Catherine Compton-Lilly is the John C. Hungerpiller Professor at the University of South Carolina. As a professor in the College of Education, Dr. Compton-Lilly's research has focused on family literacy practices, particularly the literacy practices of children from communities that have been underserved by schools. In her initial work, she documented the home and school literacy practices of eight of her former first grade students as they moved from elementary school through high school. In a current study, now in its tenth year, she is exploring the family literacy practices of children from immigrant families. She has edited or authored eight books and has authored multiple articles related to family literacy in major literacy journals including the Reading Research Quarterly, Research in the Teaching of English, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, Written Communication, Journal of Literacy Research and Language Arts. She has a passion for helping teachers to support children in learning to read and write. Her interests include early reading and writing, student diversity, and working with families. She has a strong interest in teacher education and is currently documenting the exceptional teacher education practices at the University of South Carolina. She holds emerita status at the University of Wisconsin Madison.
