Dr. Carol L. Schlichter joined the College of Education as professor and chair of the program for gifted and talented in 1975 after having served 15 years as an elementary teacher, gifted specialist, art specialist, and project director for Talents Unlimited in Mobile County as well as a gifted education teacher in Athens, Greece. According to her former colleagues at the UA, during Carol’s 25 years as professor and chair in the College of Education, she wasa marked by outstanding research and innovative classroom practices. In a memo written by the late Charles Horn, Professor of Special Education, “The record of Carol’s achievements is evident from a review of the vita. What is not as evident is her commitment to students and teaching, which underlies her achievements. Her efforts to introduce new and innovative practices into public school classrooms are recognized throughout the nation.” 

There is not a classroom teacher for gifted and talented students in the state of Alabama who has not benefitted from Dr. Schlichter’s work with Talents Unlimited, the thinking skills model she developed and researched during the early 70s. Talents Unlimited was recognized then, as well as now, for the national impact it had on inservice training programs for teachers of the gifted and talented. Talents Unlimited has been cited as one of the nation’s “Top Ten Thinking Skills Programs” and has been adopted by teachers across the nation, as well as internationally.

Each summer, as an invited speaker, Carol would make the pilgrimage to the University of Connecticut where she presented at “Confratute” for the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development. Confratute is a combined conference and institute, and involves a variety of strands that are intensive, week-long mini-courses, on research-based strategies for meeting the educational needs of gifted students. As an invited presenter, Carol carried the Talents Unlimited model to educators from across the globe. 

During her tenure as chair and professor, Dr. Schlichter not only developed and implemented the masters and educational specialist programs for gifted and talented certification, she also worked tirelessly in classrooms across the state of Alabama, conducting model lessons and/or training classroom teachers, teaching lessons to P-12 students, judging competitions, delivering information to parents and G/T teachers, and providing assistance where needed. 

She is a strong proponent of teaching excellence and that is reflected in her awards, including the 1997 Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award given by The University of Alabama National Alumni Association; the 1995 and 1984 Jasper Harvey Award for Outstanding Teacher Educator in Alabama from the Alabama Federation of Council for Exceptional Children; the 1994 E. Paul Torrance Award for Creativity from the Creativity Division of the National Association for Gifted Children; the 1990 Award for Teaching Excellence from The University of Alabama College of Continuing Studies; the 1985 Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Service from the Capstone Education Society; a Certificate of Commendation from the Alabama Association for Talented and Gifted in 1978; and the 1968 Outstanding Young Educator from Mobile County, AL.

Every summer, the College of Education at The University of Alabama holds its Summer Enrichment Workshop for gifted and talented youth. The program was started 35 years ago by Carol Schlichter as a way to provide enrichment activities for gifted students whose needs were not always being met in the classrooms.

Dr. Carol L. Schlichter officially retired in 2000 from the College of Education. 

Since her “retirement” in 2000, Dr. Schlichter has continued to teach part-time in the Multiple Abilities Program (MAP), an undergraduate teacher preparation program which was developed through an innovative and experimental approach. According to the late Dr. Rodney Roth, former dean, “Carol originally volunteered to be part of the MAP faculty team early-on and her student evaluations and responses were always excellent.” Today, she spends part of her “retirement” time teaching art and higher-order thinking skills to MAP students. In recent interactions with several of these undergraduate students, Carol was described as being “unbelievable in everything she does” and “one of the best professors I’ve ever had.” According to one colleague, “The MAP students think she is amazing. They always engage in her lessons and attempt to emulate the sincerity, commitment, and personal investment that Carol puts into everything she does.”

Schlicter is married to inductee Dr. W. Ross Palmer.