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MAY/JUNE 2011 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ COLLEGES & GRADuate Schools 23President of ColombiaOffers Insight at OgdenLecture at Brown U.TOURO COLLEGESchool of Health Sciences OffersNew Integrated Health ScienceHonors Program(L-R) Peg Ogden & Colombia PresidentJuan Manuel SantosJuan Manuel Santos, the president ofColombia, delivered the Stephen A. Ogden Jr.Memorial lecture on International Affairs atBrown University. His lecture centered on howhe believes Latin America will play an increasinglyimportant role in global affairs in comingyears. Santos was visiting the U.S. to attendmeetings at the United Nations and to meet withPresident Obama.The lecture is held annually in memory ofOgden, who was killed in a car accident in 1963.Established by his family, the Ogden lectureshipCahn Fellows Program:Outstanding PrincipalsMake a Differenceby Sybil MaiminThe Cahn Fellows Programfor Distinguished Principals atTeachers College, ColumbiaUniversity, is celebrating its tenthanniversary amidst many successes,making this year’s introductionof new Fellows a particularly proudoccasion. Founded in 2002 by successfulentrepreneur and ColumbiaBusiness School MBA Chuck Cahnand his wife, Jane, to help outstandingNYC principals become evenbetter at their jobs, the programhas significantly affected publicschools in all five boroughs, gradespre-K to 12. In welcoming the23 members of the 2011 cohort ofFellows, Cahn admitted to “still notquite getting why we were the firstto recognize you.” His vision hasbeen validated. Since its founding,the program has provided professionaldevelopment and support to168 principals, or more than 18 percentof school heads, and has hadan impact on over 200,000 schoolchildren. Cahn admits his originalexpectations have been surpassed,proudly citing a recent independentevaluation that concludes schoolsheaded by Cahn Fellows have become betterschools. Beaming, he says he “knew theprogram was working, anecdotically, but nowI know for sure.” Adding to the excitement ofthe milestone anniversary was the announcementof outreach to another city, Newark, NJ,where the educational system is going through“tremendous change, from top to bottom.” Twooutstanding Newark school principals havebeen selected as 2011 Fellows.Krista J. Dunbar, program director, explainedthe rigorous selection process for Fellows(L-R) Peg Ogden & Brown UniversityPresident Ruth Simmonscame into being two years later as a means ofadvancing international peace and understanding.The lectures have brought a large numberof U.S. and foreign diplomats as well as manyother observers of the international scene toBrown’s campus. All have given lectures on currentworld topics.Peg Ogden, a Brown graduate and sister ofStephen Ogden has been involved in establishingand attending the lectures for many years.President Ruth Simmons customarily holds adinner at her home for the attendees and guests. #involves 28 people and lasts about six months.Recommended candidates are interviewed, visitedin their classrooms, and required to producerelevant data for scrutiny. Selected principalsparticipate in intensive development activitiesduring fifteen months, while continuing to workin their own schools. Every other month thegroup engages in study sessions with TeachersCollege faculty advisors. A Summer LeadershipInstitute at the College as well as a trip to theGettysburg historic site provide opportunitiesto think about responsibility and decision-Dr. Alan Kadish, president and CEO of TouroCollege, announced the addition of the newIntegrated Health Science Honors Program, whichis being offered in partnership with the School ofHealth Sciences, Lander College for Women-TheAnna Ruth and Mark Hasten School, and LanderCollege for Men. The Integrated Health ScienceHonors Program will be offered for the first timebeginning in the fall of 2011.“Careers in the health sciences are stable,challenging, rewarding, and fulfilling,” said Dr.Kadish. “The new honors program will serve asa mission-inspired collaborative effort betweenTouro’s undergraduate and professional divisionsto offer an integrated and uninterrupted educationalexperience to qualified applicants who wishto pursue their professional health education in anexceptional academic environment.”He added that the program will shepherd andsupport its students from their undergraduatefreshman classes or post-high school year of studyin Israel through their board-qualifying degreesand licensure.“As future health professionals, students in theIntegrated Health Science Honors Program willhave the opportunity to make a difference in people’slives on a daily basis, and will significantlyinfluence the health of their communities,” saidDr. Louis H. Primavera, dean of Touro’s Schoolof Health Sciences and its Graduate School ofPsychology.Interested students must complete an IntegratedHealth Science Honors Program application, aswell as the standard application to either LanderCollege for Women or Lander College for Men.Applicants will be accepted into one of four differentprogram specialties: occupational therapy,physical therapy, physician assistant, and speechlanguagepathology.“This program is designed for students of exceptionalability who have decided on their course ofstudy either while they are in high school or duringthe time that they are studying in Israel,” saidMarian Stoltz-Loike, Ph.D., dean, Lander Collegefor Women-The Anna Ruth and Mark HastenSchool. “To be accepted to this honors program,students must demonstrate a superior degree ofacademic ability and maturity in their decision topursue one of the health science programs.”“Students who ultimately become a part of themaking. The Fellows Challenge Project asksprincipals to identify a problem in their schoolsto be analyzed and solved during the year withthe help of Cahn colleagues. To maintain aculture of leadership excellence, each Fellowchooses an Ally in his or her school to mentorand prepare as a possible future principal. Theinteraction and bonding in all these activitiesproduces sharing of best practices, new ideas,and needed encouragement and support.In a keynote address, Anna Commitante, currentlyDeputy CEO for Instruction, Cluster 2,and a 2003 Cahn Fellow, spoke of her time asa principal in NYC as “the hardest thing I’veever done...You know what I’m talking about.”The Cahn program was the “most dynamic,challenging, and rewarding professional experience...Thegroup had shared values. We allwanted to do good things for our students.”She advised the new Fellows, “Open yourselvesup. You can work out specific issues you havein your schools in an environment where youfeel safe and protected. We had each other’sbacks.” Sana Nasser became a 2006 Fellowwhile in her ninth year as a high school principal,“An isolated kind of job.” The program“opened doors to relationships.” She came toa new respect for elementary school principalsDr. Alan Kadish, President, Touro CollegeIntegrated Health Science Honors Program willreceive an education with the highest academicstandards, enjoy a rigorous and exciting experiencein the health sciences, and go on to becomeexperienced health care practitioners,” said Dr.Moshe Sokol, dean of Lander College for Men.Minimum requirements to apply to theIntegrated Health Science Honors Program are:a high school average of 90 percent or better; inschools where students are ranked, the applicantmust be in the top 15 percent of the high schoolclass; SAT scores of 1250 out of 1600 or 1900out of 2400 with a minimum of 600 in each section;25 volunteer hours in their fields of interest(documentation required) with a three-to-fivepage paper reflecting on their experiences; anda recommendation by the Lander College dean.Touro College was established in 1971. Morethan 18,000 students are currently enrolled in itsvarious schools and divisions. Touro College hasbranch campuses, locations and instructional sitesin the New York area, as well as branch campusesand programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow,Paris, and Florida. Touro University Californiaand its Nevada branch campus, as well as TouroCollege Los Angeles, are separately accreditedinstitutions governed in common by the sameBoard of Trustees as Touro College.#through those she met, and now requires herteachers to visit elementary schools to learnhow to build class cultures and positive interactionswith students.The 2011 Cahn Fellows come from a varietyof backgrounds as do their students. Severalare founders of schools. Most lead traditionalpublic schools; some head charters. Many principalshave turned around poorly performinginstitutions. High expectations are standard,teamwork a common goal, and parent needsfrequently considered. Franca Conti, principalof PS 217 in Brooklyn, one of the city’s largestand most diverse elementary schools, says, “Weall know you don’t have successful children ifyou don’t have successful families.” In his toastto the new Fellows, Chuck Cahn exclaimed, “Igo out and visit schools of people who wereFellows. It’s unbelievable. You go into one ofthese great schools and you meet a principalwho makes a school a spectacular success.Teachers are fantastic, but it doesn’t happenwithout a principal. They have the stuff, and atthe end of the day, children walk out better forit.” Edith Everett, a founding board member ofthe program, came to celebrate and be proud.“It’s an exciting program that’s had a greatimpact,” she said approvingly. #