A Gift to Support Diabetes Education
Teachers College has received a three-year $170,000 pledge from trustee and alumna Marla Schaefer (MA, Organizational Psychology) through her family's foundation, to support the College's new Diabetes Education and Management program
Teachers College has received a three-year $170,000 pledge from trustee and alumna Marla Schaefer (MA, Organizational Psychology) through her family’s foundation, to support the College’s new Diabetes Education and Management program.
It is estimated that more than half of the American population will develop diabetes or pre-diabetes by the end of 2020. Diabetes Educators, capable of teaching self-management skills to those with the disease, are and will be critically needed. However, such professionals are currently in short supply.
To address the pressing need for these professionals, Teachers College has created a one-of-a-kind program to train Diabetes Educators and help them obtain their certification. Offering an interdisciplinary Master of Science degree entirely online, the Teachers College Diabetes Education and Management Program will provide health-care professionals the flexibility to engage in and complete their coursework.
Schaefer, whose own family has been touched by the disease, has become one of the program’s most enthusiastic supporters. An astute business woman and former Co-Chairman and CEO of Claire’s stores, she is not only impressed with the program’s goals but its innovative and flexible delivery of content.
“When I first heard of this program it immediately captured my imagination,” Schaefer says. “Think of all the kids and adults who will be helped to manage this terrible disease. Kudos to TC for addressing a problem that is growing exponentially worldwide.”
The Rowland and Sylvia Schaefer Family Foundation gift will focus on those components of its design and implementation, which will insure the Diabetes Education and Management program’s sustainability and enhance educational experience such as faculty training, marketing and outreach and student support.
Teachers College is extremely grateful for this investment in this groundbreaking program.
Published Monday, Feb. 7, 2011
