The Decree
since 1960 “of, by, andfor the Wesleyan community. ”
October 31, 2022
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA 27804
Dr. Brewer Becomes First Faculty Member of Color to Earn Jefferson-Pilot Award
Dr. Patricia Brewer will deliver
the Jefferson-Pilot lecture next
spring, the first Wesleyan faculty
member of color to do so.
The award, considered Wesleyan’s
highest honor for faculty members,
is given in recognition of scholarship,
teaching, and community service.
Now in her 19th year at NC
Wesleyan, Dr. Brewer is an as
sociate professor of education and
coordinator of the special educa
tion program. She earned a B.S. in
elementary education and an M.A.
in special education, both from
NC Central University; an M.Ed.
(educational leadership) at East
Carolina University; and a Ph.D.
(special education administration)
from Southern Illinois University.
Prior to joining the Wesleyan
faculty in 2004, the Goldsboro
native had served as a school
principal and filled a number
of teaching and administrative
positions in public schools and
rehabilitation centers in North
Carolina and Georgia. From
1995-98, she took time off from
work and graduate studies to be
home with her son, now 27.
At Wesleyan Dr. Brewer has
taught a range of special education
and general teacher education cours
es. In particular she enjoys teaching
Introduction to Special Education;
Research-Based Learning Strategies
for Math, Reading, and Writing; and
Assessment and Program Develop
ment in Special Education. A new
special topics course, “Unconscious
Bias: The Man in the Mirror,” has
Women’s Teams Travel to Scotland in 4th Overseas Trip
A pro soccer match and tours
of ancient castles were among the
highlights of a trip taken to Scotland
by a group of Wesleyan athletes last
May, the fourth such trip since 2010.
The women’s soccer and vol
leyball teams get the opportunity
to travel overseas once during
their four years at the university.
The athletes pay their own way,
with some costs defrayed by fun
draisers during the school year.
While visiting the country.
Bishops compete against local
clubs, attend professional matches,
and take in the sights. A Wesleyan
faculty member accompanies the
athletes and guides them through
a one-credit course. Past trips,
organized by Soccer Head Coach
Beverly Biancur and Volleyball
Head Coach Vicky Gentile, have
taken Wesleyan athletes to Italy,
Germany and Spain.
Mary Cat Davis, an MBA student
and member of the volleyball team,
described the Scotland trip as a
unique experience, noting “We
NCWU's women’s soccer and volleyball teams mixed sight-seeing, coursework
and athletic competition on a recent trip to Scotland. From left to right: Rhea
Wilder, Sophia Sweeney, Mary Cat Davis and Mary Alice Butler. Photo courtesy M.A. Butler
become a favorite as well.
The current associate
chair of Faculty Council,
Dr. Brewer serves as a
member of the Presi
dent’s Advisory Council
for Black, Indigenous,
and People of Color,
leading the subgroup that
oversees student support
and advocacy. Over the
years, she has remained
active in a number of
state and national educa
tion organizations.
President Evan Duff
lauded Dr. Brewer, citing
not just her teaching, but her
work with an after-school
program that she created for
area special education students. “I’ve
always found Dr. Brewer to be a strong
advocate for exceptional learners,”
he said. “She’s worked tirelessly in the
classroom and the community to make
a difference in the lives of others.”
Lois Hart, associate professor of
education, echoed the president’s
praise. Besides noting her work as
an instructor and mentor, she also
cited the afterschool program.
She marvels at her colleague’s
commitment to special education.
“I’ve been most impressed by her
advocacy for the rights of special
education students,” Dr. Hart said.
She added that Dr. Brewer of
ten accompanies parents to meet
ings at their children’s schools,
serving as an advocate in helping
to fashion a student’s Individual
ized Education Plan (IEP). “She
had some girls who had never flown
before, and many of us had never
left the country. Not only did we
play together against an international
team, but we also got to learn about
another country’s culture and make
memories that most student-athletes
don’t get the chance to make.”
Asked to identify their favorite
part of the trip, Mariah Berkovich,
Mary Alice Butler and Rhea Wilder
all said it was the professional soc
cer match between Celtic FC and
Motherwell FC. The Bishops were
treated to seats near the front row.
“Inside the stadium the atmosphere
was unlike anything I’ve ever
experienced,” said Berkovich, a
senior midfielder/forward on the
soccer team. “We were surrounded
by tens of thousands of Celtic fans
who chanted and cheered for their
team without a moment of rest. When
one chant ended, another one began.”
Calling the experience unfor
gettable, she related that at the
beginning of the match, several
green smoke bombs were released
Jefferson-Pilot recipient Patricia Brewer Photo courtesy of P. Brewer
works hard to ensure that parents
of special education children
know their rights in terms of ac
cessing schools,” Dr. Hart said.
The Decree interviewed Dr.
Brewer in early October for the
following profile:
Q. Describe your hometown.
A. I was born in Goldsboro, located
in the North Carolina’s Coastal
Plain. It’s the proud home of Sey
mour Johnson Air Force Base.
Q. Tell us about your family.
A. I’m the youngest of seven
siblings and the only one birthed
in a hospital. I have twin brothers
and four sisters, two of whom are
deceased, along with my mom
and dad. A legacy of educa
tional excellence was shaped and
molded into me by my mom, who
only received a seventh-grade edu-
by the Celtic fans. “At one point,
it was hard to even see the field,”
she said. “Fans showed their sup
port for their team in every way
possible. Not only did the stadium
go wild with each Celtic goal, but
it was high energy throughout the
90 minutes. I would be an honor
ary Celtic fan any day.”
Butler, a middle/right side hitter
on the volleyball team, was on her
first trip overseas. Like Berkovich,
she liked the pro soccer match most
of all. The Wesleyan junior noted
that she played the sport in her youth.
“I’ve always loved watching soccer,”
she said. “And I've always wanted to
attend a pro match, so I was looking
forward to this event the whole trip.”
She said the rabid Scottish
“football” fans made an indelible
impression on her. “It’s amazing
to see a sporting event bring such
excitement and rivalry within the
community,” she said. "The clos
est thing that the U.S. has to that
feeling would be the Super Bowl.”
She reported that the fans were
invested in every aspect of the
game. “When we were checking
in with our tickets, the opposing
team's fans were entering and the
atmosphere completely changed,”
she said. “The excitement, suspense,
and rivalry were very high. It was
an amazing experience and I would
love to do it again someday.”
Wilder, a defender on the soccer
team, characterized the atmo
sphere at the match as “electric.”
She described the stadium as a
sea of Celtic green and white, with
dots of gold and crimson, Mother
well’s colors. She said fans for the
visiting team were surrounded by
police officers for their safety.
See TRAVEL pg 5
cation. She was my first
teacher, who inspired me
with her perseverance,
faith, and humble begin
nings. Despite having
no formal education, she
was the pillar of the com
munity and made life sus
tainable for her children
with her entrepreneurial
spirit. My mom started a
“pork skin business.” She
was well known in Golds
boro, surrounding counties,
and on the Eastern borders
of Maryland, the District
of Columbia, New Jersey,
New York, and the Persian
Gulf for her homemade
pork skins and cracklings.
She was also a pastor.
I was the first in my family to
earn undergraduate and graduate
degrees. Three of my siblings
matriculated to college and
earned undergraduate and gradu
ate degrees later in their careers.
Q. Tell us about your son.
A. I’m the proud mother of Zach
ary. He’s a 2014 graduate of the
United States Military Academy
Preparatory School at West Point.
His career aspirations evolved, and
he enrolled at NC Central Uni
versity in Durham and the ROTC
program at Duke University. He
graduated from NC Central in
2018 with a degree in history and
then moved right into law school
at Barry University in Florida.
He's now an associate attorney at
the Public Defender’s Office in the
13th Judicial Circuit, Tampa.
Q. What’s the most adversity
you’ve faced in your life?
A. When I was a college junior, I
began to display hyperactive and
impulsive behaviors. A formative
event occurred during my swim
ming class. I hadn’t advanced to the
level of diving, but I went deep into
the pool and jumped. The swim
ming teacher rescued me. Later, I
was diagnosed with ADHD and
underwent a subtotal thyroidectomy.
Q. What kind of student were you at NC
Central, and what were your primary
interests and extracurricular activities?
A. I nearly flunked out of college,
as I would stay in the student center
and play cards until its closing. I
didn’t attend classes regularly. I was
terrified. I knew this would break
my mom’s heart, as I was her first
child to attend college. I had to
remember why I was in college and
commit myself to my studies.
Q. How did you become interest
ed in teaching and, in particular,
the field of special education?
A. As I mentioned, my mom was my
first teacher, and I observed her impact
on people’s lives as a community
advocate and a pastor. Her church
was small, but she was devoted, and
she expanded her services beyond the
church walls. Also, after I graduated
from high school, there were federal
programs that provided summer jobs
for children from low-income homes. I
worked at Cherry Hospital, a mentally
ill institution in Goldsboro, for three
summers. My supervisor was the per
fect mentor. She was well disciplined
and interacted with all the medical
and clinical stakeholders across North
Carolina’s 100 counties that brought
residents to the hospital. She was so
passionate and valued every resident
during the admission process.
Q. What prompted you to enroll
in the Ph.D. program at SIU back
in the mid-808? And what was
your research emphasis?
A. I wanted to advance my exper
tise in special education at the ad
ministrative level. My emphasis is
reflected in the title of my disserta
tion: “The Development and Evalu
ation of a Cooking Skills Training
Program for Mentally Retarded
Adults: Acquisition, Generalization
and Maintenance of Skills from
Residential Facility to Potential
Community Home Placement.”
With considerable attention
on the normalization principle,
community-based programs, and
functional skills training, profes
sionals were advocating instruc
tional programs for mentally
disabled individuals that would
promote optimal functioning in the
community. My study was designed
to develop and evaluate a cooking
skills program for four mentally dis
abled adults identified for commu
nity placement. At the time of the
study, the adults lived in a residential
facility. The study also evaluated
the effectiveness of training on the
acquisition, generalization, and
maintenance of boiling, baking,
and broiling cooking skills across
the community-based settings. A
multiple baseline design was used
to evaluate the effectiveness of the
cooking skills training program.
Q. After an extensive career in
public school teaching and ad
ministration, you joined the fac
ulty at Wesleyan in 2004. What
attracted you to the school?
A. The greatest attraction was the
oppoilunity to develop the special
education major within the teacher
education program. That was
completed in 2006, when it received
authorization from the state Depart
ment of Public Instruction. It earned
CAEP national accreditation in
2016 and national reaccreditation by
AAQEP last June. The special edu
cation major requires the students to
take the North Carolina Licensure
PRAXIS Exam: Special Educa
tion Core Knowledge and Mild to
Moderate. Our special ed program
graduates have enjoyed 100 percent
licensure passing rate since 2009.
Q. What do you like most about
teaching at Wesleyan?
A. I enjoy building student relationships
and creating excitement in the class-
room. My goal is to make learning a
very positive experience with the active
engagement of students and a focus on
critical thinking. The following quote
best describes my teaching philosophy:
"The art of teaching is the art of as
sisting discovery" (Horace Mann).
Q. Many readers may have a false or
incomplete idea of what special educa
tion is. What’s the definition you use?
A. Special education is a specially
designed program to meet the unique
needs of exceptional children.
Q. Tell us more about your after-
school program, which in 2018 was
recognized by the National Educa
tion Association and the Student
NC Association of Educators.
A. I launched the Students Helping
Students Afterschool Program Ini
tiative with the Association for the
Learning Disabled and Handicapped
(ALDH^in February 2015. The ini
tiative was in response to an outcry
for additional, intensive services for
special needs children in Nash/
Rocky Mount schools, grades K-12.
See BREWER pg 2