2021: Our Year in Review

Despite ongoing challenges, the NC State College of Education had another extraordinary year in 2021. Our faculty and staff won local and national awards while setting a new record for grants awarded. Meanwhile students set records for enrollment and benefitted from new scholarship efforts, and our alumni were recognized for their impact on in the field of education. Explore how we advance the greater good and browse some of our biggest stories in 2021.

1. We supported more students than ever before thanks to donors and partners.

The College of Education set a fundraising record in 2021, providing even more support for students who need it most. This funding will allow us to prepare educators for regions with greater needs and fewer resources and support students who demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

NC State College of Education Sets Fundraising Record in FY2021 
With $7.25M Charitable Grant from Anonymous Trust, NC State’s College of Education to Launch Transformational Scholarships Program to Prepare 100 Teachers for Eastern NC 
It Still Takes a Village: New Scholarship Helps Prepare More Diverse Educators 
Elementary Education Student Taylor Rowland ‘22 is First Recipient of Scholarship Honoring Teaching Professor Valerie Faulkner 
Mini-Grants Crowdfunding Campaign Raises Over $14,000 for Student Teachers to Equip Their Classrooms 

2. Our faculty and staff received local and national honors for their exemplary work and service.

College of Education faculty and staff were recognized for their excellence in teaching, their impact on research and policy and their service to others through numerous awards in 2021.

Professor Hollylynne S. Lee Selected as Finalist for Baylor’s Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching 
Professor Joy Gaston Gayles Discusses New Role as ASHE President 
Associate Professor Anna Egalite Ranked Among Education Week’s Top 200 Scholars Who had the Biggest Influence on Educational Practice and Policy 
Professor, Department Head Jessica DeCuir-Gunby Named American Psychological Association Fellow 
Professor of the Practice Ken Ender Receives American Association of Community Colleges’ 2021 Leadership Award 
Professor Kevin Oliver selected as 1 of 3 2022 UNC Faculty Fellows 
Assistant Professor Erin Krupa Selected as Recipient of NC State’s Inaugural Goodnight Early Career Innovators Award 
METRC Assistant Director Laura B. Fogle Receives NC State’s Award for Excellence for Outstanding Service 
Professor Paola Sztajn Awarded NC State’s 2021 Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award, Inducted into Research Leadership Academy 
Lance Fusarelli and Hollylynne Lee Named Professors of Distinction 
Associate Teaching Professor Angie Smith Receives NC State’s 2020-21 Outstanding Teacher Award 

3. Our college continued to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

Through research, outreach and events in 2021, faculty, students and staff in the College of Education continued to build diverse, equitable and inclusive schools, colleges and communities.

NC State College of Education Holds 2nd Annual Leadership Institute for Future Teachers (LIFT) for Rising High School Seniors of Color and Bilingual Students 
Assistant Professor Jonee Wilson Will Support Teachers to Bring Equitable Mathematics Instruction into Classrooms Through National Science Foundation Grant 
Belk Center’s Trailblazers Project Highlights Stories, Achievements of Community College Leaders of Color 
‘I Want to Hold Our Feet to the Fire Around Justice:’ Gloria Ladson-Billings Discusses Education After COVID, Civil Unrest During Don C. Locke Multiculturalism and Social Justice Symposium 
2nd Annual NC Conference for Educational Equity Inspires Hope, Opportunity and Liberation for Educators, Students 
Best-selling Authors Tracy Deonn, Kwame Mbalia Celebrate Magic of Black Characters at Young Adult Colloquium 

4. Publications ranked our college and programs among the best in the nation and world.

The College of Education was once again recognized among the best colleges of education in the nation and world in 2021. For the second year in a row, U.S. News ranked the college in the Top 40. Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings ranked NC State among the Top 100 universities for education degrees in the world.

Times Higher Education Ranks NC State Among Top 100 Universities in the World for Education Degrees 
U.S. News Ranks NC State College of Education #37 in Nation, 4 Programs in Specialty Categories 
College of Education Invited to Join Educator Preparation Laboratory (EdPrepLab) Initiative to Strengthen Educator Preparation Across the U.S. 

5. We leveraged grant-funded research projects to drive educational change and address pressing educational problems. 

Faculty continued to transform the practice of teaching, learning and leading, and increase diversity, equity and access in education through their research efforts in 2021. With more than 70 new grants awarded, their work is improving scientific literacy, connecting families to resources, developing extraordinary teachers and school leaders, and preparing adults for workforce demands.

With $17.3M in Funding Awarded for 73 Grants, College of Education Faculty Set Record For Number of Grants Awarded in a Single Year in 2020-21 
$4.5 Million Grant Will Help College of Education’s Innovative, Award-winning Principal Preparation Program Prepare More School Leaders 
Assistant Professor K.C. Busch to Use $1.1 Million NSF CAREER Grant to Develop Model and Metrics for Community Level Scientific Literacy 
Study Finds Principals Have Significant, Broad Impacts on Student Outcomes 
Assistant Professor Jamie Pearson Will Use IES Early Career Grant To Help Connect Black Children, Families To Autism Services and Supports 
AI Academy Partners with Disney, Diveplane, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Honeywell, Lexmark and Northrop Grumman to Grow Artificial Intelligence Expertise 
Behind the Scenes of North Carolina’s At-Home Learning Initiative 

6. We welcomed new faculty and administrators, including an interim dean.

In 2021, the College of Education welcomed Paola Sztajn as interim dean as former Dean Mary Ann Danowitz stepped down to rejoin the faculty. In addition, we welcomed several new faculty members who will help drive the college’s mission for educational change.

Paola Sztajn Assumes Interim Deanship Oct. 5; Getting to Know Her 
Karen Hollebrands Named College of Education’s Associate Dean for Research and Innovation 
College of Education Welcomes Five New Faculty Members in 2021 
After Leading College of Education with ‘Extraordinary Service and Impact,’ Dean Mary Ann Danowitz Returns to Faculty Oct. 4 

7. We are preparing even more extraordinary educators who have built a reputation as North Carolina’s best educators.

The College of Education welcomed it’s most students in a decade during the start of the 2021-22 academic year this fall. We also graduated 539 new alumni, who will impact education through their teaching and research.

College of Education Opens 2021-2022 Academic Year with an Expected 1,942 Students, Its Most in a Decade 
Valerie Bridges ‘02MSA, ‘10EDD Named NC State College of Education’s 2021 Distinguished Alumna 
Football Hall of Fame Honors Wolfpack’s Bill Cowher ’79 
ThankAnEducator: Your Stories About the Educators Who Made a Difference in Your Life 
More Than 500 Students Graduate from College of Education