Cato College of Education

Monday, Aug. 28, was the first day of a new year for UNC Charlotte’s school — Niner University Elementary, and Charlotte 49ers student-athletes were on hand to welcome students.

Mary Lynn Calhoun, dean emerita of the Cato College of Education, died May 21.

During a 31-year tenure with UNC Charlotte, starting in 1982, Calhoun served as an assistant professor of special education before rising the ranks to be appointed dean of the College of Education in 1999.

From January to mid-December, Santa Claus traditionally fills his time preparing for the holiday season. Making gifts, checking lists and … earning a Ph.D.? Titus Hopper, career readiness coordinator for Cleveland County Schools, spends his days encouraging students to stay engaged with school. Lately, he has been spending his evenings taking classes as part of UNC Charlotte’s Educational Leadership doctoral program.

Adriana Medina, associate professor, reading and elementary education, is one of 17 outstanding faculty members to receive the 2023 Awards for Excellence in Teaching from the UNC Board of Governors.

In North Carolina, UNC Charlotte stands alone in training teachers in literacy instruction.

Brittany Anderson, a recent recipient of a CAREER National Science Foundation grant for her pioneering research on gifted Black girls in early STEM education. In her rise to national prominence, she has never forgotten the historical legacies of the places she came from.

Victor Mack, director of the Cato College of Education Office of Educational Outreach, received a 2022 Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Grant to establish the 100 Ways to Nutritional Literary program.

Mack, who partnered with Laurie Garo, senior lecturer emerita, geography and earth sciences, will work with the 100 Black Men of Greater Charlotte and the University’s Center for STEM Education Pre-college Program to implement the grant this fall.

The UNC Charlotte STEM Pre-College Program is accepting applications for fall 2022 from middle and high school students with an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

The program’s goal is to increase the numbers of underrepresented students who pursue STEM major and careers.

Charlotte’s undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program has been named among the best in the nation when it comes to ensuring future elementary teachers have the essential content knowledge and skills they need to teach mathematics.

New program will seek to transform principal preparation.