I write to inform you that the American University Board of Trustees recently passed a resolution authorizing the administrative separation of the School of Education (SOE) from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) effective July 1, 2019.

The SOE has a rich tradition of excellence in academic research, external funding, teaching, and service across its four areas of study: teacher education, special education, education policy and leadership, and international/global education. It is home to the Institute for Innovation in Education and the newly created Center for Postsecondary Readiness and Success. During academic year 2017–2018, it successfully launched two online master’s degree programs, and a new doctoral program will welcome its first students in fall 2019.

The SOE has established deep, long-term partnerships with regional school districts, nonprofits, and other organizations. One example is the AU/DCPS Teacher Pipeline Project, which was initiated in fall 2018 and aims to increase the number of highly skilled, diverse teachers in some of the most challenged schools in the district.

The stand-alone SOE will benefit from discipline-specific marketing and recruitment, budgeting, and fundraising, and it will have the opportunity to become a nationally ranked school of education. Dean Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy will announce several new hires in the near future and has developed a committee to ensure a smooth transition during the first year of independence. Following the separation, SOE and CAS faculty and staff will continue to maintain longstanding and productive collaborations between their academic units.