MITCHELSON'S MEMO
Happy New Year to one and all. In my last First Monday of 2018, I bemoaned the misperception of ECU by prospective students and parents as a school suffering from a deficit academic quality. According to the College Board’s 2018 Survey of Admitted Students, too many prospective students chose other universities because they perceived better career preparation and a higher quality of majors in those other places. Last month I asked you to assist me in defeating those misperceptions. Thank you for those efforts.
In my way of thinking (and increasingly others’), student engagement best represents collegiate quality. In turn, engagement reflects the time and effort students are investing in educationally purposeful activities and the institution’s targeted efforts to support that investment. The 2018 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) was released just before the end of fall semester, and it paints a pretty bright picture of the quality of education to be had at ECU. Compared to peer institutions, ECU’s seniors rated their ECU experience as superior (above average) on all 10 indicators of student engagement. Two indicators stood above all the rest in terms of statistical significance and magnitude: the level of student-faculty interactions and the supportive nature of our campus environment. I could not be more pleased or grateful for the sacrifices that we all make every day to ensure the success of our students. It’s good to know that the students also are aware of these efforts.
One of the (engagement) investments that ECU does very well is the provision of high-impact practices (HIP). HIP activities include such things as service learning, living/learning communities, research with faculty, internships, study abroad, and capstone projects. According to NSSE, participation in HIP activities is positively associated with learning, retention, and with graduation. The very good news from NSSE is that 78% of ECU seniors reported participation in two or more HIPs, while that statistic is only 57% at peer institutions. Ninety three (93) percent of ECU seniors had participated in at least one HIP. I want to thank each and every one of the faculty and staff who make these high impact educational practices a priority at ECU. HIPs are fundamental to student success and are increasingly expected by students and parents. You can certainly bet that ECU will be marketing its status as a place where students invest heavily in themselves and are well supported with plentiful HIP opportunities. It turns out that the best measure of institutional quality is student engagement and not selectivity. As we improve educational quality at ECU, we will continue to expand HIP opportunities for our students. It’s good for the students and it’s good for our reputation.
Spread the word!
Regards,
RonM
EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES
Students told College STAR that they appreciate the way some ECU faculty provide multiple means of representation and engagement to increase student opportunities for learning. Check out the comment submitted by a former student of Dr. Toby Allen in the Department of Chemistry:
"Dr. Allen presents an agenda at the beginning of each class describing what he hopes to cover each class period. He relates everything he says to something we already know. For example, when he was describing the molecule vanillin (gives a vanilla smell), he allowed us to smell vanillin. Or when he was describing how a certain weight loss medicine stops the fat from binding, he drew pictures. Dr. Allen also relates material to the real world and our career interests which helps to keep us engaged in the classroom. He's done really well with building material which makes it easier to understand the next topic."
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
The Office of Global Affairs and the College of Education will host 16 students from partner universities in China from January 20th to February 16th, 2019. The students will be on campus to improve their English language skills, experience American culture, and learn about the US primary, secondary and higher education system. Please consider hosting a student for a weekend during their visit to the U.S. We encourage you to volunteer online.
ECU completed an articulation agreement with Bermuda College in December. This agreement will allow graduates of Bermuda’s only institution of higher education to seamlessly transfer into programs in biology, environmental sciences, hospitality leadership and other degree programs.
It is a busy time of year for study abroad. Here are some upcoming deadlines and events:
- The deadlines for students to submit applications for ECU-Led summer study abroad opportunities is quickly approaching on January 31st.
- To showcase ECU’s study abroad opportunities, the Office of Global Affairs is hosting a study abroad fair on January 15th, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm, in the Main Student Center Ballroom. Please encourage students to come out and see the amazing things they can do on study abroad programs over the summer or semester!
- The Thomas W. Rivers Foreign Exchange Scholarship is open through January 20th. Please encourage your students to apply via ECUAward.
The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is a prestigious, national grant program that enables students to study or intern abroad. Over the course of one year, ECU has had 11 students receive this significant scholarship award: Edward Aalam (Ireland), Amber Alvarenga (Spain), Shainah Andrews (Ghana), Joshua Gurganus (Senegal), Brittany Hinnant (Spain), Peyton Jackson (South Africa), Briana McRae (Czech Republic), Terry Pruden (Costa Rica), Taylor Quinones (Ecuador), Bernard Vereen (Netherlands), and Simon Vuchev (Spain).
OFFICE FOR FACULTY EXCELLENCE
The Office for Faculty Excellence is excited to welcome Dr. Eboni Baugh as the OFE Faculty Fellow during the Spring 2019 semester - Summer 2020 sessions. Dr. Baugh, Ph.D., CFLE is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science where she serves as the Family and Community Services program coordinator. She received her Ph.D. from Florida State University and her M.S. from East Carolina University, both in marriage and family therapy. Dr. Baugh is a certified family life educator with experience developing, implementing, and evaluating family life education programs. Over her 13-year academic career, Dr. Baugh has been nominated and received several teaching awards. Her research interests include parenting, body image, and diversity. We are excited for the opportunity to partner with Eboni to help identify, celebrate, equip, and promote excellence in teaching at ECU.
Please join us in also expressing sincere appreciation to Dr. Heather Vance-Chalcraft, who is transitioning out of the fellowship this spring. Dr. Vance-Chalcraft's talented and enthusiastic approach to the fellowship made a positive difference not only for the OFE, but also for faculty and students all across the ECU campus.
COLLEGE UPDATES
COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
William “Chris” Thaxton, who will graduate with a master’s degree in biology in May, is one of 66 students from across the United States awarded a 2019 John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. Thaxton will be moving to Washington, D.C. for his fellowships year where he will work on ocean and natural resource policy for Senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii. Click HERE to read more.
Students in an introduction to anthropology course participated in a nationwide competition known as the Community Action Project. Administered by the Center for a Public Anthropology, the competition involved more than 3,500 students from 25 schools across the United States. Nine ECU students received winning awards for their editorial writing on the top of climate change. Click HERE to read more.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
The fall James H. Bearden Induction Ceremony of the ECU Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) was held November 26, 2018, at the Murphy Center at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The College of Business inducted 73 new members into BGS, the honor society serving business programs accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Beta Gamma Sigma membership is the highest recognition a business student can achieve.
Dr. Russell Lemken, assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, is the recipient of a $3,000 Harold & Muriel Berkman Charitable Foundation award. Dr. Lemken’s research proposal, titled “Discipline Execution of CRM Strategy,” was selected for funding among 75 applications. Only three awards were given by the Foundation this year.
Back in March 2018, professor Trang P. Tran and MBA-graduate student Tyler Shanahan submitted a paper to the Association of Marketing Theory and Practice annual conference. For their efforts, they won the Best Paper Award for the social media/internet/mobile/direct marketing track. With additional co-author Erik Taylor, the updated paper has been published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. Titled, “Getting to Know You: Social Media Personalization as a Means of Enhancing Brand Loyalty and Perceived Quality,” the paper suggests there is a positive impact that personalized ads have on customer perception about brands advertised on social media.
Since December 2017, Speedway, through its parent company, Marathon Petroleum Co., has donated a total of $6,000 to the College of Business. This year’s $2,000 donation will benefit the Department of Management. Speedway, already the official convenience store of the Pirates, says it is committed to supporting academics, as well, since that is the company’s pipeline for future talent. Speedway offers College of Business students paid internships and graduates the opportunity to enroll in its Leadership Training Program.
Congratulations to Dr. Cynthia S. Deale, professor in the School of Hospitality Leadership. She was this year’s recipient of the Stansell Faculty Research Award from the College of Business. Designated for COB’s top researcher, the award was endowed to honor Dr. Stanley Roger “Buddy” Stansell, former finance professor who had a 17-year career at ECU. Deale has more than 80 refereed research publications plus numerous conference proceedings, book chapters and more.
The School of Hospitality Leadership was recently ranked #24 nationally by GreatValueColleges.net for an online bachelor’s degree in Hospitality. Rankings are based on tuition value, student-to-faculty ratio, national recognition for educational excellence, and discounted tuition for online students.
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
A group of College of Education researchers studying the effects of school leadership has secured a five-year, $9.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The study is led by primary investigator Matt Militello, the Wells Fargo Distinguished Professor for the Department of Educational Leadership in the College of Education. Militello is joined by co-investigators Len Annetta, the Taft Distinguished Professor of Science Education and Charity Cayton with the Department of Math, Science and Instructional Technology. “Innovate, Inquire, Iterate and Impact: Igniting the Power of Network Improvement Communities to Enhance Professional Learning for Educational Leaders” focuses on the development of K-12 principals to observe, analyze and communicate improvements to classroom instruction. Click HERE to read more.
East Carolina University’s Rural Education Institute (REI) and Washington County Schools (WCS) received a $96,782 NC-DPI School Safety Grant. WCS will partner with REI to pilot and test an evidence-based approach to school-based trauma-informed approaches for rural schools.
On a related note, the Rural Education Institute (REI) received $200,000 from Sanford Programs at National University. The College of Education’s Rural Education Institute received $30,000 as initial seed money and $70,000 Direct pay from Sanford to offer Sanford Institute of Philanthropy training to all counties in Eastern NC in which our 43 school systems that are currently part of our Latham Clinical School Network reside. In addition to our school partners, REI will work to reach the community leaders and organizations in these counties that work with our school partners and the children and families they serve to help them become better fundraisers and philanthropists. REI received and additional $100,000 from Sanford for the renewed investment in Harmony and Inspire at ECU. The development and support of both social-emotional curriculum resources (Harmony) and effective induction (Inspire) are identified as priority areas by the National Rural Education Association in rural states. The $100,000 grant will advance work in these priority areas across Eastern North Carolina.
Dr. Caitlin Ryan, associate professor of reading education, and collaborator Jill Hermann-Wilmarth received the Edward B. Fry Book Award for outstanding contributions to literacy research and practice for their book Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Classroom. The award was presented at the Literacy Research Association Conference on November 27, in Indian Wells, California. In a year with an unusually high number of submissions, the committee noted that Reading the Rainbow “advanced our knowledge about literacy, particularly related to the inclusion and the representations of LGBTQ students and themes in the English language arts curriculum; it demonstrated responsible intellectual risk taking, and it raised thought-provoking issues.” Dr. Ryan and Ms. Hermann-Wilmarth express their gratitude to those who allowed them into their classrooms and to the communities that work endlessly to make the world a more inclusive place.
Dr. Rhea Miles, associate professor in the Department of Math Science and Instructional Technology, was awarded $179,834.00 from the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation for the program Discoveries in Earth Science for Middle and High School Students with Blindness or Visual Impairment. The program Discoveries in Earth Science (DES) for 36 middle and high school students with blindness or visual impairments provides a unique opportunity for students in eastern North Carolina to learn earth science in a university setting. Student participants will develop skills for identifying and characterizing geologic phenomena and materials. Exposure to these activities will not only improve students’ competence in science, but also nurture students’ enthusiasm and confidence to conduct scientific investigations.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Dr. Zhen Zhu of the Department of Engineering has been named the recipient of the 2019 CET Scholar-Teacher Award. Each year the award recognizes a faculty member for outstanding work in integrating scholarship and teaching. Zhu said student research assistants in his lab have “significantly contributed to research projects in electrical engineering and biomedical engineering. Most of these students have received scholarships or funding from external grants, such as the NASA N.C. space grant program, U.S. Air Force and the NOAA Policy Ready Citizen Science program.”
On December 8, East Carolina University and Palo Alto Networks hosted a Palo Alto Networks beta certification exam through Pearson VUE. Twenty-one students and Faculty in the Information and Technology Program participated in the beta certification test for the new Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) certification. Successful participants will receive the PCNSA certification, while everyone else will receive a free voucher to take the certification exam at a later date.
COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS & COMMUNICATION
Mary Tucker-McLaughlin (Communication) and Nancy Winterbauer (Department of Public Health) will deliver messaging designed to enhance mental health among seasonal migrant workers in eastern North Carolina. Tucker-McLaughlin won a $3,000 Research and Creative Activity Award from the College of Fine Arts and Communication. With Winterbauer and Maritza Mata Betancourt of AMEXCAN, she conducted focus groups to tailor appropriate communication. Targeted banner ads will be deployed in March, coinciding with the planting season.
Lisa Beth Robinson (Art and Design) and co-collaborator Kristin Thielking were featured in the December 1 issue of the Progressive. The publication lauds the artists for “attempting something new—to digitally capture, and cast in glass, a three-dimensional model of a real, live wave.” The ultimate goal of the long-term collaboration is to build an audience that advocates for the health of earth’s water resources.
COLLEGE OF HEALTH & HUMAN PERFORMANCE
Preconception Educating Pirates (PEP Squad) members, under the direction of faculty advisors Alice Richman and Kelli Russell in the Department of Health Education and Promotion, collected more than 700 new blankets and socks for the Community Crossroads Center. The items were donated on December 4. The PEP Squad is an ECU student organization that organizes educational outreach events for students and the community on topics relating to preconception health. PEP Squad board members include president Kiersten Radford, Sophie Hayden, Courtney Dennis and Jayla Burwell.
The Department of Kinesiology’s fitness walking/dog walking class developed and taught by Dr. Melanie Sartore-Baldwin was highlighted in the December 2018 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. ECU students actively engage with shelter dogs through physical activity in a service learning, designated fitness walking course. ECU’s kinesiology department is in its fifth year of a collaborative partnership with the Pitt County Animal Shelter.
Manita Devkota, who graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in public health studies and a concentration in pre-health profession, was Nepal’s representative at Miss Universe 2018 on December 16. She placed in the top 10 overall among 94 contestants. Devkota is an advocate for girls’ education, public health and women empowerment, and an ambassador of women’s health with Days for Girls International.
HONORS COLLEGE
Health for People in Need Everywhere (Health4PINE), a nonprofit founded by EC Scholar Pranaya Pakala, was named the winner of ECU’s Hult Prize Challenge, a major step required to compete in the world's largest student competition for social good. This year’s topic was "For us, by us. Youth unemployment." The team, comprised of EC Scholar Phoenix Little and fellow ECU teammates Johanna Adamo and Gina Bonini, will represent ECU at regionals this spring for a chance to win $1M in seed capital.
The Health4PINE team will also be competing in the final round of the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge in February alongside the EC Scholar-founded startup SweetSip. Freshman Grace Krell was inspired to start the company after watching videos documenting plastic waste in our oceans. Her startup provides stainless steel straws that are affordable and stylish.
Sophomore EC Scholar Dana Shefet was selected to join the Sherwin B. Nuland Summer Institute in Bioethics at the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics at Yale University. The highly selective and academically rigorous summer immersion program accepts applications from around the world for 7 weeks with top faculty. The objectives of the program include educating professionals on how they can use bioethics in their careers and exploring if a career in bioethics is right for them.
INTEGRATED COASTAL PROGRAMS
On December 13, Dare County Youth Council and the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) hosted the Third Annual Dare County Science Fair at the Coastal Studies Institute, ECU’s Outer Banks Campus in Wanchese. Students from elementary, middle, high schools and homeschools across Dare County competed for a chance to win cash prizes, a tablet, and qualification for the upcoming Regional Science Fair competition hosted at ECU. There were many great projects, and the winners of the fair engineered a working wind turbine with the project, “The Study of Renewable Energy.” The next STEM competition CSI will host is the NC Renewable Energy Challenge coming up in April where student teams from all over NC will compete to build the most efficient wind turbine, solar circuit or ocean energy device. Click HERE for more.
An interdisciplinary team of coastal scientists received NSF funds focused on eastern NC drinking water contamination following the 2018 hurricane season. This project, funded by NSF’s Decision Risk & Management Science and entitled "2018 Hurricane Season: RAPID: Rural residents' self-protections to perceived and actual contamination risk in private drinking wells after Hurricane Florence," is under the direction of Jacob Hochard (ICP), Jamie B. Kruse (ECON), Ariane L. Peralta (BIOL), and J. Randall Etheridge (ENGR). This project provides a unique opportunity to document actual and perceived groundwater contaminant exposures, measure the dissipation of actual and perceived contamination over time and observe self-protective risk mitigation actions taken. The findings will inform whether rural homeowners take appropriate and timely action to self-protect against flood-related environmental exposures, and whether self-protection efforts by these homeowners is a substantial contributor to the social cost of groundwater contamination.
Integrated Coastal Programs’ web page is now live and a great introduction into this new unit on campus. The intent of the web page is to provide a conduit for “all things coastal” at ECU. It will take some more effort to get it to that point, but we are making big strides toward the goal! Please provide feedback as well as information and links you think should be included by emailing information to coastal@ecu.edu.
ECU had a strong contingent of faculty and students that attended the annual AGU meeting. This is one of the largest international meetings focused on a broad range of “Earth and space” science, with more than 28,000 scientists attending this year. Some of the topics and sessions at the meeting that saw ECU faculty and student participation ranged from science communication, coastal resilience, sea level impacts, ecosystem boundaries, monsoons, and many others. This was the first meeting the Integrated Coastal Programs went public, and we did it big! It offered a fantastic opportunity to introduce the scientific community to ECU’s new program, department and revised degree. Word is out…and people are listening!
For the last several years, the CSI has offered the public an opportunity to expand their understanding of some aspect of the planet we call home. The Science on the Sound series, held monthly, highlights research on coastal topics and issues in northeast North Carolina and features researchers, scientists, engineers, and educators from the Coastal Studies Institute and other partner institutions. Each of these programs is broadcast live HERE and on our Facebook page. After the broadcast, the programs can be found on our YouTube Channel. CSI’s YouTube channel hosts over 100 videos highlighting the research and educational projects and activities of CSI. Archived “Science on the Sound” lectures, mini documentaries and video vignettes are featured on the channel and new content is added regularly.
January’s Science on the Sound lecture will feature Dr. Avery Paxton, Post-Doctoral Fellow at Duke University Marine Lab, and will highlight her research on an ongoing citizen science sand tiger shark tracking project off the coast of North Carolina. The program, entitled “Spot-A-SharkUSA: Citizen Scientists and Sand Tiger Shark Tracking off North Carolina", will be held at 6:00pm on January 24 at the Coastal Studies Institute located on the ECU Outer Banks Campus at 850 NC 345 in Wanchese, NC. As always, the presentation is free and the public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
The CRM program congratulates four recent PhD awardees:
- Mary Allen, “Integrative complexity of coastal resources management: Examining trade-offs between ecosystem protection and resource use.”
- Liz Brown-Pickren, “Risky Business: Subsistence fishing in Tyrrell County, North Carolina”
- Casey Nolan, “Salt marsh mosquito ditch filling: Ecological impacts and perspectives in decision making”
- Wendy Klein, “Suitable groundwater management: Equity in the North Carolina central coastal plain, U.S.A.”
ACADEMIC LIBRARY SERVICES
Katy Webb has been selected for placement on the Fulbright Specialist Roster for a tenure of three years.
Angela Dresselhaus is the current President of NASIG, an independent organization working to advance and transform the management of information resources.
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS
November 2018
Award Title: Abu Jabir Enclave
Principal Investigator: Benjamin Saidel, Anthropology, College of Arts & Sciences
Sponsor: W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (AIAR)
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Award Title: The Economic Impact of Fort Bragg Activities and Expenditures on the 11-County Regional Economy
Principal Investigator: Haiyong Liu, Economics, College of Arts & Sciences
Sponsor: DOD Department of the Army (DA)
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Award Title: Collaborative Research: LEAP HI: Embedding regional hurricane risk management in the life of a community: A computational framework
Principal Investigator: Jamie Kruse, Economics, College of Arts & Sciences
Sponsor: University of Delaware
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Award Title: The World We Live In: Geology, Hydrology, Climatology, Biology, Chemistry of the Environment of Northeastern North Carolina
Principal Investigator: Catherine Rigsby, Geology, College of Arts & Sciences
Sponsor: Burroughs Wellcome Fund
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Award Title: Women's Cardiac Health Initiative
Principal Investigator: Ashley Burch, Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences
Sponsor: Zoll Lifecor Corporation
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Award Title: Clinical Research and Data Analysis Consulting for ZOLL Medical devices.
Principal Investigator: Ashley Burch, Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences
Sponsor: Zoll Lifecor Corporation
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Award Title: CSR #4: Statistical Analysis
Principal Investigator: Mark Bowler, Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences
Sponsor: Eastcoast Research Services, LLC
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Award Title: CSI NC Renewable Ocean Energy Program FY 18-19
Principal Investigator: David Corbett, Coastal Studies Institute, Academic Affairs
Sponsor: North Carolina State Government
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Award Title: Multi-Constellation GNSS Carrier Phase Solution with Integrity Protection
Principal Investigator: Zhen Zhu, Engineering, College of Engineering & Technology
Sponsor: Applied Research Associates, Inc.
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Award Title: ECU Sanford Institute of Philanthropy Partnership Project
Principal Investigator: Margaret Cuthrell, Elementary and Middle Grades Education, College of Education
Sponsor: National University Sanford Instituesof Philanthropy
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Award Title: ECU SPED SIP/IHE Partnership
Principal Investigator: Stacy Weiss, Special Education, Foundations and Research, College of Education
Sponsor: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI)
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Award Title: Regional Training Center - PUDi 2017_2018
Principal Investigator: Jennifer Matthews, Health Education and Promotion, College of Health & Human Performance
Sponsor: University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)
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Award Title: Hope & Strength after Trauma Arises (HASTA)
Principal Investigator: Erin Roberts, Human Development and Family Science, College of Health & Human Performance
Sponsor: City of Greenville
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Award Title: Estimating ground reaction forces during the golf swing using motion data
Principal Investigator: Zachary Domire, Kinesiology, College of Health & Human Performance
Sponsor: Spheres Consulting, LLC
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Award Title: DanceAbility: Expanding Dance in the Schools for All Students
Principal Investigator: Bomna Ko, Kinesiology, College of Health & Human Performance
Sponsor: Women for Women of Pitt County
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Award Title: North Carolina Sea Grant Extension Program at ECU (x2)
Principal Investigator: Sara Mirabilio, Integrated Coastal Programs, Department of Coastal Studies
Sponsor: North Carolina Sea Grant