Don C. Locke Symposium

2023 Invited Speaker: Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, the Dean and Distinguished Professor of Education at American University's School of Education

The 5th Annual Don C. Locke Multicultural and Social Justice Symposium: An Evening with Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy will be held on Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

Event Details

What: An Evening with Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy
Details: The evening will include a talk from Dr. Holcomb-McCoy and a reception.
Date: Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Time: 4:30-6 p.m.
Where: Wachovia Innovation Hall, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation
Registration: Register to attend here.

About Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy

Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy believes in the revolutionary power of school counseling. An American Counseling Association (ACA) Fellow with 30 years of experience as a former kindergarten teacher, elementary school counselor, family therapist, and most recently university professor and administrator, she has a wealth of knowledge, expertise and wisdom. She is currently the Dean of the School of Education and a Distinguished Professor at American University, and the author of the best-selling book “School Counseling to Close Opportunity Gaps: A Social Justice and Antiracist Framework for Success.”

Meet Cheryl

About the Don C. Locke Symposium

The NC State College of Education started the Don C. Locke Multicultural and Social Justice Symposium in 2018 to honor Don C. Locke, a longtime professor of counselor education at NC State. Locke also worked as director of diversity and multiculturalism at the University of North Carolina at Asheville until retiring in 2007. He passed away after a brief illness in 2016. He dedicated his professional life to the advancement of counseling and equity.

2022: David Stovall on How To be ‘Unflinching’ As Educators

David Stovall, a professor in the departments of Black Studies and Criminology, Law & Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago, reminded educators to be unflinching in their work.
During his hour-long talk, Stovall discussed his experiences working as a social studies teacher in K-12 schools and as an educator working in the prison system and encouraged educators to always have the courage to ask hard questions, even in the face of challenges.

Gloria Ladson-Billings delivered the keynote address at the NC State College of Education's Don C. Locke Symposium on March 24, 2021

2021: Gloria Ladson-Billings on ‘Holding Our Feet to the Fire Around Justice’

As a former social studies educator, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Ph.D., National Academy of Education president and former Kellner Family Distinguished Professor of Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, regularly carries around a copy of the U.S. Constitution in her backpack. While many educational institutions are focused on issues of equity, Ladson-Billings said the more important term is one that is written into that Constitution as a fundamental right for all: justice.

2019: James L. Moore III on Helping African American Male Students to Achieve

African American male K-12 students are underrepresented in advanced academic courses and in gifted and talented programs, including in predominantly black school districts and even when there are black teachers of those courses, said James L. Moore III, the vice provost for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at The Ohio State University. A reason why: teachers’ perceptions and expectations.

2018: Courtland Lee on How to Stay Sane During Insane Times

Courtland Lee, a professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Washington, D.C., talked about “Promoting Sanity in Insane Time” at the inaugural Don C. Locke Multiculturalism and Social Justice Symposium. “We are all basically dealing with collective and environmentally social trauma,” Lee said. “So as a mental health professionals, it makes me think about what we can do. It’s our job to help people deal with trauma.”