Annual Lecture on April 16, 2024 at 6 PM in Harris Student Union Theatre
Coharie Tribe member, longtime scholar to speak at 3rd Annual Paris Lecture Series and SOEHS Convocation Ceremony
Dr. Susan Faircloth, former professor and director of the School of Education at Colorado State University and a member of the Coharie Tribe based in Sampson County, will be the keynote speaker at the third annual Paris Lecture Series and the School of Education & Human Sciences annual Convocation.
Faircloth will speak on “Honoring our Rural Roots through a Life of Service” for the series, set for 6-7 p.m. on April 16 at Campbell’s Oscar N. Harris Student Union Theatre.
After more than 20 years in academia as a professor and director at Colorado State University’s School of Education, Faircloth recently left the university to launch an independent consulting firm, Two Feathers Consulting, LLC. Through this venture she continues to engage with Native peoples and communities, many of which are located in rural areas, and to grapple with the question of what it means to live a life of service and purpose. Regardless of where she lives or works, she says, memories of rural North Carolina are never far from her mind or her heart. For this place and the people who inhabit it, she will forever be indebted.
In a 2009 article published in the Journal of Research in Rural Education, Faircloth wrote:
“Growing up in rural North Carolina, I never imagined that I would one day work in a university far removed from my family and community. … However, my mother and father had aspirations for me that spanned outside our local community. There was never any doubt in their minds that I would go to college, it was simply a question of where I would go. Today, I find myself immersed in the day to day challenges of navigating academia while striving to do work that is meaningful to me, my community, and the larger field of education. In doing so, my work is informed not only by scholarly and academic research, but by my own personal experiences as an American Indian woman, one of the first in my family to attend and graduate from college, coupled with the Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing that were introduced to me by the members of my family, tribe, and community. As I do this work, I am often reminded of my own experiences in education as well as the stories of scores of children, both Native and non-Native, who have fallen through the cracks of the educational system. These experiences bolster my commitment to finding ways in which to successfully nurture the emotional, cultural, linguistic, physical, and academic needs of … students.”
Faircloth’s work centers on Indigenous education, the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students with special educational needs, and the moral and ethical dimensions of school leadership. She has published widely in such journals as Educational Administration Quarterly, Harvard Educational Review, The Journal of Special Education Leadership, International Studies in Educational Administration, Values and Ethics in Educational Administration, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, Rural Special Education Quarterly and Journal of Disability Policy Studies.
The Paris Lecture Series is made possible through a gift from Dr. John Viehe. Dr. Viehe has taught at Campbell University for many years after a distinguished career in military intelligence. He earned his Ed.D. from North Carolina State University. The lecture series is in honor of his mother Ethel Paris Viehe and aunts Florence Edith Paris and Cora Paris Hagen. The Paris sisters dedicated their lives to serving and educating others.
In addition to the Paris Lecture Series, graduating 2024 seniors will be sent forth as “servant leaders” during the School of Education & Human Sciences annual convocation. Social Work and Teacher Education Candidates will be recognized.
Paris Lecture Series (3rd annual)
- What: You are invited to attend the third annual Paris Lecture sponsored by the School of Education & Human Sciences through a generous donation from Dr. John Viehe, adjunct psychology professor. This year’s event will be held in conjunction with the annual School of Education & Human Sciences Convocation in which the school sends forth Social Work and Education seniors for “servant leadership.”
- Where: Harris Student Union, Campbell University
- When: 6-7 p.m., April 16
Directions & Parking
The Hobson Performance Center is located in the D.Rich Building 116 State Road 1525, Lillington on the campus of Campbell University in Buies Creek. Parking spaces will be available in Campbell’s A-Lot and the J-Lot. Visitors must display a printed copy of the event parking permit on their dashboard (VISITOR PARKING PERMITS)
About The Paris Endowed Lecture Series
The Paris Lecture Series is made possible through a gift from Dr. John Viehe. Dr. Viehe has taught at Campbell University for many years after a distinguished career in Military Intelligence. He earned his Ed.D. from North Carolina State University.
The lecture series is in honor of his mother Ethel Paris Viehe, and aunts, Florence Edith Paris and Cora Paris Hagen. The Paris sisters dedicated their lives to serving and educating others.
The Paris sisters were exemplars in the field of education, examples for current students to emulate. Each was born in the city of Buffalo, New York and remained in education long enough to retire and earn a pension. When they entered the field, most teachers were prepared solely at two-year normal schools. Some obtained additional higher education. Among New York State’s major cities, Buffalo had the highest proportion of teachers with no formal education beyond normal school.
However, the Paris Sisters did not follow this trend. Each graduated from Buffalo Normal School (now SUNY Buffalo State College) and then earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Buffalo (now the State University of New York at Buffalo). Subsequently, each of the sisters earned a master’s degree from an Ivy League University.
Firstborn Florence also acquired a Principal’s Certificate and became the youngest and first female principal in the Buffalo School System. She served as principal of Buffalo, New York Public School 65 for 47 years.
Cora, the middle sister, later attended Colorado School of Mines and developed a solid understanding of earth science. During World War II, she stepped forward to support the war effort by teaching science courses, including meteorology, to pilots, enabling the opening of an airplane factory which produced over a thousand lend-lease fighter planes.
Ethel had the misfortune of being widowed with four children under the age of 11; she immediately returned to teaching and became Chairman of the Science department at Hamburg, New York High School. She was awarded three National Science Foundation grants to study specialized advanced topics. She imparted the importance of education to her four, each of whom subsequently earned a doctoral degree.