College of Education inducts 16 members into Hall of Fame

Published Dec 06, 2021 by
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Kristy Gurkins Dail laughs as family and friends take photos of her with her Educators Hall of Fame plaque in the Speight Building. (Photos by Kristen Martin)

The East Carolina University College of Education inducted 16 people into the Educators Hall of Fame on Nov. 20 during a ceremony at Fletcher Recital Hall.

The Educators Hall of Fame honors the accomplishments of teachers, administrators and education advocates in North Carolina and beyond. This year, two classes of inductees were recognized because last year’s ceremony was conducted virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are all aware of the importance of a well-educated, well-trained workforce,” said Dr. Shirley Carraway, the keynote speaker and retired superintendent. “That workforce requires strategic investments in educators to ensure a stable pipeline that addresses the current teacher shortages and innovative strategies to attract, prepare and retain the talented educators all students deserve.”

To nominate someone for the Educators Hall of Fame, a significant gift is made to the Hall of Fame scholarship fund. All proceeds go toward the creation of scholarships for education students with the goal of funding two $20,000 four-year scholarships.

“We know that the investment in the next generation changes lives, communities, and thus, the world,” said Wayne Staton, chair of the college’s Professional Advisory Board. “There is no better example of this than the Educators Hall of Fame Scholarship program.”

A current Hall of Fame scholarship recipient, Grace Harper, spoke at the event and shared her experiences over the past few years at ECU.

“Love is at the heart of education, and it is what makes our students love learning,” Harper said. “It is what makes a group of people become a community. It is what drives us all every day. It is what led me to become an educator and become a Pirate.”

Hall of Fame inductees receive a personalized plaque permanently mounted on the Educators Hall of Fame on the first floor of the Speight Building.

Tracy Cole, principal of the ECU Community School, was one of this year’s nominees.

“It was truly an honor to be inducted into the Educators Hall of Fame,” she said. “To be celebrated by colleagues, community members, family, and friends was an amazing and humbling experience. ECU’s motto is servire – ‘to serve.’ As an inductee, it is my goal to continue to carry out the mission of my alma mater and represent the university well by serving children, families and our community.”

Dr. Ron Mitchelson, former interim ECU chancellor, receives his plaque at the Educators Hall of Fame induction.

The 2020 honorees are:

  • Constance Wallace Cheston
  • Ann Marie Duke Cobb
  • Todd A. Fraley
  • Christopher Ulffers

The 2021 honorees are:

  • Kermit George Buckner, Jr.
  • Betty Margaret Morris Carroll
  • Tracy LaVerne Cole
  • Kay Crandall
  • Kristy Gurkins Dail
  • Adrienne Marilyn Dunning
  • Mary Olivia Traynham Floyd
  • James Orlando McDowelle
  • Ronald L. Mitchelson
  • Nick Nosbisch
  • Lok R. Pokhrel
  • Marsha Craft Tripp

Since 1999, the Educators Hall of Fame has inducted more than 570 people and raised more than $671,000 for the scholarship endowment.

For more information, visit the Educators Hall of Fame website or email Dr. Dionna Manning in the College of Education at manningd@ecu.edu.

Sixteen people were inducted into the Educators Hall of Fame on Nov. 20 as part of the 2020 and 2021 classes.