At the last meeting of the faculty on May 4, Dean Zumwalt announced the retirement of Douglas Sloan, Professor of History and Education, and Robert L. Crain, Professor of Sociology and Education.

Sloan joined the TC faculty in 1969 as Assistant Professor of History and Education and leaves the college after 30 years of service. He received his B.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1955, his B.D. from Yale University Divinity School, and his Ph.D. from Teachers College in 1969. Between 1960 and 1963 Sloan was a Methodist Minister in Kansas. Sloan also served as the Coordinator of the Program in Religion and Education with Union Theological Seminary.

From 1977 to 1985 Sloan was the editor of the Teachers College Record. Since 1988, he has been TC's Coordinator for the Program in Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, and the Director of the Center for the Study of Spiritual Foundations in Education.

In describing Sloan's scholarship, Dean Zumwalt said, "Doug's work focused on the relation between our ways of knowing and perception and understanding of the world and cross-intellectual history of the dominant modern conception of knowledge. He has also researched the interrelations among science and technology, art, religion, and education in modern culture."

Crain joined the TC faculty in 1985 as Professor of Sociology and Education. He received his B.A. from the University of Louisville in 1958 and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1964. Before coming to TC, Crain had been a principal research scientist at the Rand Corporation, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Relations at Johns Hopkins.

Professor Crain's work, according to the Dean, "has focused on school desegregation, and equity in and access to education." In fact, he is one of the foremost experts in the United States on the desegregation of schools and communities, magnet schools, and racial tensions in schools. In his latest research he looked at desegregation of schools and communities and found that desegregation efforts often benefited African-American students who attended integrated schools.

Crain has been an active member of the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) and was the author of the "Lens" report, which focused on faculty workload.

On May 10, friends and colleagues of Professor Crain held a party at the College celebrating his retirement. At the reception, a letter from Andrew Cuomo, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, congratulating Crain on his work on desegregation was read to the audience. Cuomo wrote, "Your important work on desegregation, quality schooling, race, families, and much more has been courageous as well as illuminating. More importantly, accept my thanks on behalf of all who work to build knowledge and create change in America's communities."

A scholarship in Professor Crain's honor is being inaugurated in the Department of Human Development. Donations should be made payable to "Teachers College" and can be sent to either Connie Bond or Diane Katanik at Box 118.

Published Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2001