Stories Honoring Educators

Honoree:Mary Lynne Calhoun Submitted By:UNC Charlotte Cabinet Members Consummate Educator In her Philosophy of Teaching, Dean Mary Lynne Calhoun states: “Education is a gift human beings give one another, and that gift enables persons to transform and be transformed by society. I bring to education an activist perspective built on the beliefs that every person […]

Honoree:Herman J. Preseren Submitted By:Laura Veach Herman J. Preseren, Professor Emeritus of Education at Wake Forest University, had enormous influence in my work and life. As Chair of the Education Department, he was known for running a tight ship. His military service as an officer in the Army Air Corps during World War II provided […]

Honoree:Emma Sharpe Avery Submitted By:Emmy Lou Jeffress Burchette His face aglow, the man spoke to my grandmother with a mixture of reverence and excitement. Like a shy high school boy, this forty-something man shifted his feet and told her about his work, his family, his successes in life. He wasn’t bragging, but wanted her to […]

Honoree:Marti Snell Submitted By:Diane Browder When I began my Master’s degree program at the University of Virginia in 1975, I was surprised to discover that all of the special education training focused on mild disabilities. I was grateful to learn all that I did about teaching students with learning disabilities and mild intellectual disability, but […]

Honoree:Mary Thomas Burke Submitted By:Bob Barrett I met Mary Thomas Burke in the spring of 1972 when I came out to UNC Charlotte to inquire about the M.Ed. degree in school counseling. I had been a teacher for three years and had been asked by my school to become the school counselor. My connection with […]

Honoree:Jeanne Heller Submitted By:Bill Heller I should like to nominate for consideration as a great teacher, Mrs. Jeanne Heller. Mrs. Heller taught as a school librarian/school media specialist in the public elementary schools of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Lincoln County, North Carolina, and Pinellas County, Florida across a span of 30 years. As a school librarian/media specialist […]

Honoree:Spring Branch Independent School District Submitted By:Dawson R. Hancock I dedicate my Cato Teaching Mural brick not to an individual teacher but to an entire school district of teachers who shaped my life at an early age and contributed to my success as an adult. Spring Branch Independent School District is a small school district […]

Honoree:Elliot Turiel Submitted By:Michael Green In every life there are important people and events and places. Some are more important than others. In my life, none was more important than Elliot Turiel. I grew up in a very small town in Washington and went to a very large college in California. Two freshman courses – […]

Honoree:Mary Katherine Jarrell Submitted By:Mary Lynn Calhoun, Dean UNC Charlotte College of Education I am writing to honor my mother Mary Katherine Jarrell on the Cato Teaching Discovery Mural. Mary Katherine attended Marshall University in Huntington, WV during the years of the Great Depression, at a time when university tuition was $16 a month. She […]

Honoree:Sisters of Saint Joseph of Wheeling Submitted By:Maria Yon With this gift I honor a group of dedicated teachers who made a difference in my life in many ways. The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Wheeling (currently called the Congregation of Saint Joseph) were missioned to the new St. Francis de Sales Elementary School in […]