Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin has been named the Agnes Scollins Carey Memorial Early Career Professor in the Arts for the Pennsylvania State University College of Arts and Architecture. Her new role will fund her travel and research in Ghana for her project “Griot Tales: Creation Stories of West Africa.” Dr. Mitchell-Spradlin has been with Pennsylvania State University since 2020, serving as assistant professor of music and director of wind band studies.
Dr. Mitchell-Spradlin holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Indiana University, a master’s degree in music education from the University of Georgia, and a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Kansas.
Gretchen Robinson has been named the Spangler Distinguished Professor of Early Child Literacy in the College of Education at historically Black North Carolina A&T State University. She most recently served as an associate professor and coordinator of the special education program at the University of North Carolina Pembroke.
Dr. Robinson graduated from the University of North Carolina Greensboro with a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology and audiology. She holds a master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from Western Carolina University and a Ph.D. in special education from the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Stephen D. Hancock has been appointed the Shirley T. Frye Distinguished Professor of Urban Teacher in the College of Education at North Carolina A&T University. In this role, he will lead the university’s Center of Excellence for Educational Equity Research. He served as an associate professor of multicultural studies at the University of North Carolina Charlotte for nearly two decades.
Dr. Hancock received his bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in teaching from Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his Ph.D. in multicultural studies and early childhood development from the Ohio State University.
