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February 22, 2006
ANDOVER, Mass.—Chera Reid has been named as the new director of the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers, a Phillips Academy program devoted to increasing diversity in education by encouraging outstanding students of color to enter the teaching profession.
Reid was selected for the position following a national search conducted by Kelly Wise, executive director of IRT and a committee representing the IRT Advisory Board. Reid brings to the position an intimate knowledge of IRT, having worked in the IRT office for that past three years, most recently as IRT’s interim director.
“Chera has established excellent rapport with our students, both in advising them how to craft statements of purpose for their graduate school applications and counseling them through the arduous graduate school admission process,” says Wise. “She is also an efficient administrator and an excellent admissions recruiter. She commands consummate respect here on campus and out among the universities.”
In her role as director, Reid is responsible for managing daily program activities, meeting regularly with the program’s advisory board, advising and counseling students as they apply to graduate school, and working closely with graduate school deans across the country.
“I am energized as I witness IRT students pursue their highest potential as outstanding educators in our nation’s schools and colleges where they are needed most,” says Reid. “I am honored to have been selected as director of this wonderful program, and I look forward to continuing my work with program and campus colleagues."
In addition to her work at IRT, Reid serves as a House Counselor and Advisor. She holds a BA in English and African American Studies from the University of Virginia and an MA in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan.
Founded in 1990 by Kelly Wise, a former dean of faculty at PA, IRT is a Phillips Academy outreach program that fulfills its mission to increase diversity in education by supporting 100 students each year as they prepare for and apply to graduate schools. The students are selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants. To qualify for the program, students must be rising college seniors or recent graduates, have excellent grades, and demonstrate a strong desire in pursing a career in education. Thirty of those students are invited to participate in IRT’s four-week summer workshop, in which they have the opportunity to study intensively critical and cultural theory and issues in education. They also teach classes and facilitate seminar discussions.
Since its founding, more than 800 IRT alumni have pursued careers in education.
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