Janice Hawkins received an M.A. in special education for the multiply handicapped , visual impairment and blindness, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After graduating, she served as a social worker for the UAB School of Optometry and as an instructor and counselor at UAB's School of Health Related Professions. In 1991, she assumed her current position as a consultant with the State Department of Education, in which she advises teachers of programs for visually impaired students. A resident of Troy, Hawkins also serves Troy University in many capacities, including duties of wife of the chancellor, chairing committees, program reviews and grant development. She has served on the boards of the Troy Council on Arts and Humanities and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. Hawkins currently serves on the boards of the Alabama Transliterates for the Deaf; the Pike County Child Advocacy Center; and the Alabama Historical Commission, for which she is a past chairman.