Skip to header Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Join Us for a Retirement Celebration!

Brian Brinkley, Kathy Fox, and Tracy Hargrove
Brian Brinkley, Kathy Fox, and Tracy Hargrove
Photo: Krysti Adams/UNCW

Faculty, staff, students and colleagues across campus are invited to join the Watson College of Education as we celebrate the retirement of esteemed colleagues Tracy Hargrove, Kathy Fox and Brian Brinkley.

  • Wednesday, November 13
  • 4:30 – 6 p.m.
  • Watson College of Education, EB 162

Tracy Hargrove is a professor of elementary mathematics education. A two-time UNCW alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in music, a master’s in elementary education, and a Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill, she was an elementary school teacher in Buncombe and New Hanover Counties for several years before joining the faculty at UNCW in 2000. Dr. Hargrove served as chair of the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle, Literacy and Special Education at UNCW’s Watson College of Education from 2011 to 2014.

Kathy Fox is a professor in the Elementary, M.A.T. and Language & Literacy programs at the Watson College. A North Carolina native, and she received her undergraduate degree from UNCG.  She began her teaching career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho, Southern Africa. She went on to teach in Head Start preschool, kindergarten and first grade bilingual classrooms, and community college settings in California for 19 years. She received her Ph D from University of California, Santa Barbara with an emphasis on Cross Cultural Contexts. Dr. Fox joined the faculty at UNCW in 2003, and served as Chair of WCE’s Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle, Literacy and Special Education from 2014 through 2018. Her scholarship has focused on family literacy and teacher education.

Brian Brinkley is director of the Betty Holden Stike Education Lab at the Watson College. He is a former Teaching Fellow who earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from UNCW in 1993, followed by an M.Ed. in curriculum & instructional supervision from UNCW in 1999 and a Ph.D. from NC State. Dr. Brinkley began his career as a kindergarten teacher at Kenansville Elementary School, and taught in grades K-5 before joining the Watson College as director of the Ed Lab in 2007.

Tracy, Kathy and Brian are all passionate educators who have impacted the lives of thousands of students, future teachers, and colleagues through their courses, professional development sessions, service and mentorship. Join us as we celebrate their extraordinary careers and many contributions to UNCW!


top