SPRING 2024
MAGAZINE
Since its start, our University has nurtured great educators. Go behind the scenes as student teachers lead their first classrooms.
SPRING 2024
MAGAZINE
Since its start, our University has nurtured great educators. Go behind the scenes as student teachers lead their first classrooms.
You probably remember a teacher who went above and beyond. Someone who encouraged you, showed you new possibilities, or created a fun place for you to learn.
Believe it or not, that teacher was once taking the reins of a classroom for the very first time. This spring, many UNCG student teachers are taking that first step themselves. Soon, they’ll be a life-changing teacher for the next generation.
Clinical Associate Professor Scott Howerton ’05 MEd, ’11 PhD says, “This is their final semester before they enter the teaching profession. Students take on the role as a full-time professional with support from their cooperating teacher.” UNCG’s student teachers call these “on-site teacher educators” OSTEs or “Osties.”
Spartans teach in 3/4+
of NC school districts.
Today, you can find graduates of UNCG programs in over 75% of the state’s public-school districts. Spartans also teach in numerous independent schools, community colleges, and universities across North Carolina.
These UNCG student teachers tell us they have a passion for their content areas, endless curiosity about the craft of teaching, and a yearning to help young students discover their passions. They also want to be trusted role models.
“My teachers in elementary school really had an impact on me. I want to show students that they can do anything,” says Anniya Moore, one of those student teachers. She is in a second-grade class at Caleb’s Creek Elementary School in Kernersville.
The vision started with one long, picturesque avenue lined with trees and plantings. And behind this vision were people who wanted something better for the current students and future generations. With pluck and promise, they gave us the campus core we know today – the most naturally beautiful in the state.
The land itself was a gift. Philanthropists Richard Pullen and Robert T. Gray donated the original acreage, much of it farmland. The earliest students arrived to find corn stalks gracing their view. Lula McIver summed it up: “two buildings, ten acres of mud, and one tree.”
Soon came what President McIver called the growing college’s most important gift ever.
Kittie Dorcas Dees was the donor. Know the name? These days, few do. Treasurer and longtime faculty member E.J. Forney envisioned this young alumna would have a campus lane or road named after her someday, so her story would serve as an inspiration.
Warren H. Manning, meanwhile, was one of the most highly regarded landscape designers of his era. With a hands-on background in horticulture, his career took off when Frederick Law Olmsted hired him for the Olmsted firm (of Central Park and Prospect Park fame) – where, for example, he led floral designing of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. He worked on the grounds of Capitol Hill, Rock Creek Park, and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.; the Potantico, N.Y., estate of John D. Rockefeller; and Stanford University. In leaving the Olmsteds, Manning went on to design the extensive properties of many turn-of-the-century industrial titans: Tufts, Draper, Vanderbilt, Sieberling, Busch, Houghton,
Pabst, McKormick all called on him. In all, he designed more than 1,600 landscapes throughout the United States, including the parks of Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Des Moines, and Miami, Fla. He designed grounds of the New York Zoological Gardens, Cornell University, Princeton University, University of Virginia (expansion), and Tuskegee University. His city planning work for Warren, Ariz.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Athens, Ga., was visionary. In North Carolina, he led the landscape design work on Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate and Village. At Tufts’ new Pinehurst Village, he was for several decades the primary designer of seemingly everything except for the buildings and the golf courses. He even advised on the Village Chapel’s construction, according to “Warren H. Manning: Landscape Artist and Environmental Planner (2017).” This detailed reference book has recently restored the luster to the exceptional reputation he had a century ago.
Wellness:
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Spartans Thrive goes beyond the expected with the power of mentoring.
bigpicture
The buzz of spring at UNCG is always invigorating. Our beautiful Tree Campus USA is in full bloom, signaling the start of a new season. It’s a time of transformation. From our upcoming library renovation to undergrads taking advantage of new School of Education resources as they prepare to teach in schools throughout our state and beyond, UNCG continues to answer the call to reinvent and innovate for the future. And our efforts are gaining national attention.
UNCG’s commitment to the humanities is being recognized with a seven-figure grant from an important national organization. Watch for the announcement about this transformational financial support of the humanities this spring.
The New York Times and Wall Street Journal have given our University accolades this year. Our faculty scholars, many with national reputations and impact, ensure all our Spartans further a legacy of distinction, tenacity, and community engagement.
As we embark on a university strategic plan refresh and focus on opportunities that UNCG provides our students, I’m reminded of a family I met on Move-in Day. A family of 10 arrived – parents and eight kids ranging from toddlers to an eighteen-year-old. All were proudly wearing UNCG T-shirts. The oldest child was the first in the family to go to college. They called him the ladder, the one who would set the path for his siblings.
This was a visceral reminder of what UNCG is all about. The access and excellence of UNCG ensure we are not only a welcoming campus, but one that values the health and wellness – as well as the success and real-world impact – of every Spartan.
FRANKLIN D. GILLIAM, JR.
CHANCELLOR
newsfront
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Virtual reality? It’s in fashion
Department of Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies professors completed three years of research funded by a $528,000 USDA Higher Education Challenge grant.
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Jeffrey Soles at Mochlos: 50 years of discovery
UNCG’s Dr. Jeffrey Soles studies Bronze Age Minoan culture. His work has impacted generations of students.
thestudio
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UNCG theatre: Broadway bound
They say the neon lights are bright there. Some Spartans undergrads are shining brightly, too. Dasia Amos, a huge Michael Jackson fan, is helping tell his life story in “MJ: The Musical” at the Neil Simon Theatre. Part of the ensemble, she also has a speaking role as Suzanna de … Continued
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Spartan actor tours with “Hairspray!”
UNC Greensboro’s Gabriel Yarborough stepped into a revival of “Hairspray!” last fall and the UNCG acting major has been touring cities like Boston and Denver ever since.
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Colin Cutler on the charts and on the road
When you have a new album, you want to share it. When most of the guest artists on that album can join you on stage for one night, you want to play all night long. Colin Cutler’s “Tarwater” launch concert at Greensboro’s Flat Iron sported a rollicking vibe. With UNCG … Continued