College of Health and Human Performance honors 2019 Wall of Fame inductees
Three people were inducted on April 12 to the East Carolina University College of Health and Human Performance Marvin and Joyce Johnson Wall of Fame.
The inductees were Sharon Ballard, Karen Hancock and Lena Williams-Carawan.
“The 2019 Wall of Fame class is composed of three inspiring women who are history makers,” said Dr. Anisa Zvonkovic, dean of the College of Health and Human Performance. “Their successes are many and the impact of their work is far-reaching.”
ECU’s College of Health and Human Performance inducted, from left, Dr. Karen Hancock, Dr Lena Williams-Carawan and Dr. Sharon Ballard into the Hall of Fame on April 12. (Photo by Dr. Angela Lamson)
Ballard has demonstrated exemplary leadership skills in her role as chair of the Department of Human Development and Family Science. A champion for service-learning, Ballard was among the first faculty members at ECU to join the Service-Learning Committee. Prior to ECU, she taught courses at The University of Tennessee – Knoxville and Western Carolina University. A certified family life educator since 1998, Ballard taught family and consumer sciences in public schools for six years.
Teaching, mentoring and leading for more than two decades at ECU, Hancock left a trail of successfully trained professionals across the country and a large footprint on the field of recreation. From 1975 to 1997, Hancock was the cornerstone of leadership in recreation and, to date, is the longest serving administrator of what is now the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. She was part of a team that planned and implemented the first North Carolina Senior Games in 1983. Those senior games have been the largest Senior Olympic program in the nation for decades.
Williams-Carawan was the first Pitt County Schools social worker to hold a master’s degree. Joining ECU in 1995, Williams-Carawan is known for helping students reflect and gain insight on their professional use of self in social work practice. She has published groundbreaking research on the biopsychosocial aspects of dyslexia and rural social work practice. As a qualitative researcher, she has specialized in the use of photography and art to engage adults with dyslexia.
Not only does the Wall of Fame honor the service and leadership of alumni and friends, it has raised more than $40,000 since its inception in 2015 for student scholarships, travel, and to support faculty and academic programming.
The 2019 inductees join 36 other Wall of Fame members.
-by Kathy Muse, College of Health and Human Performance