Celebrating 50 Years of Working for Equity

Press Release

Celebrating 50 Years of Working for Equity: Teachers College Institute Rebrands

Formerly Known as the Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Urban and Minority Education, the Renamed Institution Sets a Bold New Vision for Advancing Equity and Radical Transformation in Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 28, 2024

CONTACT: Susannah Berlowe Binder | sberlowebinder@skdknick.com, 301-758-4519

New York, NY — The world-renowned Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Teachers College, Columbia University celebrates 50 years of pursuing transformative education as the first and among the most influential organizations devoted to education equity. At a day-long event, 50 Years of Effecting Equity in Urban and Minority Education, the TC Gordon Institute presented a bold vision for the future including its new identity as the Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Advanced Study. 

Founded in 1973 by the esteemed Edmund W. Gordon, Director Emeritus and Richard March Hoe Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, the TC Gordon Institute maintains its dedication to advocating for marginalized communities through research, practice and policy. Throughout its history, the Institute has served as a dynamic, resilient center for innovation and interdisciplinary exploration, making a profound impact on countless lives.

The Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Advanced Study has long been at the forefront of critical educational inquiry, rooted in the principles of interrogating power structures, decolonizing education, and community-centered liberation. Over the last half century, the TC Gordon Institute has engaged in a broad range of foundational work including: building the U.S. Department of Education’s Education Resources Information Center (ERIC); cultivating supplementary and comprehensive education; leading in the affirmative development of academic ability; and forging equitable methods of assessment. Affiliated faculty have innovated in such areas as the REACH program, reducing school gun violence, racial literacies, the nation’s first black studies curriculum and curriculum of the Lenape people, the cultural studies of Hip Hop, STEAM education and critical examinations of AI, among others.

Now, under the leadership of Director Ezekiel Dixon-Román, Professor of Critical Race, Media, and Educational Studies, and with a new name, mission, bylaws, structure and advisory board, the TC Gordon Institute will continue to champion transformative and field-defining scholarship while nurturing change agents and preparing abolitionists for a more just and equitable society. Restructured under three pillars—research, schools and community engagement, and academic programming—the TC Gordon Institute’s vision for the future reaffirms its commitment to reimagining pedagogy, rethinking assessment, impacting youth lives, and counter-narrativizing the history of education. By harnessing cross-cutting research on innovative and critical methods and critically analyzing the role of AI, the Gordon Institute will draw on the legacy of its past 50 years while pursuing curiosity- and critically-driven knowledge production to construct alternative systems of equity and empowerment in support of socially precarious and racialized populations.

“The renaming of the Gordon Institute underscores Teachers College’s steadfast commitment to transformative education,” said KerryAnn O’Meara, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean of the College. “Under the visionary leadership of director Ezekiel Dixon-Román and the guidance of the newly appointed advisory board, we celebrate 50 years of innovative research and exploration, made possible by the groundbreaking work of the Institute’s founder, Edmund W. Gordon. His dedication and foresight laid the foundation for this momentous occasion. The work of deconstructing, reimagining, and rebuilding educational systems to foster liberation and equity for marginalized communities remains as critical as ever, and we look forward to the next chapter of the Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Advanced Study with its new structure designed to promote creative thinking and solutions.” 

In this exciting new phase, the TC Gordon Institute is ready to strengthen and launch new transformative initiatives. By partnering with research programs focused on assessment innovation, the institute aims to advance the concept of assessment in the service of teaching and learning in ways that better serve students and teachers. Additionally, the institute will explore the creation of a new field of research and practice to prioritize the diverse ways of knowing and know-how in the design and use of technology and AI. The institute also plans to revamp its education-focused summer institute, providing a collaborative space for educators to develop anti-racist strategies addressing challenges in today’s educational landscape. Lastly, the institute will strengthen community connections through partnerships with local Harlem schools of Community School District 5, fostering support networks and resources to empower all students. The new name and direction reflect feedback and input from consultation with a broad range of stakeholders. 

As part of its restructuring, the TC Gordon Institute proudly introduced its newly constituted Advisory Board, composed of renowned thought leaders dedicated to forging pathways toward equitable education. Under the leadership of Ezekiel-Dixon Román, the Advisory Board will provide guidance and advice to steer the institute’s mission forward. The Advisory Board will serve as ambassadors for the institute, offering insights and expertise to drive meaningful change. 

“As the director of the newly rebranded Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Advanced Study, I am deeply honored to lead an institution that has had such a meaningful impact on the most pressing issues in education and society in the last half century. I am also excited to spearhead the next phase of our journey,” said Ezekiel-Dixon Román, Professor of Critical Race, Media, and Educational Studies, and Director of the Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Advanced Study. “The renaming symbolizes our steadfast commitment to driving equity and transformation in education, showcasing our dedication to critically examining and reshaping the lives of socially precarious, subjected, and racialized communities. Building upon the solid foundation laid over the last 50 years, we are now poised to propel forward, tackling ongoing challenges faced by uprooted, racialized, subjected, and dispossessed communities with transformative solutions. I am excited to lead the institute into its next phase and I am very grateful to count on our thought-leaders on the advisory board, a brilliant and committed faculty and incredible team of staff, as well as valuable partners to ensure its success.”

The Advisory board will include:

    • Ana Mari Cauce, President, University of Washington
    • Angela Glover-Blackwell, Founder in Residence, PolicyLink
    • Mutale Nkonde, Founding CEO, AI For the People
    • Sean L. Davenport, Community Superintendent District 5, New York City Schools
    • John L. Jackson Jr., Provost, University of Pennsylvania
    • Fayneese Miller, President, Hamline University
    • Michael Nettles, Full Professor & Endowed Chair of Predictive Analytics and Psychometrics, Morgan State University – Department of Psychology
    • Connie Yowell, Senior Vice Chancellor, Northeastern University

“Head Start, urban education, minority education, comprehensive education, affirmative development, assessment in the service of teaching and learning. . . . All of these specific programs that I’ve tried to develop through the Institute for Urban and Minority Education really are about one thing and that’s increasing the opportunities to learn for our disadvantaged kids,” said Edmund W. Gordon, founder and Director Emeritus of the newly renamed Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Advanced Study. “How proud I am of the Institute that I started, which is now led by one of my brightest students. I am very enthusiastic about the direction in which Professor Ezekiel Dixon-Román is taking the Institute and I am confident that despite the difficult times we live in, the Institute under his leadership will continue to affect change in the lives of those who need it the most.”