News & Updates

Bertha Maxwell-Roddey, Ph.D., founding director of the University’s Africana Studies Department, died March 21 at the age of 93. Maxwell-Roddey joined UNC Charlotte’s College of Human Development (now Cato College of Education) in 1970. The educational pioneer was among the first Black principals to lead a white elementary school in Charlotte. The next year, she […]

Jeff Cox, a lifelong champion of North Carolina public education, became the 11th president of the North Carolina Community College System in June 2023. Previously, he was president of Wilkes Community College, superintendent of Alleghany County Schools, assistant superintendent for Lee County Schools and principal of Benton Heights Year-Round School in Union County. In 2017, […]

Cato College of Education Professor Mark D’Amico is continuing his national leadership in improving the community college-to-university transition following a student transfer summit hosted by the U.S. Department of Education. The summit, a pivotal component of the “Raise the Bar: Attaining College Excellence and Equity” initiative, convened 200 higher education leaders at Northern Virginia Community […]

The Cato College of Education has named Dr. Kelly B. Cartwright the Spangler Distinguished Professor of Early Child Literacy.  The first to hold the position, Cartwright previously served as Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Teacher Preparation at Christopher Newport University in Virginia, and directed the Reading, Executive Function, And Development Lab (READLab), while contrbuting to […]

UNC Charlotte counseling professor Clare Merlin-Knoblich has been named Counselor Educator of the Year by the North Carolina School Counselor Association (NCSCA). The award recognizes Merlin-Knoblich’s outstanding contributions to the field of school counseling. She joins UNC Charlotte counseling Professors Sejal Foxx and Taryne Mingo, who earned the award in 2015 and 2020, respectively, in […]

On Thursday, Jan. 18, from 5 to 6 p.m., UNC Charlotte will welcome distinguished Charlotte architect, civil rights leader and public servant Harvey B. Gantt as its featured guest for Niner Nation King Week’s signature event.  During “An Evening with Harvey Gantt, Civil Rights Leader and Charlotte’s First Black Mayor,” Gantt will discuss in a […]

by: Tradesha Woodard, WCNC A good education can change anyone, but a good teacher can change everything. “I think each one of us can attest to the idea that if you have had high-quality teachers in your schooling, that it leads to more value as a citizen in the future,” Dean of the Cato College of […]

When Stephanie Ijames’ son Campbell left Cox Mill Elementary for the bright lights of middle school, Stephanie stuck around. She had been a plugged-in parent at Campbell and her daughter Columbia’s schools in Cabarrus County, and was offered a teacher’s assistant position at Cox Mill around the time of Campbell’s graduation. Ijames was a member […]

“Everything fit together. I decided that day to apply and felt like all of the pieces of my life led to that moment. I wanted to combine my passion for learning about the world around me with teaching others to see it too,” graduating Cato College of Education master’s student and first-year social studies teacher […]

Bethany Mavromatis slowed in the hallway of Niner University Elementary (NUE) to compose herself, closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and wiped the tears away. She crossed the threshold of her assigned classroom as a buzzing group waited. She took a seat and opened “The Last Stop on Market Street.” “CJ pushed through the church doors, […]

Zakia Williams began her time at UNC Charlotte as a transfer student grappling with changing her major. In a pivotal session, her academic advisor asked Williams what she was passionate about and wanted from a future career. Her answers helped guide her decision to pursue a dual major in elementary and special education, a signature […]

The Omicron Pi Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) continued its winning streak with a trio of awards at the 55th Kappa Delta Pi Convocation in November 2023 in St. Louis, Missouri. Omicron Pi Chapter received its 6th Achieving Chapter Excellence Award (ACE) Award from Kappa Delta Pi for its outstanding programming in support of […]

Three graduates of the Charlotte Teacher Early College (CTEC) are continuing their journey to becoming educators with the help of scholarships from the Barnhill Foundation. The Barnhill Foundation provided $90,000 in scholarship funds, with each student eligible for up to $30,000 to be used over a maximum of three years to attend the Cato College […]

Cato, 100, received an honorary doctorate in 2002 and was a longtime advocate for education.  For his dedication to the University, UNC Charlotte remembers Charlotte business leader and philanthropist Wayland H. Cato Jr., who passed away on Saturday, Nov. 4,  Personally and professionally, Cato endowed a number of scholarship programs at the University, including the […]

Community mental health and school safety were in focus at the Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City this month as Cato College of Education Dean Malcolm Butler and other leaders met with U.S. Senator Thom Tillis to discuss implementing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). Butler joined Tillis, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools […]

by: Ann Doss Helms, Brianna Atkinson For years, North Carolina’s quest to improve reading skills focused on the kids who were falling behind. In 2021, attention shifted to the teachers who couldn’t increase reading proficiency, with the General Assembly providing more than $90 million to retrain elementary school teachers. But what about the schools that […]

UNC Charlotte counseling professor Dania Fakhro remembers her neighbors in Syria wearing the keys to the homes they had been forced to flee around their necks. They were people displaced by conflict with roots common to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that today leaves buildings in rubble and thousands dead. Born and raised in Syria, Fakhro […]

by: Ann Doss Helms, WFAE Renaissance West STEAM Academy opened in west Charlotte in 2017 with high hopes and massive community support. It’s the centerpiece of a project that replaced the dilapidated Boulevard Homes public housing project, surrounded by subsidized housing, child care, a senior center and other support systems. But until Dwight Thompson took […]