Name change for ASU's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College reflects college's mission
Westwood High School students work together on a project in a team-teaching classroom in 2023. The team-teaching model, which was developed at the newly named Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, is helping school systems rethink the traditional classroom model. Photo by Sabira Madady/Arizona State University
Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College has a new name: the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation.
The name change, which will be completed in time for the fall 2025 semester, reflects what the college has become — a leading college of education in the United States — and its vision moving forward to fulfill the ASU Charter, which states, in part, “assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.”
“While our college still sets the pace for teacher preparation, we understand that our commitment to educators and learners should — and does — extend beyond teacher preparation,” said Carole Basile, dean of the college. “Our work must and does extend to higher education, professional education and the continuous learning that is the foundation of flourishing human lives.”
Basile said the new name embraces a role beyond credentialism (preparing students to meet the licensure requirements and be hired as educators) and scholasticism (the set of incentives, rewards and expectations) that, she said, “shape much of scholarly production in colleges of education.”
“We need our education systems to advance equality, propel our economy and sustain democracy,” Basile said. “To offer learners access to quality education throughout their lives. To equip learners for the next workforce and prepare people to carry out the functions of citizenship. These challenges don’t respect lanes or siloes.”
The Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation includes two academic divisions: the Division for Advancing Educator Preparation and the Division for Advancing Education Policy, Practice, and Leadership.
The Division for Advancing Educator Preparation includes bachelor’s and master’s programs that prepare individual educators to work in schools and other learning environments.
The Division for Advancing Education, Policy, Practice and Leadership includes bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees that focus on educational leadership, learning design, policy and other topics. The programs in the division prepare graduates to grow into roles that require leadership in thought and action, serving learners in schools, youth-serving organizations and other learning environments.
“Our college is built so that our degree programs, our research activity and our action-oriented centers and initiatives are mutually reinforcing,” Basile said. “Teaching and learning innovation happens when those three strands of our college bring people and ideas together in schools and other learning environments to address the most pressing questions about education and education systems.”
The college’s mission — “creating knowledge, mobilizing people and taking action to improve education” — is seen in several of its programs, including:
- The Next Education Workforce initiative, which works with school systems to design and implement strategic staffing models that empower educators to work in teams to deliver better outcomes and experiences. Currently, 143 schools in 43 school systems across the country are using the model.
- The Center for Whole-Child Education, which integrates the science of learning into the college’s degree programs and professional learning courses delivered through the ASU Professional Educator Learning Hub. It also offers tools and resources for educators, as well as technical assistance to help schools integrate the science of learning into their pedagogy.
- The Center on Reinventing Public Education, a national leader in nonpartisan policy research.
- The ASU Professional Educator Learning Hub, an online platform that leverages the human and intellectual resources of ASU to support professional educators in K–12 schools and other learning environments.
- The Community Educator Learning Hub, which offers interactive nano courses that break down teaching and learning strategies to help families, tutors, mentors and other community members help children learn.
- The Urban Collaborative, a national network of more than 100 school districts. These leaders are committed to increasing effective and inclusive special education services.
The new name will not affect current students' academic schedules or course content. Nor will the name change impact prospective students. The application and enrollment process will remain the same. Diplomas awarded in May 2025 will have the current name of Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.
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