Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Alumni Accolades, January 2024

Mishuana Goeman, IRT ‘ 94 is the chair and professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Buffalo. Her community-engaged work is devoted to several digital humanities projects and is widely published in monographs and peer-reviewed articles including Mark My Words: Native Women Mapping (University of Minnesota Press, 2013) and Settler Aesthetics: The Spectacle of Originary Moments in the New World (University of Nebraska Press, 2023).

Alyssa Garcia, IRT ’00 is currently a College Adviser and Assistant Professor of Instruction in Gender & Sexuality Studies at Northwestern University. Alyssa holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Jonathan Anderson, IRT ’01 holds a master’s degree in elementary education, teaching, and divinity. Jonathan is a teacher at Johnston County Public Schools in North Carolina.

Executive Letter, September 2023

Hello IRT Community!

Happy start of the school year! As we all return to classrooms, offices, routines, and the sounds of learning – I hope our community is well and safe. Over the last few months, the IRT staff worked diligently to ensure our program operations and conversations regarding our future stayed on course. I hope you join me in expressing gratitude for their skill application, resources, and tenacity to augment the opportunities for our Scholars.

We navigated the IRT admissions cycle, welcoming 108 Scholars into our cohort. In the last year alone, teachers faced unprecedented attacks on values the IRT community holds near and dear. We are proud of our Scholars for envisioning a future of education with them in it – even though our broader communities are navigating extensive uncertainty.

2023 IRT Summer Workshop Overview

The IRT virtual Summer Workshop brought together current scholars, alumni and university deans, and representatives to acquire, question, and disseminate knowledge based on lived experiences, public policy, and research. IRT alumni served as summer faculty and engaged with scholars through a variety of sessions this July. IRT scholars learned more about each other through a series of seminars, presentations, and reflective sessions.

Faculty Members of the IRT Summer Workshop

IRT Advising In Full Force

IRT advising has always been the core component of the IRT program. Building connections, community, and confidence through advising has never been more relevant than in the changing and recently daunting educational landscape. Under the direction of Brittany Zorn, IRT ’13, and Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 the program has developed into an ever-evolving model of targeted sessions that support and meet IRT Scholars where they are throughout the entire graduate school process.

The advising season is more than underway and the advising team has worked with scholars together with encouragement, diligence, and fortitude through an intensive time that can be overwhelming.

Sincere appreciation to Brittany and Leislie for leading the team with such thoughtfulness and intent and to the amazing IRT alumni advisors for their continued work ensuring this critical program constantly flourishes.