The Rose and Nicholas DeMarzo Chair in Education: Investing Dr. Drew Gitomer as the Inaugural Holder
The investiture ceremony of Dr. Drew Gitomer as the newly appointed Rose and Nicholas Demarzo Chair in Education marked a major milestone for the Graduate School of Education and the Rutgers community. “It is an occasion for celebrating at once the generosity of the donor and the brilliance of the recipient- and together, the gift they give to Rutgers.” President Richard L. McCormick stated in his opening remarks.
The establishment of the chair comes at an important time in American education history as a heavy emphasis is placed on teacher quality leading towards student success. As mentioned by Dean Richard De Lisi currently there is a lack of solid research concerning teacher quality and teaching quality. He stated, “As recently as 5-6 years ago, Lee Shulman then President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching maintained that perhaps the best we can do in terms of teacher evaluation is combine a host of measures, each of them incomplete when taken alone.”
As holder of the chair, Dr. Gitomer will have the opportunity to develop a plan of research, teaching, and professional leadership with focus on teacher quality, teacher education, and student achievement while working closely with Graduate School of Education faculty. As Dr. Gitomer expressed during the ceremony, “I look forward to working with my new colleagues to take on these challenges of looking at teaching quality, challenges that have no clear departmental bounds.” Dr. Gitomer specializes in teacher assessment and evaluation and his research includes classroom observation and classroom assessment protocols to help determine key factors that influence teaching quality. “When we consider teaching quality, we are better able to understand the complex ways in which underserved students experience school. This view opens up a broad set of challenges for our society and particularly for the GSE.”
The investiture ceremony of Dr. Drew Gitomer was held on October 27 in Kirkpatrick Chapel on Old Queens Campus, New Brunswick, New Jersey. The ceremony began with the alma mater performed by the Rutgers Glee Club and opening remarks by President McCormick . Speakers during the ceremony were Filomena DeMarzo Farley, sister of the late Charles A. DeMarzo, Dean De Lisi, and Dr. Gitomer . The event closed with the presentation of certificate of distinction to Dr. Gitomer and closing remarks by President McCormick. A reception immediately followed the ceremony in Winants Hall.
The Rose and Nicholas DeMarzo Chair in Education was established in 2009 through a gift from the estate of Charles A. DeMarzo (‘SB ’49), to honor his parents, Rose and Nicholas. The chair serves to honor, retain or recruit eminent scholars in the field of teacher education for service on the faculty of the Graduate School of Education.
On February 8, 2011 the Rutgers University Board of Governors selected Dr. Gitomer to be the inaugural holder of the Rose and Nicolas DeMarzo Chair in Education.
Dr. Gitomer is one of the nation’s premier scholars on teacher assessment. He has written and edited numerous well-renowned publications and currently serves as co-editor of the prestigious AERA Handbook of Research on Teaching which is an excellent resource for scholars who study teaching and learning. During his career at Educational Testing Service, Dr. Gitomer was distinguished researcher and director of the Understanding Teacher Quality Center, and senior vice president for Research and Development.
Visit the investiture webpage for additional information and to view a video of the investiture ceremony by clicking here.