy scholar focused on reducing barriers for student success by offering actionable insights through economic analysis to inform policy and practice. She is an associate professor at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, where she leads the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education. A graduate of TC’s Education Policy program, Dr. Bowden serves as an editor of AERA’s Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis journal. Her numerous published titles include Economic Evaluation in Education: Cost-Effectiveness and Benefit-Cost Analysis.
Vikash Reddy (Ph.D. ’16, M. Phil. ’15) serves as the vice president of research at the Campaign for College Opportunity, where he leads numerous research projects focusing on higher education policy issues, specifically equity reform at American community colleges. His entrance into the policy space followed time as a third-grade teacher. Dr. Reddy has conducted critical work at the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley, as well as the Community College Research Center and the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness at Teachers College. His numerous publications include the book Performance Funding in Higher Education, which he co-authored during his time at TC.
Alumni Award for Outstanding Service
Beverly Elmyra Johnson (Ed.D. ’86, Ed.M. ’83) is a dedicated educator, social worker and champion of Teachers College. Her 40-year career in education included classroom teaching, teacher preparation at the higher education level, and time as a school counselor for elementary and middle school aged students. Dr. Johnson, a long-time member of the College’s Maxine Greene Society (which recognizes three or more consecutive years of giving to TC), has served TC in numerous capacities, with roles on the Alumni Council, the 125th Anniversary Gala Committee and the Where the Future Comes First campaign committee. In 2017, she established the Beverly Elmyra Johnson Scholarship, an endowed scholarship for students in the Art & Art Education program.
Published Thursday, Aug 22, 2024