‘Teacher of teachers’ named Cone Early-Career Professor

Heather Coffey from the Cato College of Education’s Department of Middle, Secondary and K-12 Education is this year’s recipient of the Bonnie E. Cone Early-Career Professorship of Teaching.

Provost Joan Lorden, in announcing the award at University Convocation, said, “Heather is a teacher of teachers and brings her passion for social justice to the classroom through service-learning and civic engagement courses. As her department chair attests, Heather’s teaching serves as a model for all others to follow. The numerical values on her course evaluations hover near or at a perfect 5.0. After taking Dr. Coffey’s Liberal Studies 2215 course, students report that they are changed individuals.”

Coffey strives to prepare her students to be civically engaged and informed citizens. The aspiring teachers she prepares are often white, middle class, monolingual females who will be working in urban schools, which are often highly segregated and located in impoverished neighborhoods where the majority of students are non-white and often speakers of languages other than English. Through her research and teaching, Coffey has made a name for herself as an effective instructor of future urban educators.

In addition to her role as an associate professor, Coffey leads the Cato College’s work on the Prospect for Success curriculum, coordinates the Charlotte Community Scholars summer research program and directs the newly re-established Teaching Fellows Program. Her research interests include utilizing service-learning to develop social justice and agency with K-12 learners, bridging the gap between educational theory and practice in teacher education, and supporting practicing teachers in school settings through professional development.

A graduate of Elon University, Coffey earned a master’s degree in education from UNC Greensboro and a Ph.D. in education from UNC Chapel Hill.

A three-year appointment, the Bonnie Cone Early-Career Professorship for Teaching recognizes a recently tenured professor who embodies Cone’s tenacious commitment to providing UNC Charlotte undergraduate and graduate students with enriching, high quality educational experiences. Cone was a dedicated educator, motivator and community leader who played an instrumental role in the vision and history of UNC Charlotte.