August 7, 2014
Dr. William B. Martin Awarded Kappa Delta Pi Honors
Dr. William B. Martin
Dr. William B. Martin, College of Education Professor Emeritus, was honored this past year for two awards through Kappa Delta Pi International. He was inducted as one of the charter members into the Eleanor Roosevelt Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP). Membership in this chapter is a lifetime honor and is limited to only 100 people. Dr. Martin has also been awarded one of only four KDP Founders Awards that are given out every two years at the KDP Convocation. He received the Dr. Thomas E. Musselman Award for Service Excellence, which is given to members who have inspired others through their volunteer efforts with education-focused service programs and who have made a difference in their local, regional, and global communities.
Dr. Martin’s teaching career reached across a number of states and education levels, including elementary school in Phoenix, AZ, junior high in Nashville, TN and graduate school at the University of Nevada in Reno, NV. He retired in 1990 after 31 years with the College of Education, Department of Secondary Education at East Carolina University. He was awarded the position of Professor Emeritus at ECU in 1990.
He is a lifetime member of KDP and served 26 years as a counselor for the Eta Chi Chapter at ECU. Dr. Martin also created an endowed scholarship through KDP for two education majors at ECU: one special education and one middle grades education.
Dr. Martin is from Duquesne and McKeesport, Pennsylvania and served as the Quarter Master in The Navigation Division on board a troop-ship of the U.S. Navy during World War II. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Clarion University in Clarion, PA, a Master’s degree from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and a doctorate degree from George Peabody College, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
Dr. Martin has spent a great deal of time working with The Arc of the United States, a community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. He has worked with the United States chapter as well as the North Carolina and Pitt County chapters. During his time with The Arc, he held several leadership positions, such as the state president of the North Carolina chapter and the Vice President of the Southeast Region – ARC/US.
Locally, he has worked with the Pitt County Mental Health Association, including serving as president (1989-90), vice president (1988) and treasurer (1986-87). He is currently the chairman of The Arc of North Carolina’s Life Guardianship Program for the Eastern North Carolina region.