March 2021

Mar 22, 2021

College of Education Mourns Loss of Lee Vernon Stiff ’78 PHD, Longtime Faculty Member and Leader

Lee Vernon Stiff ’78 PHD passed away Friday, March 19. He was a nationally-recognized expert and scholar on equity and mathematics education who served and led in NC State’s College of Education for 37 years, retiring in 2020 as professor emeritus of mathematics education and associate dean for faculty and academic affairs. 

Mar 22, 2021

Nash County Elementary School Principal of the Year Yolanda Wiggins ‘12MSA: ‘I Never Saw Myself as an Educator. Others Saw it in Me and Encouraged Me to Take My Love of Literacy into the Classroom to Inspire Students’

Yolanda Wiggins ‘12MSA worked as a news reporter in Halifax County for five years. During that time, she was encouraged by the Halifax County Schools’ superintendent to try teaching. She went through North Carolina’s lateral entry/residency license program and became a middle school English teacher, which was the start of her 23-year long education career. 

Mar 19, 2021

Professor Paola Sztajn Awarded NC State’s 2021 Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award, Inducted into Research Leadership Academy

Professor Paola Sztajn, Ph.D., has been selected as one of five NC State faculty members to receive the 2021 Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award and will be inducted into the Research Leadership Academy. 

Mar 19, 2021

Supporting Strategic Plans and Addressing Student Transfer: How the Belk Center is Helping to Support Community Colleges Across North Carolina

Since receiving official approval as a center one year ago, the Belk Center has engaged in multiple projects to support community colleges in North Carolina, including providing assistants to presidents developing new strategic plans and examining outcomes for community college transfer students. 

Mar 18, 2021

EdNC: Creating a Third Space Through Hip-Hop

Ja’Bria Barber, a board certified music therapist who is pursuing a doctoral degree in educational psychology at the NC State College of Education, discusses her experience connecting with and improving the educational experiences of children from non-dominant communities. 

Mar 17, 2021

#WhyIChoseEducation: ‘I Have Always Felt that a Degree in Education Led to a Multitude of Employment Options Even if I Did Not Become a Teacher,’ Says Engineering and Technology Education Doctoral Student Tangie Fleming ‘98, ‘24PHD

The knowledge and skills Tangie Fleming ‘98, ‘24PHD gained from the technology, engineering, and design education program led her to start her own digital and print media consulting company, TGF Consulting, where she has thrived as an education consultant. Now, she is pursuing her Ph.D. in Learning and Teaching in STEM in the engineering and technology education program area of study. 

Mar 16, 2021

‘I Had Great Teachers Growing Up Who Inspired Me With Curiosity and Encouraged Me to Do Whatever I Wanted in Life,’ Says NCSTA Ann and Dr. Bill Palmer Science Administration Distinguished Service Award Winner Cliff Hudson ‘16MSA

Moon Man, The Rock Guy and Science Guy are just a few of the nicknames that students have given to Cliff Hudson ‘16MSA, the 2020 NCSTA Ann and Dr. Bill Palmer Science Administration Distinguished Service Award winner and K-12 science/STEM coordinator for Martin County Schools. 

Mar 16, 2021

Lecturer and University Supervisor Betsy Knight: ‘I Believe Every Student Teacher Has a Gift to Share with Students. It Is My Job to Encourage Them to Fine Tune Their Gift.’

Since joining the NC State College of Education in 2007, Lecturer and University Supervisor Betsy Knight can’t remember a day she didn’t enjoy while teaching students and supporting them throughout their coursework and field experiences at partner schools. 

Mar 12, 2021

Study From Belk Center Research Associates Finds North Carolinas’ Comprehensive Articulation Agreement Helped Modestly Reduce Excess Credit Accumulation for Community College Transfer Students

A recent report co-authored by research associates at the NC State College of Education’s Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research examined North Carolina’s revised Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA), designed to help ease transfer pathways between community colleges and University of North Carolina System institutions, and found that it has had modest effects on reducing excess credit accumulation among transfer students. 

Mar 9, 2021

Students on Associate Teaching Professor Ann Harrington: ‘She Just Wants Every Student to Succeed and Become an Excellent Teacher’

When she worked as a first-grade teacher in a high-poverty school, Ann Harrintgon, Ph.D., saw firsthand the importance of teaching children to read effectively. Now she helps pre-service teachers prepare to become effective educators as an associate teaching professor of reading education.