People

Donor

The initial donation for the lab came from Dr. Bruce A. Carter, who was recently appointed as a member of the National Council on the Arts by President Barack Obama. Prior to that, he was an Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Maryland. Carter’s research explores the intersections of social justice and arts participation. Carter received a Bachelors of Music degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, an M.M. from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in Music Education from Northwestern University.

Founder and Director

Dr. Sherick Hughes

The Founder and Director of the Interpretive Research Suite & Carter Qualitative Thought Lab is Dr. Sherick Hughes, who also serves as the co-director of the UNC Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Studies. His scholarship includes over 60 manuscripts accepted for publication that focus generally upon four areas: (1) critical race studies and black education; (2) social context of education (urban and rural settings); (3) interdisciplinary foundations of education; and (4) qualitative and mixed methods research methodology in Education. He has led research articles and reviews accepted for publication in highly selective peer-reviewed journals including: Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Educational Studies, Urban Education, Urban Review, Education and Urban Society, International Journal of Inclusive Education, and Teachers College Record. In addition, Hughes is the single author and co-author of numerous qualitative and mixed-methods book chapters. He has authored and co-authored four books including the 2007 AESA Critics’ Choice Award-Winning text, Black Hands in the Biscuits Not in the Classrooms: Unveiling Hope in a Struggle for Brown’s Promise, and the 2014 AESA Critics’ Choice Award-Winning title, The Evolving Significance of Race: Living, Learning, and Teaching, both published with Peter Lang Publishers. Hughes is the author and editor of What We Still Don’t Know about Teaching Race: How to Talk About it in the Classroom, published with The Edwin Mellen Press, and the 2018 AESA Critics’ Choice Award-Nominee, Autoethnography: Product, Process and Possibility for Critical Social Research, a textbook for Sage Publications.

His work has been recognized by Phi Delta Kappa and the Harvard Family Involvement Network of Educators. He has been honored with a 2010-2011 CTE-Lilly Fellowship from the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Office of Undergraduate Studies and in 2012 was honored with a Border Crossers Award, from Border Crossers, a community organization in New York City that works to bring together diverse students to explore issues of inequality, discrimination and social justice. In April of 2013, Dr. Hughes was honored as the annual recipient of the Early Career Award from Division G–Social Context of Education of the American Educational Research Association. Most recently, he was honored by a 2016 Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association.

Hughes previously taught at the University of Maryland (College Park) and at the University of Toledo (Ohio).

Educational Background:

• Ph.D. 2003 – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• M.P.A. 2001 – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• M.A. 1999 – Wake Forest University
• B.A. 1997 – University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Past and Present Lab Research Assistants
Danny Gibboney (Supervisor) – 2nd year doctoral student in CCTE
Annie Francis-3rd year doctoral student in Social Work
Wenyang Sun – 5th year doctoral student in Culture, Curriculum, & Teacher Education (CCTE)
Torri Staton – 4th year doctoral student in CCTE
Cortland Gilliam – 2nd year doctoral student in CCTE
Jeremy Godwin – 5th year doctoral student in CCTE
Torrie Edwards – 5th year doctoral student, PLSI
Joseph Hooper -5th year doctoral student in CCTE
Olivia Kumkwamba, 2nd year doctoral student in CCTE
Dr. Alison LaGarry-Alumnus, CCTE Class of ’16
Dr. Tim Conder-Alumnus, CCTE Class of ’18
Dr. Derrick Drakeford-Alumnus, CCTE Class of ’16
Dr. Hillary Parkhouse-Alumnus, CCTE, Class of ’16
Dr. Summer Pennel-Alumnus, CCTE, Class of ’16