SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher to Lead National Panel on Transforming Teacher Education for the 21st Century

The State University of New York today announced that Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher will co-chair a Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation, Partnerships and Improved Student Learning. The panel is organized by NCATE – The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Colorado Education Commissioner Dwight Jones will serve as Chancellor Zimpher’s co-chair.

The Panel is charged with developing recommendations for restructuring the preparation of teachers to reflect teaching as a practice-based profession similar to medicine, nursing, or clinical psychology. Practice-based professions require not only a solid academic base, but also strong clinical components and ongoing opportunities for learning. This redesign, which will be grounded in partnerships between higher education, local school districts and other stakeholders, will potentially have far-reaching effects on the structure of schools of education.

Chancellor Zimpher, a teacher educator by profession, has worked throughout her career to reform and strengthen the clinical experience of teachers – especially in urban and challenged schools – and has been published widely on the subject.

“I’m confident that the NCATE Panel’s work will move the dial on the principles, standards and practices around teacher preparation, said Zimpher. “This group brings together some of the most innovative minds in education across many sectors, and together we can model the collaborative partnerships we need to repair our broken education pipeline.”

Chancellor Zimpher has a strong track record as a leader of effective collaborative educational partnerships.  As President of the University of Cincinnati, she co-founded the STRIVE program, a partnership among a broad spectrum of community stakeholders to improve student success and graduation rates. Strive’s success has received national recognition and is now being replicated in communities across the nation.

The goals of the NCATE panel dovetail with SUNY’s systemwide strategic planning process, a key aspect of which is the impact the State University can have on improving New York’s education system “from cradle to career.” 

Chancellor Zimpher noted that the SUNY system trains more teachers than any other institution in the state, and therefore has a special responsibility and capacity in this area.

“We are a major supplier of future teachers in this state, and we need to make sure our educational and clinical practices align with the urgent needs of our schools and communities,”   Zimpher said.  “The NCATE panel’s work will be a resource for SUNY as we work to improve success rates for teachers and students alike,” Zimpher said.

About the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education

NCATE accredits 667 schools, colleges and departments of education, which produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates annually in the United States, and is recognized as a specialized accrediting body by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.