February 17, 2016 Edition

East Carolina University will host the first ever North Carolina Civility Summit on February 27th from 12:30-5:00pm. This half-day summit was created, in partnership with ECU students and Student Affairs educators, to engage in dialogues, beyond the campus walls, and to build coalitions and enact positive change.

The day will begin at 12:30pm in the Mendenhall Student Center by welcoming Opal Tometi, Executive Director at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and Co-Founder of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement, as the keynote speaker. Following the keynote address, attendees from across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and other states in the region will break out into multiple sessions discussing topics such as race relations, gender, privilege, class/status, and more.

Registration for the Civility Summit will remain open through the day of the event. More than 250 people from multiple institutions in the state/region as well as from different divisions at ECU had already registered more than two weeks before the event.

The concept for the NC Civility Summit came from discussions with students in the Black Student Union, Student Government Association, and Student Activities Board, along with the LGBT Resource Office, Student Involvement and Leadership and other units across Student Affairs.

Click here to register for the event.

Student Affairs Awards – Nominations Open until March 15

The Division of Student Affairs and the Awards Committee is pleased to present the 2016 Student Affairs Awards. In an effort to streamline the nomination process, all awards information and nominations will be collected online.

The awards for this year are connected to the Student Affairs divisional values: (1) Respect, (2) Inclusion, (3) Student Centered, (4) Excellence, (5) Integrityand (6) Service.

For the Values awards, you may choose which of the Divisional values the nominee best represents. You may choose to nominate an individual for more than one value, but you will only need to fill out the nomination process once per nominee. If you wish to nominate more than one colleague, you will need to submit multiple nominations.

In addition to the Divisional Values awards, the Emerging Professional Award will also be awarded.

Note! If you wish to nominate someone for a values award and the Emerging Professional Awards, you only need to complete one nomination form.

Here are some of the details specific to the Student Affairs awards:

Nominations open Feb. 16, 2016
Nominations close March 15, 2016
Self-Nominations permitted (must provide an additional reference)
Nominees will receive official notification from Dr. Hardy and may be contacted by the Awards Committee for additional information (if needed)
All nominees will be recognized at the SA End of Year Celebration
Winners will be announced at the SA End of Year Celebration

Please click here to complete the Student Affairs Awards Nomination Form.

For any questions about this submission process, please contact Jeremy Tuchmayer, chair of the SA Awards Committee at tuchmayerj14@ecu.edu.

Employee Appreciation Day / Wellness Afternoon

Wellness Afternoon The Student Affairs Awards are just one way to recognize and thank our colleagues for the amazing work performed everyday. There are a couple of other opportunities coming in March where our SA educators can hit the pause button for a little while and re-charge the batteries.

March 4th is Employee Appreciation Day at ECU. The Division of Student Affairs will have an Employee Appreciation Coffee Break from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Mendenhall Student Center Great Rooms. There will be some coffee, water and snacks in honor of all the work you do everyday for your departments, the Division, ECU and most of all, the students.

On March 9th, Student Affairs will host its second Wellness Afternoon. There was such positive feedback from all staff members that attended the Wellness Afternoon at the end of the fall semester that we decided to continue this program. While there will be some opportunities for some physical activity, the overall concept of this Wellness Afternoon will be on mental health. There will be games and stress-relieving activities as well as some health snacks and smoothies. This will be held in Mendenhall Student Center and the Student Recreation Center from 3-5pm. More information will be coming out soon.

LWCC 40th Anniversary Celebration featuring Angela Davis

On Wednesday, February 24th, East Carolina University will celebrate the 40th anniversary of what is now the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center (LWCC). Throughout the years the LWCC has served as a focal point for creating community and fostering intercultural leadership skill development at ECU.

To properly commemorate the occasion, the Division of Student Affairs is honored to welcome renowned social equality activist and author, Angela Davis to offer the keynote address! Please join LWCC and members from the ECU and Greenville community at Wright Auditorium at 7pm for the celebration of a legacy of empowerment and education through diversity at East Carolina University.

Contact the LWCC for more information about the event at 328-6495.

ECU Students participate in the Moral March in Raleigh – Regional Transformation

Larry Roper, Professor in the School of Language, Culture and Society and Coordinator and former Vice Provost for Student Affairs at Oregon State University, spoke recently about Student Activism in Higher Education – “Students are rightfully claiming the space to which they are entitled, demanding acknowledgment of their dignity and humanity, and making it known in explicit terms that the only acceptable response from their institutions is sensitive, caring, tangible, justice-centered leadership.”

East Carolina students fit perfectly into this new dynamic quite well. Several ECU students participated in the Moral March on February 13th in Raleigh. Their experience was captured on this video by the Andrew Goodman Foundation and has been seen all over social media.

Click here to watch the video

East Carolina University hosts SROW Regional Workshop

SROW ECU will host the 2016 Southern Regional Orientation Workshop (SROW), March 11-13. This annual conference brings over 2,000 undergraduate orientation staff members from nine southeastern states together to learn about leadership skills, improving their performance as orientation assistants, and provide professional development opportunities.

To make such a large event successful, volunteers will be needed throughout the weekend to welcome guests, help direct them around campus, and manage logistics. Please click here to sign up for volunteer slots.

You can also contact Karen Smith or Hank Bowen in the Office of Student Transitions with any questions.

Career Leadership Conference – Feb. 20

The 2016 East Carolina University Career Leadership Conference (CLC) will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2016 at Mendenhall Student Center from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The theme for the conference is Learn, Serve, Lead, and is a collaborative effort among Career Services and the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement. The CLC is designed to provide East Carolina University students a professional development opportunity where they can learn about career development, service, leadership, and civic engagement.

More information about the conference can be found at: http://www.ecu.edu/clc

The CLC planning committee is looking for volunteers to help with the conference. Volunteers will assist in student registration, provide directions, assist with set up and take down, and help in the facilitation of breakout sessions.

Click here to help make this event another success for our students.

For questions please contact Amy Rundio at rundioa14@ecu.edu.

Student Success Conference was a… Success

The Divisions of Academic and Student Affairs hosted the third Student Success Conference on February 5, 2016. The 2016 conference theme was “Empowered: A Focused Discussion on Male Student Success”. Workshops and presentations focused on strategies that help male students Connect, Invest, Motivate and Finish Strong.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Jake Jensen. Jensen is an assistant professor in the department of Human Development and Family Science at ECU. Dr. Jensen addressed how male socialization creates pressure to conform to gender stereotypes, which impact the lack of success we often see among male students at ECU. He also discussed the benefits of males demonstrating sensitivity and elaborated upon the need for males to feel safe being vulnerable. His research interests include examining successful romantic relationships after retirement, the impact of disclosing romantic problems to friends, and gender stereotypes and masculinity.

Click here to watch Dr. Jensen’s address

Following the keynote address, the 185 ECU staff and faculty attending the conference split off into numerous breakout sessions, presentations and panel discussions. The topics included Managing Male Success in Athletics and in the Classroom, The Minority Male Mentorship Program, College Men and Student Success: Trends, Research, and Implications for Practice and Men in Nursing: Moving up the Glass Escalator.

Visit the Student Success Conference website where all of the presentation materials will be posted as well as the opening and closing sessions in Hendrix Theatre.

Congratulations on another successful conference.

Student Affairs Making Headlines

News and Notes In the last month, numerous Student Affairs educators have found their way into newspapers or in front of TV news cameras to talk about the wonderful programs and services provided to and for our students. Here are a few examples:

Collegiate Recovery Community – Daily Reflector by Holly West – Feb. 15

For people with alcohol and drug addictions, the recovery process can be lonely and isolating, especially on college campuses. East Carolina University is hoping to change that with its Collegiate Recovery Community.
Known as CRC, the organization hosts meetings at ECU’s Center for Counseling and Student Development each Monday at 6 p.m. Participants share their struggles and show support to each other. The meetings are open to anyone.

ECU was one of six UNC-system campuses that received federal dollars to set up a College Recovery Community thanks to the advocacy of Gov. Pat McCrory, who has been a proponent of collegiate addiction recovery programs since he was the mayor of Charlotte. Jarmichael Harris, CRC coordinator at ECU, said UNC Charlotte has one of the first and strongest programs in the state.

Tunnel of Oppression – Daily Reflector – Holly West – Feb. 9

Holly West also attended the Tunnel of Oppression event held in February by multiple partners within Student Affairs. Here is the beginning of Holly’s article:
In a dimly lit room inside Mendenhall Student Center, four East Carolina University students stood in front of mirrors labeled: “TOO FEM, TOO FAT, TOO MASC, TOO SKINNY.”

Next door, a woman talked about the isolation she experienced after coming out as bisexual.

Behind a curtain, a black student expressed her disgust about a classmate petting her hair like she was an animal.

Holly West’s full article can be viewed here.

S.H.O.E.S. Project

East Carolina University students partnered with campus departments to present the S.H.O.E.S. Project from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 11 near the cupola on the ECU Mall.

S.H.O.E.S., which stands for Students Honoring Others’ Everyday Struggles/Stories, is a program intended to help ECU students that may be dealing with challenging times. College students may experience depression, anxiety, stress and thoughts of self harming, but feel like they are alone and don’t know how to manage these difficult times.

The S.H.O.E.S. Project is a student-led collaborative effort between student organizations such as the Residence Hall Association (RHA), To Write Love on Her Arms, and So Worth Living. WZMB 91.3 FM (student radio station) broadcast live during the event, which was also supported, by ECU Campus Living and the Center for Counseling and Student Development.

“Students walked through and saw hundreds of pairs of shoes displayed all over the mall area,” said Brianna Garbacik, ECU junior and S.H.O.E.S. Project student coordinator. “Each pair of shoes told the story of another student, either at ECU or from another campus, that has struggled with many of the same issues our students experience everyday. We want our fellow Pirates to know they are not alone and there are people who can help.”

In addition to the shoes on display, the So Worth Living student organization had a Worthy Wall. On one side was a chalk wall so that students could write positive notes to other students and the other side had dozens of post-it notes with positive messaging.

Professional staff was on hand to provide support and assistance to any students in attendance. The counseling center had a private tent to speak confidentially to students and provided resources and information to connect a student that may be struggling with the help they need to succeed and survive.

ECU students and staff also distributed thousands of positive messages throughout the campus during the S.H.O.E.S. Project.

In addition to the event on campus, the ECU student organizations and professional staff will host similar S.H.O.E.S. Project events at Hope Middle School and D.H. Conley High School later this spring. The Health Sciences Academy, from Pitt County Schools, also helped with the ECU event by creating more than 20,000 messages for the post-it notes.

Watch the S.H.O.E.S. Project video and read the full story on the ECU Home Page

National Wear Red for Women’s Heart Health

During the first week of February, you couldn’t turn on a television news program without seeing someone from Campus Recreation and Wellness talking about the Wear Red campaign.

The National Wear Red Day campaign promoted heart health for women. Heart disease is the #1 killer of women and it is 80% preventable. Researchers report simple lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet and regular exercise is the biggest weapon in the fight against heart disease.

National Wear Red Day was Feb. 5th, but CRW encouraged the Pirate Nation to wear red all week, especially at free events like Munchie Monday, Heart Health Extravaganza, CRW Health Expo and the Wear Red Super Fitness Class.

“When people wear the red, it’s a reminder that heart disease is a real disease and we don’t think about it all the time,” said Sam Combs, assistant director for fitness programs in Campus Recreation and Wellness. “It’s close to Valentine’s Day and we have people we have loved and lost to heart disease and the red will remind us to make the choices we need to make to fight this disease and live longer happier lives.”

All three local television news stations covered National Wear Red at ECU. Click on the station name below to view the news clip.
WITN TV 7
WNCT TV 9
WCTI TV 12

ECU Students Rocking the Vote

SGA Election season is definitely in full swing in places such as New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, but they are heating up in eastern North Carolina too. The SGA campaign process has begun in early February. There are four different and diverse presidential-vice presidential tickets.

Here is a rundown of the key dates related to the upcoming SGA elections:

Applications closed Feb. 9th
Campaigning period started Feb. 12th and ends Feb. 27th
Voting through Pirate Port runs from Feb. 23rd – Feb. 27th
Rock the Vote event on the MSC Brickyard is Feb. 26th from 5-7pm
Announcement Banquet for winners is Feb. 27th

Visit the SGA website for more information.

Maintain Don’t Gain

Submitted by Campus Recreation and Wellness

CRW Challenge Campus Recreation & Wellness (CRW) would like to congratulate Joani Zary (pictured at right) as she was randomly chosen to win a free 1-year membership to the Student Recreation Center. Joani successfully participated in the Eat Smart, Move More “Maintain Don’t Gain!” Holiday Challenge, an initiative of ECU’s Employee Wellness Committee and sponsored by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The Holiday Challenge ran from November 16th to December 31st, 2015 and was not to focus on losing weight but rather providing participants with tips, tricks and ideas to help maintain their weight throughout the holiday season. Participants who signed up for the challenge received weekly newsletters, daily tips, healthy holiday recipes, and support through multiple social media outlets.

“I write down everything I eat,” said Joani. “I log my life so this program gave me the incentive to be accountable to someone, even if just to myself.”

She added that the holidays are tough and although Thanksgiving was the worst for her, she was still able to bake cookies and enjoy it, but also she made certain to eat more vegetables.

CRW is proud of all the participants in the challenge and would like to encourage everyone to be healthy!

It’s All in the Name

CLCE During a restructuring in Student Involvement and Leadership in the fall semester, the Center for Student Leadership and Engagement and the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center have made several changes. Chief among them is a new name.

Both offices have combined and become the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement (CLCE), which is led by Dr. Dennis McCunney. During the fall semester, the CLCE staff collected feedback from partners on and off campus and landed on this new name as it best represents the office’s mission and work.

In the coming months, CLCE will rollout a new identifier, website and a variety of other marketing materials to spread the word of the new name across campus and beyond.

Two members of CLCE, Nichelle Shuck (CLCE associate director) and Victoria Barfield (CLCE graduate assistant) presented a workshop at this year’s NC Campus Compact Civic Engagement Institute held at High Point University on Feb. 9th. The workshop was titled “Building Partnerships that Support Transformative Learning.” Nichelle and Victoria co-presented with Kate Johnson from Appalachian State University.

The presentation focused on how campuses and community partners can develop partnerships that lead to transformational learning and leadership development. The presentation highlighted how two different campuses address areas of partnership creation, support, management, and leadership development. Each campus shared specific examples and the audience engaged in conversations focused on partnership and creation of transformative learning opportunities.

Chancellor Ballard wins Lambert Engaged Leader Award

This is an excerpt from the ECU News Story, written by Jackie Drake on Feb. 10th.

Universities play a leading role in changing communities, and East Carolina University has been recognized as a leader among North Carolina institutions.

Chancellor Steve Ballard today received the Leo M. Lambert Engaged Leader Award from the North Carolina Campus Compact at its 16th annual conference held at High Point University.

The award recognizes North Carolina chancellors or presidents who are committed to meaningful engagement in their communities, highlighting the role leaders play in setting priorities at their institutions.

“This is really a recognition of ECU and the commitment of hundreds of people to make a difference in the community,” Ballard said after the ceremony. “Engagement with the community means everything to what kind of university we are. I’m humbled and thankful to be part of everything ECU is doing for our community.”

Click here to view the full story.

New Employees to Student Affairs

Lauren Howard – Assistant Director – Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement – Started Feb. 1st
Jessica “Jess” Turuc – Assistant Director for Greek Life – Started Feb. 1st
Dr. Ashton Johnson – Student Health Staff Physician
John Stowe – Career Services Counselor (temporary)