Beloved Charlotte Math Professor, Who Inspired Countless 49ers, Leaves A Lasting Legacy
Kim Harris ’19, an associate professor of mathematics education in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will retire from Charlotte at the end of the academic year after 39 years.
“I’m the undergraduate coordinator for mathematics, so I advise a great number of the math majors and get to know so many of them,” Harris said. “For years, all the departmental coordinators would help organize the graduates and shake their hands as they walked into Halton. I haven’t helped with the lineup lately, but I still visit them before they enter the arena to say hello and congratulate them. I must look like someone’s mother, because I’m crying alongside them.”
Misty Hathcock is a 49er for life. A former elementary school math teacher, Hathcock eventually completed an Ed.D. and is on the faculty of the Cato College of Education. She first met Harris as an undergraduate student and knows firsthand how she influences her students’ lives and why so many stay in contact.
“Dr. Harris has impacted my life in so many ways! First, I became an elementary math teacher because she inspired me. I learned so much from her as my math education professor. She helped me to discover a love of math in me that I never realized,” said Hathcock. “Kim has been a part of my life almost as long as she has been at UNC Charlotte. She has so positively shaped the lives of countless students, faculty, staff and alumni over the years, that she leaves a lasting legacy that is unmatched.”