Center for Teaching and Learning Names New Board Members

The New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) named Morgridge Family Foundation Vice President Carrie Morgridge, Stevens Institute of Technology Associate Dean and Professor Dr. Victor Lawrence and Global Livingston Institute Executive Director Jamie Van Leeuwen to its board of trustees, providing the non-profit organization with critical expertise in education, philanthropy and engineering.

“Carrie, Victor and Jamie are all thought leaders in their respective fields and are ardent CTL supporters,” said CTL Chair of the Board Joyce Powell. “They bring a depth of knowledge and experience that will be invaluable to CTL’s breadth and mission,” she said.

As vice president of the Morgridge Family Foundation, Carrie Morgridge has emerged as a leading philanthropist in the education field. Aside from the foundation’s financial support, it’s also a leader in promoting the use of technology to improve education. A strong CTL supporter, the Morgridge Family Foundation recently supported creating online content for a “blended learning” version of CTL’s professional development program.

“I’ve seen firsthand the Center for Teaching and Learning’s considerable achievements, and supporting them is an important part of the Foundation’s work to promote innovation in the classroom,” Morgridge said.

“Carrie is a leader in education philanthropy and reform,” said CTL Executive Director Dr. Robert Goodman. “It’s a great honor to have her on our board.”

Lawrence, a well-regarded engineer and inventor, is Associate Dean and Batchelor Chair Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department of the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science at Stevens. Prior to joining Stevens, he had a 30-year career at Bell Laboratories where he contributed to research and development in signal processing and communications. He is the founding director of the Center for Intelligent Networked Systems (iNETs), which focuses on enhancing services of modern communications networks.

Lawrence is also noted for his efforts to improve Africa and has been a strong supporter of CTL’s efforts in The Gambia, playing a key role in introducing CTL to the World Bank.

Like Lawrence, Van Leeuwen has worked tirelessly to improve African communities as the founder and executive director of the Global Livingston Institute, a non-governmental organization in East Africa working to engage students and community leaders in developing innovative solutions to poverty.

Van Leeuwen, a long-time social justice advocate, also headed up “Denver’s Road Home,” the city’s 10-year plan to end homelessness. After only five years, the plan generated over $50 million in new resources for the homeless, developed over 2,000 new units of affordable housing, prevented over 3,500 families from becoming homeless, and resulted in a 70-percent decrease in chronic homelessness. It was recognized by HUD as one of the top six homeless programs in the country.

“CTL is beyond fortunate to have this kind of talent pool within its ranks. Carrie, Victor and Jamie will be critical advisers for us moving forward,” Goodman said.

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