THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410140545
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Five North Carolinians were honored with the state's highest award Thursday night for their work in fine arts, literature, science and public service.
Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. presented the North Carolina Awards for this year to a visual artist, a writer, a scientist, a historic preservationist and a museum director during a banquet in Raleigh, officials with the state Department of Cultural Resources said.
Sarah Blakeslee of Greenville received the fine arts award for the ``extraordinary sensitivity and clarity'' of her paintings of ordinary scenes and people during her more than 60-year career.
The literature award went to Elizabeth Spencer of Chapel Hill for her work as a novelist and short story writer.
Her best known book is ``The Light In the Piazza,'' which later was adapted for film.
Marshall Edgell of Hillsborough was honored in science for his molecular biology research in genetics, as well as for his work as a teacher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Edgell and another researcher, Clyde Hutchison, in the late 1960s and early 1970s discovered how to separate DNA into fragments.
The two scientists also studied using certain enzymes to clone cells.
The state honored two people for their work in public service.
Richard Jenrette, a native North Carolinian who now lives in New York, was honored for his advocacy of historic preservation projects.
Jenrette is an investment banker and philanthropist whose most recent gifts to North Carolina include two historic homes near Hillsborough.
Freda Nicholson of Charlotte received the award in public service for her work in helping children learn about science.
Nicholson is the director of Discovery Place, a science museum in Charlotte with hands-on exhibits. by CNB