ABOUT THE SOE

Syracuse University School of Education advances the future of teaching, learning, and service through research and practice welcoming to all.

Led by internationally recognized faculty who are dedicated to student-centered instruction and cutting-edge research, the School advances knowledge and expertise to promote dynamic, effective, and engaging learning, social service, and therapeutic experiences across communities. 

By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and promoting human thriving, the School mentors and nurtures the next generation of educators, counselors, social workers, and leaders who will have meaningful and sustained impact in their communities.

Vision

Leveraging its historic legacy as a global leader in inclusive education, the School of Education aspires to be the pre-eminent institution for scholarship and instruction across its Signature Areas of Distinction, which harness relationships across campus, community, and beyond.

The impact of this work will enhance the School’s global reputation for producing impactful research and for attracting and preparing transformative teachers, counselors, social workers, and other professionals who support student success across broad learning contexts.

Topline Commitments

1. The School of Education will coalesce intentionally around three Signature Areas of Distinction: inclusive, digital, and experiential pedagogy and practice.
2. SOE will adopt a “one school” perspective and organizational structure to improve equity, promote efficiency and interdisciplinarity, and strengthen community and belonging.
3. SOE will promote the Center on Disability and Inclusion and the Center for Experiential Pedagogy and Practice as hubs of connection and collaboration for faculty, staff, and students engaging in ambitious, impactful, and grant-funded research.
4. SOE will enroll and retain more students in efficiently run programs to allow us to make values-driven choices.
5. SOE will strive to create educational experience welcoming to all learners in every aspect of our enterprise.

History

The School of Education was founded in 1906 as the Margaret Olivia Slocum Teachers’ College, with a primary focus on training teachers. Several decades later, with increased student enrollment and an expanded purview, Dean Harry Ganders (1930-1953) led an effort to reframe the organization as the “All-University” School of Education.

Since that time, SOE has made notable contributions to the campus, Central New York, and the field of education, and has been leader on many fronts:

• Among the first teachers’ colleges to offer student teaching in public schools.
• Among the oldest literacy and special education programs in the United States.
• One of the nation’s first graduate programs in instructional technology.
• The first university to offer a full range of degrees for teachers of special education.
• A leader in the right to education, deinstitutionalization, communication rights, and school inclusion movements.
• The first national institute for the study and creation of open, inclusion settings (Center on Human Policy)
• The first graduate disability studies program.
• The first joint degree in law and disability studies.
• The first fully integrated inclusive education program offered at a research university.
• Among the first teachers’ colleges in the US to offer a dual certification (general and inclusive) adolescent teacher preparation program.

More of Our History