Shelly Middleton

Historian-Educator, Professor Shelly A. Middleton, MA:

      Despite being a native of her beloved hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Professor Middleton has called North Carolina home for nearly 50 years; she is a self-ascribed  “mutt”.  She is the proud mother of two extraordinary girls and, a very proud graduate of Bennett College where she earned a BA/S in History and Social Sciences. Professor Middleton completed graduate work at North Carolina Central University where she earned an MA in History and will be entering into the PhD, in Leadership Studies program at North Carolina A & T State University. While attending North Carolina Central University, Professor Middleton led the Earlie E. Thorpe History Association of Graduate Students in the Department of History. Under her leadership, she instituted bi-annual symposia, in which the graduate students presented current research topics to both peers and professors. Additionally, she spearheaded a one-day forum, commemorating the tragedy of 9-11, entitled, “Revisiting 9-11: At What Cost Will America Win the War on Terrorism?” This forum engaged History professors from three prestigious universities in the triangle area to introduce topics, to probe meanings, and discuss the ramifications to American life post 9-11. After completing her graduate studies, Professor Middleton began her higher education, teaching career as a History Professor at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC. In 2016, Professor Middleton directed an African-American history project, the Washington Terrace Oral History project, for the DHIC affordable housing agency in Raleigh NC. Her thesis project, entitled “The Life and Times of The Negro High School: A History of the James E. Shepard High School, Zebulon, North Carolina., represents her passion for the history of Negro education and its significant presence in twenty-first century America. In addition to research, Professor Middleton is community-engaged, she served as the organizer/ advisor of the Timber-Wolf History-Mystery Detective Club at Timber Drive Elementary in Garner NC, she organized and facilitated community service and engagement between the NCAT History Scholars and school-aged youth and she is currently poised to pilot a cultural enrichment program designed to bring the NCAT history students, their research and the content of history, more fully, into the lives of school-aged youth. A lover of God, a lover of family, a lover of truth and a lover of knowledge, her unfettered mission is to, Excavate the Past, Interpret the Present and Embrace the Future.