Danowitz, Maher to Serve on Statewide Education Commissions

RALEIGH — Mary Ann Danowitz, dean of the NC State College of Education, will chair the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission.

The commission will decide which five colleges will be part of the N.C.Teaching Fellows program that will return during the 2018-19 academic year. The commission will also determine the criteria for students selected to participate in the program, which will provide forgivable loans to new teachers who teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as special education.

Danowitz is one of 14 individuals serving on the commission who were appointed by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and N.C. General Assembly.

Other members follow:

• Melba Spooner, Dean, Appalachian State University
• Barbara Parker, President, Haywood Community College
• Ebonie Brownlee, Teacher, Onslow County Schools
• Mary Webb, Principal, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
• Thomas Luckadoo, Catawba County Board of Education
• Lawrence Somers, Duke Energy Corporation
• Mariann Tillery, Dean of High Point University’s Stout School of Education
• Jennifer Olson, Education Department Head, Meredith College
• The North Carolina Teacher of the Year
• The North Carolina Principal of the Year
• The North Carolina Superintendent of the Year
• The chair of the board of the State Education Assistance Authority
• The director of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program

In another appointment, Michael Maher ’02 MED,’04 PHD, assistant dean of professional education and accreditation at the NC State College of Education, has been named vice chair of the N.C. Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission. The commission, formed by the N.C. General Assembly, will make recommendations to the State Board of Education about issues related to teacher preparation, licensure, continuing education and standards of conduct.

Maher joined the NC State College of Education as the director of professional education in 2007 and became the assistant dean for professional education and accreditation in 2012. He previously was an assistant professor at Saint Augustine’s College and taught science at Sanderson High School in Raleigh and Glenn High School in Kernersville. He completed both his Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction and Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction at NC State.

The other 15 members of the N.C. Educator Preparation and Standards Commission follow:

• Patrick Miller, Superintendent, Greene County Schools
• Meaghan Loftus, Principal, Ashley Park PreK-8 School in Charlotte
• Ellen McIntyre, Dean, UNC-Charlotte’s Cato College of Education
• Hank Weddington, Dean, Lenoir-Rhyne University’s College of Education and Human Services
• Anthony Graham , Dean, N.C. A&T State University’s College of Education
• Lauren Genesky, English teacher, Millbrook High School in Raleigh
• Glenda Jones, Assistant Superintendent, Cabarrus County Schools

• Aaron Fleming, Superintendent, Harnett County Schools
• Joseph Childers, Principal, Simon G. Atkins Academic and Technology High School in Winston-Salem
• Van Dempsey III, Dean, UNC-Wilmington’s Watson College of Education
• Ann Bullock, Dean, Elon University’s School of Education
• Connie Locklear, Director, Indian Education Resource Center in the Public Schools of Robeson County
• Robin Hiatt, Teaching and Learning Coach, Johnston County Schools
• Westley Wood, Executive Director of Personnel and Human Resources, Wilkes County Schools
• Samuel Houston Jr., President and CEO of the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center