Former N.C. A&T Chancellor Harold Martin was among eight North Carolinians recognized on Thursday with the North Carolina Award, the state's highest honor for lifetime achievements.
Gov. Roy Cooper presented the awards at a ceremony at the Raleigh Marriott City Center.
Martin, who retired earlier this year, was honored for public service.
The other 2024 honorees included The Avett Brothers (Scott Avett, Seth Avett, and Bob Crawford) for Fine Arts, William Henry Curry for fine arts, Frank A. Bruni Jr. for literature, Thomas W. Earnhardt for science, and NASA astronaut Christina H. Koch for science.
Martin's tenure saw A&T rise to be ranked the number one HBCU, or historically black college and university, in the country and to be named one of the best of all colleges across the country for the money by various groups. With a reputation as a gentleman and a scholar, Martin had spent 35 years working for the University of North Carolina System, starting his career on the A&T College of Engineering faculty, then becoming department chair, dean of the college and vice chancellor for academic affairs.
He became chancellor at Winston-Salem State University in 2000 and held that post for nearly seven years.
Martin went on from that position to be named senior vice president of academic affairs for the UNC System in 2006, and chancellor of A&T in 2009.
"One of the greatest aspirations that any of us might have is to be engaged in work that makes a difference, work that matters and that feeds the soul," Martin said in his email to faculty, students and staff in 2023, while announcing his retirement.
All proceeds from ticket sales for the awards ceremony went to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund to help communities recover from Hurricane Helene.
The award was created by the General Assembly in 1961 to recognize significant contributions to the state and nation in the fields of fine arts, literature, public service and science. The awards have been presented annually since 1964 and this year marks the 60th anniversary of the awards ceremony.
Since the award's inception, more than 300 notable men and women have been honored by the state of North Carolina. Past recipients include William Friday, James Taylor, Etta Baker, Charles Kuralt, Maya Angelou, Lee Smith, Eric Church, Selma Burke, and Branford Marsalis.
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