Watson Chronicle

WATSON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Watson College News

“Appreciating Teachers for a Lifetime”

Each year, during the first week of May people across the country honor teachers and celebrate the impact they have on thousands of students’ lives. This year, Watson College Dean Van Dempsey shared a personal message with WCE’s PDS partnership teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, “Appreciating Teachers for a Lifetime.” more...

UNCW 3C Hosts Conference on Diversity, Equity and inclusion

Eighty higher education leaders from across the state gathered for the second annual UNCW/3C Challenging the Paradigm conference held May 13-14. Thomas Stith III, president of the NC Community College System and Kandi Deitemeyer, president of the Community College Presidents’ Association were featured presenters at the virtual event, which also included panel discussions on the topics of diversity, equity and inclusion. Denise Henning and Marilyn Sheerer coordinated the conference. more...

D.C. Virgo, UNCW and Wrightsville Beach Named U.S. Department of Ed Green Ribbon Schools

In April, D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy was recognized as a 2021 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School for their innovative efforts to reduce environmental impact and utility costs, improve health and wellness, and provide effective sustainability education. UNCW and Wrightsville Beach Elementary, a community partner, also are among 40 U.S. schools, districts, and postsecondary institutions recognized this year. more...

WCE Welcomes Principal Baruti Kafele for Conversations on “The Equity Mindset”

The Watson College was pleased to welcome school leadership expert Principal Baruti Kafele for a virtual speaker event titled “Critical Questions for becoming an effective Equity Mindset Teacher” on April 27. Principal Kafele was also an invited presenter at meetings with WCE partnership teachers and interns, aspiring assistant principals and principals, and the staff at D.C. Virgo. WCE’s Office of Teacher Education and Outreach coordinated the speaker events. more...

UNCW Partners with Community Colleges on CCURE Research Initiative

A partnership between UNCW and Cape Fear, Craven and Lenoir Community Colleges provided unique research opportunities this spring for undergraduate students planning to transfer to a 4-year institution. Twenty-two students participated in the Community College Undergraduate Research Experience (CCURE) pilot. James DeVita, Denise Henning and Kristi Wiley coordinated the program, which culminated in a virtual student research showcase and celebration on May 5. more...

Keryn Vickers Named WCE Director of Student Advising

Keryn Vickers ’21Ed.D joined the Watson College of Education Office of Student Advising and Integrated Leadership in May as the Inaugural Director of Student Advising. He comes to Watson from UNCW’s University College where he has served as an academic advisor since 2012 and Interim Director since 2019. more...

Emilee Higdon Named North Carolina Beginning Teacher of the Year

Emilee Curtis Higdon ’18, a high school English teacher at Union Academy in Macon County Schools, has been named the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) 2021 Prudential NC Beginning Teacher of the Year. The award was presented in a special ceremony on the campus of Western Carolina University on April 15. more...

Watson College Graduates Honored as NHCS Educators of the Year

Abbey Nobles '14 was named New Hanover County Schools’ 2021-22 Overall Educator of the Year on May 21. Nobles is an English teacher at New Hanover High School. Other 2021-22 honorees are Edith Skipper ’93, ’00M, ’07M, ’13 Ed.D., Principal of the Year, Courtney Malahias ’88, Elementary Educator of the Year and Shannon Mitchell, Middle School Educator of the Year. more...

Susan Miller-Hendrix Selected for Kenan Fellowship with STEM SENC

Susan Miller-Hendrix, an educator with the Public Schools of Robeson County, has been named a 2021–22 Kenan Fellow. She will intern this summer with STEM SENC director Heddy Clark on the Diversity and Equity Asset Mapping Project, designed to help align educational and occupational objectives through regional workforce and community partnerships. more...

M.J. Giammaria Featured in Friends of UNCW Video

The Watson College is pleased to share a new Friends of UNCW video featuring M.J. Giammaria, administrative associate in WCE’s Education Lab. Since 2018, she has received Friends of UNCW grants to support a kitchen classroom kit to enhance students’ Ed Lab tutoring experience. The video was first shown at the Friends Grant Award Ceremony on May 19. more...

Watson College Recognitions

Daisyane Barreto is the 2021 WCE recipient of the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award. Carol McNulty is interim Provost for Undergraduate Education and Faculty Affairs, Donyell Roseboro was featured in WILMA, and Patrick Kistler has joined the MarineQuest team. Watson College is pleased to share these stories and other news. more...

Cindy Wiseman Receives Robert E. Tyndall Service Award

Cindy Wiseman, director of the Office of Professional Experiences in the Watson College of Education, is the 2020 recipient of the Robert E. Tyndall Service Award. The award is presented every two years to a non-tenure-track WCE employee in recognition of dedication to teaching, commitment to the college, ability to work well with all constituents and the capacity to lead his or her area in a new direction. more...

WCE Faculty to Participate in National Autism Research Study

Amy Moody, Sharon Richter and James Stocker are part of an accelerated research team that will conduct interventions for children with Autism. The Special Education Research Accelerator, initiated by the University of Virginia, brings together top researchers from across the country to conduct high-quality, large-scale studies to address critical questions in the field of special education. more...

ARRC Receives Grant to Develop Rural-Serving Definition

The Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges (ARRC), a collaboration between leading higher education scholars at four universities has received a $428,000 grant from Ascendium Education Group to develop an evidence-based definition and accompanying list of public and private rural-serving institutions. UNCW’s Kevin McClure, a co-director of AARC is named on the grant, led by Appalachian State University. more...

WCE Faculty Introduce Mobile App, Coastal Eco Explorer

Dennis Kubasko and Amy Taylor have partnered with CAS professor Lucas Layman to develop Coastal Eco Explorer, an interactive mobile app for the exploration of coastal NC wildlife at Carolina Beach State Park and Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. The unique educational tool guides hikers through the park’s 13 native ecosystems, and is available free to park visitors, teachers and the public. Supplemental resources, lesson plans, trail videos and ranger-guided tours of featured ecosystems are also accessible on the website. more...

Edelmira Segovia Honored with Distinguished Alumni Award, Selected for Endowment Board

Edelmira Segovia, ’98, ’12Ed.D. is the first recipient of the UNCW Alumni Association’s Distinguished Diversity Award. She has also been selected to serve on the New Hanover Community Endowment board, responsible for overseeing $1.25 billion from proceeds of the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health. Segovia is director of Centro Hispano in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at UNCW. more...

Angelia Reid-Griffin Featured in UNCW Video

The Watson College is pleased to share a new Seahawk Stories video featuring Angelia Reid-Griffin. Reid-Griffin is a professor of secondary science at the Watson College and coordinator of UNCW’s Junior Seahawk Academy. The video was first shown on WWAY on March 4. more...

Symphony Oxendine is Featured in We Are UNCW

The Watson College is pleased to share a We Are UNCW profile featuring Symphony Oxendine. Oxendine is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, and coordinator of WCE’s Ed.D. program with a concentration in higher education leadership. more...

“JUST US” Program Connects Arts and Resiliency

UNCW has partnered with local school and community groups on a pilot program that uses art integration to help students develop resiliency skills. “JUST US” was recently offered to seventh graders in several local middle schools, including D.C. Virgo. WCE professor Janna Robertson and two WCE students developed the program curriculum. The pilot culminated in an exhibit that will be on display at the Cameron Art Museum through April 18. more...

WCE Alumna Abbey Emerson Named NHCS “Rookie of the Year”

Abbey Emerson ’19 has been named New Hanover County Schools’ 2020-21 “Rookie of the Year.” Emerson earned a degree in elementary education from the Watson College. She currently teaches first grade at Carolina Beach Elementary School. The award was presented in February. more...

Jasmine Gaston is Featured in UNCW Magazine

Jasmine Gaston '19M, former director of UNCW’s youth engineering programs, is now an aerospace engineer in NASA’s Propulsion Systems Division. She was featured in a story in the Winter 2021 edition of UNCW Magazine: Actually, It IS Rocket Science. more...

Watson College Recognitions

Wilson Okello gave the opening address at Westminster College’s Diversity Week 2021 in March. Frances Carter has been selected for the 2021 Leadership Institute sponsored by WILMA magazine. Sabrina Hill-Black and Sue Kezios were nominated for the YWCA’s annual Women of Achievement Awards. The Watson College is pleased to share these stories and other news. more...