WCE Honors Tracy Hargrove, Kathy Fox and Brian Brinkley
Photo: Krysti Adams/UNCW
On November 13, faculty, staff, students and colleagues across campus gathered at the Watson College of Education to celebrate the retirement of Drs. Tracy Hargrove, Kathy Fox and Brian Brinkley.
At an event full of laughter and tears, Watson College Dean Tracy Linderholm, WCE Department Chair Heidi Higgins and Interim Associate Dean Candace Thompson acknowledged Tracy, Kathy and Brian’s many contributions to UNCW and wished them well.
Dr. Higgins referenced J. Ruth Gendler’s The Book of Qualities, saying she was drawn to the descriptions of Clarity (Brian), Wisdom (Kathy) and Harmony (Tracy) when thinking about how to acknowledge their extraordinary careers.
“Each of you has touched the lives of those who had the privilege to work with you, learn from you, and follow in your footsteps,” Higgins said. “You’ve been more than colleagues; you’ve been mentors in the truest sense, guiding others with wisdom, patience and unwavering support. As mentors, you’ve shaped careers, instilled confidence and inspired purpose in others. Your impact will be felt for years to come. Your legacy is a gift and we are forever grateful.”
Dr. Thompson thanked Drs. Fox and Hargrove for their strong leadership, and spoke at more length about Dr. Brinkley, a director in the Office of EPLS that she oversees. Calling him a “good, good man,” she said, “Brian is honest, forthright, loud, silly, the annoying brother you want to chase away and can’t get enough of… the keeper and teller of Watson’s many stories… who has lived and served with an enormous, unbridled, unapologetic love for all things students and teachers.”
As presentations came to an end, Andrea Perrone led the group in a singing flash mob performance of “So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye” from The Sound of Music.
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.
Please join all of us at the Watson College of Education in wishing Tracy, Kathy and Brian well as they each embark on a new chapter in their lives!
This article has the following tags: Watson College of Education Accomplishments