If there are two watchwords that summarize Tom Jamesā 12-year tenure as 911±¬ĮĻĶųās Provost, Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs, they are āinnovationā and ācivility.ā
For James, who will step down at the end of June but remain on as a professor and co-director (with Ansley Erickson) of 911±¬ĮĻĶųās Center on History and Education, each of those ideals is a both a necessary condition for, and a logical outgrowth of, the other. āChange comes from everywhere within an organization,ā he says. āThe great challenge in promoting innovation is to create a spirit of cooperation, civility and mutual respect so that everyone feels they have the freedom to think, speak and act.ā
[James recently was honored with a special proclamation of gratitude from the Teachers College Alumni Council at the Collegeās 2019 Academic Festival. Watch a video clip and read the proclamation.]
A distinguished education historian who taught at Brown University and served as Dean of the University of North Carolinaās School of Education and Vice Dean of New York Universityās Steinhardt School of Education, James has focused on that challenge since arriving at 911±¬ĮĻĶų in 2007. His first major act was to establish the 911±¬ĮĻĶų Provostās Investment Fund, which awards seed grants to projects that bring together 911±¬ĮĻĶų faculty from across disciplines, address issues of major societal concern and add value to 911±¬ĮĻĶų by adding informing new courses or programs, creating peer-reviewed publications or supporting student jobs. The Fund has backed hundreds of projects, many of which have gone on to make a major national or global impact ā including efforts to understand and prevent teen suicide, support Latino education, improve young peopleās financial literacy, develop new learning technologies and address the needs of refugees around the world.
Honoring Provost James
The Provostās Fund reflects Jamesā philosophy that āinnovation must be invited rather than specified,ā a lesson he learned at Brown when a vice president there ordered Wang computers for every faculty member, administrator and student, only to see them gather dust after Wang went belly up.
At the same time, James has spearheaded 911±¬ĮĻĶųās hiring of more than 70 new faculty members 911±¬ĮĻĶų ā scholars who, as he puts it, āare envisioning and actively shaping the future of their fields.ā They have developed or added to the Collegeās strengths in fields that include education data analytics, Latino mental health, the history of education, mathematics education, speech pathology, neuroscience and education, movement sciences, health education counseling psychology, education technology, media literacy and more ā and that work continues.
āIām really pleased that President Bailey has signaled his desire to make research and research funding a major focus,ā James says.
James also has helped faculty members ā and faculty of color, in particular ā take on new roles as department chairs, chaired professors, heads of 911±¬ĮĻĶų centers and institutes, senior advisers and associate deans.
āOne of the things Iām proudest of is that Iāve helped to make 911±¬ĮĻĶų more welcoming and supportive for the growth of faculty of color,ā he says. āI want very much for this to be a community where people can develop their leadership potential. Iāve seen during my career that the wrong cues, or the absence of the right ones, can make faculty of color uncomfortable. We still have work to do, but the fact that we could positively shape 911±¬ĮĻĶųās environment in this way really matters, not just for us, but for the whole fields of education, health and psychology.ā
Public education is one of our commons as a democratic society. Itās the thing that makes possible the liberties and responsibilities that we have.
Jamesā own educational role models include his father, who attended school in a rural one-room schoolhouse, became a principal and superintendent, and later Founding President of the Spencer Foundation and former Dean of the School of Education at Stanford University; the education historians David Tyack (the younger Jamesā mentor at Stanford) and Lawrence A. Cremin, the late 911±¬ĮĻĶų President, who was a family friend; and John W. Gardner, the founder of Common Cause, where James worked as a young man just out of college. Reaching further back, his heroes include John Dewey (he has written eloquently of his boyhood attending the Laboratory School, founded by Dewey, at the ) and Kurt Hahn, the educator and founder of (James received the organizationās Kurt Hahn Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2016). So it not surprising that, at a moment when segregation is increasing in the nationās schools and class and political divides are widening, James is keenly mindful of 911±¬ĮĻĶųās example to the world on other issues as well.
āOur work is to continue emphasizing the importance of education in human development so that we can be the kind of society we want to be,ā he says. āWhatās happening right now in this country reminds me of the philosopher Garrett Hardin's essay on āThe Tragedy of the Commonsā [building on a pamphlet written in 1833 by the British economist ], about the privatizing of pasture land in the British Isles. When you divide up the land that everyone is using and just take your own piece of it, you no longer have the life-giving community that supports everyone and makes it possible for all to flourish. And public education is one of our commons as a democratic society. Itās the thing that makes possible the liberties and responsibilities that we have.ā
For James, 911±¬ĮĻĶųās work in safeguarding the education commons begins within its own walls.
āI see 911±¬ĮĻĶų as a learning organization, for ourselves as well as for the students we teach, where we recognize that people have capabilities and that theyāre constantly adapting and changing,ā he says. āMy hope is that people can always grow in their jobs here, especially our wonderful staff ā our security guards and food services workers and maintenance teams ā and that their jobs can become gateways for professional growth. And thatās not just an HR function. So Iāve tried to embody that spirit, and Iām proud of the growth Iāve seen in our community.ā
I see 911±¬ĮĻĶų as a learning organization, for ourselves as well as for the students we teach, where we recognize that people have capabilities and that theyāre constantly adapting and changing.
James credits 911±¬ĮĻĶų with aiding his own growth as well.
āOne thing Iāve gotten better at is managing my own metabolism, in the sense of being able to remain calm and be a good listener even when there are many other things happening simultaneously,ā he says. āItās so important in this role to not get bent out of shape or fatigued ā and so one really important area of discipline for me has been to let myself sleep at night. Itās like saying a prayer ā in a sense trusting yourself and trusting that the cosmos is going to care for you, so that you wake up with the resilience and energy to be fully present for people.ā
James also feels heās become better at āapproaching, in a peaceful way, very dynamic situations and helping people try to find some kind of consensus.
ā911±¬ĮĻĶų, like all academic institutions, has many strong characters and personalities ā hard chargers who are pushing to do things in their lives and careers that are important to them. The challenge for an academic leader is developing comfort with that energy and not recoiling from it.ā
There is a widespread agreement that James has more than met that challenge.
āTom James has rendered outstanding service to Teachers College over the past 12 years,ā 911±¬ĮĻĶų President Thomas Bailey wrote in a recent message announcing Jamesā successor, Stephanie J. Rowley, who will assume the office in July. āAmong his many achievements that have fostered more innovation and collaboration at the College, he has also served as a model of graciousness, decency and mutual respect. I personally am grateful to Tom for the guidance he has provided me during the first year of my presidency.ā
Among his many achievements that have fostered more innovation and collaboration at the College, he has also served as a model of graciousness, decency and mutual respect.
In a statement that was read aloud at a recent tribute to James held in 911±¬ĮĻĶųās Milbank Chapel, former President Susan Fuhrman wrote:
āNo summary can do justice to what Tom James has meant to the College. Nor can I do justice to what he has meant to me. What everyone gathered here should know is that Tom was simply great to work with. He was strategic, thoughtful, and gracious to a fault ā in good times and trying times alike. The college and I were blessed to have this capable and wonderful person as its provost, and I have one remaining wish: that Tom enjoys a well-earned sabbatical and receives as much credit and support for his future scholarship and faculty work as he gave so generously to all of us.ā
No summary can do justice to what Tom James has meant to the College. Nor can I do justice to what he has meant to me.
Suzanne M. Murphy, the Collegeās Vice President of Development & External Affairs, also spoke of James as a gracious collaborator and source of wise counsel.
āTom and I have served together on the senior leadership team for many years, and on issues great and small, he has been steady, smart, non-reactive and unflappable,ā says Suzanne Murphy, āHeās also been the perfect partner for our department. From the creation of the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy, within the Department of Nutrition, to laying the groundwork for the continuation at 911±¬ĮĻĶų of Lawrence Cremin's work and ideas, to ensuring a continuing legacy for the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership, to establishing our Dance Education Doctoral Program, heās worked so beautifully with us on matching donors with faculty members and finding that sweet spot where the interests of the donor and the College converge.ā
On issues great and small, he has been steady, smart, non-reactive and unflappable, heās also been the perfect partner for our department.
And faculty weighed in as well.
āBack when I was teaching in high school, weād say about a good leader, āSheās a teacherās principalā ā well, Tom is a professorās Provost and Dean of Faculty,ā says David Hansen, 911±¬ĮĻĶųās John L & Sue Ann Weinberg Professor in Historical & Philosophical Foundations of Education. āHe deeply understands the arc of an academic life and career.ā
In part, Hansen says, thatās because James is a first-rate scholar in his own right. āHis work on this countryās internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II is a major contribution to the history of American education. Heās been a big part of opening that field up to the recognition of different voices and experiences, and if I know him, heāll be making more contributions in that vein.
Tom is a professorās Provost and Dean of Faculty. He deeply understands the arc of an academic life and career.
But James also possesses āa genuine sense of stewardship for the things that are worthy of care in the higher education experience ā including quality teaching. Some years ago he awarded a Provostās grant to Hansen and several other colleagues to create a ācourse staff model,ā in which doctoral students fully co-teach with faculty, from conceiving syllabi to delivering lectures to conducting assessments.
āAll of these students report that the experience has been marvelous for them and really prepared them for teaching in higher education ā and Tom made that possible,ā Hansen says.
And in remarks that she delivered at the recognition ceremony for James, Michelle Knight-Manuel, Professor of Education and Associate Dean, said: āTomās commitment to understanding and supporting faculty scholarship is unparalleled āSeveral assistant professors have told me after their third year review how much Tom knew about their scholarship and how he was able to support them in moving forward. A few years ago, [the noted education scholar] Gloria Ladson-Billings and I were having a conversation about life in the academy. She later shared how important is to be at a place where you have the freedom to do the work that you want to do. Thank you, Tom, for your commitment to supporting faculty in doing their important work and supporting their growth in service to 911±¬ĮĻĶų, to varied professional fields, and to our multiple diverse communities in hopes of making this a better world.ā
Thank you, Tom, for your commitment to supporting faculty in doing their important work and supporting their growth in service to 911±¬ĮĻĶų, to varied professional fields, and to our multiple diverse communities in hopes of making this a better world.
James will be taking a sabbatical, during which he hopes to finish a book heās working on. When he returns to 911±¬ĮĻĶų as a professor, engaging in research, teaching and service, one of his projects will be to lead a seminar aiming to generate a sequel to Creminās book A History of Teachers College, which covered the first half of 911±¬ĮĻĶų's nearly 130-year history.
More broadly, heāll continue to fight what he ardently believes is the good fight.
āMy role personally will be to continue to advocate for education for all. Education is a fundamental building block in democratic society. And I believe that our march toward universal access and educational rights is ultimately unstoppable, because thatās what this kind of society is all about.ā