General News

Smith chosen as president-elect of NCACTE

Director of Assessment & Accreditation Brad Smith, Ed.D. ’19, has been selected as the president-elect of the North Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. His three-year term as president-elect will prepare him for a subsequent three-year term as president, where he will lead the organization as the lead advocacy group for policy issues regarding […]

A Life of Purpose: Thai Ray Williams, Ph.D. ’25

Thai Ray Williams is not your typical graduate. A 32-year classroom teacher, Williams felt called to do more for her exceptional education students after taking part in Charlotte research. Now, she’s graduating with her own Ph.D. in Special Education and is turning over a new leaf as faculty at Utah State University, where she will […]

‘Create Something Special’: DeJané Cade ‘26, CTEC ‘25

It takes a special kind of person to turn an interview around on the interviewer, especially when that person is only 19 years old, but by the end of our time together, DeJané Cade was the one doing the interviewing! Watching her move throughout campus, she turned every new person she met into a networking […]

Telra Institute breaks ground on new campus with Cato faculty on Board

Charter school Telra Institute, opened in 2022, will welcome high schoolers for the first time this fall, at a new location right next door to Central Piedmont Community College’s Levine Campus. This will allow students to have what Telra is calling a “tightly integrated dual enrollment experience.” Their aim is that all students completing high […]

Cato College’s Sejal Foxx honored with de Silva Graduate Mentor Award

Sejal Parikh Foxx ’08 Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Counseling in the Cato College of Education, is one of this year’s recipients of the Harshini V. de Silva Graduate Mentor Award.  Considered a cornerstone of mentorship in the Ph.D. Program in Counselor Education and Supervision, Foxx was honored for supporting students both […]

Cato College holds strong in U.S. News and World Report rankings, ranked in new specialty area

U.S. News & World Report released its 2025 Best Graduate Schools rankings this morning, and Cato College has held steady to tie for No. 73 in 2025. Our college is also third in the state of North Carolina, still behind NC State University and UNC – Chapel Hill (both tied at No. 27). Overall, UNC […]

Cartwright tapped to advise on new PBS show aimed at literacy education

Spangler Distinguished Professor of Early Child Literacy Dr. Kelly Cartwright serves as Lead Curriculum Advisor on PBS KIDS’ Phoebe & Jay, a new animated series for children ages 3-5 designed to support early literacy skills for preschoolers. “To work on a PBS KIDS series is a dream come true. It’s full circle, really – I […]

Ricciutti awarded by IAAOC

Each year, the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselors, a division of the American Counseling Association, acknowledges a counselor educator who demonstrates excellence in teaching in the fields of addictions or justice-involved counseling. Assistant Professor of Counseling Natalie Ricciutti was selected for the Educator Excellence Award for her commitment to rigorous pedagogy and the […]

Lo and Nichols

Mentor and mentee recognized for work in emotional and behavioral health

Dr. Ya-yu Lo, faculty in Special Education and Child Development, and Morgan Nichols, her doctoral advisee, have both been recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) for their work in the field of emotional and behavioral health. Lo received the North Carolina CEC Distinguished Service Award for the Division of Emotional and Behavioral Health […]

Binns named to inaugural class of Sound Science Fellows

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) recently announced its inaugural class of Sound Science Fellows, a cohort of scholars and researchers dedicated to “addressing the ongoing challenges faced by teachers as they navigate issues such as scientific misinformation, evolving educational standards, and societal resistance to critical scientific topics.” Among the seven in this groundbreaking […]