Carolina L. Lattimore, who has served for 40 years in a variety of leadership roles in higher education, has been named to the Hood Theological Seminary Board of Trustees.

Lattimore, no relation to President Vergel L. Lattimore, is a graduate of Hampton University. She earned her doctorate from Duke University in educational psychology and served as assistant provost and dean of minority affairs at Duke.

She was appointed adjunct assistant professor in 1991 and associate in 2005. She became assistant academic dean at Trinity College of Arts and Sciences in 1989 and associate in 2008.

In 2010, she retired from Duke University as associate academic dean and served part-time as dean from 2010 -2014.

She earlier was the D.C. Coordinator for NTS Research Corporation in Washington, DC.

At Duke, she also served on the board of directors at the Federal Credit Union, the Benefits and Retirement Commission for Employees, the Medical Center Community Diabetes Advisory Board and as an Affiliate of Duke University Chapel. 

As an active civic and community leader, Lattimore serves on the minority advisory committee for WTVD Television in durham and the Triangle Park Chapter of THE LINKS, Inc. With Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., she has served on the board of directors as Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, National Political Chairman  and National Membership Chairman.

From 1999-2001, Lattimore was selected to serve on the U.S. Pentagon Committee, DACOWITS, functioning as National Chairman of the Quality of Life Committee for the Pentagon’s Advisory Committee on Women.

Hood Theological Seminary, located at 1810 Lutheran Synod Drive in Salisbury, NC, is a graduate and professional school where intellectual discourse and ministerial preparation occur in tandem within the framework of a community of faith. Sponsored by the A.M.E. Zion Church, and approved by the University Senate of The United Methodist Church, its student body currently comprises persons from many different denominations. Hood’s mission is to prepare women and men for bold and creative leadership for the Christian church for a diverse world.

Catawba College year two of free scholars program for Latinas

Catawba College has announced plans for year two of the Unanue Scholars Program. Originally scheduled for fall 2020 and delayed due to COVID-19, the program will resume in spring of 2021 by welcoming its second cohort of 16 Latina juniors from the Rowan Salisbury School System, in part due to a grant received from the Salisbury Community Foundation.

Selected students will be enrolled in a course focused on exploring their
own culture, while receiving instruction in academic skills crucial for
success at the college level. The priority deadline for applications is
Nov. 15. The application process will remain available until Jan.
20 on a space available basis.

“The course will be 100% free for students, count for college
credit, and show students that college is attainable and doable,” Associate Provost Forrest Anderson said.

“In the course, Hispanics in the U.S., students will be able to read a
variety of genres, such as memoir, poetry, and essays, with the objective
of not only honing skills necessary for college success, but also gaining
a better understanding and awareness of the complex aspects of the Latino
immigrant experience, said Sonia Alvarez-Wilson, who will teach the
course.

Students will be paired with well-trained mentors chosen from Catawba’s
Latina population (who make up 56 percent of the college’s Hispanic
population). Through group meals and field trips designed to advance
social capital, the mentors will serve as role models and offer advice on
the realities of campus life.

The course will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.,
from Jan. 25 through May 3.

The program is named to honor the memory of distinguished alumna, Mary Ann
Unanue (’81), who rose through the ranks of Goya Foods, Inc. to the
position of vice president before her death in 2009 at the age of 49.

Alvarez-Wilson added, “Students will be able to see that, while their own
lives are unique, they are also participating in a broader national Latino
experience. It is exciting to be a part of an effort to insure that young
Latina women have access to higher education and prospects for a promising
future.”

Anderson, a veteran director of student success programs, will be
administrative lead. Faculty and staff directing the project include:
Steffanie West, director of CRM Management, who will coordinate with local
high schools to recruit students; Dr. Alvarez-Wilson, who will teach the
students in SPAN 2051: Hispanics in the U.S. and guide student mentors;
and Dr. Sheila Brownlow, FYE Director, who will lead the mentor program
and assess and evaluate program outcomes.

To be eligible to participate, Latina juniors must be attending a public
high school within Rowan County. Visit www.catawba.edu/Unanue to learn
more about the program and how students can apply.

DPI forms partnership with school district in France

Teachers in North Carolina and France are already benefiting from a new partnership between the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and a French regional school district that aims to foster educational activities to support teaching and learning of the respective languages and cultures.

Under a mutual agreement, or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), educators in North Carolina and France will develop a range of joint activities that will also:

Promote a better knowledge and understanding of both educational systems, provide professional growth opportunities to teachers of North Carolina and the Académie de Reims, establish collaboration between teachers and encourage their teaming through projects.

The new international arrangement with the Académie de Reims in France is part of DPI’s Global Education work that also includes agreements with other partners around the world, including Jiangsu Province in China and the Kingdom of Spain.

During the summer, State Superintendent Mark Johnson and the State Board of Education chairman, Eric Davis, signed the MOU, along with the Conseiller Cultural of the Embassy of France, Gaëtan Bruel, and the Rectrice de l’Académie de Reims, Agnès Walch Mention-Rigau.

Several school and teacher partnerships have already been established, and secondary teachers from North Carolina and France have begun working on virtual projects that their students can do together in various classes, including Career & Technical Education (Health Sciences and Marketing), Chemistry, French, and Theatre Arts.

These North Carolina high schools and districts are involved, along with their partner institutions in the Académie de Reims, either lycées (high schools) or collèges (middle schools):

• Mooresville High School (Mooresville Graded School District) and Collège Charles Bruneau in Vireux-Wallerand, France
• Pisgah High School (Haywood County Schools) and Lycée Bouchardon in Chaumont, France
• Rocky Mount High School (Nash County Public Schools) and Lycée Bouchardon in Chaumont, France; Lycée Monge and Lycée Sévigné in Charleville-Mézières, France; and Lycée Libergier in Reims, France
• Watauga High School (Watauga County Schools) and Lycée Franklin Roosevelt in Reims, France

Details about all of North Carolina’s MOUs are posted on the International Agreements page of the NCDPI website in the Global Education section at http://bit.ly/NCGlobalEd.

Questions about the MOU with France can be sent to NCDPI Global Education at ncglobaleducation@dpi.nc.gov.