Summer Workshop – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

“Chalk Talks” Series

IRT Alumni Come Together and Help Current Scholars During Critical Times

The IRT extended a warm welcome to the new IRT 2025 Cohort into its vibrant and dynamic community during the July Summer Workshop. The Summer Workshop is a major component of the IRT program, inspiring scholars to become future educators that PK-12 through higher education urgently needs. This year, the number of IRT alumni who came back to lend their experiences and insights during these critical times was phenomenal.

Heather Moore Roberson, IRT ’07 & ‘10, is a Co-Curriculum Coordinator for the workshop and hosted the “Chalk Talks”, a podcast-style series that is always engaging and insightful. The “Chalk Talks” delve into the complexities and nuances of graduate school life in today’s context. These sessions feature alumni and other higher education professionals. They share their research agendas, offer advice for navigating graduate school and the Academy, and discuss other relevant topics. The “Chalk Talks” are included in a content hub available to all current scholars as an integral resource to use as their own on-demand learning library; the topics and IRT Alumni speakers are featured below.

IRT Advising: Then & Now

Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91
Education Programs Specialist, Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

On June 2^nd, 2025, I began onboarding the 35^th IRT Cohort, which includes 135 Scholars! How time flies, quite literally. It was just yesterday that I found myself on the Phillips Academy campus as a senior planning to apply to a variety of graduate schools in two fields nonetheless – Spanish Literature and Higher Education (sound familiar?), and part of one of the biggest in-person IRT Summer Workshops ever held, numbering 42 individuals. I can tell you stories, lol!

While much has stayed the same, much also has changed as it relates to the IRT Advising program. A dedicated IRT team continues to support IRT Scholars every year as they pursue advanced degrees in the humanities, social sciences, math, and education, and the scholars’ camaraderie remains strong in a virtual world and in the face of great challenges to isolate us from one another. LaShawnda Brooks, Catherine Wong, and I serve as school list advisors and work closely with each scholar to create a well-rounded school list that supports the academic endeavors that each student plans to pursue, and one that considers their personal well-being and the political climate as well. It is no small feat to assist IRT Scholars in this new educational environment.

Associate Director & Manager of Programs Update, June 2025

NCORE, Hope, and the Power of Collective Action at IRT

The recent NCORE conference in New York City was abuzz with keynotes, workshops, and conversations about hope and possibility in our ever-evolving educational landscape. But what truly resonated with me wasn’t just the aspirational talk; it was the tangible, on-the-ground manifestations of these ideals. We engaged in courageous intergenerational and cross-college conversations, actively building coalitions and fostering collective action.

This got me thinking: what does hope and possibility look like in real time for us at IRT?

Introducing the 2025 IRT Summer Workshop Faculty

The annual IRT Summer Workshop gathers current scholars, alumni, university deans, and liaisons during its month-long virtual program. IRT Alumni design the curriculum and engage with scholars through a series of presentations, seminars, and workshops. For more on the Summer Workshop Framework, please refer to a previous post:

IRT 2025 Summer Workshop Framework

2025 Summer Workshop Curriculum Coordinators

Heather Moore Roberson, IRT ’07 & ’10
Dean of Student & Community Development; Associate Professor-Community & Justice Studies & Black Studies Affiliate Faculty-Education Studies, Allegheny College

Heather Moore Roberson, Ph.D. (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a strategic visionary and transformative leader with 17 years of experience teaching and leading in higher education. Dr. Roberson is an award-winning leader, teacher, and researcher who advances initiatives related to race, equity, and justice in higher education. She has published articles on diversity, equity, and inclusion in Academic Leader and facilitated presentations on culturally relevant leadership for the Council of Independent Colleges and Leadership in Higher Education conferences. In 2024, Heather was listed as one of the top 100 Black Trailblazers in the state of Pennsylvania by City & State Magazine—named for leaders in politics, business, and education.

In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Heather is a tenured member of the faculty at Allegheny College in Community & Justice Studies and Black Studies. She is the first Black woman in the College’s history to attain tenure. Dr. Roberson is the recipient of the Thoburn Award for Teaching Excellence and continues teaching courses on race, identity, and education in the United States. As a scholar and lifelong learner, she conducts research in pop culture, Black Studies, Education, and Black youth masculinity. In 2024, her edited collection Thinking about Black Education: An Interdisciplinary Reader (with Dr. Hilton Kelly, Elon University) won the Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award. Heather received two Bachelor’s degrees in Educational Studies and American Studies from Trinity College (Hartford, CT), a M.A. in American Studies from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Purdue University in 2015.

IRT 2025 Summer Workshop Framework

Grace Lee Boggs (1915–2015), the first Asian American woman
to earn a Ph.D. in philosophy from Bryn Mawr College, profoundly stated: “You don’t choose the times you live in, but you do choose who you want to be, and you do choose how you want to think.”

At the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT), the IRT staff with Co-Curriculum Coordinators, Heather Moore Roberson, IRT ’07, ’10, Ryan Sermon, IRT ’10, and Renée Wilmot, IRT ’12, ’17 – embark on planning the forthcoming Summer Workshop (SW), this sentiment guides our intent. We are committed to crafting a curriculum that meets scholars where they are, provides critical guidance to meet this moment, and demystifies the graduate application process. In shaping this year’s workshop, we have carefully considered feedback from our stakeholders, including current scholars, SW faculty, advisors, alumni, and our Consortium of Colleges and Universities.

Heather, Ryan, and Renée share their motivations and expectations for this year’s workshop.