Celebrating Cecil
Members of the ECU community, along with UNC system president Margaret Spellings, chancellors from other universities and hundreds of guests celebrated the installation of Dr. Cecil Staton on March 24.
National rankings
listed among nation's top universities
A U.S. News & World Report 2017 listing ranks ECU in the top tier of national universities.
Online degree programs ranked among nation’s best
ECU’s online graduate programs in business, criminal justice, education and nursing as well as the online bachelor’s degrees are listed in U.S. News 2017 Best Online Programs announced Jan. 10.
record-breaking particle pull
ECU physics professor Dr. Yong-Qing Li and students in his lab successfully pulled — not pushed — a particle for 10 meters, a distance 10 times greater than earlier experiments.
New lab school
Hailed as a model in the state, ECU is one of the first two UNC system schools to open a lab school this fall.
70 second- through fourth-grade students – the youngest Pirates ever enrolled at ECU –attend the lab school, a collaboration between ECU and Pitt County Schools.
Fall 2017 Enrollment
ECU’s record-breaking fall enrollment of 29,131 students represents all 100 counties in North Carolina, 50 states and the District of Columbia, and 44 countries. It’s also the largest undergraduate enrollment recorded at ECU — 23,265. The class of 2021 is the third-largest freshman class on record.
Brody school of Medicine
Family Medicine Ranking
The Brody School of Medicine at ECU was ranked second in the nation among M.D.-granting medical schools — and first in the state — this year for its high percentage of graduates pursuing careers in family medicine.
SUCCESS AND EXPERTISE
ECU selected Dr. Mark Stacy as the dean for the Brody School of Medicine and senior associate vice chancellor for medical affairs for the Division of Health Sciences.
Integrating Physician Practices
ECU and Vidant Health announced the signing of a formal agreement to integrate ECU Physicians, the clinical practice of the Brody School of Medicine at ECU, with Vidant Medical Group, Vidant’s multi-specialty physician group subsidiary into the new entity created last year.
Impact of glassblowing
ECU’s College of Fine Arts and Communication received a $20,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant to research the cultural and economic impact of a glassblowing studio in Farmville.
Health Breakthroughs
DIABETES REMISSION
New surgery developed at ECU can put an end to insulin shots for patients with diabetes.
HARMFUL CHEMICALS
ECU immunotoxicity expert encourages regulation of chemicals in everyday products.
Patent Success
Doctoral student helps develop cancer-fighting compound.
Quality of life
3D printing leads to surgical breakthrough for patient.
Student Centers
Health Sciences Campus
ECU opened the first stand-alone student center on a medical campus in North Carolina and one of only a few in the United States.
main Campus
A tower crane carried the final beam of the new ECU student center to its destination under a beautiful blue, fall sky on Oct. 4.
ECU announces new initiative
The combined resources of 12 ECU colleges and schools, 14 centers and institutes and university partners behind a single, coordinated campaign, the “Rural Prosperity Initiative,” was launched on Sept. 14 by Chancellor Cecil P. Staton.
SOUTHSIDE RENOVATION
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
ECU Director of Athletics Jeff Compher unveiled the next chapter in ECU history, releasing plans for a Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Southside Renovation project.
military impact
JOINING FORCES
ECU is the first university in the country and the only employer in North Carolina to receive the United States Department of Defense Extraordinary Employer Support Award for sustained support of National Guard and Reserve service members.
RIGHT OF LINE
ECU’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Detachment 600 has been honored as one of the best in the nation.
ON BOARD AN OSPREY
The MV-22 Task Trainer was built as part of a collaboration between ECU, the military and the Brody School of Medicine and is intended to provide training scenarios for Navy corpsmen and critical nurses.
Study Abroad
Inaugural international awards
ECU celebrated its commitment to growing the international footprint on campus at the inaugural International Awards Ceremony. Approximately $120,000 in scholarships was awarded to help more than 90 students pursue study abroad experiences over the next year.
GLOBAL AWARENESS
ECU Chancellor Cecil Staton and his wife, Catherine, committed $100,000 to endow a study abroad fund to support international travel and educational opportunities for ECU students.
Pirates Around the Globe
Each year more than 500 students leave ECU's campus to experience life abroad while continuing their studies and participating in unique learning opportunities through study abroad programs.
New Traditions
More than 200 people attended the first ECU class ring ceremony on Dec. 3, marking an important milestone toward becoming ECU alumni.
Recognizing Excellence
Public Service Award
Dr. Gregory Chadwick, dean of East Carolina University’s School of Dental Medicine, was awarded the 2017 Gov. James E. Holshouser Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service.
Hurricane Hero
Dr. Michelle Skipper, clinical associate professor and director of the doctor of nursing practice program in ECU’s College of Nursing, was recognized with a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service. The award is the highest honor a state employee may receive.
Top honor
Literature professor Dr. Margaret D. Bauer was presented with the state’s top civilian honor, the North Carolina Award, by Governor Roy Cooper.
Southern Fiction award
English professor Liza Wieland was selected by the Fellowship of Southern Writers as the winner of its 2017 Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction.
May 2017 commencement
Virtual ceremony replaces traditional one
In a first for ECU, Chancellor Cecil Staton and keynote speaker Margaret Spellings, UNC System president, conferred degrees virtually in a video shared on social media after severe weather forced the outdoor ceremony’s cancellation.
Check ECU.EDU often to see all that we accomplish in 2018.
Credits:
Words and Photos by University Communications