Transforming lives of teachers and children
Carter-Larke Black History and Education Lecture
Founded to honor two trailblazing educators, the Carter-Larke Lecture celebrates Black history and education. What began as a tribute is now a lasting tradition. Through research and teaching, Drs. Carter and Larke changed lives.
The Carter-Larke Black History and Education Lecture was established in 2017 to honor and continue the legacies of Dr. Norvella Carter and Dr. Patricia Larke upon their retirement as faculty in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture (TLAC) in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). This lecture has become a culminating event for Black History Month in the CEHD. These two trailblazing African American female faculty members used education and research to transform the lives of teachers and children.
Event Details
Join us on Monday, February 23, 2026
Nine Beats Strong: Rhythm, Resistance, and Renaissance
Where: Texas A&M University main campus, Memorial Student Center Room 2300 – A Zoom option is also available.
When: 11:00am – 2:00pm
Contact John A. Williams III (jwilliams3@tamu.edu) with questions regarding the event.
2026 Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Tony B. Watlington, Sr.
Dr. Tony B. Watlington Sr. was appointed superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, the nation’s 8th largest school district with nearly 200,000 students, on April 1, 2022 and was sworn in on June 16, 2022. A collaborative and results-oriented leader, Dr. Watlington began his tenure by launching an aggressive Entry Plan composed of 3 phases. Phase one included a listening and learning tour with 90 sessions in his first 100 days, phase 2 included a Transition Team composed of 100 diverse Philadelphians and K-12 national experts who issued a formal report with short and long-term recommendations, and phase 3 includes the development of an aggressive 5-year strategic planning process to position the school district to become the fastest improving large, urban school district in the country.
Over the past two years under Superintendent Watlington’s leadership, student attendance increased by 3,500 students, the percentage of 3rd grade students scoring proficient or advanced in reading increased by 6.2%-points, the percentage of 3rd-8th grade students scoring proficient or advanced in math increased by 5.5%-points, the number of dropouts decreased by 1,400, the 4-year graduation rate increased by 6.3 percentage points, and for the first time in a decade, the district increased its student enrollment by 1,841 students.
Dr. Watlington began his career as a history teacher in Guilford County, NC in 1994 and was named district Teacher-of-the-Year in 1998. A life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Dr. Watlington has received many awards and honors including being named as “Superintendent of the Year” in December 2024 by District Administration Leadership Institute (DALI), for his leadership in accelerating academic achievement among one of the largest out of the country’s 14,000 school systems. He was also honored as the North Carolina PTA Administrator of the Year in 2014, and he received the Communities-in-Schools (CIS) Champion’s Cup and Business Leaders Movers and Shakers Award.
Outside of his academic work, his interests include spending time with his family, volunteering in his community, CrossFit training and running 5K races, traveling to historic sites, learning to play his guitar, good food and conversation, and he enjoys an occasional basketball game with his 3 sons, Tony Jr., Aaron, and Caleb.
2026 Awardees
Distinguished Practitioner Award
Nelva Q. Williams Williamson
Nelva Williamson, a 40+ year history educator, is a recognized leader in AP African American Studies. Beyond the high school classroom, she is a featured speaker on national panels, including SXSW and the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, and internationally at Central European University in Austria, advocating for the teaching of history and for transformational leadership in American education.
Legacy of Excellence Leadership Award
Dr. Rhonda Fowler
Dr. Rhonda Fowler is a Clinical Professor and Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Affairs. Her research centers on career development, inclusive learning environments for first-generation and underrepresented students, and mentoring. She has established a formal mentoring program for staff and actively develops initiatives to support diverse student populations.
Distinguished Practitioner Award
Tiffany Akpan
Tiffany Akpan was born and raised in Houston, TX in a home where education was nonnegotiable. She chose Texas A&M for its legacy and opportunity. After earning a business degree, she became an educator to close achievement gaps. Following 11 years of teaching fourth grade, she became the first African American principal of Longfellow Elementary School in Houston ISD.
Legacy of Excellence Service Award
Amy Jurica
Amy Jurica serves as the Outreach Manager for the Research Enterprise & Outreach office in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. She received her Master of Educational Leadership from the University of St. Thomas in Houston and her Bachelor of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A&M University.
Legacy of Excellence Research Award
Dr. Charles Ridley
Charles R. Ridley, PhD, is a professor in the counseling psychology program at Texas A&M University. He received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota. His research interests include multicultural counseling competence, thematic mapping in case conceptualization, and the scientist–practitioner model.
Past Events
2025 Keynote Speaker
Anthony Green
For 30 years, Tony Green has been a social studies teacher, coach and Black Student Union (BSU) moderator at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, CA. During his tenure, Green developed and taught several new classes – including African American History, Black Nationalist Movement – as well as Geo-History, U.S. History and Government. He also started the BSU, which plans and presents the annual Black History Month Assembly and serves as moderator of Brothers Making a Change (BMAC), a mentorship program that seeks to set a positive foundation for college.
Green says the most rewarding aspect of his work is playing a part in molding the future of the country. “My proudest moments have been making students and athletes believe in themselves. The students we touch continually have a real impact on the city, country and world,” he said.
2024 Event
Excellence as the Standard: Resilience and Courage During these Times
Keynote Speaker
Rich Milner, Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University
Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Education Professor of Education (with tenure)
Department of Teaching and Learning
Joseph A. Johnson, Jr. Distinguished Leadership Professor (2022-2023)
Founding Director, Initiative for Race Research and Justice
Professor of Education Policy Studies (Secondary) Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations
Professor of Sociology (Secondary), Department of Sociology
Editor-in-Chief, Urban Education
Founding Book Series Editor, Race and Education, Harvard Education Press
H. Richard Milner IV is Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development. He has secondary appointments in Peabody’s Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations and the Department of Sociology in Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science. Milner is President of the American Educational Research Association, the largest research organization in the world. He is also an elected member of the National Academy of Education.
Milner is a researcher, scholar and leader of urban education and teacher education. Centering on equity and diversity, he has spent hundreds of hours observing teachers’ practices and interviewing educators and students in urban schools about micro-level policies that shape students’ opportunities to learn. He examines the social context of classrooms and schools and looks at ways in which teachers talk (particularly about race) influences student learning, identity and development.
His research in urban schools and his book, “’These Kids are out of Control:’ Why We Must Reimagine Classroom Management,” (Corwin Press, 2018) has influenced designs and practices of teacher education courses and programs. To improve relational, curricular, assessment and instructional practices, school districts across the United States and beyond draw on his recommendations to support students of color, those who live below the poverty line, and those whose first language is not English.
Milner began his career at Vanderbilt where in 2008, he became the first Black faculty member at Peabody College to earn promotion and tenure from assistant to associate professor. He also was appointed Lois Autrey Betts Assistant (later Associate) Professor of Education.
In addition to his service in the Department of Teaching and Learning, where he founded the graduate program in learning, diversity and urban studies, he held a courtesy appointment in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations.
Milner left Vanderbilt to spend five years at University of Pittsburgh as Helen Faison Endowed Professor of Urban Education, professor of education, and by courtesy, professor of sociology, professor of social work, and professor of Africana studies. While there, he directed the university’s Center for Urban Education.
He rejoined Vanderbilt faculty in 2018.
2024 Carter Series Gallery
2025 Award Recipients
Cheletia M. Johnson ‘98
Service Award Recipient
Cheletia M. Johnson ‘98 is a dedicated leader and community advocate with a passion for service. A proud mother and wife, she earned her B.S. in Community Health from Texas A&M University and an M.S. in Counseling from Prairie View A&M in 2006.
Johnson began her career at the Lincoln Center in 1993 and remained committed to serving her community until her retirement in 2024. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for her impact on young people and the community. She believes in empowering others to shape their own paths and embraces every opportunity to uplift those around her.
Johnson serves as president of the Brazos Valley Area Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and is actively involved in various organizations within the Brazos Valley community. In her free time, she enjoys DIY projects, reading and traveling, always looking for new ways to learn and inspire others.
Dea Polk
Leadership Award Recipient
Dea Polk has more than 20 years’ experience in professional and leadership development, training, instruction, and facilitation. After graduating from Angelo State University in journalism and communications, she served as KLST-TV’s first ever female African American Sports Reporter.
Polk served in a variety of state, academic, private and non-profit roles before joining Texas A&M University in 2015. In her current role as Dual Career Program Manager she assists potential and existing faculty members’ partners in finding employment opportunities. She has shared her expertise in professional etiquette at multiple conferences, organizations and other speaking opportunities. Her service, contributions and amazing enthusiasm were recently recognized by the university with the Tradition of Excellence Award for Staff.
In addition to her professional expertise, Polk also serves on several local organizations in a variety of roles and volunteers at the local food bank. Despite all these accomplishments, she still considers her daughter to be her greatest achievement.
Fuhui Tong ’06
Research Award Recipient
Dr. Fuhui Tong is Associate Provost & Dean of the Graduate & Professional School and Professor of Bilingual/ESL education in the Department of Educational Psychology in the College of Education and Human Development.
Dr. Tong’s research areas include program design and evaluation in bilingual/ESL education, second language assessment, and the integration of language and literacy development with science learning among bilingual learners. She has authored and/or co-authored 120+ publications, the majority of which were in collaboration with her graduate students. She has garnered over $90 million in extramural funding from the U.S. Department of Education, National Science Foundation, Texas Education Agency and other entities.
Dr. Tong has mentored and advised numerous graduate students and her advisees have been placed in tenure-track faculty and research positions, state education agencies, and K-12 settings. In addition to her current administrative role, Dr. Tong has served her professional organization and the institution in various leadership positions, including editor/associate editor, chair/task force member at the state and national level, graduate program coordinator, division chair, co-director of a prolific research center, and department head. She is committed to elevating our graduate programs and the student experience, making our university a preferred destination for graduate education.
2024 Award Recipients
Chayla Haynes Davison, PHD
Associate Professor EAHR
Legacy of Excellence and Equity Research Award
Dr. Chayla Haynes Davison is an Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration and past recipient of Texas A&M University’s Robert and Mavis Simmons Faculty Fellowship. She earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Denver and holds a M.A. in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University. Her research centers on critical and inclusive pedagogy with emphasis on college teaching and faculty development, Black women in higher education and critical race theory and intersectionality scholarship and methodologies. She is co-editor of Interrogating Whiteness and Relinquishing Power: White Faculty’s Commitment to Racial Consciousness in STEM Classrooms (Peter Lang), Race, Equity and the Learning Environment: The Global Relevance of Critical and Inclusive Pedagogies in Higher Education (Taylor Francis) and Black Liberation in Higher Education: Considerations for Research and Practice (Routledge).
Her scholarship also appears in the Review of Educational Research, Educational Researcher, the Journal of Higher Education, Teachers College Record, the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and the Journal of Negro Education. Dr. Haynes Davison recently received the 2022 Christine A. Stanley Award for Diversity and Inclusion Research in Educational Development for her article entitled, “The Susceptibility of Teaching to White Interests: A Theoretical Explanation of the Influence of Racial Consciousness on the Behaviors of White Faculty in the Classroom” by the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network. She was the 2020 junior scholar recipient of the Association for the Study of Higher Education’s (ASHE) Council for Ethnic Participation’s Mildred Garcia Award for Exemplary Scholarship. Additionally, the Comparative & International Education Society’s African Diaspora Special Interest Group (CIES ADSIG), an affiliate of the World Education Research Association (WERA), named Dr. Haynes Davison a 2020 Emerging Scholar. Prior to the professoriate, Dr. Haynes Davison served the higher education and student affairs profession for 15 years, as a former Director of Orientation and Family Programs and Services, Director of Student Affairs and Career Services, and Director of Student Activities.
Amber Robertson
Founder & CEO, Brazos Valley Blessings (BVB)
Legacy of Equity and Excellence Service Award
Ms. Robertson’s goal in being the founder of her non-profit organization, Brazos Valley Blessings (BVB) in 2020, was to partner, network, and engage advocates in our community. BVB’s mission as a community outreach organization was to help our local community combat the daily battle of poverty, food insecurity, and housing shortages. Ms. Robertson, a young widow and mom to two biological children and two adopted children, initially started BVB as an olive branch from herself to the community. Still, it suddenly took off to a full-blown service for others helping with Christmas for families as well as having a Facebook page where others can give to various people who are in daily need.
John Singer, PHD
Associate Professor of Sport Management
Legacy of Excellence and Equity Leadership Award
John N. Singer (PhD, The Ohio State University) is Associate Professor of Sport Management and former Associate Dean for the Office of Inclusive Excellence (2019-2023) in the College of Education and Human Development (SEHD) at Texas A&M University (TAMU). Prior to joining the faculty at TAMU, Dr. Singer served four years as Assistant Professor of Sport Management at James Madison University. Dr. Singer’s scholarship has particularly focused on race and racism at the intersections of sport, education, and society. He is author of the book, Race, Sports, and Education: Improving Opportunities and Outcomes for Black Male College Athletes (Harvard Education Press, 2019). His scholarship has been featured in numerous academic journals and chapters in edited books, and also on multiple social media platforms, including the Money Making Conversations podcast and syndicated radio show with two-time Emmy Award-winning and three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television and film producer, Rushion McDonald. In 2020, Money Making Conversations honored Dr. Singer with the SWAG Award, which profiles Black excellence and men whose service and leadership are exemplars of SWAG, representing Strength, Wisdom, Assertiveness, and Genuineness in their spirit. He was named a North American Society of Sport Management (NASSM) Research Fellow in 2021, received the NASSM Diversity Award in 2019, and in 2009 received the Montague Scholar-Center for Teaching Excellence Award in the SEHD at TAMU. He has also been a co-principal investigator on a major research grant with the NCAA that focused on diversity best practices within Division I university athletic departments. Dr. Singer has served on several journal editorial boards, including the Journal of Sport Management and currently the Sociology of Sport Journal.
In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Dr. Singer has amassed relevant practical sport industry experiences and service activities. As a former golf caddie and recipient of the Charles “Chick” Evans Scholarship at his undergraduate and master’s degree alma mater, Michigan State University, Dr. Singer has served as an inaugural member on the diversity, equity, and inclusion council and committee for the Western Golf Association (WGA) and Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF) since 2018. In 2020 he became a WGA Director, which involves promoting and enhancing caddie programs at golf & country clubs, engaging in fundraising efforts for the ESF, serving as an official at WGA tournaments, and participating in various ESF functions and events. From 2016 to 2018 he served as the chair of the Athletics Council at TAMU. He has also been a basketball official at both the interscholastic (since 2006) and intercollegiate (2012-2020) levels. Since 2014, he has been invited and officiated several Texas High School Boys Basketball State Championships. Prior to pursuing a career in academia, Dr. Singer completed a marketing and customer relations internship in the PGA Tour Minority Internship Program at its Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida headquarters; and a football operations internship with the Jacksonville Jaguars, which at the time was in its second year as a new NFL expansion franchise.
2023 Speakers
Ayana Allen-Handy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Urban Education
Department of Policy, Organization, and Leadership, Drexel University
Ayana Allen-Handy, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Urban Education in the Department of Policy, Organization, and Leadership at Drexel University. She is also the Founder/Director of the Justice-Oriented Youth Education Lab (The JOY Lab). Her work is dedicated to justice-oriented urban education and is built upon debunking and (re)framing pejorative narratives of urban students, schools, and communities.
Fred Bonner II, Ed.D.
Professor and Endowed Chair in Educational Leadership and Counseling
Founding Executive Director of the Minority Achievement, Creativity and High Ability (MACH III) Center, Prairie View A&M University
Dr. Fred A. Bonner, II is Professor and Endowed Chair in Educational Leadership and Counseling and Founding Executive Director of the Minority Achievement, Creativity and High-Ability (MACH-III) Center at Prairie View A&M University. He also is the Founding Editor of the Journal of Minority Achievement, Creativity and Leadership (JMACL) with Penn State University Press and Editor of the Book Series–Diverse Faculty in the Academy with Routledge Press.
Chance Lewis, Ph.D.
Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Urban Education
Former Provost Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Inclusion and Access, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Dr. Chance W. Lewis is the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Urban Education and former Provost Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Inclusion and Access at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Additionally, Dr. Lewis is the Executive Director of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Urban Education Collaborative which is publishing a new generation of research on improving urban schools.
Tyrone Tanner, Ed.D.
Dean, Office of Graduate Studies, Professor of Educational Leadership
Executive Director, Prairie View A&M University/Northwest Houston Center
Dean, Office of Graduate Studies of Prairie View A&M University, Professor of Educational Leadership and Executive Director of Prairie View A&M University/Northwest Houston Center. Dr. Tanner’s research focuses on addressing the educational needs of historically under-served students and focuses on closing achievement gaps, retention, and graduation in P-16 settings, building strong parent/school partnerships, dispelling deficit model thinking, diversity, and culturally responsive leadership and teaching.
2023 Carter Series Gallery
Dr. Norvella Carter
Dr. Patricia Larke
Retired since 2017, Dr. Norvella Carter and Dr. Patricia Larke legacy continues through the college’s Carter and Larke Lecture Series held yearly during Black History Month. A fundraising campaign is underway to raise a minimum of $100,000 to permanently endow the event. Such an endowment could enable a yearlong lecture series, allowing prolonged conversation about issues of equity education.
Efforts are being made to permanently endow this event into a yearlong lecture series that can help prolong conversations about issues of equity in education.
Past Speakers
- Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson (2022)
- Dr. Chance Lewis (2021)
- Victor Goode, Esq. (2020)
- Dr. Keffrelyn D. Brown (2019)
- Dr. Fred Bonner II (2018)
- Dr. Valerie Hill-Jackson (2017)
In the news: The Eagle
Scholars discuss importance of urban education during Black Excellence luncheon
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