Message from the Dean: September 2024
Dear SOE Billiken Alums,
We’re looking forward to a terrific year in 2024-25 at the School of Education — and we have two big reasons to celebrate. First, we will be celebrating our 100th anniversary with events throughout the year! To kick off our centennial year, we are inviting you to join us for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and live music during Homecoming and Family Weekend from 4-6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 27, on the lawn across from Fitzgerald Hall. Second, in September, SLU announced that the School of Education received the largest gift from a donor in our 100-year history. We are grateful that this transformative gift from pioneering breast surgeon and SLU alumna Virginia (Ginny) Herrmann will support the development of the Herrmann Center for Innovative Catholic Education, along with numerous other educational programs supporting traditionally underserved members of our community.
I suspect that many of you are surprised to hear that the School of Education, which has experienced many changes over the past century, is about to hit the 100-year mark. Many of us in the school were also surprised, but it is indeed true that your SLU School of Education has been educating educators since 1925! We hope to see you at our kick-off event during Homecoming and Family Weekend. Fitzgerald Hall will also be open during the event so that attendees can view the newly created heritage wall, commemorating our 100-year history. The event will offer an opportunity to connect with fellow alums, faculty, and local educators. To register for this fun event, please visit the Homecoming and Family Weekend website.
Indeed, we are thrilled to sponsor a variety of education-themed events this year that are representative of the excellent work the school has been doing since 1925! The first of those will be a Catholic leadership summit organized by our new Herrmann Center for Innovative Catholic Education. This conference, entitled “Catholic High Schools at the Crossroads: How Can School Leaders Succeed While Collaborating to Address Common Challenges”, will be held on campus on Oct. 17 and 18. Learn more and register for the conference here.
Just one week later, we are honored to welcome School of Education alumna Tiffany Anderson, Ed.D., to SLU on Oct. 23. Dr. Anderson is the current superintendent of Topeka Public Schools and the first-ever African American female leader of the Topeka schools, the home of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. She will offer an early evening book talk, book signing, and conversation with community educators and SOE alums. Learn more and register for the event here.
There will be much more news to come about events in November and beyond; please trust us that we are planning a very busy year to create a plethora of opportunities for all of us to engage together around key educational issues, or just have a conversation over a cocktail or coffee!
Moving on to the issues of SOE news, we share program updates about the Billiken Teacher Corps, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and is offering a new pathway for teachers in Catholic schools. And the STL Teaching Fellows @ SLU celebrated five years with its newest cohort and alumni using art to express their experiences with becoming teachers. Each of these programs offers students an alternative pathway into a teaching career and an MAT degree!
If you keep reading, you’ll learn about an exciting new collaboration between the School of Education’s Institute for STEM Collaboration, Outreach, Research and Education (iSCORE) and the School of Science and Engineering. And finally, we feature one of our recent graduates, Molly Craig who was recognized as one of the 2024 Missouri Teacher Leaders of Tomorrow by the Missouri Milken Educators.
As always, please let us know if there are ways that we can support you better or communicate with you more effectively.
Best wishes,
Gary W. Ritter, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Education