A Proud Legacy of Support for Educational Equity and Access

Educators play a special role in fostering confidence in their students. That’s the crux of the lifelong work and philanthropy from Eric J. Cooper (Ed.D. ’86), who with his wife has established the Dr. Eric J. Cooper and Dr. Carol A. Numrich Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Cooper is the president and founder of the National Urban Alliance (NUA), founded in 1993 at Teachers College in partnership with the College Board. Its founding was in response to data surrounding lower test scores among students of color. To help combat these statistics, Cooper runs professional development for educators that focuses on building student competence and confidence.

As a young Black man who came to TC in the 1980s, Cooper discovered his struggles with standardized testing, combined with racism he faced as a Black man, had held him back from realizing his full potential.

Cooper more than made up for it. Now, he is driven to improve opportunities for “kids like me who had not succeeded as much as they could have if teachers had given them the skills they needed to reach the highest levels.”

While Cooper is supporting teachers through his work at NUA, he knows supporting TC scholarships enables students to have the same opportunities to discover and build on their passions that he did—and further educational equity.

Through their endowed scholarship fund, Cooper and Numrich are taking actionable steps toward the College’s mission of creating a better world.

We are grateful to our donors who have already chosen to include Teachers College within their legacy, just as Eric and Carol did. To learn more about how you can join them, please contact Natasha Requeña, MBA at (212) 678-3231 or institutionaladvancement@tc.columbia.edu with any questions. Thank you.