{"id":49882,"date":"2022-05-24T11:37:37","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T15:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/?page_id=49882"},"modified":"2025-10-14T12:46:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T16:46:30","slug":"celebrating-hiller-spires","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/celebrating-hiller-spires\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Hiller Spires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This article was published in May 2022. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hiller Spires, Ph.D., \u2014 who is nationally recognized for her innovative research and approach to K-12 education, particularly as related to digital and disciplinary literacies \u2014 will retire June 1, 2022, after a 43-year career in education, including over 35 years at NC&nbsp;State\u2019s College of Education. <\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-ncst-fact ncst-fact has-indigo-400-text-color\">\n  <div class=\"floated-fact-aside-contents\">\n    <div class=\"wp-block-ncst-fact ncst-fact has-indigo-400-text-color\">\n              <h2 class=\"fact__heading\">&#8220;I hope my students have learned from me that if you can imagine it, you can do it. Spend time imagining what can be, and then set your mind, heart and hands to the task.&#8221;\u00a0<br><\/h2>\n            <p class=\"fact__support\">\n              Hiller Spires, Associate Dean and Executive Director of the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, NC State College of Education\n          <\/p>\n      <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She is an associate dean and executive director of the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fi.ncsu.edu\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.fi.ncsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">Friday Institute for Educational Innovation<\/a>, and an Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor of Literacy and Technology in the college\u2019s&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/tels\/\" target=\"_blank\">Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spires joined the College of Education as an assistant professor in 1986 and was promoted to full professor in 1998. She was the founding director of the Friday Institute from 2002 to 2006, helping in all facets of making the Friday Institute a reality when its doors opened in 2005.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, the Friday Institute \u2014 named in honor of former UNC System President William C. Friday and his wife, Ida \u2014 has become a leader in North Carolina K-12 education with a focus on research, evaluation and professional learning. She began serving a second round as the Friday Institute\u2019s executive director in November 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI draw my energy from people, relationships and great ideas. For me, that\u2019s where the magic happens. My NC&nbsp;State colleagues, students and friends have made my career here magical,&#8221; Spires said. &#8220;This next phase will be my greatest design challenge yet \u2014 and I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"ncst-labeled-section wp-block-ncst-featured-content ncst-featured-content is-card-style layout-two-column\">\n  <div class=\"ncst-labeled-section__background\">\n    <div class=\"ncst-labeled-section__container\">\n               <div class=\"ncst-labeled-section__header\">\n                      <h2 class=\"ncst-labeled-section__heading\">Q&amp;A Series with Hiller spires<\/h2>\n                            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"ncst-labeled-section__content\">\n        \n<div class=\"wp-block-ncst-featured-content\"><a\n    class=\"ncst-content-card wp-block-ncst-content-card with-image with-cta\"\n    href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/2022\/05\/24\/associate-dean-executive-director-of-friday-institute-hiller-spires-make-sure-you-leave-a-place-better-than-you-found-it-i-hope-ive-been-able-to-do-that-in-the-college-of-education\/\"\n  >\n  \n          <div class=\"content-card__image-container\">\n        <div class=\"content-card__image-background\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"844\"\n            class=\"content-card__image wp-image-49997\"\n            alt=\"Hiler Spires at graduation surrounded by students\"\n            src=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillergraduation.jpg\"\n            style=\"aspect-ratio: 16\/9; object-fit: cover; \"\n srcset=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillergraduation.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillergraduation-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillergraduation-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillergraduation-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"content-card__text-container\">\n      \n                        <h3 class=\"content-card__headline\"><strong>\u00a0\u2018Make Sure You Leave a Place Better Than You Found It.&#8217; I Hope I&#8217;ve Been Able to Do That in the College of Education.<\/strong><\/h3>\n              \n\n              \n\t      \t        <p class=\"content-card__teaser\">In this Q&amp;A, Hiller Spires talks about how she ended up at the College of Education, what she\u2019ll miss most about it and how she hopes she is remembered.\u00a0<br><\/p>\n\t      \t    \n              <p class=\"content-card__cta\"><span class=\"text\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"arrow-indicator\"><svg class=\"wolficon wolficon-arrow-right-bold\" role=\"img\"  aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-bold\">\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n          <\/div>\n\n  <\/a>\n\n\n<a\n    class=\"ncst-content-card wp-block-ncst-content-card with-image with-cta\"\n    href=\"https:\/\/www.fi.ncsu.edu\/news\/the-friday-institute-is-a-magical-place\/\"\n  >\n  \n          <div class=\"content-card__image-container\">\n        <div class=\"content-card__image-background\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"844\"\n            class=\"content-card__image wp-image-49945\"\n            alt=\"Hiller Spires at the Friday Institute\"\n            src=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillerspireatfridayinstitute.jpg\"\n            style=\"aspect-ratio: 16\/9; object-fit: cover; \"\n srcset=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillerspireatfridayinstitute.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillerspireatfridayinstitute-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillerspireatfridayinstitute-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillerspireatfridayinstitute-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"content-card__text-container\">\n      \n                        <h3 class=\"content-card__headline\">&#8216;The Friday Institute is a Magical Place. It is Also a Learning and Caring Organization&#8217;<\/h3>\n              \n\n              \n\t      \t        <p class=\"content-card__teaser\">In this Q&amp;A, Hiller Spires talks about\u00a0the history of the Friday Institute and her experience leading the organization, and reflects on what she\u2019s learned over the last 20 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n\t      \t    \n              <p class=\"content-card__cta\"><span class=\"text\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"arrow-indicator\"><svg class=\"wolficon wolficon-arrow-right-bold\" role=\"img\"  aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-bold\">\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n          <\/div>\n\n  <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n              <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ncst-big-fact has-gray-800-background-color\" style=\"background-color: #427E93;\">\n<div class=\"big-fact__container\" style=\"max-width: 1170px;\">\n\n      <h2 class=\"fact-heading\" style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 0; font-size: 30px; color: #ffffff; font-family: Glypha,Georgia,serif;\">\u201cDr. Spires\u2019 contributions to our college, state and world have been invaluable. She has been a pioneer and built a reputation for her innovative research and approach to K-12 education, helping our college and the Friday Institute reach levels of success and global impact not before imagined.&#8221;<\/h2>\n  \n  <p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 0px; font-weight: bold; color: #ffffff;\">&#8211; Paola Sztajn<\/p>\n  <p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 1.2em; color: #ffffff; margin-bottom: 0px;\">Dean, NC State College of Education<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ncst-media-divider ncst-media-divider has-orange-400-box-color box-position-right\"><div class=\"ncst-media-divider__container\"><div class=\"ncst-media-divider__image-container\"><div class=\"ncst-media-divider__image\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillerinchina.jpg);background-position:50% 41%\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillerinchina.jpg\" alt=\"Hiller Spires in China with students\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5 Ways Hiller Spires Made an Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n<aside class=\"floated-spotlight-aside-container wp-block-ncst-spotlight-box has-orange-400-background-color with-cta\">\n  <div class=\"floated-spotlight-contents\">\n    <a\n    class=\"ncst-content-card wp-block-ncst-spotlight-box has-orange-400-background-color with-cta\"\n    href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/2022\/04\/14\/friday-institute-executive-director-associate-dean-and-alumni-distinguished-graduate-professor-hiller-spires-to-retire-june-1-2022\/\"\n  >\n  \n    \n    <div class=\"content-card__text-container\">\n      \n                        <h3 class=\"content-card__headline\">What&#8217;s next for Hiller<\/h3>\n              \n\n              \n\t      \t        <p class=\"content-card__teaser\">During retirement, Hiller Spires plans to  continue her literacy research and engagement work by co-editing\u00a0<em>Critical Perspectives in Global Literacies: Research into Practice<\/em>\u00a0through Routledge Publishing with her former Ph.D. student, Shea Kerkhoff \u201916 PHD. She is also creating a nonprofit organization that will provide books to under-resourced communities, both locally and globally.<\/p>\n\t      \t    \n              <p class=\"content-card__cta\"><span class=\"text\">Learn more <\/span><span class=\"arrow-indicator\"><svg class=\"wolficon wolficon-arrow-right-bold\" role=\"img\"  aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-bold\">\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n          <\/div>\n\n  <\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n<div class=\"is-text wp-block-ncst-accordion\" >\n    <div class=\"accordion isLinked\" id=\"ncst-accordion-548z9e\">\n          \n<details class=\"wp-block-ncst-accordion-item\" name=\"548z9e\"  >\n      <summary class=\"accordion-item__header\">\n        <span class=\"accordion-item__expansion-indicator\">\n          <span class=\"ncst-plus-minus-toggle\"><\/span>\n        <\/span>\n        <h2 class=\"accordion-item__label h6\">She was founding director of the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, which today supports all 115 public school districts in North Carolina through online professional learning for K-12 educators.<\/h2>\n      <\/summary>\n      <p>\n        \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spires was the founding director of the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation from 2002 to 2006 and began serving a second round as the Friday Institute&#8217;s executive director in November 2019. Under her leadership, the Friday Institute \u2014 named in honor of former UNC System President William C. Friday and his wife, Ida \u2014 has become a leader in North Carolina K-12 education with a focus on research, evaluation and professional learning. Since 2020, the Friday Institute has served over 80,000 educators and all 115 public school districts in North Carolina through <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/place.fi.ncsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">online professional learning<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n      <\/p>\n  <\/details>\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-ncst-accordion-item\" name=\"548z9e\"  >\n      <summary class=\"accordion-item__header\">\n        <span class=\"accordion-item__expansion-indicator\">\n          <span class=\"ncst-plus-minus-toggle\"><\/span>\n        <\/span>\n        <h2 class=\"accordion-item__label h6\">She helped start the College of Education&#8217;s New Literacies and Global Learning program, which prepares the most master&#8217;s-level literacy specialists in North Carolina each year.\u00a0<br><\/h2>\n      <\/summary>\n      <p>\n        \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spires was the founding director of the Friday Institute\u2019s New Literacies Collaborative and led the development of the College of Education&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/graduate\/programs\/masters\/new-literacies-and-global-learning\/\">New Literacies and Global Learning (NLGL) master\u2019s program<\/a>, including&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/graduate\/programs\/masters\/new-literacies-and-global-learning\/k-12-reading\/\" target=\"_blank\">the K-12 Literacy Cohort<\/a>. This program has annually graduated the most master\u2019s-level literacy teachers of any program of its kind in North Carolina since 2009.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I&#8217;m grateful that I was able to lead the development of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/graduate\/programs\/masters\/new-literacies-and-global-learning\/\">New Literacies and Global Learning<\/a> program along with my fellow faculty members. We were a little bit ahead of our time, but the program set our college apart from others who were following a more traditional path at that time,&#8221; Spires said. &#8220;I also led the development of the literacy cohort, which has produced the most master\u2019s-level students in literacy in North Carolina annually for the past decade. Our literacy faculty are amazing and are at the forefront of the literacy profession today.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n      <\/p>\n  <\/details>\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-ncst-accordion-item\" name=\"548z9e\"  >\n      <summary class=\"accordion-item__header\">\n        <span class=\"accordion-item__expansion-indicator\">\n          <span class=\"ncst-plus-minus-toggle\"><\/span>\n        <\/span>\n        <h2 class=\"accordion-item__label h6\">She started Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global, which has engaged over 3,000 teachers and students in the U.S., Belize, Kenya and China. <\/h2>\n      <\/summary>\n      <p>\n        \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spires created&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fi.ncsu.edu\/projects\/project-based-inquiry-global\/\" target=\"_blank\">Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global,<\/a>&nbsp;an inquiry-to-action learning cycle that engages students and educators in learning about and responding to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The students and teachers collaborate with other classrooms within North Carolina and around the world to develop global competencies. These interactions, Spires said, help students develop empathy as well as view issues from different perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBeing able to slow down and take time to listen to what people from different cultures are saying is a valuable skill,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/2020\/07\/27\/ask-the-expert-how-is-education-different-around-the-world-teaching-philosophies-differ-but-we-all-want-what-is-best-for-our-students-says-friday-institute-executive-director-hill\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/2020\/07\/27\/ask-the-expert-how-is-education-different-around-the-world-teaching-philosophies-differ-but-we-all-want-what-is-best-for-our-students-says-friday-institute-executive-director-hill\/\">she said<\/a>. \u201cRespectful and productive interactions can promote mutual understanding among diverse groups, and this is an important process for education, work and being an active citizen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over 3,000 teachers and students have engaged in PBI Global in the U.S., Belize, Kenya and China.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n      <\/p>\n  <\/details>\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-ncst-accordion-item\" name=\"548z9e\"  >\n      <summary class=\"accordion-item__header\">\n        <span class=\"accordion-item__expansion-indicator\">\n          <span class=\"ncst-plus-minus-toggle\"><\/span>\n        <\/span>\n        <h2 class=\"accordion-item__label h6\">She has helped build relationships between &#8212; and open up new doors of opportunity for &#8212; students and teachers from the U.S. and China through research, teaching and engagement. <\/h2>\n      <\/summary>\n      <p>\n        \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spires has conducted extensive research, teaching and engagement with teachers in China, having led 10 delegations to China, including a three-city&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/2019\/07\/18\/professor-hiller-spires-helps-students-cultivate-relationships-on-1st-study-abroad-trip-to-china\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/2019\/07\/18\/professor-hiller-spires-helps-students-cultivate-relationships-on-1st-study-abroad-trip-to-china\/\">study abroad trip&nbsp;<\/a>for education students in 2019. She has had partnerships with Beijing Royal School, one of the leading private schools in China, since 2010. She supported 24 Beijing Royal School teachers in receiving master\u2019s degrees through the <a href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/programs\/new-literacies-and-global-learning-master\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/programs\/new-literacies-and-global-learning-master\/\">New Literacies and Global Learning program<\/a>. Spires serves as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/2017\/08\/30\/spires-named-honorary-principal-of-chinas-suzhou-north-america-high-school\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/2017\/08\/30\/spires-named-honorary-principal-of-chinas-suzhou-north-america-high-school\/\">honorary principal <\/a>of Suzhou North America High School, which she helped design and create in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;One of the exciting opportunities that I&#8217;ve had in my career is to work with educators in China. I became fascinated with the people, the culture, the language. And I&#8217;ve been able to travel to China 17 times, which has just been absolutely amazing for me,&#8221; Spires said. &#8220;It&#8217;s so rewarding to develop these relationships that I have both at Beijing Royal School and also in a school that I was able to help design and create, Suzhou North America High School. We&#8217;ve been able to do cross-cultural exchanges, taking students and teachers from North Carolina to China. Teachers and students from China have been able to come and visit us here in North Carolina as well. It&#8217;s been extremely rewarding.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spires&#8217; research and engagement activities with educators in China culminated in the groundbreaking book she edited,&nbsp;<em>Digital Transformation and Innovation in Chinese Education<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n      <\/p>\n  <\/details>\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-ncst-accordion-item\" name=\"548z9e\"  >\n      <summary class=\"accordion-item__header\">\n        <span class=\"accordion-item__expansion-indicator\">\n          <span class=\"ncst-plus-minus-toggle\"><\/span>\n        <\/span>\n        <h2 class=\"accordion-item__label h6\">She has shaped the way we teach and learn about digital literacy. <\/h2>\n      <\/summary>\n      <p>\n        \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spires\u2019 research focuses on the integration of research-based practices for digital and disciplinary literacies with diverse learners. &#8220;I was fascinated by society&#8217;s transition from the print age to the digital age and how that impacts teaching and learning in schools,&#8221; Spires said. &#8220;So, I began obtaining grants and conducting research in new literacies, in digital literacies.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She has received over $13 million in grants to support her research program and published over 200 refereed articles, chapters, and papers. Her publications have appeared in&nbsp;<em>Journal of Educational Psychology, Cognition &amp; Instruction, Journal of Educational Computing Research, Journal of Literacy Research, Literacy Research and Instruction, Computers and Education, Information Sciences,&nbsp;<\/em>and the&nbsp;<em>Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy<\/em>, among others. She was guest editor for the international special issue of&nbsp;<em>Journal of Media and Communication&nbsp;<\/em>on the topic of critical perspectives on digital literacies in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n      <\/p>\n  <\/details>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"is-text wp-block-ncst-buttons\">\n    \n<div class=\"wp-block-ncst-button\">\n      <a\n        class=\"ncst-block__button-link btn\"\n        href=\"https:\/\/www.fi.ncsu.edu\/honoring-the-friday-institutes-founding-executive-director-hiller-spires\/\"\n        data-ncst-lightbox=\"false\"\n                      >\n                  <span class=\"text\">Highlights from her time with the FI<\/span><span class=\"arrow-indicator\"><svg class=\"wolficon wolficon-arrow-right-bold\" role=\"img\"  aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-bold\">\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n              <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Information curated from various articles written about Hiller Spires and posted on ced.ncsu.edu over the years.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"ncst-askew-media-text has-gray-800-background-color wp-block-ncst-mini-story\">\n    <div class=\"ncst-askew-media-text__container\">\n      \n<div class=\"wp-block-ncst-text-column\">\n    <h2 class=\"ncst-text-column__heading\">More On Hiller Spires&#8217; Legacy<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"ncst-text-column__teaser\">She has been named the honorary principal of China\u2019s Suzhou North America High School. She has written and edited books to help teachers better teach disciplinary literacy. She has helped students gain global perspectives. She has provided visionary leadership that has impacted educators and learners across North Carolina and beyond. Browse our articles about all the ways that Hiller Spires has made an impact. <\/p>\n          \n<div class=\"is-text wp-block-ncst-buttons\">\n    \n<div class=\"is-style-secondary wp-block-ncst-button\">\n      <a\n        class=\"ncst-block__button-link btn\"\n        href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/tag\/hiller-spires\/\"\n        data-ncst-lightbox=\"false\"\n                      >\n                  <span class=\"text\">Explore more<\/span><span class=\"arrow-indicator\"><svg class=\"wolficon wolficon-arrow-right-bold\" role=\"img\"  aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-bold\">\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n              <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n      <\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ncst-media\">\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires.jpg\" data-fullsize=\"1500x855\" data-zoom=\"true\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"584\" src=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires-1024x584.jpg\" alt=\"Hiller Spires\" class=\"wp-image-14240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires-1024x584.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires-1200x684.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires-950x542.jpg 950w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires-600x342.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires-460x262.jpg 460w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/08\/HillerSpires-230x131.jpg 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hiller Spires<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article was published in May 2022. Hiller Spires, Ph.D., \u2014 who is nationally recognized for her innovative research and approach to K-12 education, particularly as related to digital and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"views\/homepage.blade.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/floating-box-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"backgroundColor\":\"red_400\",\"boxPosition\":\"right\",\"ctaNum\":\"one\",\"useCTA\":false,\"imageID\":49940,\"imageURL\":\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/05\/hillerspires.jpg\",\"imageAlt\":\"Hiller Spires\",\"focalPoint\":{\"x\":\"0.96\",\"y\":\"0.17\"},\"pageIntro\":\"After 35 years with NC State\u2019s College of Education, Hiller Spires will retire June 1, 2022. Here\u2019s a look back at her career and impact.<br>\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-49882","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/244"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49882"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99920,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49882\/revisions\/99920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}