Faulkner, Walker to receive honorary degrees from ECU

Janice Faulkner, commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles, and Dr. LeRoy T. Walker, former president of the U.S. Olympic Committee and chancellor emeritus of North Carolina Central University, will receive honorary doctor of letters degrees from East Carolina University at spring commencement next month. Faulkner and Walker will join about 2,300 degree candidates for the ceremony, which begins at 9:30 a.m. on May 10 in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Chancellor Richard Eakin said, “Janice Faulkner and LeRoy Walker reflect all that is worthy and honorable in North Carolina. Their lifelong achievements are extraordinary, and East Carolina University is extremely proud of its association with them. They are both richly deserving of this recognition.”

Faulkner earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from ECU and was a former member of the English Department faculty and former director of the Regional Development Institute. Before her current position, she served as North Carolina secretary of state and secretary of revenue.

Walker holds a bachelor’s degree Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., a master’s degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from New York University. He is a former coach of the U.S. Olympic team and is the namesake of the L.T. Walker International Human Performance Center on the ECU campus, which will begin hosting elite athletes, coaches, trainers and sports administrators from around the world this summer.