GREENSBORO — Dr. Dorothy Barnett was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 18, 1931 to the late Abraham H. and Susan (Peacock) Prince and had one sister, Susan Corsette.
Family visitation is 10:30 a.m. and funeral service 11 a.m. Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at St. James Presbyterian Church, 820 Ross Avenue, Greensboro, NC.
She married the late Dr. Isaac Barnett in 1977. She attended public schools in Charlotte, North Carolina and earned a bachelor's degree from Oberlin University, a master's degree from Syracuse University and a doctorate from Indiana University. Dr. Barnett began her career at A&T in 1955 as a teacher of English, education, and psychology and retired in 1994 as Dean of the School of Education. During her tenure, she served as acting chair for the Department of Education and Psychology; chair of the Department of Education, and Department of Secondary Education; assistant dean and director of teacher education; acting dean for the School of Education; and made history as the first female dean for the School of Education.
She led the School of Education through three successful accreditation reviews by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. She initiated or administered over five million dollars in private and federal grants. Dr. Barnett helped develop the first media center, the early childhood education program, increasing the enrollment from 25 to 370 students during seven years, the audiovisual master's degree program, the school librarian program, and the reading program at the bachelor's and master's levels. When she retired there were 44 certification programs. Barnett also initiated and directed the Urban Education Field Experience, a student exchange program between A&T, Rutgers University, and the University of Wisconsin.
As a trend setter, Dr. Barnett established standards of excellence for teacher education faculty by providing workshops and conferences, and nurtured many faculty members through their doctoral programs. Significantly, she was also a great humanitarian who extended a helping hand to many students in times of need. Renown for her scholarship, she authored and co-authored numerous papers such as "Education and the Liberal Arts: The A & T Connection" and "A Learning Resource Center for International Education: The Heritage Center." She made numerous presentations at state, national and international conferences and served on many civic boards as well as with educational organizations.
Dr. Barnett was a member of St. James Presbyterian Church, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the NC Kings and Queens Duplicate Bridge Club. She was active in many state and national professional organizations. She was one of the founders and the third president of the North Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and chair of the Advisory Committee to the State Board of Education. Dr. Barnett was a member of NC State Department of Public Instruction Approval Teams, NCATE Board of Examiners, and Carolina Colloquy for University Teaching. On the national scene, she served on committees of the American Association of Colleges and Teacher Education and the Association of Teacher Educators. She had numerous years of experience as a program consultant, reader of proposals for the U.S. Department of Education, and as a program evaluator. Among the honors and recognitions Dr. Barnett received were: the distinction as a John Hay Whitney Fellow, Ellis Phillips Fellow in Academic Administration, Faculty Fellow, and Faculty Seminar in Yugoslavia. She was the recipient of many awards, including the Honored Alumnus Award, School of Education, Syracuse University and the NCA&T Excellence in Academic Administration Award.
She leaves behind nieces, nephews, other family members, and many friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Dr. Dorothy Barnett Endowed Scholarship, North Carolina A&T State University, 1601 East Market Street, Greensboro, NC 27411.
Hinnant Funeral Home 512 Martin Luther King, Jr. Greensboro, NC 27406 is assisting the Barnett Family www.hinnantfuneralservi.com
