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UNC Appoints Malcolm Butler To The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission

The UNC Board of Governors appointed Malcolm Butler, dean of the Cato College of Education, to serve on the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission. His term, which began in July, is through June 30, 2026.

The commission is tasked with establishing selection criteria, procedures and awardees for the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program, which is a merit-based, forgivable loan initiative focused on training educators for North Carolina’s public schools.

“I am looking forward to partnering with leaders from across the state to recruit the best and brightest to the teaching profession,” said Butler.

Dr. Malcolm B. Butler is Professor and Dean of the Cato College of Education at UNC Charlotte. Butler was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. He spent his childhood in south Louisiana with his eight siblings and loving mother, Adlean F. Butler, and father, the late Lee Butler, Jr. Butler earned a B.S. in in Physics from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also completed an MEd and PhD in Curriculum and Instruction (Science Education) at the University of Florida. Butler has taught and learned mathematics, science and life from elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as college students. He has been affiliated with several institutions of higher education, including the College of William and Mary, Texas and A&M- Corpus Christi, the University of Georgia, the University of South Florida, and the University of Central Florida. Some of his research interests include writing to learn in science, physics teacher education, and equity and diversity in science. Dr. Butler has secured over seven million dollars in funding to support his research and scholarly initiatives. He has presented his research findings and conducted workshops across the United States, as well as Canada, Japan, The Philippines, Singapore, Cyprus, South Africa and Botswana. He co-authored and co-edited three books and numerous book chapters and journal articles. He has served in leadership capacities in his profession, include board member of NARST (a global organization for improving science education through research) and Nap Ford Community Schools, Inc. (Orlando, Florida), chair of the board for the Council for Society Presidents, and president of the Association for Science Teacher Education. He is married to Rev. Dr. Vikki Gaskin-Butler, and they have one son, Malcolm Lee Butler.

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