December 1, 2017 Edition

From the Desk of Vice Chancellor Virginia Hardy:

World renowned American musical composer, conductor and author Leonard Bernstein once said, “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.”

As Student Affairs educators, we have a great plan to help our students succeed, serve the public and transform the region. But, I think it’s fair to say, we often lack enough hours in the day to get our plan to the finish line.

This has been a crazy, hectic, stressful and demanding semester. In many respects, this entire semester has proven to be even more challenging than we expected.

That being said, I have seen over and over again that when crisis hits, when struggles appear, when times are tough and backs are against the wall, it is our Student Affairs staff that rises to EVERY challenge.

Whenever I need you, whenever our students need you, you are there and are professional and caring and just spectacular. As we bring another long fall semester to a close, I truly don’t have enough words to express my appreciation and gratitude for all that you do for ECU and our students.

In the coming weeks, I hope that you will take some time, when you can, to get some rest and care for yourselves and your family. And then when you come back in January, with batteries fully charged, we can work together, side-by-side, to tackle yet another spring semester.

Again, thank you for being amazing. ECU Student Affairs is a great team and I am so proud to work with all of you.

I wish each of you a very happy and safe holiday season and look forward to more great things in 2018.

Parent and Family Programs Wins National Award

ECU was honored at the Association of Higher Education Parent/Family Program Professionals (AHEPPP) conference. Emily-Lynn Adkins, assistant director of Parent and Family Programs, accepted the 2017 Best Institutional Initiative award for the Pirate Parents Live series.

Pirate Parents Live is an informative series of Facebook Live videos utilizing experts across campus, to help engage and inform Pirate families. Previous topics included information about Orientation, Campus Move-In, Hurricane Preparedness, Financial Aid, and Mental Health. To view previous editions, visit the Parent and Family Programs Facebook page.

AHEPPP is the premier national association for higher education practitioners who work with the parents and family members of college students. A highlight of the AHEPPP experience is learning from peer institutions and colleagues. AHEPPP recognizes outstanding programs and best practices at their annual conference.

The Best Institutional Initiative, was awarded on three levels, for small, medium and large institutions. ECU won the award for the large institution category (more than 15,000 students). This award recognizes an institution of higher education and its professionals in the field of parent and family programs who have developed and implemented an innovative and creative program, resulting in improved activities, services and communication for parents of undergraduate students. A list of previous award recipients can be viewed on the AHEPPP Awards website.

Female Veterans Luncheon

(WITN) – ECU held a luncheon on November 15th hoping to help female veterans succeed in classrooms.
The Student Veteran Services Office hosted a casual luncheon for female students, staff, and faculty that served in the armed forces.

Organizer Nicole Jablonski says the military is a male dominated world, and she wants to make sure females have the tools to successfully transition from their service to their new surroundings on campus.

Jablonski says, “So our students can see that there is life after the military and after school, and talk about transitioning with people who’ve gone through it and are now in their career.”

All student veterans can contact the veteran’s services office for a wide variety of resources aimed at helping them succeed after serving.

WITN Video

Volunteers Needed

Fall Commencement

It is that time of year once again. ECU Fall Commencement will be held Friday, December 15th at 10am in Minges Coliseum. We need your help to make this joyous celebration even better. Many have volunteered in the past and we hope our faculty and staff will once again step up and volunteer a couple hours of time at Commencement.

To sign up to volunteer, please directly contact:

Academic Affairs – Karen Kus at kusk@ecu.edu

Student Affairs – Krista Wilhelm at wilhelmk@ecu.edu

Please reply before December 8th. We will reach out to volunteers with specific reporting instructions on Monday, December 11th.

Student Affairs Making Headlines

• Tamika Wordlow, Associate Dean of Students Director for the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, has been selected to participate in the 2018 Alice Manicur Symposium for Women Aspiring to be VPSAs!
• Beth Bengala, Central Reservations Office Director, presented The Individual, Organizational and Societal Barriers that Women are Faced with in Higher Education at the ACUI Region III Conference held at the University of Florida Oct 20-22, 2017.
• Beth Bengala and Jennifer Britt Harrell, both from the Central Reservations Office, have been selected to be part of the for the 2018 ACUI Region III Conference Planning Team which is being hosted at ECU in the new student center November 9-11, 2018.
• On Saturday, November 18th, Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity hosted a dodgeball fundraiser to support after-school programs at the Inter-Generational Community Center (IGCC). Click here for a complete story written by The Daily Reflector.

World AIDS Day Speaker: Venton C. Jones

East Carolina University hosted a World AIDS Day speaker on Nov. 30 in Hendrix Theatre inside the Mendenhall Student Center.

Venton C. Jones, Jr. delivered a presentation entitled “Passing the Torch: Engaging and Mobilizing to End the HIV Epidemic.”

Jones is a senior program manager for AID United and represents a new generation of national leaders committed to advancing equality and social justice for the African American and LGBT communities.

The event was free and open to the campus community as well as the general public. Sponsors included the LGBT Resource Office, Campus Recreation and Wellness, the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center and Student Health Services.

Campus Kitchen Turkeypalooza

Thanks to the donations from staff, faculty and student organizations the Campus Kitchen (CKECU) and the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement were able to deliver 32 complete food boxes and 40 turkeys to Little Willie Center and Operation Sunshine!

13 of the 32 complete food boxes came from Student Involvement and Leadership.

Since 2013, Campus Kitchen has sponsored Turkeypalooza to provide a traditional Thanksgiving meal for area families.

December Safe Zone Trainings

The LGBT Resource Office announces the following Safe Zone trainings in December:

December 6, 1-4 pm in Mendenhall Student Center, Room 244
December 13, 1-4 pm in Laupus Library, Room 1504
December 14, Noon-3 pm in Mendenhall Student Center, Room 244

Safe Zone training is an opportunity for people to talk, learn, and ask questions about sexuality and gender in a non-judgmental, safe, educational environment.

The purpose of Safe Zone is to create a network of allies who are willing to talk to students about sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Trainings are offered throughout the year on Main Campus and the Health Sciences Campus. Each session is three hours in length and includes a panel of students who share their experiences as members of the LGBT community on campus.

Registration for faculty and staff is open through Cornerstone.

HR 2017 Leadership Development presents The Mindset of Stress

“The good news is: We are talking about “It” more than ever. We also know that stress influences your view of the people, events and the situations around you. In this workshop, we will challenge the traditional perception of stress and give you strategies for personal resilience, rebound and leading by example.”

Sam Combs
Friday, December 15, 2017
10am – Noon
ECHI Conference Room A

Click Here to Register