July 1, 2018 Edition
Inside the Edition
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Translating Club Sport Participation into Student Success
Dr. Hardy Named as NC Influencer
Hellos and Goodbyes in the Dean of Students Office
Observational Assessment can make life easier
Citizen U – Spring 2018 Cohort
Just the Facts – Student Center and Campus Rec
Volunteers Needed for Campus Kitchen and Move-in
Save the Date – Family Weekend & Homecoming
Give to Student Affairs
Club Sports Participation and Classroom Success
Submitted by Dr. Mary Beth Corbin (Student Transitions) & Raven Hollis (OST Student)
The Club Sports program, within Campus Recreation and Wellness, strives to provide opportunities to expose club members to specific strategies that include working with different personalities, perspectives and backgrounds to encourage an inclusive and diverse environment within the club and the university. The responsibility a club sport member has for their sport helps teach members basic transferable concepts such as preparing paperwork for a club, presenting a budget for future funding, and managing their peers as leaders or members of the club. Club sport members learn to create travel itineraries, budget for hotels and learn to manage their time in an appropriate manner. The skills that club members learn over time are critical to their growth in professionalism and communication.
Two club sport members in particular, Ingram Ballard and Jeremiah McCoy, are successfully translating their skills and strategies learned from club sport participation. Both students are employed in the Office of Student Transitions and happily share their experiences as members of the Equestrian and Men’s Volleyball team.
“Being in a Club Sport has opened a lot of opportunities for me, such as being elected as Secretary for the club which now allows me to run all apparel operations”, said Ballard. “It has given me the ability to enhance my leadership skills, confidence and time management. I truly appreciate all that Club Sports has given to me team and I and hope to use the skills I am learning now into my future career.”
McCoy agreed and added, “Being a member of the Men’s Club Volleyball team has helped me in multiple ways; from time management to creating a sense of pride and belonging to here at East Carolina University. As a team, we practice three days a week, providing constructive criticism and helping each other to become better players.”
McCoy said the experience has also helped him off the court and in the classroom.
“I am more confident asking for help, I take pride in my university and the assignments I submit. My ability to connect with others and learn from them has also improved by participating in a club sport. Competing at tournaments and having my teammates be there as support systems on and off the court is something I do not take for granted.”
According to Hannah Roberts, CRW’s Coordinator of Club Sports and Reservations, over 1,400 students participate in club sports annually.
“Club Sports has a personal place in my heart as I was a club sport athlete just like the students in our program. When I became more involved with club sports as an officer and student staff member, I became a more motivated and dedicated student inside the classroom – now I can be thankful to have a master’s degree and working for ECU. Our team works to intentionally incorporate experiential learning in every opportunity provided by the program with reflection and application of that learning. It really is a privilege to see students come into the program and blossom into young adults who learn important practical skills that make them more confident, dedicated and prepared for their future.”
Dr. Hardy recognized as NC Influencer
This election year, the Charlotte Observer, The News & Observer and the Durham Herald-Sun want to elevate policy discussions and make sure candidates focus on the most important issues. These publications assembled a panel of 60 influential North Carolinians and will survey them throughout the year to get their views on important issues and topics.
Dr. Hardy was named one of the top 60 Influencers in North Carolina and will be part of the collaboration between the three largest newspapers in the state. The first question posed to the NC Influencers, ““What is the single biggest challenge our leaders must confront to secure a better future for North Carolina?”
See the responses from Dr. Hardy and the other NC Influencers (CLICK HERE to learn more).
Announcements from the Dean of Students Office 
On May 1, 2018, Jarecia Jacobs joined the Dean of Students staff as an Administrative Support Specialist. Jarecia earned her bachelor’s degree in Public Health Education from ECU and is bilingual with her second language being Spanish. She worked temporarily in the Dean of Students Office in 2016, then accepted a full-time position in the Office of Greek Life. We are grateful to have Jarecia back on our staff.
On July 2, 2018, Dr. Rinardo Reddick will join the Dean of Students Office as the Associate Dean of Students. Dr. Reddick has worked in Higher Education for 18 years, serving in various roles including: Director of Student Development and Deputy Title XI Investigator, Assistant Dean of Students and he will oversee student safety concerns. Dr. Reddick is an alumnus of ECU and earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Iowa State University. We are thrilled to have Dr. Reddick joining us.
Tamika Wordlow left ECU at the end of June as she accepted a position at Rhode Island College as Assistant Vice Chancellor/Dean of Students. Tamika began working at ECU in 2012. This news was bittersweet as Tamika will be greatly missed, but we truly wish her great success in her new role. Leila Faranesh will serve as the Interim Director for the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities starting July 2 until a permanent Director is hired.
Surveys Away, Time to Observe During Event Day
Submitted by SA Assessment, Research and Retention
Are you tired of always trying to send a survey at the end of your event? And then you get a response rate below 25%. It can be frustrating to put so much work into your events and not know if the students are enjoying themselves and meeting your outcomes. Well, here is a solution for you! It is called observational assessment. We know what you are thinking, “Assessment? I want to stay far away from that!” However, being able to observe your event is one of the best ways to get the information you need. In this article, we will detail the purpose, approach, tips, and bringing it all together.
The purpose of observations is to describe the setting observed, activities taking place in the setting, people who participated, and meanings of what was observed from the perspective of those observed. You are taking a critical look during the event and writing down what you see before, during, and after the event. Now that you know the purpose it is time to think about the approach of how to observe.
There are two things to remember with observational assessment, “the what” and “the meaning”. During “the what” part of the approach, it is time to look at what is happening in the space and time, participant characteristics, level of participation, and the processes. You will be writing down the things you see for example nonverbal behaviors, program presenters, participant characteristics (individually or a group), interactions, physical surroundings, and products of the event. These are the things we will use our five senses to observe. A great example is tasting the food or participating in an activity. Then observe the students do the same and read their facial expressions or hear what they say. Once you have tabulated the information you observed, then it is time to get to “the meaning”. During this time you are looking at themes, metaphors, emotions, energy, dynamics, and any concerns. Once you observe what is happening it is then important to figure out why it is happening and what it means. An example would be long lines for a food item. Does this mean that the food is really good or this is the only option? You will need to observe the whole event to figure out the meaning of what you observe.
Depending on the size of your event you will want to have multiple people observing. A 5,000-person event should have about seven observers. You will want to have at least two regardless so you have a different prospective. It is also highly encouraged to have students observing to get their perspective. Once you have the people needed, you will need clipboards and paper that help outline the process. These can be given to you by the Student Affairs Assessment Office. Here are some bullet points on when the event is happening on what you should do:
- First-hand experience
- Look for routine “happenings” that may be taken for granted
- Recognize or observe what does not happen that you might expect.
- Reflexivity: What do you as the observer bring to the interpretation of what you see? Recognize how your experience might influence interpretation of event, activity, setting, etc.
- Separate detail (the important description) from trivial. Need to capture factual essence of what happens and meanings rather than get overwhelmed with lots of little details that don’t really matter.
In our office, we have multiple examples of how to take the information you observe and put it into a report that you can use to make decisions for the next event you will have. It is also important to know that this process might not be best suited for your event but there are ways to modify this process or to assess your event’s outcomes. All you need to do is reach out and we can help collect the data and information you need. If you have any questions about observational assessment or how to implement this process into your events/programs, contact Brian Stutz (stutzb@ecu.edu) for more information.
Pirate Parents Live – 1 Year Anniversary
On May 23, the Office of Parent and Family Programs launched year two of Pirate Parents Live with the Orientation Preview Program to prepare new ECU Pirates and families for Orientation. The program was held on the 1-year anniversary of the start of the national award winning series. Panel Members included Aaron Lucier (Campus Living), Steven Asby (Academic Advising), Lauren Thorn (DOS), Emily-Lynn Adkins (Parent Programs), Corrie Schwabrow (Orientation) and Jeremiah McCoy, an ECU Orientation Assistant.
The Facebook video had 2.8k views in less than 24 hours. CLICK HERE for the video.
Student Affairs Making Headlines
ECU has been featured in the 2018 LGBTQ-Friendly Online Colleges list!
The 2018 LGBTQ-Friendly Online Schools features colleges that have earned a four-star rating or above from the Campus Pride Index, an organization that generates national standards and assessment tools for LGBTQ-friendly institutions of higher education. Click Here for the full list.
You can find out more about this list through the press release here.
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Dr. Angela Marshall (Office of Student Transitions) was awarded a Dr. Charles L. Faires Dissertation of Distinction Award for the 2017-2018 academic year from the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education at Nova Southeastern University. This award is presented to graduating doctoral students whose dissertations have been nominated by their dissertation chairs as outstanding, and further meet the rigorous criteria set forth by the review committee. Each winning dissertation must exhibit high caliber academic work, centered on various criteria: Comprehensive review of literature, methodology and results/outcomes of the study, engaging and thought-provoking conclusions/summaries and recommendations, significant contribution to the field, and more.
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In April 2018, a team of faculty and Student Affairs educators presented a workshop titled “Working Beyond Boundaries: Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to Bridging Ethical Global Learning and Campus Context” at the 5th Global Service-Learning Summit at the University of Notre Dame. The team included Dennis McCunney and Nichelle Shuck (Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement), Archana Hegde (Human Development and Family Science), Kim Larson (College of Nursing), Derek Maher (Religious Studies), and Susan McCammon (Psychology).
This cross-disciplinary panel representing student affairs and academic affairs addressed some of the large-scale challenges of institutionalizing ethical global learning across campus. The presenters discussed ECU programs and partnerships representing several continents and social issue areas, including conflict transformation in Northern Ireland, public health and community health nursing in Guatemala, sacred spaces and community service in India and Nepal, and family health care services in the Dominican Republic.
Citizen U – 2018 Spring Semester Cohort
Written by Alex Dennis, CLCE Assistant Director
During the spring 2018 semester, seven students embarked on a nine-week journey to learn more about local government, how to be involved in their communities and the importance of being a responsible, engaged citizen. Citizen U is a new program housed in the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement (CLCE) and is designed to engage, educate and inspire students through weekly workshops, community partnerships, and reflection opportunities. Citizen U is our take on a “citizens’ academy” that is typically offered around the country by cities and municipalities to educate local citizens on issues related to local government. We took that idea and created a program that was specifically for students and designed the curriculum to include topics and skills that will assist students when transitioning to life after ECU. The program is topic driven and includes a field trip to Greenville City Hall and the Pitt County Board of Elections. The topics include: American Government/US History re-cap, local government & city services, voting, personal financial literacy, knowing your rights, media literacy, civil discourse and how to be an engaged citizen. Each week guest speakers including faculty, staff, and community members were invited to share their expertise related to the topics. Some weeks there were panel discussions with invited guests, other weeks there were activities and presentations, but there was always great discussion.
Analysis of pre- and post-assessment data shows that the first Citizen U cohort expanded their knowledge on all of the learning outcomes and leadership competencies associated with the program. Our “citizens” especially enjoyed the opportunities for experiential education and the ability to network with our guest speakers and community members. One of their favorite topics was the “Personal Financial Literacy” session where Tilwanda Steinberg, Branch Manager for BB&T, Dean Smith, Director of Student Centers for SIL, and Brian Rogers, Sales Manager for East Carolina Chrysler Jeep Dodge, shared their knowledge of banking, credit scores, student loans and tips/strategies for buying your first car. Citizens also enjoyed the panel discussion related to “Being an Engaged Citizen” where Taylor Duck, Board member for the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, Tara Kermiet, President of the Greenville Jaycees, and Jermaine McNair, Executive Director of NC Civil, discussed ways that citizens can be engaged in their communities and continue to make a difference as responsible adults and citizens. As one of our citizens wrote in their reflection, “To be a responsible, engaged citizen you need to be involved in your community, aware of the issues and strive to make a difference!”
Citizen U will be offered each fall and spring semester and we are now accepting applications for our fall 2018 cohort! Interested student should search OrgSync for “Citizen U” or click here. For more information or if you are interested in serving as a guest speaker or facilitator please feel free to contact Alex Dennis, Assistant Director in CLCE, at dennisa15@ecu.edu.
Student Involvement & Leadership Staff Retreat
Written by Alex Dennis, CLCE Assistant Director and Erik Kneubuehl, Associate Vice Chancellor
Student Involvement & Leadership (SIL) staff participated in their annual SIL Retreat on May 29th. After a productive morning talking about staff self-care with guest Constanza Cabello from Stonehill College in Massachusetts, the entire SIL team broke up into three groups to participate in community service activities across Greenville, living our motto of “Be The Benchmark.”
Seven staff visited the Greenville Community Garden, which is a public/private partnership between local businesses/organizations and ECU’s Sustainability Office, championed by director, Chad Carwein. Not a “community” garden in the traditional sense where people pay for an individual plot, instead the food goes straight to people who need it free of cost. Carwein has been a great SIL partner for the last couple of years partnering with Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement’s (CLCE) national days of service and sponsoring Earth Week festivities on campus. SIL staff enjoyed weeding and cleaning up around the garden.
Twenty-four staff members participated in an afternoon of service at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC. The Food Bank serves 10 counties eastern NC, where 145,000 people live in food insecure households. Last year the Food Bank distributed more than 15.8 million pounds of food to their network of 185 partner agencies. SIL and the Food Bank have a long partnership history that includes the Homecoming canned food drive and national days of service. ECU and CLCE were recently recognized by the Food Bank as one of their top 10 volunteer partners. Staff worked through a new shipment of green bell peppers and packaged up almost 3000 pounds of peppers for families in need!
Lastly, 12 volunteers visited MacGregor Downs Health & Rehabilitation Center. MacGregor Downs is dedicated to providing high-quality, compassionate care for senior citizens in Greenville. Staff assisted residents in making hats that will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House in the winter and spent time visiting individually with the residents. MacGregor Downs has been a long-standing community partner with the CLCE, engaging with ECU through days of service, service-learning, and the Adopt-A-Grandparent program.
Just the Facts – Main Campus Student Center & Campus Recreation and Wellness
Click on the image(s) to view in a larger format and watch for more main campus student center facts throughout the summer.
Just the Facts is a regular communication from the Division of Student Affairs Office of the Vice Chancellor highlighting some of the amazing things happening in our area in a quick, simple, and easy-to-read manner. What we do as SA educators and staff members demonstrates our commitment to student success, public service and regional transformation.
Has something exciting happened in your area within the past few weeks? Send the fact to VCSA@ecu.edu, subject line: Just the Facts and we will include in the next edition.
Campus Kitchen Summer Volunteers
Campus Kitchen at ECU (CKECU) has multiple summer volunteer opportunities for ECU Faculty and Staff. The volunteer opportunities are accessible through ECU OrgSync (all you need is your Pirate ID and Password) and your support and service is greatly appreciated.
With CKECU, we recognize that hunger is yearlong. As Campus Kitchen maintains the mission of strengthening bodies, empowering minds, and building communities, we hope that you will join us this summer in the Greenville community! Here are some of the opportunities available for faculty and staff to sign up and volunteer.
- Cook meals at Ronald McDonald House and JOY Community Kitchen.
- Facilitate nutrition lessons to children at Operation Sunshine and Little Willie Center.
- Collect snacks from our Campus Partner, the Office of Student Transitions, and deliver them to summer programs in the Greenville community.
For additional information or if you have questions about this communication, please directly contact Lauren Howard in the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement at (252) 737-1669 or howardl16@ecu.edu
WANTED: Fall Move-In Volunteers
The Division of Student Affairs celebrated some amazing accomplishments in 2016-2017. Please enjoy the 2016-2017 Annual Report that chronicles the divisions commitments to student success, public service and regional transformation.
CLICK HERE to view the Annual Report for 2016-2017.
Save the Date – Family Weekend & Homecoming
