Education

Cato College faculty recognized throughout winter awards season

Cato College faculty are consistently at the top of their fields, whether in research, service, or support of students. We’re rounding up the awards our faculty have won in just the last few months, highlighting yet another amazing reason to become an EduNiner! Special Education and Child Development Michael Matthews NAGC 2025 Distinguished Scholar Award […]

Podcast as Accessible Scholarship: Kudlats Takes ‘Chalk and Gavel’ to SXSW EDU

In the world of academia, professor and podcaster may seem like mutually exclusive professions, but Jamie Kudlats would want you — and his fellow academics — to challenge that idea. Kudlats began his career as a middle school math teacher, progressed through administration and then pursued a Ph.D. in education after 15 years in schools. […]

Faulker (center) with her SPS colleagues

Taylor Faulkner ’19 honored with UNC Charlotte’s prestigious 10 Under Ten award

Taylor Faulkner ’19, a proud alumna of Cato College of Education, has been named one of UNC Charlotte’s 2025 10 Under Ten Award recipients. The annual celebration, held Thursday, Feb. 19, in the Popp Martin Student Union, recognizes ten exceptional graduates from the past decade who demonstrate professional excellence, leadership and a commitment to service. […]

Cato College Again Ranked No. 1 in NC in Online Graduate Education, Special Education

For the third year in a row, Cato College of Education at UNC Charlotte leads the state of North Carolina in online education graduate programs, according to U.S. News & World Report, tying for the No. 1 spot with NC State. Ranking No. 18 overall, Charlotte is tied with peers like NC State, UMass-Lowell, Auburn […]

Mebane Early Literacy Center to Screen New PBS Kids Show at Studio, Advised by Distinguished Faculty

A screening of the forthcoming PBS Kids show “Phoebe and Jay” will be co-hosted by the UNC Charlotte Mebane Early Literacy Center from 10 to 11:30 a.m., Saturday Feb. 14. The screening will take place in the PBS studio room of Charlotte’s PBS station, WTVI. The event will begin with an introduction by Kelly Cartwright, […]

‘Scholarship that Serves the Community’: Charlitta Hatch ’25 Ph.D. wins CMS school board seat with priorities driven by doctoral research

Academics often love to say that their research drives real change in the world, but sometimes it’s hard to prove that it does. Charlitta Hatch, however, has some pretty concrete proof. Earlier this year, she ran for Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board in District 1 and won, defeating several other candidates. She defended her dissertation in urban […]

‘I Wanted to Do More’: Seth Gillis ’25 M.A. shifts from teacher to counselor to fill need in his Charlotte community

Beyond the classroom, teachers carry invisible titles — counselor, social worker, therapist — because no one spends more time with students than they do. Seth Gillis experienced this for ten years as a classroom teacher and decided that if that was going to be asked of him, he’d better get the training for it. “I […]

‘A Natural from Day One’: Lindsay Blalock ’25 exemplifies Charlotte’s excellence in literacy education

“Remember your why” is a phrase teachers hear constantly. It’s supposed to be an encouragement, reminding educators to center the reason they’re in the profession, because no matter how hard it may get, that “why” is supposed to always get you through. For elementary education senior Lindsay Blalock, her “why” is baked into her DNA. […]

Sejal Foxx ’08 Ph.D. Receives 2025 Alumni Campus Employee Milestone Award

Sejal Foxx ’08 Ph.D. has been honored with the 2025 Milestone Award by the 49er Alumni Campus Employees (ACE) Network for her outstanding service to UNC Charlotte as an alumna and a faculty member. The ACE Milestone Award is an accolade reserved for alumni campus employees who have dedicated 10 or more years of service […]

Project TORCH Charlotte personnel (L to R): Kristin Davin, Scott Kissau, Debra Diegmann, and Alex Dornburg

Project Teaching Our Rich Cultural Heritage: UNC Charlotte awarded $1.5M grant to partner with Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for teacher licensure program

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has been awarded $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education to support Project Teaching Our Rich Cultural Heritage, a five-year collaboration with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, located in western North Carolina. The project will prepare highly qualified educators who are culturally […]