East : the magazine of East Carolina University

              East The Magazine of East Carolina University
summer 2011
Olympic sports have new home
viewfinder
A brick paver honoring
Marine Sgt. David J. Smith
’10 of Frederick, Md.,
who died in Afghanistan
last year, is presented to
his mother, Mary Jane
McWilliams, during the
April 26 dedication of
the Freedom Wall and
Memorial Walk on Main
Campus. With McWilliams
is her husband, John Jones.
The ceremony included the
rededication of the Victory
Bell, originally unveiled
on campus in 1953 as a
memorial to World War II
and Korean War veterans.
Photo by Jay Clark
East The Magazine of East Carolina University
summer 2011
36
20
28
F EAT URES
20 OL Y MPIC SPORTS HAV E NEW HOME
By J. Eric Eckard The opening of the $24 million sports
complex for non-revenue sports shows East Carolina is
more than a football and baseball school.
28 Jim Hunt’s Ms. Fix-It
By Marion Blackburn Janice Faulkner already had compiled
a stellar record as an East Carolina professor when the
governor summoned her to clean up state government.
32 SOCIOLOG IS T, SURFER DUDE
By Justin Boulmay Jeff Johnson, one of ECU’s most
honored professors, can capture a student’s attention—
and catch a wave.
36 mind games
By Bethany Bradsher The brain is a muscle, so sport
psychologists train athletes to work as hard to strengthen it
as their abs, delts and pecs. They share some tips for your
own mental workout.
DE PAR TMEN TS
FROM OUR READERS . 3
THE ECU REPORT .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   . . 4
SUMMER ARTS CALENDAR . 18
FROM THE CLASSROO M .   .   .   .   .   .   .   . 32
PIRATE NATION .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   . 40
CLASS NOTES . 43
UPON THE PAST . 60
32
2
Olympics sports have new home Whether East Carolina has grown and matured into a major regional
university was the question we raised in the winter issue. We concluded
that, based on ample evidence, ECU has achieved that recognition. Even
those who once doubted East Carolina’s ability to operate a medical
school, for example, now sing its praises.
I witnessed further evidence of ECU’s maturity this spring in two
very different settings. One came during Research and Creativity
Activity Week when the scientific inquiry of 270 undergraduate and
grad students was showcased on campus. The size and scope of the
event drove home the point that ECU is where many groundbreaking
discoveries are being made in medicine, biology, computer science,
education and other fields.
It was on another kind of field where I witnessed a different aspect of
East Carolina’s new maturity—a soccer field, to be exact. Our cover
story in this issue, which begins on page 20, is about the school’s new
Olympic Sports Complex, a $24 million jewel in ECU’s sports crown.
It has risen on what used to be dirt tailgate lots for Dowdy-Ficklen,
Harrington Field, and woods where the Greeks used to party before
football games. By creating this new home for what are called non-revenue
sports, East Carolina is showing the world that it’s much more
than just a football and baseball school.
Research week demonstrated that East Carolina is igniting a spark of
genius in its students so they can go out and improve the health and
everyday lives of the people of the East. ECU wants every student,
regardless of their major, to have the best classrooms and professors.
East Carolina also wants every student athlete, whether they play a
money-making sport like football or a non-revenue sport like track and
field, to have an equal chance to achieve their athletic goals. Whether
you’re a quarterback or a quarter-miler, ECU wants student athletes to
have coaches who inspire and facilities that showcase their success.
The sports complex also creates an attractive new gateway into campus.
It’s the new face of ECU that many football fans will see when they
arrive for games. When you come back to campus, take a few minutes to
drive up Charles Boulevard, just past the football and baseball stadiums,
and see for yourself how that corner of campus has been transformed.
It may cause you to think, as it did me, that this is how a mature, diverse
university operates a first-class sports program.
from the editor
Volume 9, Number 4
East is published four times a year by
East Carolina University
Division of University Advancement
2200 South Charles Blvd.
Greenville, NC 27858
h
EDITOR
Steve Tuttle ’09
252-328-2068 / tuttles@ecu.edu
ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER
Brent Burch
PHOTOGRAPHER
Forrest Croce
COPY EDITOR
Jimmy Rostar ’94
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Marion Blackburn, Justin Boulmay,
Doug Boyd, Bethany Bradsher, J. Eric Eckard,
Kara Loftin, Jessica Nottingham ’08,
Steve Row, Mary Schulken
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jay Clark, Cliff Hollis
CLASS NOTES EDITOR
Joanne Kollar
ecuclassnotes@ecu.edu
ADMINISTRATION
Michelle Sloan
h
Assistant Vice Chancelor
for University Marketing
Clint Bailey
East Carolina University is a constituent institution of
The University of North Carolina. It is a public doctoral/
research intensive university offering baccalaureate, master’s,
specialist and doctoral degrees in the liberal arts, sciences
and professional fields, including medicine. Dedicated to the
achievement of excellence, responsible stewardship of the
public trust and academic freedom, ECU values the
contributions of a diverse community, supports shared
governance and guarantees equality of opportunity.
©2011 by East Carolina University
Printed by Progress Printing
U.P. 11-284 63,500 copies of this public document
were printed at a cost of $37,778 or $.59 per copy.
East The Magazine of East Carolina University
summer 2011
Amanda Etheridge had no regrets
I was so pleased to find the “Upon the
Past” column about Amanda Etheridge in
the current issue of East. Amanda was a
well-respected member of our community
and of my husband’s family [John Wilson
’50] here on Roanoke Island, a scholar and
a star athlete with a never-yielding passion
for social justice in her community. She was
devastated by her treatment at the college
in 1945, but went to her grave with no
regrets. I wish she were still around to see the
truthful story of her devotion to doing what
was right even though she personally suffered
the consequences.
­—
Estelle Jones Wilson ’51, Manteo
I really enjoyed your article on Amanda
Etheridge because I knew her when I was a
student there during the turmoil over Mr.
Meadows. The last rehearsal for our senior
class play, in which I had a part, had to be
canceled because the SGA called one of
the mass meetings to look into the issue
of Mr. Meadows’ handling of the student
money. I also knew the professors who were
fired by the trustees for not supporting Mr.
Meadows, and I think your article had the
wrong name for one of them. As I recall, the
three who were fired were E.L. Henderson,
Herbert ReBarker and Hubert Haynes. I
don’t recall a professor by the name of M.L.
Wright. But I’m 88 now so I occasionally
have senior moments.
—Mrs. Elizabeth Kittrell “Kit” Taylor ’44, Yorktown, Va.
Editor��s note: We double-checked the official records
and multiple accounts list M.L. Wright among
the three professors fired by trustees during the
campus turmoil of 1943–44. Wright came to
campus in 1925 as a sociology teacher but he
isn’t pictured among the faculty in yearbooks after
1940. It’s possible he was performing duties other
than teaching when the Meadows scandal erupted,
which would explain why Mrs. Kittrell doesn’t
remember him. Faculty records indicate Haynes
taught education and psychology from 1924 until
his retirement in 1959.
Is this of historic value?
I found this old
program going through
my mother’s things
recently [Martha
Rogers Taylor ’37].
Just thought someone
there
might be able to use it. By
the way, you folks put out a
wonderful publication.
—Emmette Taylor, Kinston
Editor’s note: We forwarded
this 85-year-old program to
University Archives, which
reported that it’s now the
oldest in its files.
Pepsi suported
campus radio
In the “Coke comes
to campus” story
in the last issue,
another thing the
Minges family
gave us over multiple
years were annual grants for the campus
radio station to contract with United
Press International for their news wire
service. Since the radio station was funded
totally by student broadcasters (we “pounded
the pavement” to sell commercials!) with no
direct institutional or Student Government
Association monies, we always sort of held
our breath at the start of each academic year
until we had that $500 check in hand. The
Minges family business was given broadcast
recognition by us announcing that all
newscasts, weather reports and sports were
sponsored by Pepsi.
—Bob Blake ’66, Sarasota, Fla.
Colege cheaper in ’52?
A few weeks after reading “What Does
College Really Cost” in the winter issue, my
wife, Mary Jo Outland Baugh ’55, and I
visited her sister, Anne Outland ’56. Our
daughter was digging through her Aunt
Anne’s artifacts when she came across her
ECC scrapbook. In it she found the enclosed
letter from the registrar, dated Feb. 8, 1952,
showing the cost per quarter of $87 for
tuition and fees, plus $80 a quarter for meals
for a total of $167 per quarter, times three
for a cost of $501 per year. I would say
that’s quite a bargain
compared to
today’s cost.
—Marvin Baugh
’55, Greensboro
Editor’s note: The
story Mr. Baugh
refers to noted that it
now costs $16,405
a year to attend ECU,
a total which includes
tuition, books and fees
as well as such non-academic
essentials as rent,
food, clothes, laptop, car,
cell phone, etc. The $501
charged in 1952 didn’t
include the non-academic
essentials. To compare apples-to-apples costs, let’s
assume that living expenses raised the price of a
year at ECC in 1952 to $750. At a web site
called MeasuringWorth.com, I computed what
$750 in 1952 dollars would be worth today. If
you go by the consumer price index, $750 would
be worth $6,060 today. Purchasing the same
bundle of consumer goods would cost $9,010
today. It would be worth $10,700 using the
production worker compensation guide, or how
much an hourly worker would have to earn now
to generate the same purchasing power. Also keep in
mind that the $16,405 figure does not include grants
or scholarships available to working families. When
those are factored in, the current cost of a year at ECU
for a child of a family earning less than $48,000 a
year is $7,232, or roughly the same as in 1952.
from our readers
3
4
‘Next fiscal year will
be the worst yet’
The following is a condensed version of
Chancellor Steve Ballard’s State of the University
Address delivered at the start of spring semester.
Most of you and our community are all
too familiar with the basic outline of the
budget situation. ECU has lost $106 million
over the past three years before anything
happens this year; that includes both one-time
“reversions” and base budget cuts. Last
year, when the UNC system represented
13 percent of the state budget, the 16
universities accounted for 29 percent of the
governor’s reversion. Two years ago, when
we had our biggest base cuts, 92 percent
of ECU’s base budget cut came from
administrative positions and administrative
function. The point of that is that we did all
we could to protect the student experience
and academic quality. But facing the fourth
year—and there will probably be five years
of base budget cuts—we have very little
flexibility compared to where we have been.
We know that next fiscal next year will be
the worst yet. The gap between revenues and
past expenditures, which is what everyone is
focusing on, is approximately $3.7 billion,
or a 20 percent gap in the state budget. For
ECU, 20 percent is about $60 million, on
top of the $106 million that we have already
lost, or given back.
You can certainly hear rational arguments for
a cut between 8 percent to 20 percent. I ask
everyone here today to pray for the 8 percent
but as a chancellor I have to prepare for 20
percent. Our philosophy, as we enter this
period of possible 20 percent cuts, includes
three components:
• There is only one East Carolina University.
We are all in this together and we all have
a stake in the outcome. We know every
element of ECU and every constituency
will suffer. But our goal is to emerge with
our integrity and our mission intact.
• Second, we will continue to focus on our
five strategic priorities.
• And, we will keep our eye on the long
term. We will define where we want to
be at the end of this recession and stay
focused on that.
So, given this philosophy we have four
primary ways to find $60 million for the
next fiscal year. I will discuss them in terms
of what we must do first, second, third
and fourth. The least desirable choices will
almost certainly yield the most funds.
First, we will continue to be more efficient
in every way possible and more productive
in all of our operations, and that includes
the ecU Report
“We will do everything
we can to be innovative,
find appropriate partnerships,
and do all we can to protect
the student experience.”
5
consolidating services, doing more shared
services and more partnerships, [and] less
administrative expenditures. Productivity
improvements will only yield about 3
to 5 percent of a $60 million goal. I’ve
asked Faculty Chair [Marianna] Walker
to speak with the Educational Policy and
Planning Committee of the Faculty Senate
to recommend criteria by which we can
consolidate services [and] academic programs,
and reduce administrative costs associated
with overseeing departments and colleges.
Second choice, we will look at our emergency
fund to help offset these cuts. This is a painful
option because it is so difficult to replace
emergency funds once they are spent. At most,
I estimate that we might be able to find one-fourth
of our cut scenario from this option.
So, doing this complicated math, options 1
and 2 may provide, at best, $20 million, or
about one-third the $60 million needed.
The next two options are even more painful
but unavoidable. Option No. 3 is called
“Unit Reductions,” for every college and
every division. I know we’ll have to ask every
college and division to meet a fixed reduction.
Since we have made so many reductions
over the past three years, and sacrificed so
many non-academic positions, it is inevitable
that the units will now have to cut into the
academic core and the size of our faculty. I
hope that we can keep the overall size of our
faculty close to what it is today. Many schools
and colleges will have no choice other than to
use faculty openings and academic resources
to reach their goal. The availability of classes
will be reduced, while class size and teaching
loads, on average, will increase.
We may have to ask each college and division
to reduce their expenditures by 9 to 12
percent. If we take 9 percent of the state
funding from each college and division, that
would generate about $30 million, or half of
our $60 million target.
Last, most painful for me, and inevitably,
students will have to pay more for their
education through increased tuition and fees.
We anticipate that students will have to fund
at least 20 percent, perhaps more, of the
$60 million reduction, and this will follow
substantial increases in tuition and fees
already approved for the coming year by the
Board of Governors and already realized over
the last two years. We have always prided
ourselves in being an access institution and
our first university priority is student success,
so making higher education less affordable is
a not an attractive option for me.
I will end the gloomy part of my speech with
this commitment: we will involve and engage
the campus community as much as we can
during this process. The budget estimates
presented today will undoubtedly change
and better options could emerge. We will
do everything we can to be innovative, find
appropriate partnerships, and do all we can
to protect the student experience.
I look forward to working with every one
of you. Our challenges are not small, I
think you all realize that, but they are
inconsequential compared to our spirit.
Lillington gets dental clinic
Lillington, the county seat of Harnett
County southeast of Raleigh, will be the site
of a community care clinic to be operated
by the School of Dental Medicine. The
university announced that it would build
one of the learning centers beside the new
First Choice Community Health Center
off U.S. 401. There, dental students and
residents will train and, together with ECU
faculty members, provide care to local
residents. “This is going to be a very good
site, a good collaboration with First Choice
Community Health Center,” said Gregory
Chadwick, associate dean for planning and
extramural affairs at the dental school. The
two facilities “will really have an impact on
primary health care in Harnett County.”
Lillington is the fourth site to be named
for what will eventually be 10 such centers
across the state and the first in central North
Carolina. The other sites identified so far
are Ahoskie and Elizabeth City in eastern
North Carolina and Sylva in the western
part of the state.
The 7,700-square-foot center in Lillington
will be a fully functioning general dentistry
office with 16 treatment rooms, X-ray
equipment, educational space and more. The
state will own the land, and construction
could begin this year if all goes well,
Chadwick said. Full-time dental school
faculty members will staff the center, along
with dental hygienists and other staff
members, and fourth-year dental students
and residents will train at the center.
Chadwick has described the centers as
similar to “moving the fourth floor of the
dental school—the clinical training—off
campus to rural areas of our state where
dental services are needed.”
The school will admit its first 50 students,
all North Carolina residents, in August, with
plans to admit 50 each year. —Doug Boyd
Sylva Lillington
Ahoskie
Elizabeth City
Campus master plan advances
A preliminary master plan for East Carolina
University’s Main Campus drew concerns
about safety, architectural consistency and
public access from East Carolina trustees
seeing it for the first time. The plan looks
out 20 years and expands ECU along Reade
Street north of Fifth, refashions the 10th
Street corridor from Cotanche to College
Hill, constructs three parking decks and closes
some streets to traffic in the center of campus.
Board of Trustees members discussed it
and the preliminary master plan for the
Health Sciences Campus in April after
a presentation by representatives from
Smithgroup/JJR, a planning and architecture
company consulting on the plan.
“I hope you will resolve the safety issue that
I see,” said David Redwine, referring to a
proposed parking deck the plan includes just
north of 10th Street and west of Cotanche
Street, across from the Student Recreation
Center. The long-term plan would include
security on site and for students crossing
Cotanche, Smithgroup representatives and
university officials said.
As Main Campus expands beyond its
existing borders, building placement and
design should be in keeping with the
character of the existing campus, which
includes open space and historic architecture,
said David Brody, board chairman.
“It should honor the core design of the
campus and it should not be so dense as
to change the environment of the campus,”
he said.
Planners are currently drawing design
guidelines for those future buildings,
consultants said, that are tied to the original
architecture of the buildings built in 1907.
Planners used a number of priorities
identified in campus meetings and a
survey to draw the preliminary plan.
Among those: keeping academics on the
core of Main Campus, retaining open
spaces, providing ample close-in parking,
the ecu report
6
7
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6
20
8 21
12 1
9
15
11
3
16
22
10
17
19
13
14 4
18
2
5
23
Number Project Name GSF Floors
1 Bio-Sciences Building 270,000 6
2 HHP Research Gym 55,000
3 Academic A Building 275,000 4
4 Visual and Performing Arts Center 200,000 3
5 HHP Addition 60,000
6 Facilities building 1
7 Police 20,000
8 Parking, Environmental Safety, Mail Services
9 Student Center 182,154 5
10
Belk Hall Replacement and Living/Learning
Complex
275,500 8
11 Student Recreation Center Expansion 62,276 2
12 Slay (restore to residential: 100 beds)
13 Alumni Center 36,000 2
14 Hotel and Conference Center
15 Visitor Center
16 Library Expansion 22,000
17 Todd Dining Hall Expansion 9,300 1
18 Basketball Practice Building 38,000 1
19 Foundation Building / Offi ce / Swing Space 40,000
20 IT Building / Data Center
21 Millennial Campus Building
22 Transit Hub
23 Press Box
LEGEND
EXISTING BUILDING
IMMEDIATE NEED
FUTURE OPPORTUNITY
PARKING DECK
Main Campus
10th Street
Charles Boulevard
Fifth Street
7
public safety and easy pedestrian access.
The plan closes some small parking lots near
academic buildings on the Main Campus
but proposes at least three parking decks
in central locations. It also closes Founders
Drive and Chancellors Way to through traffic.
Brody noted that the public needs ample
parking near A.J. Fletcher Music Hall, where
public performances take place.
Trustee Bill Bodenhamer suggested the
university use the price of parking for
students, staff and faculty to manage spaces,
setting the rate for close-in parking at a level
that provides incentive to use shuttle services.
The presentation to trustees was an
information session only. ECU officials and
planners stress the plan will likely see tweaks
based on feedback from the campus and the
community. A final version is expected to be
ready by fall for the board of trustees.
To learn more about the preliminary
master plan, visit www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/
masterplan/alternatives.cfm
—Mary Schulken
N 3.22.11 East Carolina University 0’ 150’ 300’
Number Project Name GSF Floors
1 Medical Education Building 250,000 6
2 Brody Modernization / Reassignment
(Offi ces / Millennial Uses)
3 Research Expansion 30,000 1
4 Student Services Building 64,000 2
5 Integrated Ancillary Services and Clinics
Building 280,000 5
6 New Cancer Center 60,000 2
7 Faculty Offi ces 50,000 4
1
4
5
7
7
6
3 2
Heart Blvd.
Fifth Street
W. Arlington Rd.
MacGregor Downs Rd.
Family Medicine
Cardiovascular
Institute
School of Dentistry
Warren Life Sciences
Utility Plant
Allied Health
SON
North Campus Loop
Moye Boulevard
Existing
Bio. Tech.
Pitt County Memorial
Hospital
H
Health Sciences
Campus
West Fifth Street (Highway 43)
Brody
Building
8
New funding model helps ECU
East Carolina’s efforts to improve freshman-to-
sophomore retention rates and to operate
academic programs more efficiently should
begin paying dividends as the UNC system
transitions from a per-student funding
formula to a sliding scale that’s based on
academic performance. Applying the new
yardsticks means ECU likely will receive a
slightly bigger slice of a smaller budget pie
next school year as the General Assembly
continues to slash funding for higher
education.
Under discussion for the last two years, the
new performance-based funding model will
be used for the fiscal year beginning July
1 to divvy up whatever enrollment growth
money—if any—is appropriated to the
UNC system by the General Assembly.
Given final approved by the UNC
Board of
Governors in February, the new formula will
have noticeable impacts on some campuses:
• UNC Greensboro and Western Carolina
will be allowed only restricted growth
in their freshman enrollments beginning
this fall.
• Freshman enrollment will be capped at
UNC Pembroke.
• The most severe restrictions fall on
Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State and
N.C. A&T because they did poorly on both
yardsticks. They must shrink their freshmen
enrollments and focus on retention.
ECU achieved acceptable retention and
efficiency rates, which would translate into
$5.1 million in enrollment growth money
for 2011–12, or 11.1 percent of the total
$45.8 million the Board of Governors
requested for the whole system. In 2012–13,
ECU’s enrollment growth money would
swell to $5.5 million, or 13.4 percent of the
$40.8 million request. Again, it
was unknown when this was written what
amount the General Assembly would
appropriate.
The percentage is important because it
will apply to whatever the Legislature
appropriates for enrollment growth. The
$40.8 million would fund classroom
space and instruction for 2,337 additional
students throughout the 16-campus system.
Actual enrollment growth in recent years has
been three times that much.
N.C. State’s share of the pie over the next
two years would fall from $11.1 million to
$10.1 million. UNC Chapel Hill’s share
would fall from $8.5 million to $5.2 million.
UNC Charlotte would see its enrollment
growth money cut in half, from $7.3 million
to $3.6 million.
A major change is that new funding formula
stops giving the smaller, liberal arts and
non-doctoral campuses a financial break by
assuming it costs them more per-student
to deliver the same classes as their bigger
brothers. UNC
Asheville, for
example, will see its
enrollment growth
money fall two-thirds,
from $724,000 to
$241,000. A third
benchmark—six-year
graduation rates—will
be added to the funding
formula in 2013.
Before the recession hit,
the UNC system usually
requested and got about
$60 million to account for
fairly consistent enrollment
growth of around 6,000
new students each year;
whatever the Legislature
approved was doled out
on a per-student basis. To
demonstrate the 16 campuses
could operate more efficiently
and with greater transparency,
former President Erskine
the ecu report
Senior fine arts
major Sarah West
’11 traveled to
Philadelphia this
spring to pick up
her 2011 Niche
magazine award
in the “sculpture
to wear” category.
Presented annually
since 1990, the
award recognizes
excellence and
innovation in
American and
Canadian fine
craft. Artists are
recognized in
professional and
student divisions.
West’s work, which
has been exhibited
at Artspace in
Raleigh, won the
Best in Show award
from Rebel 53, the
university’s arts and
literary magazine.
9
Bowles pushed the Board of Governors to
adopt a new funding model that rewards
campuses with low freshman dropout rates
and penalizes those with high dropout rates.
The fundamental change in philosophy is
seen as one of Bowles’ major legacies.
Cautioned to submit a smaller budget
request for enrollment growth money this
third recessionary budget cycle, the Board
of Governors voted to seek $45.8 million
for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and just
$40.8 million for the second year of the
biennium. That increase will provide funding
for an anticipated 2,337 additional students
next school year, far below normal growth
patterns. Thus, even if the Legislature gives
the General Administration everything it
asked for, the rapid growth rate of the UNC
system would level off and it would be
harder to get accepted as the same or greater
numbers of applicants seek fewer new seats.
Efforts check rising book costs
It looks like the best the UNC system can
do to control the rising cost of textbooks is
to stop prices from getting much worse. The
numbers from a Board of Governors report
show that, after a four-year focused effort by
the 16 campuses, the average cost for books
for an in-state undergraduate is up in a range
of 1.6 percent to 2.9 percent, depending
on whether the student bought new or
used books. That is relatively good news,
considering that textbook prices nationally
have risen 6 percent annually for the past
several years.
For several years now the General
Administration has pushed campuses to
get a handle on textbooks costs, which can
easily add $1,000 to the cost of a year
of college. In 2006 the campuses started
making detailed annual reports tracking what
students actually were paying—what they
paid at the cash register at the start of the
semester and what they got back after finals
through bookstore buy-back plans.
Innovative ideas were encouraged. UNC
Charlotte, UNC Greensboro and UNC
Wilmington outsourced their bookstore
operations to Barnes & Noble. N.C. Central
and Winston-Salem State contracted with
Follett. The three biggest campuses—UNC
Chapel Hill, N.C. State and ECU—joined
forces to essentially merge their bookstores
so a student at any of the three could buy
or sell a book through any of the three
bookstores, which could be done easily
online. Four other schools—Appalachian,
Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State and
Western Carolina—operate textbook rental
programs. Such programs have lower costs
but less selection.
Throughout the system, bookstores
were strongly encouraged to offer “half-back”
programs for books required in
introductory-level courses, such as freshman
English, guaranteeing to buy back the
book at the end of the semester at half the
original price.
According to numbers in the report, the
merged-bookstore approach has worked
great for ECU, where textbook prices
actually have gone down, but not as well at
Carolina, where moderately high prices rose
less then the system-wide average, and at
State, where prices went up by more than
the statewide average. Likewise, the results
were uneven at the three campuses that threw
in with Barnes & Noble. Prices dropped at
Wilmington but they shot up at Greensboro
and Charlotte by more than 6 percent. N.C.
A&T had the biggest drop in textbook costs
of any campus, down 13.6 percent, but it
took that just to bring its costs to near the
system average.
At every campus professors were encouraged
—some would say leaned on—to adopt
textbooks for their classes in a timely
manner, meaning they should decide what
books to require students to buy in plenty
of time for the bookstore to get them on the
shelves. The earlier the bookstores are able to
make their orders, the less students pay at the
checkout counter.
New federal legislation that went into
effect last summer may help curb textbook
price increases. Publishers now are barred
from “bundling” a textbook along with
supporting materials like workbooks and
CDs so that the book can be purchased
separately. Also, when publisher’s sales agents
pitch to faculty members on adopting their
texts, the agent now is required to tell the
faculty member how much the book costs
at retail. Before, faculty members often had
no idea what a book would cost before
requiring it in a class.
More than 300 Greek-affiliated students who achieved GPAs of 3.5 or higher fall semester—
including 80 who achieved a perfect 4.0—were treated to an ice cream social by the
Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Greek Life. Provost Marilyn Sheerer and
Vice Provost Virginia Hardy were on hand to congratulate the 337 fraternity and sorority
members who made the grade, which is roughly a quarter of the ECU Greek community.
10
the ecu report
ECU dropping art degree
To increase efficiency, ECU is eliminating
the bachelor of arts degree in art, a
fine arts program that has seen rapidly
declining interest by students. Only eight
were majoring in the degree at the start of
spring semester, down from 12 the prior
semester. Those eight will be allowed to
complete their degree before the program
is completely shut down. The move won’t
save much money because faculty teaching
those courses also teach in related degree
programs, and so must remain on staff.
Across the 16 UNC campuses, 60 degrees
were targeted for elimination as the campuses
respond for legislative demands to do more
with less. On the chopping block are 36
baccalaureate, 22 master’s and two doctoral
programs. Three campuses account for more
than half of the total—N.C. Central with
13, N.C. A&T with 11 and UNC Charlotte
with 10.
The Board of Governors adopted new
efficiency standards that campuses now use
to decide if a degree program has outlived
its usefulness. Bachelor’s degree programs
need to award 19 or more diplomas over two
years. Terminal master’s degree programs
should award at least 15 degrees over two
years to survive, and doctoral programs need
to award at least five diplomas over two years
to avoid the budget knife.
ECU to help Pottery Center
East Carolina and the N.C. Pottery Center
in Seagrove are discussing a collaboration
that would link the university’s highly
regarded studio arts program with one
of the nation’s most prominent folk arts
centers. Officials said the tight budget
situation limits what ECU can contribute
to the arrangement. The first collaboration
came in March when the two co-sponsored
a visit by a group of five potters from
China. The visitors spent part of a week in
Seagrove and the rest of the time conducting
workshops and colloquiums on campus.
“We’re looking at all aspects of
collaboration, on everything from sharing
visiting artists to perhaps basing grad
students and faculty over there,” said
Michael Dorsey, interim dean of the College
of Fine Arts and Communication. He said
the discussions began in December when
he and three other ECU representatives
met with the Pottery Center board. One
of Seagrove’s most successful potters, Ben
Owen III ’93, who is participating in the
discussions, said he hopes the collaboration
grows. “If there is a way both parties can
find a common ground to work on a future
endeavor together it would be wonderful.
The more people who know about
[Seagrove pottery], the better.”
A split has developed in the pottery
community around Seagrove. A rival group,
the Seagrove Area Potters Association,
split from the Pottery Center over a range
of issues. The new group, on whose board
Owen serves, began staging a rival festival
in 2008 on the same November weekend as
the annual Seagrove Pottery Festival, which
has been managed for more than 25 years
by the N.C. Museum of Traditional Pottery.
However, both festivals have been successful
and tempers seem to be easing.
News briefs
Required summer
read: This summer,
incoming freshmen
will be encouraged
to read the true
story of an Elon
College student who
was raped in her
apartment in 1984
and the man who
was wrongly convicted and spent 11 years in
prison for the crime. Picking Cotton is written
by the two victims in the case, Jennifer
Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton.
The two eventually became friends and
wrote this book to educate the public about
flaws in the criminal-justice system.
The first collaboration between ECU and the N.C. Pottery Center came in March when the
two co-sponsored a visit by five potters from China. The visitors spent part of a week in
Seagrove and the rest of the time conducting workshops and colloquiums on campus.
Furnished
Furnished
Discussion program forms: ECU will
open its doors this fall to adults in the
Greenville area who are interested in learning
new things but who don’t want the hassle
of applying for admission. The Lifelong
Learning Program, to be launched this fall
by the Division of Continuing Studies, is
modeled after the Elderhostel programs of
the mid-1970s. N.C. State University has
operated a similar program, called Encore,
for about 20 years. “Seniors are the one who
so often say there is nothing for me to do.
I’m retired but I still want to learn,” said
ECU’s Clayton Sessoms. “They are curious
about topics and want to learn new things,
but don’t want to invest the time or money
in pursuing a degree.” The program will be
funded through modest workshop fees. A
schedule of courses will be announced May
21. Interested individuals are encouraged
to register by calling 252-328-9198 or
e-mailing cpe@ecu.edu.
Pedalling for health: People who work
sitting at a desk all day could pedal their way
to better health by using portable exercise
machines, according to research by an ECU
faculty member published in the British
Journal of Sports Medicine. These small exercise
bikes, modified to fit under a desk, are
effective at burning calories and raising the
heart rate without disrupting the office work
flow, according to the study by Luc Car, an
assistant professor in the Department of
Exercise and Sports Science. For the study, 18
office workers, who were mostly female, and
overweight, pedalled an average of 23 minutes
a day and used the machine on an average
of 12 out of 20 days. The workers said in a
questionnaire that they would use the bikes
regularly if their employer offered them one.
Nursing grads score well: The percentage
of School of Nursing graduates who pass
the state licensing exam on the first try rose
one point in 2010 to 97 percent. Of the
268 graduates that year, 260 passed the exam
to become RNs. In 2009, 248 of the 257
graduates passed the first time, or 96 percent.
Alcohol abuse program honored: East
Carolina’s efforts to prevent alcohol and drug
abuse by fraternity and sorority members
have been recognized as among the best in the
nation. The school’s Greek Risk Management
program was one of four finalists nationwide
for the Outside the Classroom Prevention
Excellence Award for Greek Life. The
award is presented by the Student Affairs
Administrators in Higher Education and
Outside the Classroom, a company that
designs online drug and alcohol education
programs for colleges and universities.
Campus repairs slated: East Carolina
is planning $5.2 million in repairs and
upgrades to four buildings on Main Campus.
The largest project will see $2.4 million
spent to complete space in the Science and
Technology Building that was left unfinished
when it opened in 2003. Parts of the third
and fifth floors will be upfitted as wet
laboratory space for the biology, chemistry
and geology departments. The work will be
paid for with facilities and administrative
receipts; completion is expected in June
2012. Green and White residence halls will
receive exterior masonry and structural repairs
costing $1.9 million. Greene also will get a
new roof. The project, funded with housing
receipts, should be completed by July 2012.
Also, the Student Recreation Center, now 15
years old, will receive a new roof and other
repairs costing $798,000. The project, to be
paid for with student activity fees, should be
completed by December.
Trustees complete terms
Four veteran members of the ECU Board
of Trustees who helped lead the university
through a turbulent era will complete their
terms in June. Current chair David Brody
of Kinston, former chair Bob Greczyn
’73 of Durham, current board secretary
David Redwine ’72 of Ocean Isle Beach,
and William H. Bodenhamer Jr. ’74 of
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., each served two four-year
terms. The four had just joined the
13-member board in 2003 when former
chancellor William V. Muse resigned under
a cloud after only two years on the job.
That led to the selection of Steve Ballard as
chancellor and, with other board decisions,
set East Carolina on a firmer footing. Two
of the vacancies were filled by the Board
of Governors, which appointed Deborah
Davis ’79 ’83 of Henrico, Va., chief
operating officer of Virginia Commonwealth
University Medical Center, and Raleigh
attorney Kieran Shanahan ’79. Gov. Beverly
Perdue will fill the two other vacancies.
ECU down to one on board
East Carolina is down from three alumni
to only one—attorney Phil Dixon ’71 of
Greenville—serving on the 32-member
UNC Board of Governors. Charles Hayes
’72 ’74 of Sanford will leave the board in
June after serving for six years; he filled a
vacancy for two years and then was elected
to a four-year term in 2007. Although
he was eligible for another term and was
nominated in a House committee, Hayes,
executive director of the Research Triangle
Regional Partnership, was not on the final
list submitted for a floor vote. Hayes said
he served during a pivotal era. “I was able
to serve with three of the five presidents
the UNC system has ever had, including
Erskine Bowles’ entire time as president.”
ECU briefly had three on the board. It
dropped to two when J. Craig Souza ’71 of
Raleigh, president of the N.C. Health Care
Facilities Association, completed his second
term in 2009.
11
Need a vein? Look in the fridge
Anyone who has undergone a heart bypass
procedure knows you usually have to recover from
two surgeries—one on your heart and another on
your leg, where doctors remove a section of vein
to use to repair your heart. Thanks to pioneering
work by an ECU surgeon, someday soon that
second surgery won’t be necessary.
Research co-authored by Alan Kypson, a professor
of surgery at the Brody School of Medicine,
and published in the journal Science Translational
Medicine demonstrated that scientists can
“grow” new veins in the lab and store them in a
refrigerator for up to a year. These manmade veins
are constructed from smooth-muscle cells taken
from a human cadaver that are placed around a
tubular structure. The cells grow until they cover
the tube. The tube is then treated to remove the
cells, leaving a hollow, flexible tube that works like
a vein but will not be rejected by the body.
Participating in the research with Kypson were
scientists from Duke University, Yale University
and Humacyte, a biotechnology company based in
Durham. Humacyte funded much of the research.
The medical advance is important given our aging
population. “People are having multiple heart
bypasses and vascular surgery now and once a
patient is on their third or fourth bypass, they are
out of veins to use,” Kypson said.
the ecu report
Eas t C a r olina tim e line
First student graduates
Among the 13 students in the first
class to graduate in May 1911 is Pattie
Simmons Dowell of Williamston,
who was the first student to register
on Oct. 5, 1909, when ECTTS first
opened its doors. Founder and first
president of the campus YWCA, she
goes on to become the first ECTTS
graduate to receive a doctorate. She
teaches here in 1923–24, leaves for
Southern Miss—where she authors
four elementary school textbooks—
but returns in 1958 to end her career
here. She is the first recipient of the
school’s Outstanding Alumni Award.
Dowell Way, the short street arching
between Fletcher and Garrett
residence halls on the east end of
Main Campus, is named for her.
The case of the purloined frocks
The campus is shocked and the
spring social season is imperiled
in April 1926 when silk gowns
purchased or made by eight
students disappear from dorm
rooms just days before the Poe
Society’s big dance. Oddly, all
are about the same size. The
Greenville police are called and a
local woman is charged when the
gowns are found at her home. The
Tecoan reports a happy ending to
the incident in a front-page story
headlined “The Easter Frocks Are
Returned to Owners.”
100
YEARS AGO 85
YEARS AGO
Alan Kypson
Dorm cooking is toast
Students get heartburn
in spring 1986 when the
administration, in the
aftermath of several minor
dorm room fires and grease-clogged
pipes, announces
that deep fat fryers and
electric griddles will be
outlawed in residence halls,
effective fall semester.
Only toasters and small
refrigerators can stay. ECU
is following the lead of other
UNC schools in banning
dorm cooking and requiring
students to buy meal books.
When students complain
there aren’t enough places to eat on campus, the relatively new Mendenhall Student
Center is remodeled to add a casual restaurant. Images courtesy University Archives
“Pumpsie” fans 19
The strong arm of Greensboro’s
Larry “Pumpsie” Crayton carries ECC
into the 1961 NAIA national baseball
tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.
Nervous at being so far from home and
facing a strong Grambling squad, many
ECC players stuff four-leaf clovers in
their pockets. But luck isn’t needed
as Crayton strikes out 19 batters to
set a collegiate record that still stands
today. East Carolina sweeps to the title
game and beats Sacramento State
9-4 for the championship. Crayton is
chosen tournament MVP (photo). In a
three-year career on the mound for the
Bucs, Crayton compiles a 26-4 record
with 330 strikeouts. He foregoes his
senior year to sign with the St. Louis
Cardinals.
25
YEARS AGO 50
YEARS AGO
Bioengineered veins have been found to
be resistant to clotting and obstruction
when compared to synthetic or prosthetic
engineered veins. They also demonstrate
lower rates of infection, better blood
flow and lower levels of calcium buildup,
according to the study.
As for the impact for ECU, “this is the first
time something like this has been done and
it’s very exciting for our university to be a
part of this,” said Kypson. “One would like
to think that such a paper may spur other
companies and universities to consider
collaborating with ECU in the future.”
—Jessica Nottingham
Brody again No. 1 in family docs
East Carolina sent more medical graduates
into training as family medicine physicians
the past 10 years than any other school in
the country. ECU is also sending a majority
of all its medical graduates into practice
in North Carolina. That’s according to the
American Academy of Family Physicians,
which measured the success of 124 U.S.
medical schools in producing family doctors
between 1999 and 2009. The results show
the Brody School of Medicine sent nearly
19.5 percent of its graduates into family
medicine residencies, nearly double the
national average.
“It is clearly a remarkable achievement but
comes as no surprise to the dedicated and
loyal faculty who passionately teach, mentor
and support our students,” said BSOM dean
Paul Cunningham.
And the trend is continuing; on national
residency match day in March, 19 percent
of ECU’s 68 senior medical students were
accepted into family medicine residencies.
The AAFP also reports that of the nearly
1,300 graduates of the ECU medical school
as of 2009, 765, or 59 percent, practice in
North Carolina. That’s a higher percentage
than any other medical school in the state.
—Doug Boyd
A business plan prepared by a College of Business team of students for operating a new
type of medical clinic won top honors at the annual National Small Business Institute
Conference. The team led by MBA student Brian Cooke ’10 of Grimesland worked with
Dr. Janice Daughtery of the Brody School of Medicine to develop a working model for
a medical clinic that incorporates alternative medicine such as acupuncture with more
traditional Western medicine. A second College of Business team earned second place
in the competition for its consulting work with a women’s clothing store to develop
marketing, inventory control and financial management plans. Since 2005, ECU has earned
eight finishes in the top three at the National Small Business Institute Conference, including
four first-place winners. This year’s conference was held in Bonita Springs, Fla.
Janice Daughtery Brian Cooke
14
the ecu report
15
Daughters donate
Coach Stas’ library
“There are some things I know that people
don’t know about him, like the significance
of his faith,” Becky Stasavich says about
her late father, East Carolina coaching
great Clarence Stasavich. Another thing
most people don’t knew about the man
who brought big-time college football to
Greenville, she says, is that he insisted on
being able to walk to work. For many years
he and his family lived in a home on Rock
Spring Road almost in sight of the new
football stadium the college built for him.
Stasavich died in 1975 but in one important
way he never left that home just off 14th
Street a block from College Hill. His papers
and effects where there when Becky, the
oldest, moved to Greenville in 1980 to be
a companion to her mother, who died in
1997. The books and memorabilia were
still there when Mary Helen, the middle
child, after teaching overseas for more than
30 years, retired there in 2001. Son Walter,
the youngest, grew up here and later was
Greenville’s director of parks and recreation;
he developed River Park North, where the
science center is named for him. He died
in 1993. Walter’s two daughters, Laura
Elizabeth ’92 ’98 of Wilmington and Sarah
Catherine ’99 of Greenville, are alumnae.
Becky and Mary Helen recently donated
Coach Stas’ library of football books, letters
home during World War II, memorabilia,
correspondence, awards and other personal
effects to East Carolina. The material will
make up the core of the new Clarence
Stasavich Collection housed in University
Archives. “Acquiring the records of someone
so intimately involved with the growth of
East Carolina athletics will serve to allow
researchers and fans to more accurately
chronicle the history of the Pirates and the
venues in which they performed,” said ECU
Archivist Arthur Carlson ’07.
At the time he retired from the sidelines in
1969 to become athletic director, Stasavich
was the third-winningest coach in America.
Everyone seemed to know him. Mary Helen
recalls passing through an airport far away
from home many years ago, and the official
inspecting her passport glanced up excitedly
and asked if she was related to the Coach
Stas who ran the famous single-wing offense.
Becky graduated from Catawba College in
Salisbury, N.C., the year her father became the
East Carolina football coach. She completed
her master’s degree at ECU in 1967. Mary
Helen graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne while
her father was coaching and teaching there.
She was a cheerleader at Lenoir-Rhyne the last
year her father coached there. Her dad’s L-R
squad was playing East Carolina late in the
season and a rabid Pirate fan started yelling
at Coach Stas. “Some guy came up to the
sidelines yelling, ‘we’re going to kill you Stas.’
He kept on and one. So I turned around and
said, ‘That’s my dad!’ Later when Dad told us
he was coming down here to coach, I said, ‘I
don’t think they like you much down there.’”
Luckily, she was wrong about that. He
became so revered that days after he died, an
inspired East Carolina team—urged to win
one for Coach Stas—traveled to Chapel Hill
and pulled off a stunning 38-17 upset for
the school’s first victory over a Carolina team.
Coach Stas Highlight Reel
Overall record of 170–64–8, including
16 seasons at Lenoir-Rhyne. He was
50–27–1 at East Carolina.
Won seven consecutive Carolinas
Conference championships at
Lenoir-Rhyne
NAIA small college national coach
of the year, 1959; won the NAIA national
championship in 1960.
When he left coaching he trailed only
Alabama’s Bear Bryant and Mississippi’s
John Vaught in total victories.
Led East Carolina out of the small-college
NAIA and into membership in the Southern
Conference of the NCAA.
Pirate teams had three consecutive 9–1
seasons and won three consecutive
bowl games.
As athletics director, presided over
fundraising and construction of Minges
Coliseum, Scales Field House, Harrington
Field and Bunting Field.
University Archives
16
the ecu report
BB&T commits $1 million for center
BB&T, whose $250,000 gift in 1982
founded the BB&T Center for Leadership
Development in the College of Business, has
reaffirmed its support for the center through
a new donation totaling $1 million. The
center advocates incorporating leadership
development as an important dimension of
intellectual activity, with an emphasis on
the proposition that every student should
be prepared to lead and become an agent of
positive change in society.
“The university’s continued commitment
to leadership development as a priority
and focus within its mission has been
greatly assisted through BB&T’s support,”
said center director James Bearden.
“Their latest contribution further extends
the catalytic role the [center] has in
emphasizing, enhancing and supporting
leadership development in courses and
classrooms at ECU.”
BB&T’s contribution to ECU’s Second
Century Campaign is their fifth such gift to
the center, and serves as a perfect example
of how private corporations can make a
difference at ECU. The gift helped push the
Second Century Campaign so far to $194
million, or 97 percent of the goal.
“We want 2011 to be the year that we
surge past the $200 million goal,” said Vice
Chancellor for University Advancement
Mickey Dowdy. “We remain extremely
grateful for BB&T’s dedication to ECU and
the Center for Leadership Development and
we look forward to even greater things in the
future as we continue our efforts in faculty
and student leadership development.”
Gifts to the campaign may be designated
for a specific program, college or school.
Every gift, whether large or small, is
appreciated and makes a difference. For more
information about the BB&T Center for
Leadership Development, contact Bearden
at beardenj@ecu.edu. For more information
about the Second Century Campaign and
how you can contribute, contact Dowdy at
252-328-9550 or visit www.ecu.edu/devt.
Virtual early college top in state
East Carolina’s online early college program
for bright high school students was
recognized by the N.C. Distance Learning
Association as the top program in the
state for course content and its unique
delivery platform. The Early College
Second Life Program (ECSLP), which uses
the Second Life 3D virtual technology, is
unique in that students can take college
classes online without leaving their high
school environment. The ECSLP program
previously received the International
Intraverse Award in Education, presented
in Monaco. About 40 students in Pitt and
Lenoir counties are enrolled in the program.
“It is successful because it captures the
students’ attention, challenges them, and
allows them to interact with each other for
projects,” said Sharon Collins of ECU’s
Emerging Academic Initiatives. “It truly is
the way students desire to learn these days,
by advancing with technology.”
Second Life is a virtual 3D world designed
for high school students. In that world,
students have an “avatar” (a virtual presence)
and attend a real-time class. ECU is the only
campus using Second Life to offer classes
that let students earn college credit and high
school credit at the same time. Students
can take classes in anthropology, personal
finance, child psychology, introduction to
computers, English, sociology and web site
design and maintenance.
—ECU News Services
ECU’s Jim Bearden, Danny Daniels of BB&T,
Chancellor Steve Ballard, Scott Evans of BB&T
and Dennis Alexander of BB&T
Furnished
After a rigorous national search, former
College of Business Dean Rick Niswander
was named vice chancellor for administration
and finance after serving in that role on an
interim basis since December. The Board of
Trustees approved Chancellor Steve Ballard’s
appointment of Niswander at its April
meeting. He replaces Kevin Seitz. Niswander
joined the faculty in 1993 and became COB
dean in 2004. In his new role Niswander
will be responsible for business services,
campus operations, financial services, human
resources, information technology and
university facilities, including construction
and renovation of campus buildings. His
salary is $270,000 a year. Niswander
graduated from Idaho State University with
a bachelor’s in accounting. He holds a
doctorate in accounting from Texas A&M
University. In 1998 he received the Board of
Governors Distinguished Professor for
Teaching Award.
Brody Division of Toxicology chief William
Joel Meggs received ECU’s Lifetime
Achievement Award for Excellence in
Research and Creative Activity. Meggs has
published more than 60 scholarly articles.
His main research interests include antidotes
to poisonings, poisonous snakebites, toxicity
of pharmaceutical overdoses, effects of
chronic low level exposures to pesticides,
environmental factors in obesity, and the
role of inflammation in overall health. ECU
presented five-year achievement awards to
biology professor Jason Bond and psychology
professor T. Chris Riley-Tillman. They
received a cash award and conducted
seminars on campus during Research and
Creative Achievement Week in April.
Brody School of Medicine Dean Dr. Paul
Cunningham and Chief of Surgery Michael
Rotondo were inducted into the prestigious
American Surgical Association. Founded in
1880, the ASA is the nation’s oldest and
most prestigious surgical organization.
School of
Communication
associate professor
John Howard III was
chosen by the UNC
Board of Governors
as East Carolina’s
recipient of the
annual Awards for
Excellence in
Teaching. Since 1994 the board has honored
one professor at each campus to receive the
honor, which comes with a commemorative
bronze medallion and a $7,500 cash prize.
The 17 recipients, representing an array
of academic disciplines, were nominated by
special committees on their home campuses
and selected by the Board of Governors
Committee on Personnel and Tenure, chaired
by Fred Mills of Raleigh. The awards will be
presented by a Board of Governors member
during the spring graduation ceremony on
each campus.
Howard previously received the Alumni
Association’s Outstanding Teaching Award
in 2008 and and Board of Trustees’
Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award
in 2009. Graduating seniors in his school
have voted him “Most Inspiring Faculty
Member” four times, most recently in 2009.
Howard received an undergraduate
degree in political science from SUNY
Binghamton, a master’s in policy analysis
from the University of Rochester, a master’s
in interpersonal communication from
Bowling Green State University, and a
doctorate in communication studies also
from Bowling Green.
Christopher Locklear ’97 ’01 ’07 was
appointed associate provost for personnel
and resource administration. Locklear will
be responsible for oversight of all aspects of
EPA personnel for the Division of Academic
and Student Affairs. He will continue to co-chair
the University Policy Committee.
Kidney specialist
Wafa Badwan ’97 ’05
has joined the faculty
as a clinical assistant
professor after
completing her
residency training
and a nephrology
fellowship here. Born
in Raleigh, she is
board-certified in internal medicine and
nephrology and joins a growing staff of kidney
transplant specialists at ECU Physicians. Her
clinical and research interests are critical care
nephrology and renal transplant.
U N I V E R S I T Y L I F E
17
18
Pianist wins Fisher grant
Assistant piano professor Benjamin Hochman,
one of ECU’s newest music faculty members,
has been named a 2011 recipient of an Avery
Fisher Career Grant, which is presented to
talented instrumentalists with great potential
for solo careers. Hochman will receive a
stipend of $25,000 to use for specific needs
in furthering his career.
Hochman joined the School of Music faculty
in fall 2010, succeeding Henry Doskey, who
retired. The Israeli-born pianist made his
recital debut at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York, and he has performed
with the New York Philharmonic and the
American Symphony Orchestra. He also
has appeared with symphony orchestras in
Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Seattle and
Portland, and he has played with the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra and the Raanana and
Jerusalem symphonies.
Hochman is scheduled to participate in the
Appalachian Summer Festival in Boone
twice in July as part of the Broyhill Chamber
Ensemble; he will play with the Boston
Chamber Music Society in late August.
Summer theatre on hiatus
The stage at McGinnis Theatre will be dark
this summer, as the popular ECU/Loessin
Summer Theatre program has been affected
by the state’s budget crunch. Two years
ago, the summer program mounted only
one production, Big River, and last year, ECU
theater students and faculty participated in
the Roanoke Island Festival Park summer
theatrical season.
This year, however, the drama and musical
series will take a summer off, says Jeff
Woodruff, managing director of the ECU
summer theatre program. “There’s been
a general, overall pulling back, and we’re
basically all tightening our belts around
here,” Woodruff says.
Last summer’s financial situation prevented
staging shows on campus, so the
opportunity to relocate at least part of the
summer series to Manteo proved to be a
good move, he says. But ECU signaled the
likelihood of canceling its summer season
when it was not represented in late winter
casting sessions in New York and other cities.
This gave ECU students a chance to go
We aren’t suggesting that you travel all the way to a
small island in Lake Superior to hear two ECU students
perform, but that is where some of the nation’s most talented young
chamber musicians will be this summer. Senior Caroline Cox and
younger sister Mary Catherine Cox, an incoming freshman, were among
only 48 students nationwide accepted into the advanced string quartet
program at the Madeline Island Music Camp. The camp is located on an island
offshore from the Minneapolis area. Earlier this year, Caroline took top honors in the
annual concerto competitions sponsored by both the Raleigh and Durham symphony
orchestras and later performed with both groups. She is majoring in violin under Ara
Gregorian and piano performance under Keiko Sekino. Mary Catherine, who also has
studied under Gregorian and others, received honorable mentions at both the Raleigh
and Durham symphony competitions. Caroline and Mary Catherine are the daughters
of optometrists Carson and Valerie Cox of Southern Pines.
Summer Arts Calendar
Furnished
19
elsewhere for summer experience, Woodruff
says, and “our students are getting lots of
work in lots of other places. They are doing
outdoor dramas, and some are doing theater
in Charlotte. They are all over the place.”
School of Theatre and Dance administrators
hope that the current hiatus “is as short as
possible,” he says, and the financial situation
will not affect the 2011–12 season, which
has announced a full slate of theatrical and
dance productions, including Threepenny
Opera, Oklahoma! and Elephant Man.
Drama camp: The School of Theatre and
Dance is expanding its summer drama camp
program on campus this year, with two one-week
sessions instead of a single session.
Patricia “Patch” Clark, associate professor
and coordinator for both the Theatre for
Youth and Theatre Education Programs and
founder and director of the ECU Storybook
Theatre, again heads the Drama Camp, with
sessions July 18–23 and July 25–30. Drama
Camp is divided into three age groups:
5–10, 11–13 and 14–18. Instruction is provided
in beginning acting and performance
techniques for high school students;
character development, performance and
script writing for middle school students;
and integrated arts, puppetry, mask making,
creative dramatics and storybook theater for
elementary school students.
Guitar Workshop: Among the guest artists
and instructors at the camp, which takes
place July 10–13, will be Mary Akerman and
Andrew Zohn, who have both performed in
previous festivals. Festival artistic director
Elliot Frank, professor of guitar in the School
of Music, also will perform. Among others
who will play in recitals, teach classes or both
will be Adam Kossler ’06, now pursuing a
doctorate from Florida State University (July
10); You Wang and Carlos Perez (July 11);
and Jan Bartlema (July 13). Chinese guitarist
You won the 2010 ECU festival competition
and was first-place winner of the 2011 Indiana
International Guitar Competition at Indiana
University. Perez is a visiting lecturer at
Columbus (Ga.) State University. The youth
and college level competition finals are
scheduled July 13.
Band Camp: The popular camp for middle
and high school students is June 19–24, with
instruction and opportunities in full concert
band, small ensemble and solo performance.
Special coaching also will be available in jazz
performance techniques.
Jazz Camp: This year’s camp will run June
26–30 and provides opportunities for
students to learn to play in combos, learn
jazz theory and participate in improvisation
classes. The camp is for rising seventh grade
through 12th-grade players. Faculty members
will be joined by jazz professionals from
around the state.
Summer Choral Camp: The camp for rising
seventh grade through 12th grade singers
will be June 26–July 1 and offer activities to
strengthen participants’ vocal skills, music
reading and aural perception of music.
Suzuki Institute: This year’s camp will be
June 30 and July 1–8 for teacher instruction
and July 2–3 and July 3–8 for student
instruction. The institute has been ongoing
for nearly 30 years and provides private
lessons in small master classes and group
repertory classes for all levels from Book
1 through advanced. Students are placed
according to skill level and age.
—Steve Row
The Greenville Museum of Art has expanded its collection of paintings by Francis Speight, who was artist-in-residence at East Carolina for
15 years and is considered one of North Carolina’s most accomplished artists. “Winter Scene,” a 40-inch by 42-inch oil, was considered
one of the most important Speight paintings in private hands. Created in 1941, it was acquired by the Rachel Maxwell Moore Art
Foundation and other community donors from Christie’s Auction House in New York and donated to the museum. “Winter Scene,” which
was owned by Winston-Salem art collector William Hanes, joins a number of other works by Speight and his artist wife, Sarah Blakeslee,
that are on permanent display at the museum. Born in Bertie County, Speight studied and then taught at the Pennsylvania Academy
of Fine Art from 1920 to 1961. The Rachel Maxwell Moore foundation now has acquired 130 pieces of art for the museum over the past
50 years. Located at 802 South Evans Street, the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 1–4 p.m. on
weekends. Admission is free.
Furnished
20
Kimmy Cummings, forward/midfielder
Linn Moore, TA Loving project superintendent
Randall Jernigan, TA Loving project manager
Christianne Cordero, goalkeeper
Rob Donnenwirth, head coach
Amanda Malkiewicz, forward
21
Olympic sports have new home
A new $24 million complex for softball, soccer and track opens,
creating a new gateway to campus and proving East Carolina is more
than a football and baseball school
22
By J . E r i c E c k a r d p h o tography by jay clark
Attendance tripled at women’s softball games
this spring after the team began playing in an
impressive new stadium that’s the centerpiece
of the school’s new Olympic Sports
Complex. Similar gains in fan support and
student interest are expected this fall when
the rest of the complex opens—a soccer
stadium and a state-of-the-art facility for
track. The complex, enclosed by a graceful
brick wall and understated architectural
touches, creates what officials say will be an
eye-popping new gateway to campus.
Located at the busy corner of Charles and
Greenville boulevards adjacent to the football
and baseball stadiums, the 16-acre complex
will be the first impression of the school
for many visitors driving into town. “These
facilities will provide generations of students,
fans, team members and coaches with a first-class
impression of East Carolina University,”
says Athletics Director Terry Holland.
The development gives ECU some of
the best facilities in North Carolina and
in Conference USA. “Positive things are
happening on ECU’s campus,” says Tracey
Kee, the Pirates’ softball coach for the past
15 years. “This is not just a football school
or a baseball school.”
The $24-million Olympics Sports Complex
is the latest piece of the puzzle to improve
Pirate sports facilities. Since Holland came
here nearly seven years ago, a total of $60
million has been committed to that effort,
including the addition of 7,000 seats to
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium last year and the
planned construction of a new practice
facility for the basketball and volleyball
teams. Holland says the Olympic sports
facility and the basketball gym will be paid
for with $1.5 million in annual revenue from
the new football seats and $15 million in
private fundraising. In addition, the $1.7
million in student activity fees that had gone
toward Minges Coliseum, since paid for, will
be transferred to the new complex.
In the center will be the new home for
non-revenue sports. The Olympics Sports
Building will feature home and away locker
rooms for softball, soccer and track events as
well as equipment and training rooms. The
second floor will feature a team meeting room
and coaches’ offices. The building includes a
fully equipped sports medicine facility.
All three playing fields will have restrooms,
concession stands and wireless Internet
access. The site is being landscaped with
dogwood, holly, magnolia, cherry and maple
trees. A graceful brick and wrought iron wall
extends along Greenville Boulevard.
The site is a reminder of ECU’s continuing
commitment to what are called non-revenue
sports. That commitment was first made two
years ago with the opening of the North
Recreational Complex (NRC), a sprawling
area 10 minutes from campus with eight
multipurpose lighted fields, walking trails
and a six-acre lake. The last phase of the
NRC, a six-acre lake with a sandy beach and
boat rentals, will be completed soon.
Coaches from the three Olympics Sports
Complex teams say the facilities will improve
recruiting and the overall cache from the
school’s commitment to sports of all types.
“The whole place is looking different,” says
women’s soccer coach Rob Donnenwirth.
“It looks big-time. And it’s setting us up for
inclusion in other conferences.”
Moving to a Bowl Championship Series
conference would benefit the football
program because of the opportunity to
play in more lucrative postseason bowls.
A conference change also would generate
more revenue for all ECU sports programs.
But it’s not just about building shiny new
stadiums or even winning games, although
both are important. What Holland has done,
according to Donnenwirth, is to instill the
mindset that ECU “belongs” in a major
conference with other “big-time” schools.
“It’s not just the facilities; it’s the culture that
he’s changed,” Donnenwirth says.
Still, the victories have come. The women’s
soccer team posted its best overall record ever
in 2008 and went undefeated in conference
play. The women’s track team finished sixth
at the 2010 C-USA Indoor Championships,
its best showing in school history. Kee’s
softball team remains the powerhouse it has
been for years; it’s the defending C-USA
regular season and tournament champions
after winning at least 40 games in six of the
past seven seasons.
Future Pirates are noticing. “ECU finally
has a home that matches their level of skill,”
says Emma Mendoker, a high school pitcher
from Amherst, Mass., who will play for Kee
as a freshman this fall. “For me, the most
important thing was the level of play, the
coaches and the academics. But it’s an added
bonus to have such great facilities.”
Another incoming freshman athlete, Kyle
Hefkin, who threw the javelin for State
College (Pa.) High School’s track team,
said the complex influenced his decision.
“Part of my decision was based on the new
facilities—probably about 30 percent of my
decision,” says Hef kin, who starts classes this
fall. “I’m pretty excited.”
Curt Kraft, ECU’s director of men’s and
women’s track and field teams, says he
believes the new facilities definitely will
boost community support and improve
attendance for the Olympic sports teams.
“I’ve been coaching for 26 years, and in
all my days of coaching, I’ve never had
the opportunity to coach on a brand-new
facility,” Kraft says. “But this is not about
me, and it’s not about 2012. This is about
the future—2018, 2022. This will be here
for generations to come.”
23
SOCCER
The new soccer stadium is similar in design
and materials as the baseball stadium. The
stadium will feature a video scoreboard and
a modern press box. The stadium has 1,000
seats, 192 of which are chairbacks. The field is
larger than most such facilities, measuring 360
feet from goal line to goal line and 225 feet
from sideline to sideline.
With its size, the soccer stadium can more
readily host regional tournaments, something
ECU could not do until now because its
existing soccer facility was too small. “Did
we lose recruits because of our old facility?
Possibly,” Coach Rob Donnenwirth says. “I
think when the stadium is [completed], and
they’re coming to games, that’s when it will
really kick in.”
East Carolina suspended its men’s soccer
program in 2005. In three previous seasons,
the men’s team went 7-37-3 and won
just two conference games. Holland said
then that the program could not continue
without “a significant increase in resources”
which weren’t available at the time. Those
resources now seem to be coming into focus.
SOFTBALL
The first of the three Olympic Sports Complex fields
to debut, the softball stadium opened Feb. 16. Coach
Tracey Kee calls it a “miniature Clark-LeClair Stadium,”
complete with lights, three covered batting cages, a
state-of-the-art press box and a video scoreboard
in right-center field. The stadium has 1,000 seats, of
which 200 are chairbacks. The field is 200 feet from
home plate to the outfield foul poles. It’s 220 feet to
dead center.
Although not expected to draw the same numbers
as the Pirate baseball team with its near cult-like
following at the 6-year-old 3,000-seat Clark-LeClair
Stadium, the softball team “has unbelievable fans who
are slowly falling in love with the program,” Kee says.
Incoming freshman Emma Mendoker, who has followed
the progress of the new softball stadium during visits
to ECU’s campus, says she was speechless when she
saw the near-finished field late last year. “When I first
went into the stands and looked out onto the field,
it’s hard to describe, but it was just how it was
presented,” Mendoker said. “I was ready
to skip my senior year.”
24
25
Toni Paisley, pitcher
Jordan Lewis, outfielder/infielder
Kristi Oshiro, infielder
26
27
TRACK AND FI ELD
To save money and conserve space, many university
track facilities—including those at N.C. State and
Carolina—are simply ovals built around soccer fields.
But ECU’s new eight-lane track will surround an area for
throwing events—javelin, hammer and discus. A tall gate-like
structure rises in the infield to protect spectators and
other athletes during throwing events.
The last of the three playing fields to open, the track facility
is expected to begin hosting matches next spring. ECU has
been unable to hold conference events on campus because
the school’s facilities, which were unlighted and did not
meet NCAA standards and specifications.
Coach Curt Kraft says ECU will have the “nicest
track and field facility in North Carolina.” Looking at
the entire Olympic Sports Complex—and its close
proximity to the baseball stadium—he adds, “I think
you’d be hard-pressed to find four better facilities in
one package within the league. It takes us to another
level in Conference USA.”
Matthew McConaughey, javelin
Curt Kraft, head coach
Tynita Butts, sprinter/jumper
Maegan Lewis, hammer
28
29
Jim Hunt’s
Ms. Fix-It
Rocked by scandal and plagued with
inefficiencies, the N.C. Division of Motor
Vehicles was the epitome of government
gone wrong. It took three months just to
get a car title transferred. The governor
wanted an overhaul so he called on the
person he knew could get the job done—
with grace. He tapped Janice Faulkner, a
veteran college professor and Democratic
Party organizer whose second career
in politics often outshines an equally
outstanding one in academia.
30
When she arrived at ECU, Janice Hardison
Faulkner ’53 ’56 came armed with strong
rural values and a tough skin from playing
baseball with future pitching greats Jim and
Gaylord Perry. Hard work came naturally
after growing up on a Martin County farm,
where sunrise brought countless chores and
farm duties. Education, she knew, was her
ticket off the farm.
The grit and determination she demonstrated
then and later as a teacher and politician
inspired others to reach higher. “You’ve got
to connect to people who are engaged,” she
says. “You seek access, you find out more,
you pour your energy into inquiry.”
Starting with her first job teaching English
at East Carolina in 1957, Faulkner
distinguished herself by encouraging
students with her love for writers like John
Steinbeck, Katherine Anne Porter and
Eudora Welty. In addition to teaching, she
served as head of the Regional Development
Institute, which promotes economic growth
in the East. She supported the college in
other roles, including serving as a charter
member of the Board of Visitors.
She had spent 36 years in the classroom
when she began a phased retirement in 1992.
About that time she got a call from Gov. Jim
Hunt, whom she had met years earlier during
a student government trip. An energetic
young lawyer and student organizer, Hunt
had sought her help back then with an event
featuring Leo Jenkins. A great friendship
developed between them. After his election
to a third term as governor in 1992, Hunt
named her secretary of the N.C. Department
of Revenue. She became Hunt’s go-to person
when thorny problems arose, such as in 1996
when he turned to her to clean up a political
mess in the Secretary of State’s office.
She had restored integrity to that office
when Hunt called with another assignment,
appointing her commissioner of the DMV
in 1997. By that time she knew politics
coddled no one, but she refused to let
uncertainty limit her. “I wasn’t there to
pursue any goal for myself,” she says. “I was
there to serve a governor I trusted, and that
made me a little more confident than I would
have been under different circumstances.”
In an interview with East, Hunt called her
“one of the best people I ever worked with.
You can tell how much how much I think
of her. I was always very careful about the
people I picked out, not only knowledgeable
and able, but people who were really
passionate about making change. She knows
how to reason carefully and persuasively,
speak powerfully and convincingly. She was
willing to take on any job.”
Although she often was the first woman to
serve in statewide political positions, she
could handle the tough personalities one
encounters in the rough and tumble of
politics. “There’s a steel fist under that velvet
glove,” Hunt said.
A governor’s first choice
Faulkner says she felt like a visitor when
she first joined DMV. Employees lacked
direction and supervisors resented her.
“There were people who behaved badly on
presumed entitlement,” she recalls. “Because
they knew people in powerful places, they
didn’t believe they were accountable to the
commissioner. So I just ignored them. I said
to the workers, ‘We’ve got to make this the
best agency in state government.’”
Within weeks, the DMV was clicking on
all cylinders. She appealed to employees to
do their best—and they responded to her
down-to-earth appeal by moving thousands
of backlogged titles. She relied on her
mother’s advice—and her father’s temper—
to get things done.
“You have to be polite, and kind and
genteel,” she says her mother told her. “You
have to behave yourself until that stops
working. When it stops working, you go
right on and behave just like your Daddy,”
she says. “My Daddy would pound the table
and cuss. So I learned to know when he had
to kick in.”
“There are a certain number of bullies,” she
says. “If they are in control of an agenda
you’re committed to delivering, you have to
confront them at some point. You have to
kick them around the ankles.”
Her steel fist in a velvet glove worked
miracles. Faulkner brought such efficiency
to the DMV that the title turnaround time
shrank to four days.
She left state government in 2001 and has
continued to work for the community on
campus and off. She currently serves as chair
of the Pitt Memorial Hospital Foundation
Board of Trustees, as well as a member of the
ECU Women’s Roundtable. She was honored
with an Outstanding Alumni Award in
1993 and in 2009 received the Jarvis Medal,
which recognizes extraordinary service to the
university. Earlier this year the Greenville-Pitt
County Chamber of Commerce presented
her with its Legends Award.
Looking behind—and ahead
As she reflects on public life, she generously
shares stories without dropping names,
though she certainly could. She met John
and Robert Kennedy in 1960 when, at
28, she was the youngest delegate to the
National Democratic Convention. “Bobby
was doing a lot of the heavy lifting for Jack’s
campaign for the presidency,” she recalls.
“He was very visible in the convention that
year.” Later she met Ted Kennedy.
Among the framed photos in her Greenville
home are pictures of Hunt, former Lt. Gov.
Dennis Wicker and JFK’s official White
House portrait. Nearby is a touching
black-and-white image of Robert Kennedy
beneath a painting of Christ. In another
photo she’s seen with British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher.
By Marion Bla ckburn
There are fewer volumes in her towering
bookshelves these days, because in February
she made an exceptional gift to Joyner
Library of first-editions and rare books,
many of which have been added to the
Special Collections and North Carolina
Collections.
“It’s always especially meaningful to have the
support of a long-time faculty member, and
of such an important public figure in the
state,” says Maury York, assistant director
for Special Collections. “The gift of books
is important, and to know that someone of
her standing and caliber supports the library
means a great deal to us.”
Among the books she donated is a special
first edition of John Steinbeck’s East of
Eden in a box, signed by the author. Harry
Golden’s biography of Carl Sandburg, signed
by both of them, also figured among the
collection. Cale, a novel by Sylvia Wilkinson,
will go into the Roberts Collection of fiction
set in North Carolina.
One she held onto is a book about North
Carolina’s first ladies autographed by several
of them.
With her reputation as the iron lady of public
service, it’s easy to forget she made her name
as a teacher. She always emphasized doing
your best. “I wanted students to pay attention
while they were in my keep,” she says.
One former student, Wanda Yuhas ’75,
executive director of the Pitt County
Economic Development Commission,
remembers her considerable influence. “She
was smart, she was funny. She made you
want to learn more.”
“I was 19 years old and [having Faulkner as
a teacher] changed my entire outlook on life,”
Yuhas says. “We knew we could call on her
for advice or for assistance. She changed who
we are and changed who we are as a region
and as a state. She raised the bar for all of us.”
East
JANICE HARDISON FAULKNER ’53 ’56
ECU instructo r and department chair
1957–1992
Director, Regional Development Institute
Director of alumni affairs
Associate vice chancellor for
regional development
North Carolina state government
1993
Secretary of Revenue
1996
Secretary of State,
the first woman to serve in that role
1997–2001
Commissioner of the
Division of Motor Vehicles
Other honors and service
1993
Outstanding Alumni Award
1989–1991
President , N.C. World Trade Association
1994
Founding member and first chair of the
university’s Board of Visitors
1998
Honorary doctorate from ECU
2003
First chair of the ECU Women’s Roundtable
2007
100 Incredible ECU Women
2009
Jarvis Medal
Current
Chair, Pitt County Memorial Hospital
Foundation Board of Trustees and member of
the PCMH Board of Trustees
31
University Archives
from the classroom
Sociologist,
surfer dude
33
Jeff Johnson,
one of ECU’s
most honored
professors, can
capture a student’s
attention—and
catch a wave.
By J u s tin Boul may
When he was in graduate school, one of sociology
professor Jeffrey Johnson’s favorite classes required
students to write a paper every other week and then
submit their work for review by their classmates. That
repeated criticism showed Johnson the strong points
and weak points in his arguments. It also taught
Johnson that his best work wouldn’t come easily.
“The more I suffered, the better it was,” he says.
The longer he’s been in the classroom at East
Carolina—which will be 30 years soon—the further
Johnson has moved away from teaching by the
traditional lecture method. He wants his students
engaged the same way he was as a college student. He
knows they will work harder if they have a personal
stake in the outcome. “If you’ve got something that
people care about and then you have them take what
you’re trying to teach them and put it to bear on
what they care about, they’ll learn more and they’re
going to be more interested,” Johnson says.
34
For his doctoral students, the incentive is to
learn more about the mechanics of research.
Throughout the semester, his students write
objectives, develop questions and hypotheses,
and then submit their work to the class
for feedback. This teaching method gives
students both a finished project at the end of
the semester as well as experience defending
their views. That knowledge will come in
handy when they defend their dissertations
before a faculty committee.
Jamie Brinkley, who is pursuing his Ph.D. in
coastal resource management and also works
for Johnson, said he has even enrolled in
courses taught by Johnson that really weren’t
related to his major. “He just makes it fun,”
he said. “He’s pretty personable.”
Johnson himself likes seeing what happens
when his students grasp what’s being
taught in class. “I enjoy seeing students
get something and actually being able to
think critically and apply something and
see the lights go off,” he says. “It doesn’t
always happen, but when it does, it’s a real
satisfying thing.”
Distinguished professor
and scientist
Johnson is one of East Carolina’s most
decorated professors. He’s served as a
distinguished research professor the past four
years and was the 2010 Thomas Harriot
College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished
Professor. In addition to teaching, he also
serves as a senior scientist at the Institute
for Coastal Science and Policy. He received
ECU’s 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award
in Research and Creative Activity. He has
authored several books and dozens of peer-reviewed
articles published in scholarly
journals. He’s a favorite mentor for master’s
and doctoral students in the Department
of Sociology and the coastal resource
management Ph.D. program.
Winning the distinguished professor
award “was a great honor, and the people
who’ve gone before me—I knew some of
the others—it was an honor to be in their
presence, in the
membership of that
particular club.”
Johnson has
traveled to Russia,
Alaska and the
Antarctic for
research; he’s
journeyed to
Panama and El
Salvador to pursue
another of his
passions: surfing.
That’s a sport he’s
enjoyed since the
mid-1960s growing
up in California.
Johnson had
entered the University of California–Irvine
with the intention of becoming an engineer.
However, he took an anthropology course
and was hooked on the subject. When the
local economy suffered layoffs in the local
aerospace industry in the 1970s, Johnson
started to think that if he was going to be
unemployed, then he might as well pursue
something he enjoyed.
He graduated from UC–Irvine in 1975
with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology.
He started his doctoral classes as an
undergraduate student, which allowed him to
earn his Ph.D. in social science in 1981.
$2 million in research funding
Research is also something Johnson enjoys
and, judging by the amount of funding he’s
received over the years, is something at which
he is talented. He has received more than 50
grants totaling more than $2 million over the
last five years alone to support his research.
Some of Johnson’s work has focused
on coastal issues, such as a study in the
early 1990s regarding conflicts between
commercial and recreational fisherman,
as well as tagging data from news articles
from the Sudan Tribune to build a network
of concepts that reveals the links between
particular topics, such as possible conflicts
between two tribes. He’s also published
research on ear infections among children
in eastern North Carolina. Other projects
provided Johnson with the opportunity to
understand what makes social groups survive.
During research in Alaska, Johnson studied a
group of fishermen who were on strike. The
group regularly picked on one of its members,
but those actions helped to relieve tension
among the group, which also rewarded the
member it picked on by giving him fish. So
Johnson further explored how the importance
of these roles by studying different working
communities at Antarctic polar-research
stations belonging to the United States,
Russia, India, China and Poland.
Each study of each station yielded the
same answer: the more a group has
informal roles—such as the informal
leader and even the group “clown”—and
maintains a face-to-face connection, the
stronger the group will be.
“And lo and behold, it even holds up across
cultures that the more of these informal
roles of a certain mix you have, the better
the group does,” Johnson said.
Understanding human behavior
These days, Johnson is helping the U.S.
Army better understand other cultures.
Surfing in El Salvador
Books by Faculty
Liza Wieland’s third collection
of short fiction is filled with
women who find themselves at
emotional crossroads: A young
girl encounters the elderly Ezra
Pound in Venice; Marie Curie’s
daughter Eve attends the
funeral of her mother’s lover
in Paris; a woman survives
the 1944 Nazi massacre in
Oradour, France; a nun in
New York City catches
a baby dropped out a
window; a U.S. college
applicant whose talent
is performing sign
language at poetry
readings. As each
deals with the
delicious dangers
they encounter,
they seem to
gain a firmer
understanding
of themselves
and their own
ambitions—a
quickening,
if you will, of the spirit.
Wieland paints beautiful word
portraits of these unusual
characters. The winner of two
Pushcart Prizes, as well as
fellowships from the National
Endowment for the Arts,
the Christopher Isherwood
Foundation and the North
Carolina Arts Council, Wieland
also has written three novels
and a book of poems. On the
acknowledgements page, she
says the book could not have
been completed without a grant
she received from the Thomas
Harriott College of Arts and
Sciences, where she teaches
in the English department.
It’s unfortunate, then, that the
“About the Author” blurb says
she teaches at Eastern Carolina
University.
Quickening
Southern Methodist
University Press
256 pages, $23.95
He has a two-year contract to develop a
basic social-science program for the Army
Research Office that will help soldiers better
understand human behavior and other
cultures. This year he is spending about 60
percent of his time working for the military
on the project.
The Army’s request reflects a shift from the
“us versus them” social perspective of the
world that was held during the Cold War.
“There’s all kinds of players in any kind of
conflict or any kind of humanitarian effort,”
Johnson says. “The real problem no longer
is necessarily having to do with weapons
or anything else. The problem is trying to
understand people, understand culture,
understand those kinds of things.”
His work could help the military know how
best to interact with people in countries
like Afghanistan and Iraq, although the
program isn’t specifically geared toward the
Middle East. Because the course is rooted
in better understanding human behavior,
it could help explore why the uprisings in
the Middle East and North Africa that
occurred this year happened now and not
five years ago. Social networking sites like
Facebook and Twitter might have helped
facilitate those uprisings, but Johnson also
suggests underlying causes like rising food
prices and the lack of political freedom.
Johnson visited Iraq last fall and interviewed
FBI agents who told him that Iraqi judges
don’t even consider forensic evidence when
hearing a case. However, many Iraqis have
learned about what constitutes evidence in
court by watching reruns of such American
TV cop shows as CSI.
That’s one piece of a puzzle that also
involves overcoming bad history. People have
to trust that they’ll be treated fairly when
they appear in court, so in a place like Iraq,
how do you get a Sunni citizen to trust that
a Shia judge will try their case fairly? “Those
are all human problems,” Johnson said.
Judging by his previous accomplishments,
the Army appears to have found the right
man for the job.
Tom Raedeke
Mind Games
The brain is a muscle,
so sport psychologists train athletes to
exercise it same as their abs, delts and pecs.
Here are their workout tips on how you can, too.
38
Hoping to boost morale and productivity,
companies often bring in a motivational
speaker to lead a rah-rah meeting to improve
workers’ attitude and motivation. Golfers
rush out to buy the latest video promising
mental secrets to lower scores. But these
quick-fix approaches hardly ever work,
according to psychology professor Tom
Raedeke, who has worked with athletes and
coaches for more than 20 years. Coaches
around campus agree with him that just as
physical skills can only become consistent
through practice and repetition, improving
your mental game only comes from
learning proper thinking patterns and then
committing to practice, practice, practice.
“Some athletes are more physically gifted
than others, but everybody can improve
their physical skills,” Raedeke says. “It takes
systematic training, it takes hard work, it
takes conscientious effort. The same thing
is true with the mental game. Some athletes
are naturally more mentally tough, but
every single athlete can learn and grow and
improve in their mental game.”
The mental demands in college athletics
vary from sport to sport, but the common
thread is this: A breakdown above the neck
can nullify untold hours of physical training.
It happens when athletes can’t duplicate how
they perform in practice when they’re under
the pressure of competition.
Raedeke has worked with volleyball players,
runners and other athletes, but he prefers to
train coaches in the fundamentals of sport
psychology. If he can help a coach, he reasons,
the impact will be much broader than if he
works with just one athlete at a time.
“In talking to a lot of coaches, they say,
‘I’m really good at the Xs and Os. I know
the game. But that mental stuff ? That’s kind
of touchy feely. I’m not sure what to do
with that.’” Raedeke says. “I think coaches
are receptive to it, but some just aren’t very
comfortable in that side of it.”
For us weekend warriors looking to improve
our games, the good news is that this touchy-feely
stuff that works for college athletes can
work for us, too. The experts say you should
start by focusing on your attitude. Think
about it like a muscle needing a workout.
Take your mental pulse daily
If any coach understands the necessity for
mental as well as physical workouts, it’s
Rick Kobe. As the head coach for 60-plus
swimmers and divers, he presides over a
sport requiring early-morning workouts in
a chlorine-scented facility that is more than
40 years old. College swimmers never see
the sun; it’s a grind that tends to wear on
some psyches.
“In swimming, it’s every single day, every
single practice,” says Kobe, ECU’s longest-serving
head coach, with 29 years of
experience. “Any good swim coach has to be
a psychologist or it’s not going to happen.”
Kobe relies on his team leaders to continually
take the mental pulse of other team members
and let a coach know when someone is
struggling. He might not do anything if one
of his swimmers seems off at one practice,
he said, but if he sees the same poor attitude
on the second day he will have a one-on-one
meeting with the swimmer to help get them
back on track.
When he works with athletes, Raedeke, who
has been at East Carolina since 1998 and has
experience in venues like the U.S. Olympic
Training Center, tries to identify what has
cropped up to block their focus. “What I
try to do is figure out what is standing in
the way of them reaching their potential
or performing up to their physical abilities
and then try to improve their mental game,”
he says. “What I try to do is give them the
skills to perform in a pressure situation.”
Golf, it’s often said, is played on a six-inch
course between your ears, which is why men’s
and women’s golf coaches Press McPhaul
and Kevin Williams are completely sold on
the benefits of the mental game. They teach
kids that if you master the little things,
big things usually will follow. “It may be
oversimplifying it a little bit, but a good
round is built on a lot of good shots, and
good shots are built on being confident,
and being confident is built on feeling
prepared, and feeling prepared comes from
having a trusted process that has yielded
good results,” McPhaul says. “Most of the
time that they are having some swing error
or physical error, if you trace that back far
enough that root is probably in some mental
or lack of trust breakdown. “
Avoid ‘mental blindness’
So, you develop and religiously adhere to a
practice regimen, which helps you produce a
winning backhand or a great putting stroke.
It pays off when you hit that great shot and
feel that rush of adrenaline. You feel great
until your next shot sails out of bounds.
What happened?
Williams is constantly preaching a concept
he calls ���emotional blindness,” which teaches
golfers to avoid letting one emotional
experience affect their next decision on the
course. “Emotional blindness is, you hit
a bad shot, and you let that control your
next decision.”
Often it helps to stop thinking about your
performance altogether. When Williams first
took the ECU job in 2007, the team’s lone
senior was a Swedish golfer named Emelie
Lind. Lind had been averaging 77 strokes
per round, scores that Williams felt didn’t
reflect her potential. He concluded she was
struggling because she was too fixated on
her own scorecard. He tried a new approach,
telling Lind that as the team’s senior leader
she needed to stop thinking about her own
score and instead focus on what she could do
to direct her teammates.
“During her senior year she had her lowest
stroke average ever, taking off almost two-and-
a-half strokes per round,” Williams says.
“I firmly believe that because she stopped
worrying about her game and just played
golf, she got out of her own way.”
By B ethany Brad sher p HOTOGRAPH Y B Y F OREST CROCE
39
Volleyball coach Pati Rolf has integrated a
campus ROTC instructor’s experience and
insight into her quest to develop leadership
on her squad. Lt. Col. Eric Buller, who
fought in Somalia and now teaches military
science in Army ROTC, has met with the
volleyball players weekly to challenge them
to dig deeper in athletics, in the classroom
and in the community.
“The first step was defining a leader,” says
Buller, who came to view his sessions with
the volleyball team as one of the highlights
of his week. “The act of defining leadership
is the instrument that has gotten them to
open up and talk about things.”
Realize it’s a battle out there
Jeff Connors is a coach known for his ability
to zero in on the mental side of the game.
A strength-and-conditioning coach, he’s
fond of saying, “Confidence is born of
demonstrated ability.” And that ability, he
believes, comes from showing determination
and focus through intensive strength-and-conditioning
regimens.
Connors has made a 30-year career out of
helping athletes find the internal motivation
to push themselves up to and past physical
limits in the weight room and on the track.
With a bookshelf full of military biographies
and tactical books, Connors adheres to
the ideals that soldiers carry into battle,
and he believes that coaches can inspire
athletes to the type of loyalty, hard work and
selflessness that defines our military.
When he held the same position at ECU in
the ’90s under head coaches Bill Lewis and
Steve Logan, Connors became known for
pulling surprising results from athletes who
started out smaller, weaker and less recruited
than their opponents at larger programs.
With his drill sergeant mentality and plenty
of tough love, Connors combined a stream of
positive motivation with a brutal conditioning
regimen to ensure that no team would be fitter
in the fourth quarter than his team.
“My favorite book is the Marine Corps
warfighting skills manual, because I can
go in there and read about character, and
I can read about discipline, and I can read
about accountability and I can read about
leadership, and all these things have parallels
to athletics,” Connors says. “What I always
tell athletes is I draw these parallels because if
it’s good enough for the most successful war
fighting machine in the history of the world,
it’s probably going to work for us, too.”
East
Jeff Connors
40
pirate nation
From guarding presidents to
protecting students
Among the first steps taken by the UNC
Board of Governors after the Virginia Tech
shooting tragedy was to hire an expert to
lead a safety improvement effort for all the
campuses. The board found that expertise
in Brent Herron ’77, a veteran Secret
Service agent who had helped guard five
presidents. Since being named the UNC
system’s associate vice president for safety
and emergency operations two years ago,
Herron has worked quietly to implement
a range of programs to improve student
safety. He stepped into the spotlight recently
to deliver a status report to the board and
the assembled chancellors. Here are some
highlights of his presentation:
It’s a big problem. If the UNC system were
a city, it would be the third largest in North
Carolina with a population of more than
265,000—about 220,000 students and
45,000 faculty and staff.
Campus police are highly trained. All
campus officers are trained and state-certified.
Five campus police departments,
including ECU’s, have the same accreditation
as city police departments.
Policing a campus is difficult. Besides
traditional duties, campus cops operate
highly technical campus security systems and
perform tasks city police don’t, like guarding
major sporting events, concerts and theater
performances. Campus police departments
acted on more than 260,000 calls in 2010.
At N.C. State, the 911 center answered
80,153 calls last year.
Student counseling centers help. Several
campuses, including ECU, now operate
accredited counseling centers to serve
students. Counselors at these centers report
that depression and anxiety are common
reasons students seek psychological help.
Counselors talk with faculty and staff when
there is a specific
safety concern.
Use all available
resources. All the
campuses now have
in place trained threat
assessment teams
with representatives
from the counseling
center, campus police,
academic affairs,
residence life, dean
of students’ office and human resources.
Each campus has a written protocol for
identifying and responding to students who
potentially pose a threat. Faculty, staff and
students should be trained to recognize signs
of violence, suicide and mental illness.
Respond instantly. Each campus has
emergency notification and communication
plans that include loud sirens and warnings
broadcast via test messages, voice mail,
e-mail, web site and social media.
Train for the worst. All UNC campuses
conduct safety exercises at least twice a year.
These include tabletop exercises and full-scale
“active shooter” drills. A consulting company
that specializes in emergency response and
preparedness facilitates the drills. The top
lesson learned from these drills is that
communication is the most critical element
to achieve the best emergency response.
“It’s been a big learning experience for me
because I had never worked on a campus,”
Herron said the challenges of his job, which
includes oversight of the 16 UNC university
campuses and the N.C. School for Science
and Math. “When I came on board we had
17 campuses moving forward but in 17
directions and my job was to say, ‘Let’s look
at this from a system perspective.’ I know for
a fact that on the public safety side of the
house, everybody now has a better idea of
how [proactive safety programs] operate. We
have better communication,” he added.
All but two of the 16 campuses conducted
full-scale “active shooter” drills in the past
year in which authorities respond as if it
were the real thing. Two campuses that
previously trained for a shooting incident
switched to train for other disasters—a
hurricane and a train derailment.
Herron worked for the Secret Service for
21 years until taking the UNC job. In that
time he worked protective assignments for
presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, George
H.W. Bush, Clinton and George W.
Bush. “Reagan was in the last year of his
presidency when I started. The assignments
with Ford and Carter were as former
presidents. Most of my protection time was
with presidents Clinton and G.W. Bush,”
Herron said. A photo on his office wall of
Marine One, which transports presidents to
and from the White House, was presented
to Herron by the Marine squadron that
operates the helicopter.
The son of a military man, Herron is
originally from Durham but moved around
a lot growing up. His is a true Pirate family.
“My brother went to ECU, my two sisters,
and my brother in law. My niece and our
daughter are current students, so ECU
definitely runs in our blood.”
41
Alumni welcome at
summer outings
Freshmen Sendoffs events are a fun way for
alumni to reconnect with each other and
to meet the newest class of Pirates. Held
across the Pirate Nation, these summer
outings are open to alumni and friends who
want to encourage Pirate spirit and instill
Pirate pride in the Class of 2015. Freshmen
Sendoffs will occur in the following areas:
Arlington, Va.
Charlotte, N.C.
Clemmons, N.C.
Fayetteville, N.C.
Morehead City, N.C.
New York metro—
Cranford, N.J.
Norfolk, Va.
Philadelphia metro—
Cherry Hill, N.J.
Powhatan, Va.
Raleigh, N.C. (2)
Wilmington, N.C.
Nominat e someone
for an alumni award
Each fall the Alumni Association recognizes
alumni and friends through our Alumni
Awards Program. Alumni are recognized
with Outstanding Alumni Awards for
those who have demonstrated uncommon
achievement in their profession, in civic
affairs, and/or in politics. Distinguished
Service Awards are given to alumni that
have given their time and talents to advance
the university through exceptional service.
Honorary Alumni Awards are bestowed upon
those who did not attend the university,
but have adopted it as their own through
outstanding service, continuing commitment,
and loyalty.
Nominations for the 2012 Alumni
Awards are now being accepted. Please
visit PirateAlumni.com/awardsprocess
for nomination materials and directions
on submitting a nomination. Please call
the Alumni Center at 800-ECU-GRAD
with questions.
Exceptional Contribution awards
Six individuals and one group were honored
in April with Black Alumni Exceptional
Contribution Awards at the “Reclaiming
the Past, Celebrating the Future”
Reunion Gala during the Black Alumni
Reunion. Honorees were selected based
on outstanding contribution to the East
Carolina community and/or to their local
community. This year’s recipients include:
Dr. Sheila G. Bunch ’77 of Greenville, director
of ECU’s School of Social Work
Mr. Michael Moseley ’80 of Kinston,
retired state Health and Human Services
administrator
Rev. James D. Corbett ’85 of Greenville,
founder and pastor of Community Christian
Church
Ms. Brenda Myrick ’92 of Greenville,
administrator of Operative Services at Pitt
County Memorial Hospital
Vonta Leach ’10, running back for the NFL’s
Houston Texans
Derval Hamilton of Greenville, exercise
physiology major and president of Circle K
International at ECU
Eta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
Nominations for 2012 Black Alumni
Exceptional Contribution Awards are
accepted year round. Visit PirateAlumni.com
/blackalumnirecognition to download a
nomination form.
Award recipients and other reunion
participants enjoyed a weekend of events
with the Michael Jackson theme “Remember
the Times.” Activities included “I Want You
Back” mixer, “Got to Be There” Gospel
Choir Concert, Party with the Pros, “A
Brand New Day” conversation, the 4th
Annual Pirate Alumni Road Race and Fun
Run, and the Annual Purple/Gold Spring
Football Game.
Reunion, anyon e?
Is your affinity group interested in getting
together? Contact the Alumni Association
to start planning your reunion. Whatever
the common interest, athletics, clubs
and organizations, societies, the Alumni
Association will work with you to plan an
engaging and fun schedule of events.
Call 800-ECU-GRAD or e-mail
alumni@PirateAlumni.com to get started.
Sav e the Dat e!
July 11—Alumni Tailgate tickets
on sale for members
September 29—Pirate’s Bounty
Scholarship Auction
September 30—ECU Alumni
Scholarship Classic golf
tournament
October 28-29—Homecoming
In honor of Service Month, members of
the Wake County Chapter of the Alumni
Association formed a fundraising team
to assist the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a
charity that provides funding for research
to find cures for childhood cancers. The
team surpassed its initial $2,000 goal by
raising $2,730. The culminating event had
six members of the team shave their heads
at Napper Tandy’s during the charity’s
annual festival.
42
43
2010
MARY HOWELL exhibited her work at the Uptown
Art Gallery in Greenville. Staff Sgt. KATHERINE
L. TRIPP, 982nd Combat Camera, completed the
U.S. Army Combatives School at Fort Benning, Ga.
She is a graduate student at ECU. MARGIE GRAY
WORKMAN is an account manager with Confidential
Records Management Inc. in Greenville.
2009
ERIKA LYNN CONWAY was promoted to bank
center manager at Bank of America and manages
the branch on West First Street in Greenville. She
was assistant branch manager at Bank of America in
Washington, N.C. BRANDON HENDERSON
joined Next Level Training Center in Greenville. He
played baseball at ECU. CHARLES DAVID PARKS
joined the Greensboro office of Brady Services as a
staff accountant. JENNIFER RAINES wed LEI
“NATHAN” ZHU ’08 at Messiah Lutheran Church
in Wilmington on Sept. 25. A second ceremony was
held a week later in Wuhan, China. ERIN TART
joined the Country Club of North Carolina in
Pinehurst as special events and catering manager. She
was resort services coordinator for Pinehurst Resort.
JAY ROSS, a defensive lineman on the Green Bay
Packers’ practice squad, and C. J. WILSON, a Packers’
defensive end, were on the Super Bowl winning team.
2008
ELIZABETH PAIGE BAGGETT ’08 ’10 teaches
softball at Next Level Training Center in Greenville.
She played four years on the ECU softball team.
JAKE DEAN joined Next Level Training Center
in Greenville. He played baseball at ECU. LEO
JOHNSON II joined Going Bananas in Greenville,
which offers a variety of games and activities for
children. CHRISTIN NAOMI MATTHEWS wed
Jason Moore Harman on July 24 at Fuquay-Varina
Baptist Church in Fuquay-Varina. She teaches second
grade in the Moore County School System. JIM
MCATEE is director of career services at Indiana
University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (Indiana).
He was in the ECU career services office. ASHLEY
MARIE MCDUFFIE wed Dwight David Gane Jr.
on Oct. 30 at the New Hanover County Arboretum
in Wilmington. She works for Coastal Chiropractic
Center. SUSAN STANCILL ’08 ’09 joined Eastern
Psychiatric & Behavioral Specialists in Greenville,
where she offers behavioral psychotherapy to pediatric
and adult patients. KATIE REESE WEINER wed
Steven Lewis Burger on Sept. 25 at the Orchard House
in Concord. She works for Gaston County Hospice.
2007
ELIZABETH FULTON was selected as treasurer of
the executive board for the Student Bar Association for
Alumni S p otlight
CLASS NOTES
Michelle
Pearson
’92,
founding
member
and
currently
one of four
artistic
directors
of Even
Exchange
Dance
Theater in
Raleigh,
was invited by the U.S. State Department to serve as a
cultural envoy to Freetown, Sierra Leone, for two weeks in
January. Pearson worked with local groups in creating dance
programs and in cross-cultural exercises. In a country where
80 percent of the population is illiterate, dance can be an
effective means of communication. “As a choreographer, I
often learn about the world by dancing and creating dances,”
Pearson says. “I believe an artist’s job is to provide an
understanding of common issues in a different, deeper or
new way. Making dances about meaningful, difficult,
surprising and human issues with a range of people is one
way to meet this challenge.” She specializes in working with
groups who would not ordinarily get to experience and
create through dance. In turn she gathers information and
material from those she dances with. This “even exchange”
provides the name for her theater company.
Garrett
McNeill ’08
worked in an
orphanage in
Ben Hoa,
Vietnam,
before
heading out
to Guatemala
on his journey
to minister to
the poor in 11
countries in 11
months. As a
volunteer in the Great Race, a nondenominational Christian
charitable organization, McNeill travels with other volunteers.
“There is so much that needs to be done and that can be
done and this year has really opened my eyes to the lives of
millions of people around the world and that we have the
ability to create a better life for them and for ourselves.” In
Guatemala, McNeill’s group is fitting special needs children
with wheelchairs.
class notes
Alumni S p otlight
44
One year ago Rachelle Friedman ’08 was planning her
wedding to Chris Chapman ’05 ’08. At her bachelorette
celebration in Raleigh, she was playfully shoved into
a pool by one of her bridesmaids. She hit her head on
the bottom and was paralyzed from the collarbone
down. The wedding was postponed, but Friedman and
Chapman are adjusting to their new life, living outside of
Raleigh in a house they bought together. When news of
her accident and their positive response to the tragedy
became national news, Friedman was chosen by the
NBC television show George to the Rescue, which
surprises people who have overcome difficulties of
some sort with home renovations.
“They saw my story somewhere and realized it wasn’t all
peaches and cream and wanted to know how Chris and
I have been affected,” said Friedman. “I thought I was
having a typical interview when George to the Rescue
surprised me by showing up at our door.”
The remodeling added an elevator to the home and a
lift system to help her get in and out of bed. The master
bath and closet were adjusted so Friedman can reach
everything from her wheelchair. The halls and doorways
were widened to accommodate the wheelchair. The
guest bedroom and garage were decorated with an ECU
theme. A ramp and sidewalk were added to their deck
so Friedman can access the back yard to play with their
dogs, PeeDee and [Jolly] Roger.
“To be able to shower, pick out my own clothes and put
on make-up myself has been amazing. It’s easier to be
myself now.”
After the accident, Friedman spent two months at Pitt
County Memorial Hospital and has made the most of
physical-therapy sessions allotted by her insurance
company. As a former dance and aerobics instructor,
she’s determined to overcome and stay active. A major
source of strength for Friedman comes from playing on
the Raleigh Sidewinders quadriplegic rugby team.
“I get stronger and stronger at each practice. We do
everything any other team would do, laps and suicides.
I have found camaraderie in the teammates. I can ask
them questions and they can give so much support
since they know what I’m going through.”
Last fall Friedman appeared at ECU’s annual Adapted
Recreation and Wellness Day at the Student Rec Center
to share her experience with how playing competitive
rugby has helped her physically and mentally. As an
undergraduate, she volunteered at the event and
played tennis and basketball in a wheelchair. Watching
Murderball, a movie about a team of paraplegics who
play full-contact wheelchair rugby, for a class also gave
her some insight into adaptive sports.
“This movie has helped me stay positive, because I
knew I could be independent and have fun.” A former
lifeguard, she said she would “love to get more involved
with lifeguards and talk about being alert, safety around
the pool, and knowing the signs of injury.”
The couple shares a love for ECU and Pirate football. “I
have never missed a football game and was a volunteer
at the ticket office,” said Friedman. “I had season tickets
before the accident, but was able to change them to
the handicapped seats. Almost everything in my life has
changed, but watching ECU play football hasn’t. I just
have better seats now.”
—Jessica Nottingham
the 2010–2011 academic year at the Charleston (S.C.)
School of Law. ALLEN LLOYD LAWRENCE JR.
wed Elizabeth Ann Baggett on Nov. 6 at the Duck
Woods Country Club, Southern Shores. He is
self-employed in construction management. CASI
MOORING ’07 ’09 joined Eastern Psychiatric &
Behavioral Specialists PLLC in Greenville, where she
provides medical management to patients with behavioral
and/or emotional issues. KATIE LYNN TYSON wed
Phillip Charles Entzminger on Oct. 10 at First Free
Will Baptist Church in Greenville. She is pursuing a
second degree in clinical laboratory science at ECU.
2006
BRIAN FLYE is a home mortgage consultant in the
Greenville office of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
MICHELE GLINCOSKY GARCIA received her
MS in speech language pathology from ECU. She
works for the Ft. Worth (Texas) Independent School
District. Dr. TANA HALL, specialist in obstetrics
and gynecology, joined ECU’s Brody School of
Medicine and its group medical practice, ECU
Physicians, as an assistant professor. Dr. NICHOLAS
JERNIGAN heads a special needs department opened
by Wilmington Health to see children and adults with
autism, Down syndrome and other genetic diseases
and developmental disorders. ROBERT J. LEWIS
III was appointed as planning department director
for Columbus County. He was the planner/GIS
administrator for Elizabethtown. LYNNLY MARTIN
was named Pitt County Schools’ Outstanding
Secondary Mathematics Teacher for the 2010 school
year. ALICIA NAGLE joined Eastern Psychiatric
& Behavioral Specialists in Greenville, where she
specializes in psychological evaluations to delineate
educational, behavioral and emotional needs. ADAM
CALHOUN PARKER wed Laura Marie Wing on
Oct. 23 at Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church
in Southern Pines. He is an analyst at First Citizens
Bank in Raleigh. CYNTHIA TAYLOR, a licensed
and registered occupational therapist, is director and
owner of Carolina Therapy Connection in Greenville.
Dr. JILL SUTTON, specialist in obstetrics and
gynecology, joined ECU’s Brody School of Medicine
and its group medical practice, ECU Physicians, as
a clinical assistant professor. KIMBERLY DAWN
WOOD wed Jay Douglas Benfield on July 30 at the
First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. She is a dance
instructor at In Motion Dance Center in Winston-
Salem. MOLLY MCKEITHAN YOUNG was
inducted into ECU’s College of Education’s Educators
Hall of Fame. She was the 2010 Pitt County Teacher
of the Year and now lives in Charlotte.
2005
LAUREN D. ASBY was promoted to banking officer
for Southern Bank in the South Charles Boulevard
office in Greenville. She is president-elect of the
Greater Greenville Kiwanis Club and a charter member
of Greenville’s Junior Women’s Association. JUSTIN
45
Alumni S p otlight
Amanda Miller ’06 ’07 of Atlanta, who was in the
first class to graduate from ECU with a master’s in
communication degree, was invited back by the School
of Communication to talk with students about how to
make the sometimes painful transition between college
and the real world. She gave them something textbooks
and professors cannot: a first-hand account of how to
be successful in this job market with this specific degree.
She shared industry-specific job searching tips, the
demands of health communication-related positions and
recent trends in the field.
“Job searching and getting your career off the ground
can be overwhelming and students often don’t know
where to start. But, I’ve found you can begin anywhere,”
said Miller. “Success for me has been less about finding
one area to get plugged into or developing one
particular skill, and more strategically taking advantage
of a wide variety of opportunities in the classroom,
professional organizations and interning or freelancing.”
For the past three years, Miller has been contracted
full time with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) as a health communication specialist.
She has served as the communication expert on a
number of health initiatives and campaigns for the
CDC ranging from the Office of Women’s Health to the
Office of Workforce and Career Development. Currently,
she is working in the Office for State, Tribal, Local and
Territorial Support, which works to ensure the use
of evidence-based public-health policy, practice and
communication at all these levels.
Miller detailed her work on a health campaign called
text4baby, a groundbreaking and award-winning mobile
technology program to improve maternal and child
health via text messaging.
Miller served on the recent graduate panel for the
regional chapter of the Public Relations Student Society
of America, an event ECU hosted this year, and spent an
evening taking questions from communication master’s
students about everything from student organization
opportunities, internships and assistantships,
comprehensive exams, interviewing, teaching as a
graduate student and career advice.
“As one of the first graduates of the MA program and
one of the founders of many of the student activities,
Amanda was able to offer a fresh insight that the
students really appreciated,” said SOC assistant
professor Kris Kirschbaum. “Thankfully, she also opened
the eyes of many students who assumed that finding a
job would be easy after graduate school was over.”
—Jessica Nottingham
46
COLE is a machining instructor in the engineering
and manufacturing technologies department at Nash
Community College.
2004
JENNIFER CUDNEY-BURCH was selected as
a Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow. An
initiative of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration National Sea Grant College Program,
the highly competitive fellowship places students in
legislative and executive branch offices to help solve
marine policy issues of national consequence. She
is working on her doctorate in coastal resources
management at ECU. JAMES DOREY is a senior
commercial real estate appraiser with CB Richard
Ellis in Washington, D.C. His wife, CORINNE
SPENCE DOREY, is a financial planning assistant
with Edelman Financial in Bethesda, Md. In the
past two years, she received four series licenses. Dr.
CANDACE MARIE DRAKE wed Richard R.
Locchead on Aug. 7 on Mackinac Island, Mich. She
is the PTSD psychologist for Veterans Affairs Gulf
Coast VA Health Care System in Pensacola, Fla. At
ECU, she was a Alpha Phi sister and former student
body vice president. Dr. BRENNA MICHELLE
FARMER wed Dr. Jason Chu on Dec. 18 at the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, N.Y. She is an
emergency medicine physician and medical toxicologist
at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital.
MARIA GIRONDA ’04 ’08 received the Teacher of
Excellence Award from the Public Schools of North
Carolina at the 60th annual Exceptional Children’s
Conference in Greensboro. She is an exceptional-children’s
teacher at Chocowinity Primary School
where she teaches children with autism. She also earned
her National Board Certification. ALYSON WILSON
GIROUARD was inducted into the Mu chapter of
the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an
honor society for outstanding educators. She teaches
biology and chemistry at Rocky Mount High School.
JESSICA CAROL HOBGOOD wed William Alan
Moss on Oct. 9 at the beach home of the groom’s aunt
on Topsail Island. She teaches first grade at Anderson
Creek Primary School in Harnett County. GINGER
LEAKE is a nursing instructor at Edgecombe
Community College. She was a staff registered