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C.D. Spangler Foundation’s $2M gift funds literacy professorship at App State

Spangler Distinguished Professor of Early Child Literacy is first named professorship in Reich College of Education

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Dr. Andrea Anderson '94 '10 '20, director of the Lucy Brock Child Development Laboratory Program at Appalachian State University, reads with a child in 2017 at the university’s Anderson Reading Clinic, which provides one-on-one reading and writing instruction and trains expert teachers of reading to work in public schools. Photo by Marie Freeman

“App State has a strong legacy of preparing educators who lead and serve, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to recognize each student’s promise.”

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts

By Anna Oakes
Posted Feb. 16, 2022 at 3:06 p.m.

BOONE, N.C. — A $2 million gift from the C.D. Spangler Foundation has established the Spangler Distinguished Professorship of Early Child Literacy at Appalachian State University, the first named professorship in App State’s Reich College of Education.

“App State has a strong legacy of preparing educators who lead and serve, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to recognize each student’s promise.”

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts

The new professorship is part of an $8 million donation by the Spangler Foundation, divided equally among four University of North Carolina System institutions, to support the achievement of reading proficiency by North Carolina’s children. The professorships are designed to recruit and retain nationally recognized scholars who will support the training of future teachers and in-service teachers while also preparing future literacy faculty.

App State’s Board of Trustees approved the creation of the distinguished professorship last month.

“App State has a strong legacy of preparing educators to lead and serve, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to recognize the promise each student possesses,” App State Chancellor Sheri Everts said. “This commitment is carried forward by the educators who teach in classrooms across the state and the nation.”

Everts thanked the foundation and its director, Anna Spangler Nelson, for their investment in children and in educators.

“North Carolina’s reading proficiency levels, already disturbingly low, have declined further over the course of the pandemic,” said Nelson, who also serves on the UNC Board of Governors. She continued, “Our investment in this work seeks to elevate the importance of early child literacy across North Carolina, enhance the preparedness of our teachers and acknowledge our shared responsibility for doing better for our children and their futures.”

App State’s distinguished professor will be assigned to the Reich College of Education’s Department of Reading Education and Special Education, and a national search will be conducted to fill the position.

The Spangler Distinguished Professor will:

  • Develop scalable programs to ensure the preparation of teacher candidates in evidence-based practices in reading instruction.
  • Prepare future faculty to assume positions in early literacy in colleges of education.
  • Teach and conduct research in the university’s educator preparation programs to advance the field and establish a strong presence for the Reich College of Education in the state and nation as a leader in reading instruction.
  • Work with school leaders in university–school partnerships to design and deliver high-quality professional development for teachers that will significantly enhance the capacity of schools to employ evidence-based practices in reading instruction.
  • Engage in and enhance collaboration with other educator preparation programs in North Carolina as a community of literacy champions to share effective, evidence-based literacy practices for teacher candidates and practicing teachers across the state.
  • Enhance grant and research capacity for evidence-based practices in literacy instruction through independent and network programs and projects.

Reich College of Education Dean Melba Spooner said the Spangler Distinguished Professorship will build on existing efforts to prepare teacher candidates using evidence-based practices in reading instruction, conducting research and collaborating with school partners and others across the state and the UNC System.

“Our faculty are innovators and have demonstrated strong leadership in the area of literacy and teacher education, and this is a testament to that focus on leading and engaging at the state and System levels,” Spooner said.

The late President C.D. Spangler Jr., who served the UNC System from 1986 until 1997, believed that literacy was the key to economic and social progress for all North Carolinians.

“It is critically important that the University accept responsibility for eliminating disabling illiteracy in our people,” Spangler said during his inaugural address. “It is not only cruel for us to permit illiteracy to exist, it is also unwise. Productivity, no matter how you measure it or for what purpose, is not possible without a literate people. Because these teachers reach across the state and into every home, I cannot imagine a more proper effort for the University to pursue.”

Spangler Distinguished Professorships were also established at East Carolina University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and UNC Charlotte.

What do you think?

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Anderson Reading Clinic
Anderson Reading Clinic

The Anderson Reading Clinic, under the direction of Dr. Devery Ward, provides direct service to children with reading problems. Each child receives approximately 15 hours of one-to- one reading and writing instruction. The Clinic, based on the Appalachian campus, has operated additional off-campus branches in Davie County, Burke County, and Yadkin County.

Learn more
21 Educators Selected as Literacy Leaders
21 Educators Selected as Literacy Leaders
Feb. 8, 2022

Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education (RCOE) has been selected by the UNC System to serve as a Literacy Innovation Leader (LIL). The LIL initiative is designed to create synergy between higher education and K-12 schools to address the continuum of educator preparation and development with the common goal of improving students’ reading achievement. Meet the 21 Literacy Leaders, who are in-service teachers, administrators, and curriculum leaders in Wilkes County Schools and at the Appalachian State University Academy at Middle Fork.

Learn more
16 RCOE Students Selected as Literacy Scholars
16 RCOE Students Selected as Literacy Scholars
Oct. 29, 2021

Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education (RCOE) has been selected by the UNC System to serve as a Literacy Innovation Leader (LIL). The LIL initiative is designed to create synergy between higher education and K-12 schools to address the continuum of educator preparation and development with the common goal of improving students’ reading achievement. Meet the 16 Literacy Scholars, who are undergraduate elementary education and special education teacher candidates.

Learn more
App State’s Dr. Rebecca Payne Jordan among 8 appointed UNC System Literacy Fellows
App State’s Dr. Rebecca Payne Jordan among 8 appointed UNC System Literacy Fellows
Nov. 11, 2020

App State’s Dr. Rebecca Payne Jordan is one of eight Literacy Fellows appointed by the University of North Carolina System. The fellows are charged with developing a detailed framework for literacy instruction in teacher preparation, to be adopted by all educator preparation programs in the System.

Read the story
App State to open lab school at Elkin Elementary
App State to open lab school at Elkin Elementary

University will be only UNC System institution to operate two lab school programs

Jan. 10, 2022

App State is partnering with Elkin City Schools to open the university’s second laboratory school aimed at enhancing student education, improving outcomes and providing high-quality teacher and principal training. The program will serve approximately 100 students in second through fourth grades.

Read the story

About the Reich College of Education

Appalachian State University offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls more than 2,000 students in its bachelor’s, master’s, education specialist and doctoral degree programs, with offerings that span multiple fields — from teacher preparation, counseling, and therapy, to higher education, school and student affairs administration, library science, educational leadership and more. With over 10,000 alumni employed in North Carolina public schools, there is at least one Reich College graduate in every county in the state. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

About the University of North Carolina System

The University of North Carolina System enrolls 242,500 students at 17 institutions, including the state’s 16 public universities and the nation’s first public residential high school for academically gifted students. The UNC System is among the strongest and most diverse higher education systems in the country, with more than $1.9 billion in research expenditures and campuses that serve every region of North Carolina. Affiliate organizations include PBS North Carolina, with 12 public television stations across the state, and UNC Health, with 19 hospital campuses and an extensive healthcare network. Learn more at northcarolina.edu.

“App State has a strong legacy of preparing educators who lead and serve, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to recognize each student’s promise.”

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts

Anderson Reading Clinic
Anderson Reading Clinic

The Anderson Reading Clinic, under the direction of Dr. Devery Ward, provides direct service to children with reading problems. Each child receives approximately 15 hours of one-to- one reading and writing instruction. The Clinic, based on the Appalachian campus, has operated additional off-campus branches in Davie County, Burke County, and Yadkin County.

Learn more
21 Educators Selected as Literacy Leaders
21 Educators Selected as Literacy Leaders
Feb. 8, 2022

Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education (RCOE) has been selected by the UNC System to serve as a Literacy Innovation Leader (LIL). The LIL initiative is designed to create synergy between higher education and K-12 schools to address the continuum of educator preparation and development with the common goal of improving students’ reading achievement. Meet the 21 Literacy Leaders, who are in-service teachers, administrators, and curriculum leaders in Wilkes County Schools and at the Appalachian State University Academy at Middle Fork.

Learn more
16 RCOE Students Selected as Literacy Scholars
16 RCOE Students Selected as Literacy Scholars
Oct. 29, 2021

Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education (RCOE) has been selected by the UNC System to serve as a Literacy Innovation Leader (LIL). The LIL initiative is designed to create synergy between higher education and K-12 schools to address the continuum of educator preparation and development with the common goal of improving students’ reading achievement. Meet the 16 Literacy Scholars, who are undergraduate elementary education and special education teacher candidates.

Learn more
App State’s Dr. Rebecca Payne Jordan among 8 appointed UNC System Literacy Fellows
App State’s Dr. Rebecca Payne Jordan among 8 appointed UNC System Literacy Fellows
Nov. 11, 2020

App State’s Dr. Rebecca Payne Jordan is one of eight Literacy Fellows appointed by the University of North Carolina System. The fellows are charged with developing a detailed framework for literacy instruction in teacher preparation, to be adopted by all educator preparation programs in the System.

Read the story
App State to open lab school at Elkin Elementary
App State to open lab school at Elkin Elementary

University will be only UNC System institution to operate two lab school programs

Jan. 10, 2022

App State is partnering with Elkin City Schools to open the university’s second laboratory school aimed at enhancing student education, improving outcomes and providing high-quality teacher and principal training. The program will serve approximately 100 students in second through fourth grades.

Read the story

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
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