David Morgan named director of The Partnership for Better Education

David Morgan named director of The Partnership for Better EducationMarch 25, 2008Patrick Farrellpmfarrel@syr.edu

David Morgan has been named the new director of The Partnership for Better Education, effective April 1.

Morgan comes to Syracuse University from the College Board Education Loan Program, where he was western sales manager. He has extensive experience in the field of higher education finance and also has served as associate dean of admissions for Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif., and Occidental College in Los Angeles. He holds an A.B. degree in history from Dartmouth College.

The Partnership for Better Education, one of SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor’s Scholarship in Action initiatives, was established to provide Syracuse City School District (SCSD) students the support and resources needed to graduate and successfully pursue higher education. As director of this important community-focused initiative, Morgan will be responsible for programmatic oversight in the development, implementation and evaluation of the initiatives of the partnership and administrative management in recruiting, organizing and deploying human and financial resources for fulfillment of the organization’s mission.

Morgan also will be responsible for working with other partnership institutions and coordinating partnership activities with the Syracuse City School District. Morgan will report to the dean of the School of Education, who will provide intellectual leadership in the planning and assessment of the program’s initiatives, as well as leadership to enable and promote collaboration across units and disciplines and to build the resources of the partnership.

The Partnership for Better Education offers new opportunities for quality instruction through a formal working partnership among the SCSD, Syracuse University, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Le Moyne College, Onondaga Community College and SUNY Upstate Medical University.

The partnership is a pre-K-16 initiative that prepares students to succeed at each grade level. In addition, the program benefits SU students, faculty and staff by providing new opportunities to engage with the local community through entrepreneurship, education, the arts and literature, math, science and technology. Partnership schools involve the University with elementary and K-8 schools in whole-school reform to improve access to rigorous academics for all students; currently, this includes three Schools of Promise, as well as the Key/Solace partnership.

The partnership also makes use of a number of strategic approaches to improve student success. Pipeline programs work closely with middle and junior high school students, following their progress into higher education (these include STEP, Liberty Partnership and GEAR-UP). An early hiring initiative for partnership schools is designed to recruit excellent new teachers into urban education. “Infusion initiatives,” such as the Mobile Literacy Arts Bus (M-LAB), foster collaboration between SU students and faculty with teachers in SCSD learning academies.

Other partnership initiatives include opportunities for students, faculty and staff to participate in the smaller learning communities of the SCSD high schools and to introduce SCSD students to the innovative Early College High School concept, which combines high school and college cultures, giving students incentive to graduate from high school within five years with both a high school diploma and significant college credit.