April 15, 2018 Edition

From the Desk of Vice Chancellor Virginia Hardy

April showers bring May flowers. This is the coming of springtime and warmer weather; a time when our spirits are uplifted from winter’s coldness. Finally, being able to see more than just squirrels dance through leafless trees.

Spring means that it is again possible for us to walk the campus without a coat, but keep your umbrella close by. Remember at ECU…Everyone Carries Umbrellas.

During this seasonal transition, we see students playing on the mall, riding bikes, and lying in hammocks. And then after the last big program of the academic year, the 40th annual Barefoot on the Mall, we will see students become reclusive as they prepare for final exams, graduation, and moving out of the residence halls.

In Student Affairs, we remind students that rainy days will bring sunny skies and beautiful blossoming flowers. It is our duty and commitment to nudge students with thoughtful tactics like Crunch Time with the Chancellor and EC Oops by the Dean of Students Office highlighting inspirational stories of ECU resilience. At this time of year final exams stress can be overwhelming; we are always exploring creative ways to help students cope effectively so that they can “Finish Strong.” Some of those efforts and programs include Down with Dogs petting zoo by the ECU Collegiate Recovery Program, Donut Panic – Study Break by SAO, CCSD’s annual program, Celebrating Success and Moving from Failures as part of their FYI series.

While we do not know entirely what every student encounters, we do know that simple gestures and strategic relevant programming can certainly bring sunshine and encouragement into the lives of our students. Let’s continue to put students first in all we do…and help them to nurture into May flowers.

ECU Commencement 2018

Spring Commencement Speaker – Linda McMahon

Linda McMahon, Administrator of the United States Small Business Administration, will be the speaker for East Carolina University’s Spring Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 4 at 7 p.m.

McMahon’s visit to ECU will wrap up a multi-city bus tour highlighting American entrepreneurship as part of National Small Business Week. During this annual event, the U.S. Small Business Administration recognizes small business owners and key support groups from all 50 states and the U.S. territories. This year’s events will include the bus tour, awards ceremonies and workshops in communities around the country, the first-ever Small Business Hackathon Challenge, and a three-day virtual conference for small business owners.

Click here to read the full story.

Creed Week 2018

Written by Lauren Thorn, Associate Dean of Students

During the week of April 2-5, the Dean of Students Office continued the annual celebration of Creed Week, where the campus community is encouraged to remember the four pillars of the ECU Creed. On each day, Monday through Thursday, our office partnered with another campus department to provide a collaborative event that shared information with students about that pillar.

On Monday, we worked with the Student Conduct Board for a “Know the Code” table focused on Integrity. The Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement partnered with us on Tuesday with their “Design For A Change” event that featured Citizenship. On Wednesday, we were able to share information on Diversity as a part of CultureFest, and on Thursday, we discussed Responsibility and the importance of defining our personal values as students.

We concluded the week with our 10th Annual Creed Awards Ceremony held Thursday evening at the Health Sciences Student Center. Twenty students, faculty and staff were presented with awards after being nominated by other campus community members and chosen by the ECU Ambassadors. Maya Pittman, from the Center for Counseling and Student Development and previous Creed Award winner, was our keynote speaker and shared a powerful message about “living your creed.”

We want to thank everyone who helped make Creed Week 2018 possible, especially the engagement from the collaborative offices as well as all those who submitted nominations for the awards. We also want to share a special note of appreciation to Student Involvement and Leadership for their support of the Creed Awards Ceremony! If you are interested in partnering on future Creed events or activities, please contact Lauren Thorn at thornla@ecu.edu.

Pirate Nation Gives – SA Social Media Presence

Enterprise Holdings Inc. awarded East Carolina University with a $6,500 foundation grant on March 20 to help kick off ECU’s Pirate Nation Gives annual fundraising day. The grant honors all of the ECU graduates that go on to work for Enterprise.
Click Here for the complete story written by Kristin Zachary, News Services.

SRC Court Naming Ceremony

Campus Recreation and Wellness cordially invites you to celebrate the naming of Student Recreation Center Court 1 in honor of David Gaskins, and his generous donation to the department, on Monday, April 23 at 11:00AM at the ECU Main Campus Student Recreation Center.  A short ceremony will celebrate his donation, his long service to the Division of Student Affairs, and memories of his days on the basketball court.  The ceremony will be followed by light refreshments and a faculty/staff/alumni basketball game at 12:00PM.

If you have stories to share about David, or would like to join the basketball fun please contact Dr. Greg Corack at corackg16@ecu.edu by April 16, 2018.

ECU Nationally Recognized for Interview Software

Written by Patrick Roberts, Career Services Associate Director

East Carolina University was recently recognized nationally by the organization InterviewStream for being among the top three universities utilizing practice interview software during the month of March 2018 for a contest called “Mock Interview Madness.”

ECU Career Services manages this tool to help students prepare for interviews virtually from home using a personal computer or tablet. Career Services partners with faculty for class assignments to demonstrate learning outcomes from experiential learning or coursework as well as practice commonly asked interview questions. In addition, Career Services collaborates with several graduate programs and utilizes InterviewStream as part of their admissions process. Currently, Career Services is hosting a competition called, So You Think You Can Interview, which uses this software for students to submit a three question practice interview that is scored and entered to win $150.00 amazon gift card.

Here in Career Services, we are trying to bring our services and programs to students in a variety of delivery methods while taking advantage of new technologies such as InterviewStream to help students develop key skills. Practice interviewing and translating past experiences to future goals is crucial to the success of our students when preparing to secure employment after graduation. This software allows our office to reach thousands of students each year and we are thrilled to be recognized nationally for our student’s participation.

If you are interested in partnering to utilize this service, contact ECU Career Services at 252.328.6050 or by email at career@ecu.edu.

Campus Living’s Commitment to Sustainability

Written by Dave Hilbert, Campus Living Public Communications Specialist

Soon after students on College Hill headed home for Spring Break in early March, construction crews began work on renovating the Galley and the neighboring courtyard between Legacy and Jones Residence Halls. One of the first stages of the project included the removal of a large tree which for many years had stood adjacent to four-story Legacy Hall. This one-time smaller scale part of the landscape eventually grew to tower over Legacy Hall.

As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, Campus Living has developed an innovative means of keeping much of the wood from the Legacy tree from going to waste. A key feature of the renovated Galley project will be the Brewhouse coffee shop. Upon the opening of the Brewhouse in August 2018, patrons will find a large community table as well as several smaller café tables all created from sections of wood reclaimed from the Legacy tree. These unique furniture features will be created by ECU alumnus Daniel Peoples.

“This project came at a perfect time in the life of this tree because it was going to have to come down anyway as a part of this project,” said ECU Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Living Bill McCartney. “It was an ornamental tree when it went into the ground, but it grew so large and for so long that its roots and branches got too close to the structure.”

The Brewhouse table project is the latest of several efforts in which Campus Living and 1998 ECU alumnus Peoples have collaborated in recent years. This past November, Peoples installed a 206-piece custom wooden voice imprint – using his own voice – of the chant, “Let’s Go Pirates!” in the lobby of White Residence Hall in the West End neighborhood.

“We are continuing our relationship with Daniel, who has built a number of things for us,” McCartney continued. “We are hopeful that this is the first of many projects in which the wood from the Legacy tree will be used.”

Peoples, who holds a bachelor’s degree of fine arts in wood design from ECU, has created custom furniture, cabinetry, and art works out of his Tyson Creek Studio since he opened it in 2002. In 2015, he built a set of wooden benches inside the entrance space to The Sounds conference and meeting rooms within Gateway West Residence Hall. Serving as both seating areas and artistic works, the benches provide both form and function. He also produced a set of wooden barn-style doors outside the Croatan dining facility on main campus.

In addition to the wood to be used for the Brewhouse coffee tables, much of the remaining wood from the Legacy tree has been stored for future projects. “We hope to use the wood from the [Legacy] tree to memorialize its history and keep it here on College Hill,” said McCartney.

Set to re-open in August, the renovated Galley will include a 9′ x 12′ video wall, expanded indoor seating, a new burger concept, and a new entrance to Fitness Pointe, along with the existing P.O.D. Market and Subway locations.

Family of the Year Award

Written by Emily-Lynn Adkins, Parent and Family Programs Assistant Director

Congratulations to the Rhodes Family who were announced as the 2018-2019 Family of the Year, during the Parents Council spring meeting on Saturday, March 24. The Rhodes Family was nominated by daughter Lillie Rhodes, a Junior Honors College student. Lillie is involved on campus as a member of Phi Mu sorority, and was recently elected to be the Student Body Vice President. Lillie’s family is equally involved with ECU. Her father, Donald is a four-time graduate. He, along with her mother Sara Beth and sister, live in Pitt County and support the university through fundraisers and student support initiatives in the Honors College.

The Family of the Year award is intended to celebrate the supportive role parents and families play in the lives of students and the University community. Honoring outstanding parents and families helps remind the ECU community that families are an essential part of the support network for our students.

The Family of the Year will receive tickets to Family Weekend events, including the Family Weekend Tailgate and ECU vs. ODU football game on September 29, 2018. The Rhodes Family will also raise the “No Quarter” flag during the football game. In addition, Lillie will receive a $500 book scholarship to Dowdy Student Stores, and the family will be presented with a plaque during the Parents Council meeting on Friday, September 28, 2018 to kick of the 2018 Family Weekend.

Club Baseball Team Receives Championship Rings

Written by Kristin Zachary, News Services

They are big, sparkly and a perfect fit for national champions. The ECU Club Baseball Team received their 2017 national championship rings during a halftime ceremony at the final ECU Men’s Basketball game last month.“To hear the crowd roar the way it did, it was something special,” said senior catcher and business management major Jake Merzigian.

“It was awesome! It was nice for the school to recognize us. It was good for the guys. I’m glad they got to experience it,” said head coach Ben Fox.

This is the second national championship for the club baseball team. Fox was an assistant coach on that first national championship team.

“Winning it twice makes me want to win it more,” Fox said. “We’ve got some guys from the national championship team that came back (this season) and I want to send them out just like we sent out the seniors from last year.”

Click Here for the complete story and check out the video below highlighting the team receiving their rings.

Just the Facts: March and Spring Career Fairs

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.

Click on the images for March and Spring Career Fairs to view in a larger format.

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.

Brotherhood & Sisterhood Project

Written by John Mountz, Greek Life Director

The Department of Greek Life, in collaboration with the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities and with the support of student leaders from the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association, has partnered with Dyad Strategies, a higher education consulting firm specializing in fraternity/sorority research and interventions to assess our campus culture as it relates to building strong, healthy brother and sisterhoods within our organizations. This multi-phase project will provide us with usable data and programmatic support that will help strengthen our Greek community and address critical issues including hazing and substance abuse.

Phase One consisted of an online survey sent to all undergraduate fraternity and sorority members that was completed by over 2200 individual students. The survey measured items like shared social experience, belonging, accountability, and tolerance for hazing. This data is aggregated by the community and chapter, then compared to the national mean. Currently, over 8,000 men and 20,000 women from campuses across the nation have participated in this project, giving us a good picture of how our campus compares to our peers.

Phase Two was a three-day campus visit by Dyad CEO Dr. Gentry McCreary, who is a noted expert on combatting hazing. Dr. McCreary shared the preliminary survey data with staff, held individual consultations with all IFC and Panhellenic chapters, conducted a hazing investigation training for staff, and presented his “Five Great Hazing Myths” keynote to over 800 fraternity and sorority members. During the data sharing meeting, he shared that our students scored high on sense of belonging, meaning their organizations provide meaningful connections. Other results showed that our students place a high value on social status and have a high tolerance for hazing activities. This correlates with the challenges we saw this year in the closure of several chapters, however, the individual consultation meetings with chapter leaders revealed a growing desire among our students to identify new strategies to build a strong sense of belonging without relying on hazing-related activities.

Phase Three of the project will take place in August when a second Dyad Consultant will work with our Panhellenic sororities to refocus their recruitment practices to focus more on belonging and less on social status. Overall, this project will help us support our student leaders and organizations as they reframe certain aspects of the sorority and fraternity experience.

Student Affairs Fundraising Workshop

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Student Affairs New Hires / Departures

New Hires

• Madeline O’Connor – Administrative Support Associate – Campus Living – March 19
• Edward Nesbeth – Tech Support Analyst – Technology – March 26
• Terry Dixon – Professional Nurse – Student Health Services – April 1

Departures

• Jennifer Lee – University Program Associate – IGCC – March 2

Student Success Discussion on ECU Impact

Please join Career Services and the Office of Student Transitions for the final Student Success Discussion on ECU Impact and First Destination Survey at ECU on April 19, 2018 from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM in Joyner Library, Room 1008. For more information, please review the image below or visit: https://ofe.ecu.edu/