Theresa Perez, professor emerita of the department of middle, secondary and K-12 education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, died earlier this year. But her friends and former colleagues in the Cato College of Education at the university are honoring her memory by establishing a scholarship in her name. The college is crowdfunding to support the Theresa Perez Memorial Scholarship, which will be awarded to graduate students in the English as a second language program.
“This scholarship will honor her legacy and help her memory live on,” said Lan Kolano, an education professor and graduate director of the English as a second language program. “Dr. Perez devoted her life to education and service. This fund will support candidates who share her vision for equity and education in their pursuit to become a North Carolina teacher.”
Perez, who taught middle school before moving to the university level, was born in San Jose, California, and grew up in Fresno. Perez held a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a master’s degree in linguistics. She earned a doctorate in curriculum and teacher education from Stanford University. Dr. Perez joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1998.