RALEIGH, N.C. — Dr. Elaine Franklin, director of the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership (KFP) at NC State University, has been awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award for state service granted by the Office of the Governor.
The award is reserved for individuals who have 30 or more years of service in the State of North Carolina, and have demonstrated exemplary service to the state and made exceptional contributions to their communities.
Dr. Franklin received the award on Thursday, May 26 during her retirement reception on NC State’s Centennial Campus. She is retiring as director of the Kenan Fellows Program after nine years effective May 31, 2022. Her career as an educator spans more than three decades as a classroom teacher, a researcher, and a former director of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT).
Raj Narayan, associate director of the Kenan Institute for Engineering & Science, who presented Dr. Franklin with the award remarked, “Elaine has brought tremendous value and consequential benefit to education in North Carolina through her leadership hallmarked by her integrity, intentionality, and inclusiveness. She understands the critical importance of teachers as the foundation upon which high-quality teaching is enabled and empowered and she has demonstrated strong adaptive leadership and integrity in building collaborations with businesses, universities, government, and non-profit partners across our State.”
Raj Narayan, KIETS associate director, presents the award.