New Assistant Professor of Education helps shape first Education cohort
Ikeoluwapo Baruwa, Assistant Professor of Education, brings teaching and research experience from Nigeria and Canada to CMU’s new Bachelor of Education program.
As CMU welcomes the first students into its Bachelor of Education (BEd) program this fall, a new faculty member is helping shape what the program—and the educators who emerge from it—will become.
Ikeoluwapo Baruwa, Assistant Professor of Education, joined CMU in June, bringing teaching and research experience from both Nigeria and Canada.
"I think I bring a somewhat unusual combination of experiences to the program," Baruwa says.
His background spans educational foundations, philosophy of education, and research into intellectual and moral virtues in education.
Baruwa completed his PhD in Education at Queen's University in 2026, following a Master of Education and Bachelor of Education from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Before joining CMU, he taught in secondary schools in Nigeria and held teaching and research appointments at Queen's University and the University of Ibadan.
He has also been involved in educational leadership, scholarly publishing, labour advocacy, mentorship, and community-based initiatives in Canada and Nigeria.
"I have been shaped by educational and cultural experiences in Nigeria and Canada, and those experiences have continually made me think about what education means across different contexts," Baruwa says.
His research explores intellectual and moral virtues in education, with particular interest in African philosophy, virtue ethics, decolonial thought, and teacher formation. His work considers how education shapes not only what people know, but also the kind of people they become.
"I approach [teaching] with a sense of responsibility, but also with excitement," Baruwa says.
"As part of a new program, I am helping to establish a culture and asking what kind of educators we want the program to form."
For Baruwa, preparing teachers carries a responsibility comparable to preparing professionals in other fields entrusted with the well-being of others.
He compares teacher education to the preparation of medical professionals.
"We nurture them through theory, practice, mentorship, and experience because we know that they will eventually be entrusted with people's lives," Baruwa says.
"I think teacher education deserves that same seriousness."
"Teaching certainly requires skills, but I think something deeper is happening. We are forming people who will spend their professional lives forming other people. I hope our students develop habits of mind that go beyond grades and credentials."
As the first year of the BEd program gets underway, Baruwa is looking forward to learning alongside the students entering it.
"I want to see what they bring to the program and how they will challenge us as faculty," he says.
"We are building this program together."
Baruwa hopes CMU teacher candidates become educators who can connect theory and practice, reflect on their decisions, and recognize the responsibility involved in teaching others.
"Every classroom is filled with human beings, and no theory or instructional technique can simply be applied mechanically," he says. "I want our teacher candidates to become people who can think, reflect, make judgments, and act responsibly."
Learn more about the 16-month after-degree Education program at CMU here.