It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that I inform you about an exciting opportunity ahead for School of Education Dean and Distinguished Professor Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy. On Jan. 6, 2025, Cheryl will join the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) as President and CEO. AACTE is dedicated to advancing educator preparation by promoting research, policy, and practice to bolster high-quality preparation for educators across the nation. I am also grateful that Cheryl will continue to be a member of the SOE faculty, building on the unique strength of AU faculty members who are experts in the classroom and leading practitioners in their fields.

Cheryl joined American University in July 2016 from Johns Hopkins University where she had served as Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs. At that time, AU’s School of Education was not a school, but an academic unit housed within the College of Arts and Sciences, serving approximately 250 students. Under Cheryl’s leadership, the unit became a stand-alone school in 2019 and today proudly supports more than 1,500 students. Supporting and advancing AU’s commitment to inclusive excellence, Cheryl expanded the diversity of the school’s faculty, with over 50 percent of SOE faculty members identifying as faculty of color.

Throughout her tenure, Cheryl has spearheaded transformative initiatives in teacher preparation and education, building partnerships with Teach for America, Friendship Charter Schools, City Year, and City Teaching Alliance. This collaborative effort has engaged more than 300 students and expanded SOE’s reach to support urban education and teaching excellence in Dallas, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. In addition to teacher preparation, Cheryl advanced education policy and school leadership with the introduction of SOE’s online Master's in Teaching (MAT) and Master's and Doctorate in Education Policy and Leadership programs. Addressing a need for qualified early education specialists, Cheryl co-created the Advancing Early Education Collaborative and the Child Development Associate (CDA) certification available at AU. The CDA program addresses inequities and a workforce shortage and creates an entryway for those who aspire to advance and secure higher degrees in education at AU or Trinity Washington University. 

Cheryl’s impact reaches beyond AU through her founding of the Teacher Pipeline Project, which has generated more than $1 million in scholarships for District of Columbia high school students aspiring to teach. This groundbreaking initiative, the first of its kind for DC students and created in partnership with District education officials, incorporates both the Dual Enrollment and Teaching Fellows programs, dedicated to developing a diverse, homegrown teaching workforce for the District. The Dual Enrollment program, covering tuition, books, and transportation, enables DC high school seniors to attend AU and earn six college credits, providing them with early college exposure and credit accumulation. This initiative has contributed significantly to student success and inclusion for youth in the District. Since the program’s founding, the majority of its students have progressed to four-year colleges. Many of the participating students are consistently representative of a majority-minority population, and many are the first in their families to graduate from college.

Please join me in extending our congratulations and gratitude to Cheryl for her visionary leadership. In the weeks ahead we will consult with the SOE community about the upcoming transition. We look forward to building on Cheryl’s impactful work and her commitment to educational excellence and equity.