Ellen Moir
Executive Director
New Teacher Center, University Of California, Santa Cruz

As the founder and executive director of the New Teacher Center (NTC) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Ellen Moir is recognized nationally for her knowledge and expertise in teacher preparation, induction and support. Moir's pioneering work locally in Santa Cruz, CA led several regional funders to approach her in 1998 to found the NTC as a state and national resource for high quality teacher induction programs. Moir leveraged this funding to attract further support from twenty private and government organizations, raising more that $20 million in external support.

Over the last seven years, NTC's staff has grown from five to 65 educators and researchers who study, develop, and administer new teacher and new administrator support programs. NTC staff consults with organizations, educational leaders and policy makers throughout the United States and abroad on issues related to new educator professional development. NTC hosts an Annual Symposium on Teacher Induction, which last year attracted 950 attendees from forty states. Among current NTC initiatives are the training of 350 mentors serving 6,000 first-year teachers in New York City Schools and a large mentor training initiative in the District of Columbia.

Moir began her distinguished career as a bilingual teacher in Santa Paula, California in 1972. In 1978, she became supervisor of teacher education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a lecturer in the education department. Moir coordinated and later directed the UC Santa Cruz teacher education program for fifteen years.

Seeing how her former student teachers struggled as they entered the profession, Moir launched the Santa Cruz New Teacher Project (SCNTP) in 1988, an innovative new teacher support program that she has directed since its inception. Moir understood that new teachers both need and deserve the support of exemplary veteran teachers who are trained to be mentors. Two studies of the SCNTP show retention rates of 88% after six years, compared with a national rate of 56 percent.

She has a B.A. from California State Northridge and an M.A. from San Jose State.

In California, Moir has been a longtime advisor to the state's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BSTA) programs. She recently addressed issues of new teacher support at the conferences of the National Governor's Association, National Board for Professional Teacher Standards, American Educational Research Association and National Staff Development Council. In 2005-06 she will be visiting Scotland to advise the Scottish Ministry of Education.

Moir has co-authored several books, book chapters, monographs and journal articles. She also has produced video documentaries on teacher induction and bilingual education.

In 2003, she received the California Council on Teacher Education Distinguished Teacher Educator Award.