Sixteen Selected to Teach For America; DePauw Among USA's Top Contributors to Program
August 4, 2011
August 4, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — DePauw University is among the top contributors of individuals to Teach For America's 2011 teaching corps, with 15 May graduates and one 2008 alumna beginning their two-year TFA commitment this fall. DePauw ranks seventh among the nation's small colleges (enrollment of 2,999 or fewer undergraduates) for the number of graduates joining TFA this year.
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity. TFA recruits individuals from all academic majors and backgrounds who have demonstrated outstanding achievement, perseverance, and leadership.
Nearly 12 percent of DePauw's graduating seniors applied to Teach For America this year. Admission to Teach For America this year was even more selective than in previous years, with a record 48,000 individuals applying to join and an 11 percent acceptance rate. 
Throughout Teach For America's 20-year history, some 125 DePauw alumni have taught as corps members.
The sixteen DePauw University graduates who are joining the TFA corps this year include:
- Tyler Archer '11
- Julie Ardelean '11
- Luke Beasley '11
- Susanna Beien '11
- Abra Coleman '11
- Flora Gitsis '11
- Jillian Harbin '11
- Patrick Legendre '11
- Katie Rasmussen '08
The enormous number of highly qualified candidates this year allowed Teach For America to increase the size, strength, and diversity of the entering corps. Incoming corps 
members earned an average GPA of 3.6, and 100 percent have held leadership positions. Twenty-two percent are the first in their family to graduate from college, and nearly one-third received Pell Grants. More than one-third are people of color, including 12 percent who are African-American and 8 percent who are Hispanic.
This fall, 9,300 corps members will be teaching in 43 regions across the country, while nearly 24,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity.
Access a list of top Teach For America contributors here.
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