Kenneth Carter named Adult & Online Education Professor of the Year

Kenneth Carter is in his fourth year of teaching Information Technology and Cybersecurity at the Campbell University Raleigh campus. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Computer Science from North Carolina A&T State University and brings over 25 years of professional experience into the classroom.

Last month, Dr. Sherryl McLaughlin presented Professor Carter with two awards for the Raleigh Campus and Adult & Online Education Professor of the Year.

“Professor Carter’s experience and knowledge have been instrumental in growing the new Cybersecurity program this past year,” McLaughlin says. “He is an asset to Campbell University and all of Adult & Online Education.”

Carter’s career in computing began in the 5^thgrade. He started programming on his own and taught classmates how to use the computer on an Apple II. In high school, his math teacher allowed him to instruct a couple of subjects because he demonstrated such a tenacious aptitude for computing.

What makes Carter’s college classroom special is a combination of raw talent and good advice from his mother, a retired North Carolina special education teacher. “She always told me,” he recalls, “everyone has a mode of learning, you just kind of have to lead them there, so they can find it for themselves.”

Campbell University launched the new Cybersecurity program in 2019, which aims to meet a growing demand for trained IT professionals in public and private sector roles.

“One of my biggest drives is to make sure these students are ready when they go out to work,” Carter says.

While some students are taking their first steps into the IT field, others are entering the classroom with professional experience. Carter recalls an Information Warfare class made up entirely of former service members who lead several classroom discussions and were able to tie course content back to their jobs in the military. “When you have highly motivated students, especially those coming out of the military, it makes teaching a lot more fun because they are engaged,” he says.

Carter describes fulfillment when he encounters former students and sums up the Professor of the Year award as a lifetime achievement. “Things like that are rewarding to see,” he says. “Out of the awards I’ve gotten, this is the best award I have because it validates what I’ve been doing all these years.”