About

Heather Kimberly (Kim) Barton Dial Sellers is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Graduate Reading Education at UNC Pembroke. At UNCP she teaches graduate courses in Literature/Literacy; Reading Education; and Multicultural Education/Diversity. Dr. Sellers is a proud alumna of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke where she completed her BS in Elementary Education as a Chancellor’s Scholar; earned her Master’s degree in Reading Education and certification in Educational Administration and Supervision from UNCP. Kim became the first American Indian Gates Millennium Scholar recipient in North Carolina during the inaugural year of this scholarship in 2000 while she pursed her doctorate at North Carolina State University. Kim earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction from NCSU. Kim has experience as a language arts and reading teacher in the Public Schools of Robeson County where she taught at Red Springs Middle School.

Dr. Sellers has most recently submitted a chapter for publication with Dr. Mary Ann Jacobs in the forthcoming book, American Indian Women of Proud Nations, Essays on History, Language and Education (Peter Lang Publishing). She has also completed several book reviews, a book chapter and peer-reviewed article. Kim has presented her research work statewide and nationally. Dr. Sellers has conducted presentations for local schools in our service region with the most recent being the Public Schools of Robeson County. State presentations include : North Carolina Reading Association Reading Conference; North Carolina Association of Colleges of Teacher Educators (NCACTE) Teacher Education Forum; Annual Southeast Region of North Carolina Drive-In Workshop at UNC-Pembroke; North Carolina State Advisory Council on Indian Education's American Indian Education Summit; North Carolina American Indian Heritage Celebration; and the NC Closing the Achievement Gap Conference. Nationally, Kim has presented for: American Educational Research Association (AERA); American Library Association Annual Virtual Conference; American Indian Science and Engineering Society Conference; and National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Convention.

Dr. Sellers has leadership training from the UNC BRIDGES Academic Leadership for Women Program. BRIDGES is a professional development and enrichment program to grow more women leaders in higher education in North Carolina.

Kim has served as a trainer and reader for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program (GMS), as a reader for the Native Forward Scholarship and served as a reader for the Fidelity Scholars Program Scholars program. Dr. Sellers has served as a participant in the standard-setting study for the revised Praxis® Teaching Reading: K-12 assessment. She was nominated by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) to be a higher education representative on this multistate panel.

Kim has been a representative and advocate for UNCP in the faculty senate and in the UNC System as a member of the Faculty Assembly. Dr. Sellers has been identified through several diversity and literacy taskforces/initiatives/teams to represent UNCP at the state level.

Additionally, Kim has extensive service in the Lumbee community and with the public schools. She serves as the Lumbee Tribe Research Project Collaborator with the Reading Nation Waterfall: Increasing Access to Literacy and Libraries for Native American Children and Families. This is a 1.4-million-dollar grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. She was the project Co-Director of two $300+ NC Quest Grants to positively impact the literacy education of public students in Hoke and Robeson Counties. Academically Kim has worked to promote the education and development of teachers as a research assistant with the $3,692,090.00 National Science Foundation Grant, Nurturing Mathematics Dreamkeepers.

Kim is currently on the advisory board of the Exceptional Children's Assistance Center (ECAC) Board of Directors as a parent representative and to represent the interests of the American Indian community. She has also served on the State Advisory Council on Indian Education (SACIE) Board of Governors appointed Higher Education representative and helped to redesign the resource information for SACIE’s webpage. She has also served as the Native Scholars Forward representative on the Gates Millennium Scholars Alumni Association Advisory Council. Kim is currently the Native Scholars Forward representative for the Gates Millennium Scholars Advisory Council.

Heather Kimberly (Kim) Barton Dial Sellers is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe. She makes her home with her husband Justin and son Tommy in Apex, NC. Kim grew up in the Lumbee Community Antioch of Hoke County which borders on Robeson County, in North Carolina. Click here to view Dr. Seller's curriculum vitae