The moment that helped to shape Dr. Lori Kniffin’s career came while she was an undergraduate student at Kansas State University. It happened in Texas while traveling with a group of students on a service-learning trip and visiting with people who were experiencing homelessness.
UNC Greensboro honored two lifelong educators on Sept. 24, 2026, naming its School of Education building for Harriet Shain Evenson ’53 and Jerome Evenson in recognition of their extraordinary commitment to education and the University.
The question of what inspires someone to become a teacher drove the conversation between Guilford County School educators, pre-service teachers, and North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein. Each shared their path to teaching during a roundtable at the UNC Greensboro School of Education.
Dawn Gaug has a new nickname in Person County: the Library Lady. A 2025 graduate of UNC Greensboro’s Master’s in Library and Information Science program and one of the first to also earn her Public Library Concentration, Gaug is revamping outreach program with the Person County Public Library. Among her initiatives are the Book Mobile which she takes to preschools, retirement communities, and events in the county.
Books create possibility and UNC Greensboro School of Education supporters Tommy and Nancy Teague believed that every child deserved access to them. Through the Teague’s Hooked on Books program, many children have been able to access books, opening up their world and their minds.
The Rockingham County School System is now being led by one of its own. Born, reared, and educated in Rockingham County, Charles Perkins was sworn in as the superintendent July 1, 2026 following a career in education there. The UNC Greensboro triple graduate is hoping for a seamless transition in the school system and county he’s always called home.
Harriet Evenson came to the Woman’s College, today known as UNC Greensboro, focused on how she wanted to make a difference in the world. She graduated in 1953 with a degree in history and wanted to become a teacher.
Before he came to UNCG, before he became a high school principal, and before the National Association of Secondary School Principals named him the 2026 National Principal of the Year, Jason Johnson ’02 MSA, ’11 EdS was a high school kid in Durham watching the way his own principal at Hillside High School demonstrated leadership.
Julia Gilmour, Class of 2026, graduated with a degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
School of Education scholar Shameeka M. Wilson ’18, ’20 MEd established an endowment at UNCG in 2019 as she was finishing her master’s program. Her first scholarship was awarded in 2020.
