Janice Faulkner, née Hardison, has a unique place in ECU history as an outstanding student, an outstanding faculty, an outstanding alumnus, and an outstanding friend of the school. From her time as an undergraduate through her retirement years, she established an unprecedented legacy of service and leadership, on campus and in the larger community, that has yet to be matched.
Faulkner was born and raised in rural Jamesville, North Carolina. After graduating as her high school’s valedictorian, she attended East Carolina College. In 1953, she completed a B.S. in English. While on campus, Faulkner worked as an editor for East Carolina’s weekly newspaper, Teco Echo. After graduation, she taught at local schools while pursuing an M.A. in English, completed in 1956.
Faulkner joined the English faculty in 1957. In addition to teaching English, she served as director of alumni affairs, chair of the board of the ECU Credit Union, director of the Regional Development Institute, and associate vice chancellor for regional development. As a scholar, she published two English textbooks and numerous articles on folklore, local history, historic preservation and economic development.
Alongside her academic career at East Carolina, Faulkner was active in politics and state government. In 1971, she helped orchestrate the campus visit of Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. George McGovern. In 1981, she became the first female to serve as executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party. In 1993, she became the first woman to serve on the eleven-member Council of State in her capacity as N. C. secretary of revenue. In 1996, Gov. James Hunt appointed to serve as secretary of state. In 1997, Hunt appointed Faulkner to serve as commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
After retiring from government service in 2001, Faulkner served ECU as a member of the University Foundation, as the inaugural chair of the university's Board of Visitors, as the founding chair of the ECU Women's Roundtable, and as a member of the ECU Centennial Task Force. In addition to serving on the board of directors of University Health Systems/Pitt Memorial Hospital (now Vidant Medical Center), Faulkner chaired the foundation fund raising committee for the East Carolina Heart Institute and helped raise more than $3.2 million. She also played a major role in the largest single fund-raising campaign the foundation ever participated in, raising over $17 million for the Children's Hospital project.
Faulkner’s exemplary service and leadership has been widely recognized. In 1993, she received ECU’s Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1998, she received an honorary doctorate from ECU. In 2002, the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce named her Citizen of the Year. In 2007, Faulkner was listed among ECU’s 100 Incredible Women. In 2009, she became the first woman to receive ECU’s prestigious Jarvis Medal. In 2011, she received the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce Legends Award. In 2013, she received the North Carolina Award for Public Service, presented to her by Gov. Beverly Purdue, in a ceremony held at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. In 2014, ECU’s Joyner Library opened the Janice Hardison Faulkner Gallery, honoring her outstanding career in leadership and service to the campus and community.
Sources
- Ferrell, Henry C., Jr. Promises Kept: East Carolina University, 1980-2007. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University, 2006.
- Hutson, Jeannine Manning. “A Fitting Tribute: New gallery at Joyner Library to honor Janice Hardison Faulkner.” ECU News Services, January 7, 2013. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/news/faulkner.cfm#.WrKdW8gh2i4.
- Hutson, Jeannine Manning. “Library Dedicates Janice Hardison Faulkner Gallery,” ECU News Services, March 14, 2014, http://www.ecu.edu/news/faulknergallery2014.cfm.
- Janice Hardison Faulkner Papers (#100), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
- “Janice Hardison Faulkner,” Joyner Library, http://media.lib.ecu.edu/development/faulkner.cfm.
- “Janice Hardison Faulkner Gallery.” http://media.lib.ecu.edu/development/faulkner-gallery.cfm.
- “Joyner Library to cut ribbon on Janice Hardison Faulkner Gallery.” ECU News Services, March 6, 2014. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/news/Faulknergallery.cfm.
- Neff, Christine. “Jarvis Medal Presented at Founders Day Convocation.” ECU News Services, April 27, 2009. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/news/poe/2009/509/faulkner.cfm.
- N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “2012 Award Winner for Public Service — Janice H. Faulkner.” Nov. 5, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1K-6_gAmE8.
Additional Related Material
Citation Information
Title: Janice Hardison Faulkner
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 3/21/2018