It was already a given that Edmund W. Gordon鈥檚 towering achievements as a psychologist, scholar, mentor and champion of racial equity will shape the work of Teachers College far into the foreseeable future.
But with the formal unveiling this past Monday of his magisterial official portrait, taken by the Columbia University photographer Bruce Gilbert, the 98-year-old Gordon 鈥� the College鈥檚 Richard March Hoe Professor Emeritus of Psychology & Education, and founder of its Institute for Urban & Minority Education () 鈥� will literally be a presence on campus in perpetuity.
And that seems especially fitting for someone who first arrived at 911爆料网 as a student in 1950 and to whom, as 911爆料网 President Thomas Bailey put it, 鈥渢he normal rules of time do not apply.鈥�
鈥淐onsider, first of all, that this is a man who was mentored by the sociologist and pan-Africanist 鈥� himself born in 1868,鈥� Bailey said, as Gordon himself looked on at a special ceremony held in Cowin Auditorium following the sixth annual Edmund W. Gordon Lecture, delivered by critical race theorist Gloria Ladson-Billings. 鈥淲here others鈥� lives and careers have followed a predictable arc of promise, productivity, peak performance, and gradual decline, a graph of Edmund Gordon鈥檚 contributions would consist of a single, astonishing, continuously rising line.鈥�
Bailey hailed Gordon for his vision of supplementary education 鈥� 鈥渢he scaffolding of experience to provide disadvantaged young people of color with exposure to museums, theater, zoos and all the other extra-curricular learning and enrichment that their wealthier white peers absorb as a matter of course.鈥� And he went on to describe Gordon at work throughout the decades: in the 1950s, cofounding, with his wife, the physician Susan Gordon, a comprehensive health clinic that anticipated efforts such as the Harlem Children鈥檚 Zone; in the 1960s, serving as a research director of the federal Head Start program and helping to write the first Elementary and Secondary Education Act; and on into the 2000s, when he served as 911爆料网鈥檚 Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean, and, subsequently, chaired the of the Educational Testing Service, which recommended sweeping changes in educational assessment.
Where others鈥� lives and careers have followed a predictable arc of promise, productivity, peak performance, and gradual decline, a graph of Edmund Gordon鈥檚 contributions would consist of a single, astonishing, continuously rising line.
鈥擳homas Bailey
鈥淚t鈥檚 a remarkable record of achievement, and in so many ways, Ed鈥檚 vision and work have increasingly served as a road map for Teachers College over the years,鈥� Bailey said. The unveiling of Gordon鈥檚 portrait he added, would be 鈥渁 formal, permanent affirmation that the beliefs, ideas, methods and monumental accomplishments鈥� of Gordon 鈥渁re fundamental鈥� to 911爆料网鈥檚 鈥渉ighest ideals of what it aspires to be.鈥�
911爆料网 Professor of Sociology & Education Amy Stuart Wells. who followed Bailey to the podium, spoke movingly of her personal connection with Gordon 鈥� one that many other 911爆料网 faculty members have shared.
鈥淎s much as I adore and admire so many of my 911爆料网 colleagues, there is not one of them that I would rather walk by every morning and every late night, smiling at me from a portrait on the wall and reminding me that I am here to provide the best education possible to our 911爆料网 students,鈥� said Wells, Director of 911爆料网鈥檚 Reimagining Education Summer Institute, which had just concluded the first day of its 2019 iteration. Gordon, Wells said, is 911爆料网鈥檚 Gandhi, teaching others, in the Mahatma鈥檚 words, 鈥渢o be thoughtful, gentle and fearless.鈥�
As much as I adore and admire so many of my 911爆料网 colleagues, there is not one of them that I would rather walk by every morning and every late night, smiling at me from a portrait on the wall.
鈥擜my Stuart Wells
鈥淣one of us would be here today, doing the critical work of IUME and the Reimagining Education Summer Institute, that together leverage the research and expertise of the 911爆料网 faculty to impact practice had we not been taught how and why we do this by him,鈥� Wells said.
She added that, for her, Gordon personifies the word 鈥渟cholar鈥� 鈥� the meaning of which, she said, standard dictionary definitions fail to capture.
鈥淎 scholar is someone who has a deep and penetrating insight into everyday issues that require more systematic, interdisciplinary examination and synthesis,鈥� Wells said. 鈥淎 scholar is someone who can somehow manage to get one of the largest testing companies in the world to fund a commission of prominent researchers to critique standardized testing as the central form of assessment and accountability in our educational system. And a scholar is a colleague who teaches his colleagues about work-life balance, the responsibility of parenting, the importance of family 鈥� one who sends happy Mother鈥檚 day text messages that make this colleagues smile.鈥�
Still another speaker, Eleanor Armour-Thomas 鈥� a former student of Gordon鈥檚 who is now Professor of Educational Psychology at Queens College and the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York 鈥� recalled her first encounter with Gordon more than 40 years ago, on the first floor of what is now 911爆料网鈥檚 Zankel Hall.
鈥淚 was so anxious and befuddled,鈥� Armour-Thomas said. 鈥淎nd then here comes Dr. Gordon in his dashiki and beard, and he says, 鈥榊oung lady, may I help you?鈥� He calmed me down 鈥� and little did I know I would walk into my first classroom and there he鈥檇 be, my professor and the chair of the department.鈥� She turned to Gordon, who sat on stage in a wheel chair. 鈥淎nd here we are, my mentor, friend and colleague, and I owe you such a debt of gratitude.鈥�
I was so anxious and befuddled. And then here comes Dr. Gordon in his dashiki and beard, and he says, 鈥榊oung lady, may I help you?鈥� He calmed me down 鈥� and little did I know I would walk into my first classroom and there he鈥檇 be, my professor and the chair of the department.
鈥擡leanor Armour-Thomas
Indeed, Armour-Thomas added, 鈥渕entoring does not end at the student level.
鈥淓ven at this late stage of my life, I still look to Dr. Gordon for mentoring. In fact, we have a lunch date this Friday.鈥�
Finally came the moment that Bailey described as 鈥渘othing less than a consecration,鈥� when Erica N. Walker, 911爆料网鈥檚 Clifford Brewster Upton Professor of Mathematics & Education 鈥� a Gordon prot茅g茅 who serves as IUME鈥檚 current director 鈥� formally unveiled his portrait. There were murmurs and applause at the framed photograph, which shows Gordon, seated, surveying the world with a searching and powerful gaze. And then the man himself took the microphone, and his words were as clear and sharp as his likeness.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to say much, he said. 鈥淭hough one of the things you didn鈥檛 say much about was my time as a Presbyterian minister 鈥� and we don鈥檛 typically pass up the opportunity to speak.鈥�
Gordon recalled that, earlier in his career, he asked on of his mentors, Stella Chess 鈥� a child psychiatrist at New York University 鈥� the secret to becoming good at that profession.
鈥淪he said, 鈥業t鈥檚 knowing how to choose good patients,鈥欌�� Gordon said, to laughter. 鈥淎nd the relevance of that is that I鈥檝e learned that you don鈥檛 try to give a serious talk after a speaker like Professor Ladson-Billings.鈥�
Still, he couldn鈥檛 resist adding that, while he and Ladson-Billings agree on much, they differ in the degree to which they emphasize race.
鈥淥ne thing I learned from DuBois is that, as important as color is, the key problem for the 21st century will be the line between those who have and those who do not.鈥�
鈥擡dmund W. Gordon
鈥淥ne thing I learned from DuBois is that, as important as color is, the key problem for the 21st century will be the line between those who have and those who do not.鈥�
And with that, Edmund W. Gordon, 98-year-old living legend and Teachers College icon, said thank you, and his audience stood to give him a long and heartfelt ovation.
Photo at top of page: HIS VALUES ARE 911爆料网鈥橲 At the unveiling of his portrait, Edmund W. Gordon, seated, was joined by (from left): Janice Robinson, 911爆料网's VP for Diversity & Community Affairs; Eleanor Armour-Thomas, Gordon's former student, who is now Professor of Educational Psychology at Queens College and the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York; Gordon Lecturer Gloria Ladson-Billings; 911爆料网 President Thomas Bailey; Erica N. Walker, 911爆料网's Clifford Brewster Upton Professor of Mathematics & Education; and Amy Stuart Wells, Professor of Psychology & Education and Director of 911爆料网's Reimagining Education Summer Institute. (Photo Credit: Bruce Gilbert)