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Letter from the Dean

Dear SOE Alumni,

Welcome to the second issue of our new SLU alumni newsletter! My name is Gary Ritter and I am excited to be entering my second year as the Dean of the School of Education. There is much to be excited about at Saint Louis University. As many of you know, we are currently welcoming our largest freshman class in the history of SLU and we are celebrating our most successful fundraising year ever!

In the School of Education, we are also looking forward to a big year. We are welcoming a very strong first cohort in our brand new Ph.D. program in Education Policy and Equity. Keep an eye out for a future story on this fantastic group of students, who come to us with a variety of experiences from across the country. We are welcoming two new faculty – one a proud SLU alum and another who brings multiple degrees from the University of Pennsylvania!

In our undergraduate program, we are excited to welcome recipients of our two new scholarships for excellent undergraduate teacher candidates. You will certainly be hearing more about our Billikens from these two programs – the Excellence and Equity in Education Scholarship (3E) and the Teachers of Tomorrow (TOT) Scholarship.

Finally, I hope to have an opportunity to see you on campus this year. The first opportunity will be during Family and Homecoming Weekend starting on September 27. Then, on October 17, we are thrilled to be hosting a special presentation (and reception) from Professor Howard Fuller, Ph.D., of Marquette, who is known across the nation and world for his pathbreaking work in creating equal educational opportunities for traditionally underserved students. I hope you enjoy the SOE updates in this newsletter, and I hope you will reach out and let us know if there are ways we could be communicating with you or serving you better. I hope to see you this year!

Best wishes,

Gary W. Ritter, Ph.D.

Dean, School of Education