A small girl sits quietly in the corner of an elementary school classroom, her bright blue eyes watching her teacher go up and down the rows of students. Unlike previous teachers this girl had had, her third grade teacher cared, a fact that showed in each interaction with her students. This was the year, this was the room where Ellen McIntyre, the new dean of the College of Education, realized her future was in education.
“I was the kid who was kind of quiet in school, well behaved but quiet. What I saw was sort of abusive behavior by teachers. I saw teachers being unfair to kids. It scared me. When I was in third grade I had this teacher who was completely different. She just treated every kid with love and respect. I just observed that. I was smart enough to know that that was different. From that day on I never waivered: I wanted to be a teacher,” said McIntyre.
Ellen McIntyre. Headshot courtesy of UNC Charlotte.
After receiving her B.A. in elementary education from Northern Kentucky University, McIntyre taught elementary students for a few years before deciding to continue her own education and achieve her M.A. in reading education from Northern Kentucky and eventually her Ed.D. in language and literacy education with a focus on vulnerable populations from the University of Cincinnati.
From a position at the University of Louisville where she received the University Scholar distinction, given to those who were scholars and grant-receivers, she moved to N.C. State.
“N.C. State is it’s own special place. It’s very [science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)] oriented. I got a lot of background in STEM education there,” said McIntyre.
The decision to come to UNC Charlotte and assume the role of dean was an easy one for McIntyre. Last year, the Kentucky native served as the interim associate dean for Academic Affairs at N.C. State. When the news broke that UNC Charlotte was seeking a new dean for the College of Education, McIntyre jumped on the opportunity.
“I had thought maybe one day I might want to be a dean. I hadn’t expected to want to do it so soon,” said McIntyre. “But here was this moment and this opportunity and I loved the [campus of UNC Charlotte] and I just thought, ‘This.’”
UNC Charlotte’s reputation as an urban research institute was one of the university’s main draws for McIntyre, who has spent the better part of her professional life researching ways to improve the in-school experience for both students and teachers in urban settings.
“My research focus has always been on kids who have been disenfranchised whether by schools, by communities, so on. That can mean just kids who are struggling in reading, or those from high poverty, minorities, English language learners,” said McIntyre. “Most teachers care about all the kids, but don’t know how to teach them.”
With the focus of her personal research in mind, McIntyre intends to help UNC Charlotte’s College of Education better prepare teachers to education students in urban settings.
McIntyre began her new venture as dean of the College of Education July 1, replacing Mary Lynne Calhoun who retired at the end of June. Since then, she says she’s been working to get to know the faculty and the programs offered by the college.
“I want the faculty to help me produce even better teachers and better school leaders for the community. That’s not to say [other programs] aren’t important, but what I want to do is say that if this is our strength, this is what we want to play up and make even better,” said McIntyre. “I want feedback and inspiration and ideas from the faculty, the staff and the other stakeholders around the university about what it is the college should be doing.”