Concord native Robert Barrier inducted into The Educators Hall of Fame at East Carolina University

By FRAN FARRER

CONCORD, NC - Robert L. Barrier, Jr., son of Mrs. Elnora Pharr Barrier of Concord, NC was inducted into the Educators Hall of Fame at East Carolina University on Saturday, October 27, 2018. Recognizing his many accomplishments during his educational tenure, Mrs. Ella T. Harris and her husband Alton nominated and sponsored Robert as a recipient of this honor.

Barrier was a 1973 graduate of Concord High School, after which he attended Winston-Salem State University, and was elected to serve as the Senior Class President and graduated with honors in 1977.

His teaching career began in Greenville, North Carolina when he was hired to serve as a middle school classroom teacher in Pitt County. While teaching at G. R. Whitfield, Robert was recognized for increasing student achievement well beyond expectations, and as a result his colleagues voted him Teacher of the Year in 1984.

Encouraged by his peers, Barrier enrolled in the Master’s Degree Program at East Carolina University to pursue a degree in Counselor Education. In 1984 he received his master’s degree and was hired as a high school counselor at J.H. Rose High School in Greenville. During his tenure at Rose over the next 20 years, students received unprecedented amounts of scholarships and were accepted into post-secondary institutions in record numbers. His counseling department was recognized as being one of the best in the nation. He was especially proud when one African-American young man was able to be admitted to Harvard and other minorities were accepted into some of the most prestigious institutions across the nation. As chair to the counseling department for the last 10 years of his tenure, news came that a former female minority student had been accepted as a Rhodes Scholar.

In addition to aiding improvement in academics, Barrier worked within the community to include, but is not limited to becoming a Lifetime member of The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.; he volunteered countless hours in making the quality of living worthwhile for the disenfranchised; he joined the SERTOMA Club and created a scholarship/mentoring program for middle school African-American males, and during the ten years under his leadership, the young males were able to receive more than $10,000 in seed money to start their post-secondary pursuits.

Robert Barrier retired after three decades of dedicated service. Not content with resting on his laurels, he applied and was hired to teach Advanced English in Montgomery County Maryland, and spent a decade there as a middle school classroom teacher.

The death of his father led him to return to Concord to become the chief caretaker for his mother. As an active member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Concord, NC, Robert Barrier is still very active with his alma mater and his fraternity.