NC State College of Education faculty and alumni are being recognized with service awards from the North Carolina Council for Exceptional Children (NC-CEC) and its divisions dedicated to advancing inclusive, high-quality K-12 education.
The NC-CEC, which is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational success for youth with disabilities or gifts and talents, will recognize the following individuals affiliated with the College of Education on Feb. 13:
- Clinical Assistant Professor Kristin Hoffmann will receive the 2025-26 Distinguished Service Award for the Division of Learning Disabilities.
- Assistant Teaching Professor of Elementary Education and Special Education Jordan Lukins will receive the 2025-2026 Distinguished Service Award for the Teacher Education Division.
- Carolyn Mitchell Plunkett ’22 MAT will receive the 2025 Distinguished Service Award for the Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD).
Hoffmann’s work in the College of Education focuses on literacy, learning differences, metacognition, self-regulation and academic achievement within online learning environments.
She has spent the majority of her career working directly with students in both educational and clinical settings, including working in juvenile justice, teaching pre-service special education teachers, and helping schools and parents collaborate to provide effective education for students with learning disabilities.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the NC-CEC Division of Learning Disabilities and the NC-CEC Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities.
“Receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the NC-CEC Division of Learning Disabilities is meaningful to me because it was given to me by my peers, an amazing group of talented individuals who spend their lives advocating for the educational rights of students with disabilities,” Hoffmann said. “My work has been profoundly influenced by professors like Dr. Cathy Crossland and Dr. John Nietfeld as well as the professors doing amazing work within the special education and educational psychology programs at NC State. l look forward to continuing to work with and advocate for neurodiverse students on NC State’s campus and in public school systems through my work with the Diagnostic Teaching Clinic and the North Carolina Council for Exceptional Children.”
Lukins is a former K-12 special educator who has held positions in a variety of classroom settings as well as in school district leadership and professional development positions. In the College of Education, her work focuses on building general education teachers’ skills and dispositions to lead inclusive classrooms and building special educators’ expertise in specially designed instruction and support.
In addition to her work in teacher preparation, she is the author of “Fostering Inclusive Dispositions: Integrating Disability Studies in Teacher Education.” The article, which was published in the Journal of Special Education Preparation, details course design priorities that support teacher candidates’ development of dispositions for asset-based, inclusive approaches in their classrooms.
Lukins’ contributions to enhance communication and engagement within the board and among the membership of the Teacher Education Division were cited in her nomination for the service award, including initiatives to more effectively connect members through the creation of a social media group dedicated to sharing ideas and best practices.
She will also begin serving as president-elect of the division’s board in February 2025.
“I am deeply honored to receive the 2025 Distinguished Service Award from the NC Teacher Education Division. Because my primary focus as a faculty member is the preparation of high-quality K-12 teachers, the division has always been a vital part of my professional community at both the state and national level,” she said. “Working alongside such passionate and committed colleagues across the state since I joined the board in 2022 has been incredibly rewarding. This recognition signifies that my efforts to contribute to the division’s role in recruiting, preparing, supporting and retaining high-quality teachers for students with disabilities are valued.”
Plunkett, who graduated from the College of Education in 2022 with a Master of Arts in Teaching with a focus on special education, is currently teaching in the Wake County Public Schools System.