Dr. Westry Whitaker, assistant professor of education at University of North Georgia (UNG), has recently written a chapter for a scholarly publication titled "Deconstructing the Education-Industrial Complex in the Digital Age."

The publication highlights a range of topics, such as teacher education, digital literacy, and neoliberalism, designed for educators, professionals, graduate students, researchers, and academics interested in the implications of the education-industrial complex.

Dr. Whitaker’s chapter is focused specifically on teacher education and the discourse of private/charter schools versus public schools. "With current events, especially recent public and political dialogue regarding school choice, this conversation is getting louder. My aim for this chapter, indeed my personal mission as a professor of education, is to combat this dialogue and support and nurture our public schools and all their wonderful, compassionate and deeply dedicated teachers," Whitaker said.

Whitaker received his bachelor’s degree in English literature and history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his master’s degree in education from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and his doctorate of education in curriculum and pedagogy from George Washington University.

He joined the faculty at UNG in 2015 and his courses include Teaching Reading and Writing in the Secondary School, Pre-adolescent and Adolescent Literature, Foundations of Middle Level Schools and their Students, and Language Arts for Middle Grades Teachers.