McCarty, Pam

Pam McCarty joined the University of Memphis faculty in July 2011, as a Master Clinician for the Ready2Teach Program.  She will also be working as a University Supervisor, which will keep her involved in the local schools.  During her years of teaching in the Jackson-Madison County School System, she has enjoyed mentoring teacher candidates in her classroom and continues to be involved through her role at The University of Memphis. 

Pam taught 33 years in the elementary classroom and the last 8 years teaching students in the Gifted Program in the Jackson-Madison County School System.  She has competed as a coach in the Odyssey of the Mind competition, and won locally and competed in the state competition.  Teaching and training gifted students gave many challenges and rewarding experiences, which she hopes will be repeated on the University level. 

Pam received her Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin, Masters of Education from University of Memphis, 45 hours above Masters at Cumberland University, and the Gifted Certification from Union University.  She received her Career Level III status in 1984, and has mentored new teachers in this role.  In 2011, she received Teacher of the Year for the Jackson-Madison County School System, and was 2011 Teacher of the Year from the Southwest Region of the State of Tennessee.

She founded with her husband, Mike, The Morgan McCarty Scholarship Memorial Scholarship Foundation, in memory of her daughter, Morgan, who was a student at UT and killed by a hit and run driver on campus in 2006.  This non-profit Foundation has given over $28,000 in scholarships to students who cannot afford to go to college.  They have turned their energy into a way to help young people in the community continue their higher education. 

Pam and her husband, Mike, have a son, Kirk, who lives in Charleston, South Carolina.  They like to travel, and Pam has taken school groups, from fourth graders to seniors in high school, on tours in the U. S. and abroad.  She has a passion for dance, and teaches Zumba classes three days a week in Jackson.  This has given her an opportunity to meet women from her community and provide them with a service of fitness, fun, and fellowship.