UNC System Honors Dr. Jamie Litty with 2026 Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching

When Cole Yarborough walks into the newsroom at WBTV in Charlotte — one of the nation’s Top 25 television markets — he carries with him lessons first learned in a campus studio at UNC Pembroke.

A 2018 broadcasting graduate and now a production supervisor, Yarborough credits Dr. Jamie Litty with setting the standard that launched his career. His story is one of countless examples of the impact Litty has had on generations of UNCP students — an influence now recognized with her selection as the 2026 recipient of the UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

“I credit her with why I am where I am today,” Yarborough said. “If I could thank her for one thing, it would be for setting the bar extremely high and not moving that bar,” Yarborough said. “That pushed us all to a place where most of us graduated with a skill level higher than others in our field.”

The award is one of the most prestigious honors bestowed upon faculty within the UNC System. For Litty, the award represents both personal validation and broader recognition for hands-on, creative disciplines like broadcasting and media production.

“It’s wonderful when alternative, nontraditional disciplines are recognized for our kind of teaching, which is a little bit outside of the box,” said Litty, who has taught everything from service-learning to study abroad to a hands-on drones course, that prepared students for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification.

For more than three decades, Litty has embodied that outside-the-box approach.

For former student Hannah Bussell, Litty’s “outside of the box” teaching made all the difference. Bussell ’25 first met Litty as a student, but their relationship quickly extended far beyond the classroom.

“Dr. Litty was much more than a professor,” Bussell said. “She was my advisor and supervisor when I was editor of the Indianhead yearbook. I got to know her inside and outside of the classroom.”

In the classroom, Bussell describes Litty as polished and prepared — but never passive.

“She is not someone who creates a slide show and reads off the slides. She always has so much more to offer.”

Like Bussell, Yarborough said Litty balanced rigor with approachability.

“She had high expectations, but at the same time, you could come to her with just about anything,” he said. “She was willing to stay after and put forth as much effort for you as long as you were willing to give it.”

Provost Diane Prusank said Litty embodies the very best of UNCP’s commitment to student-centered excellence.

“Her classroom is not simply a place of instruction, it is a place of transformation,” Prusank said.

“Through innovation, mentorship and an unwavering dedication to her students’ success, she challenges them to think critically, lead confidently and pursue their goals with purpose.

"This recognition affirms what our campus community has long known: Dr. Litty is an extraordinary educator whose impact will be felt for generations."

A first-generation college graduate from New Jersey, Litty was an avid reader from childhood — devouring Time Magazine at age four and helping classmates learn to read in kindergarten. As a college student at NYU, she envisioned a future writing for Rolling Stone magazine or working in radio.

“When I was a senior in college, I said, ‘I’m never going to school again,’” she recalled. “But honestly, I almost never left.”

After working at a government cable channel, Litty pursued a professional master’s degree at Miami University, where she discovered her passion for teaching. She later earned her PhD from The Ohio State University and has now spent 34 years in higher education.

“I’ve always had a teaching component,” Litty said. “Even in my first job, I was training high school students. As a graduate assistant, I was teaching classes. During my PhD, I was rewriting the curriculum at a cable access channel and teaching people how to produce their own TV shows.”

Since joining UNCP in 2001, Litty has become a cornerstone of the Mass Communication program. She has served as director of Broadcasting, adviser to the yearbook and department chair, while maintaining a full teaching load and mentoring students beyond the classroom.

Her teaching philosophy centers on active learning and collaboration.

“I don’t assume students are empty buckets that need to be filled with my wisdom,” Litty said. “They bring something to the table. I learn from them, too.”

Whether mentoring students on the sidelines of a football field with a camera or guiding them through postgame press conferences, Litty emphasizes experiential learning. Former students have gone on to earn regional and national Emmy Awards and land positions at ESPN, NBC, the Golf Channel and other national outlets. Others have found their niche in local media across the country.

For Litty, the true reward goes beyond accolades.

“If I am producing media-literate people who have a lifelong love of learning, then my job is done.”

Her transformative impact extends internationally. Through faculty-led study abroad programs in Ireland and England, Litty has helped students broaden their horizons — including one student who had never left North Carolina before boarding a plane for the first time. That student is now a flight attendant.

“Meeting students where they are and bringing them to where they want to be — that’s what separates a good teacher from a transformative one,” she said.

Even as media technology evolves rapidly, Litty remains committed to growth. She continually updates her courses, learns new software and collaborates with students who often introduce emerging tools.

“They might know the snazzy tools,” she said. “But content is king. Storytelling is king.”

Looking ahead, Litty recently stepped in as interim associate dean for Student Success and Curriculum in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her decades of classroom and leadership experience uniquely position her to support faculty innovation and student achievement across disciplines.

Reflecting on the award, Litty views it as both an honor and an affirmation.

“It’s validation. It’s a payoff,” she said. “But you’re not in teaching for that.”