Dr. Christine Dockery Brooks, now living in Washington, DC, but a Scotland County home grown girl, was honored at North Carolina Central University last month during its Centennial Celebration. The North Carolina Central University Alumni Association honored Brooks by bestowing on her its 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award. The award was presented in services honoring its 100th Birthday Celebration during an array of events scheduled during the year from February through the homecoming in October. The July 10 event was held at the Millennium Hotel in downtown Durham, North Carolina.

Brooks, is the daughter of the late William and Evelyn Dockery of the Harvell Lane community, and the sister of Annie Hairston; Doretha Swann, formerly of Wachovia Bank; and Emma McNeil of the Scotland County Public Schools. Christine is one of nine of the Dockery children. Evelyn and William Dockery put a lot of emphasis on education and felt that educating their children was one of the most important things that they could do. This belief seems to have served them well over the years. Having attended the local public schools, graduating from Carver High School, Brooks was the first member of her family to attend college. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Education with honors from North Carolina Central University (NCCU). She went on to receive a Master's Degree at Teachers College, Columbia University in Business and a Ph.D. at Florida State University (Tallahassee) in the Design and Management of Postsecondary Education, with specialties in Adult, Vocational and Continuing Education.

She has taught in North Carolina in Sanford, High Point, and Greensboro; and did her student teaching here locally at the I. Ellis Johnson School. She was Chairman of the Business Education Departments at Florida A & M University in Tallahassee and Fayetteville State (NC) University. Brooks was also appointed by the Governor of Virginia and served as a member of the Board of Visitors of Virginia State University in Petersburg.

Other experiences have included tenure as a Brookings Institution Fellow on Capitol Hill, where she gained legislative experience in both the Senate and the House. She was appointed by President George H. W. Bush during his administration in a leadership position at the U. S. Department of Labor with oversight for employment and training, Glass Ceiling, and workers' compensation programs. In 2001, she was also appointed by President George W. Bush and served in his administration as the first Director of the Faith-Based and Community Initiative for the U. S. Department of Education.

Brooks was followed to North Carolina Central University by a sister and two brothers, all of whom received their degrees from the university. Being ever appreciative of the role that North Carolina Central University has played in their lives and wanting to be sure that it can continue to play a positive role in other deserving students’ lives Christine, along with all of her sisters and brothers, established in early 2010 in honor of their parents the William and Evelyn Dockery Scholarship Fund. This fund makes an annual award to an undergraduate student and a law student. Because of the emphasis the family has on giving back to the community, the scholarship has a requirement which includes community service in any community as long as there is demonstrable evidence of said service. Her brother, James C. Dockery, who is an attorney and graduate of North Carolina Central University and who also serves as a member of the Board of Visitors of the NCCU School of Law volunteers with the university on behalf of the family to assist in the administration of the scholarship.

Following the doctrines of her parents concerning the importance of education, Brooks continues to be involved in a myriad of teaching and learning positions. Her goal has always been to inspire others to achieve through education.

She is currently an educational consultant and lives in the Adams Morgan section of the District of Columbia along with her husband and cat.