ECU’s College of Education inducts 12 into Educators Hall of Fame
Twelve educators and advocates from across North Carolina were inducted into East Carolina University’s Educators Hall of Fame on Jan. 28.
The 18th annual event raised more than $20,000 for student scholarships in the ECU College of Education.
The inductees were Carla Frinsko of Winterville, Dr. Robert C. Hanes of Charlotte, Dr. B. Grant Hayes of Greenville, the late Ruth Barnhill Jackson of Greenville, Gwenlyn Goodson Jeffreys of Greensboro, Peggy Jackson Nelson of Greenville, Dr. Katherine O’Connor of Hillsborough, the late Patricia Peoples of Greenville, Dr. John A Swope of Greenville, Sandra Warren of Snow Hill, Dr. Kathi Wilhite of Tarboro, and Mary Alice Yarbrough of Greenville.
ECU’s College of Education inducted 12 people into the Hall of Fame on Jan. 28. They include, from left to right, seated, Dr. Katherine O’Connor, Mary Alice Yarbrough, Dr. Kathi Wilhite, Carla Frinsko and Peggy Jackson Nelson, and left to right, standing, Dr. John Swope, Hazel Walker in honor of Patricia Peoples, Sandra Warren, Elizabeth Cousar for Dr. Robert Hanes, and Dr. Grant Hayes, dean of the College of Education. (contributed photo)
A special guest at the ceremony was Bob Sawyer, retired teacher, ECU alumnus and former Dean’s Advisory Council member, who had the idea for creating the Hall of Fame. Sawyer, an ECU swimmer and charter member of the university’s Sports Hall of Fame, believed that teachers deserved the same recognition as athletes.
Each inductee was sponsored with a monetary gift of $1,000 or more in support of the Educators Hall of Fame scholarship endowment and will be recognized with a plaque on the Hall of Fame wall in the college. Annual interest from the endowment is used to fund merit-based scholarships for College of Education students.
Since 1999, the Hall of Fame has recognized the service and contributions of more than 455 individuals who have impacted the field of education and ECU’s College of Education. The program has raised more than $560,000 toward a goal of $1 million for the endowment.
For more information, contact Terah Archie, director of the Office of Community Relations and Outreach, at Archiet15@ecu.edu or 252-737-1257.
-by Crystal Baity