Innovation in graduate student education is something we talk a lot about here on “Mastering the Next,” but making it really work is a challenge for lots of schools. Initiatives can lack strategic focus and, frankly, an understanding of the needs of today’s graduate students. In this episode, Ray is joined by Dr. Tom Rock, Associate Vice President & Chief Student Affairs Officer at of Columbia University in New York City – the nation’s first, and largest, graduate school for education. Their dialogue explores what it takes to successfully develop graduate student pathways and a variety of new initiatives being implemented at Teachers College designed to do just that.
Innovation in graduate student education is something we talk a lot about here on “Mastering the Next,” but making it really work is a challenge for lots of schools. Initiatives can lack strategic focus and, frankly, an understanding of the needs of today’s graduate students. In this episode, Ray is joined by Dr. Tom Rock, Associate Vice President & Chief Student Affairs Officer at of Columbia University in New York City – the nation’s first, and largest, graduate school for education. Their dialogue explores what it takes to successfully develop graduate student pathways and a variety of new initiatives being implemented at Teachers College designed to do just that.
Guest Name: Dr. Tom Rock, Associate Vice President & Chief Student Affairs Officer at Teacher’s College of Columbia University
Guest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-rock-nyc/
Guest Bio: Originally from the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, Dr. Rock has over 30 years of experience in student affairs having worked in undergraduate and graduate admissions and enrollment management and graduate student affairs. In his role as Associate Vice President & Chief Student Affairs Officer at TC, Dr. Rock is the Senior Student Affairs Officer for the College and oversees the administrative offices and staff members that support students on their pathways at Teachers College. He is passionate about student success and helping students flourish at TC and beyond.
Dr. Rock has worked in the field of undergraduate admissions and College Counseling at the University of Dayton, Alfred University and The Albany Academy (NY). He has worked in graduate admissions at Columbia University (NY), Hofstra University (NY) and Teachers College, Columbia University (NY). His student affairs work has been at Teachers College, Columbia University (NY). He also received a Certificate of Completion from the Harvard Graduate School of Education for participation in the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE). Dr. Rock was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2018 and traveled to Japan as part of the Fulbright Administrator Scholarship Program.
In his spare time, Dr. Rock enjoys running (he's finished 15 NYC marathons), tennis (he is a USTA certified tennis official), spending time with his family and traveling.