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First Monday AN UPDATE FROM THE PROVOST | September 2022

COGER'S CORNER

Robin N. Coger, PhD

Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Welcome to our September issue of First Monday!

For those who are new to our University, the name implies the timing in which this monthly newsletter is normally issued. Because that day coincided with Labor Day, you are receiving this month’s issue one week later.

I want to begin by thanking you all for welcoming me to Pirate Nation. I have now had the privilege of visiting with every Dean and both library Directors; and had conversations with faculty, staff, students, Trustees, and Board of Visitors members in conference rooms, in hallways, at the Student Center, near the Cupola, at football games, uptown, and places in between. Today, which happens to mark my two-month anniversary as your Provost, I am so pleased to report that my original impression of East Carolina University - an institution of talented, dedicated and amazing people who do great work and care about the University, its students, the region and North Carolina - was accurate. Over the last few weeks, I’ve also had the honor of learning about many examples of excellence and commitment throughout every part of ECU. It is my opinion that the great work you all have done and continue to do deserves to be known and less of a secret. Together we have the opportunity to work to highlight that excellence in ways that further advance the reputation and brand of our University. I am also convinced that, by doing so, we’ll be able to attract even more students, families, colleagues, collaborators, partners, and friends – while also providing our alumni, community, and political advocates with even more pride points on why East Carolina University is a tremendous institution.

My conversations have also confirmed that the recent restructuring has left some Pirates feeling a bit unsettled. While change can occur in a moment, transition is always a process. As Academic Affairs continues to work with all parts of our University as a component of “One ECU,” our new structure is already serving to increase the exchange of information between team members and increase collaborations with other units. Thank you for being patient and keeping an open mind in working with each other. The graphic below schematically summarizes the components of Academic Affairs in a way that I hope you will find helpful.

Schematic representation of the structure of Academic Affairs at ECU. As indicated, Academic Affairs is led by the Provost and consists of all Deans and Library Directors, Academic Operations & Support, Research Economic Development & Engagement (REDE), the Office of Equity and Diversity, as well as Academic Affairs Administration.

As you know, our student census numbers will come out later this week. I continue to be impressed by the work done by so many across our University to recruit, enroll and ensure classes for our new students and to guide the learning, academic progress and engagement of our continuing students. Regardless of where our Fall 2022 census numbers ultimately land, the collaborative, student-care centered spirit that you have demonstrated is another example of the strength of the Pirate Nation. Over the next few months, we’ll continue to work together in this area and others to help ensure that this is a great year at ECU.

As I close, I’d like to offer a special thanks to all of the contributors and Madeleine Griffith for making this issue of First Monday possible. We all hope you enjoy reading it.

Regards,

Robin Coger

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BY THE NUMBERS

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AROUND ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

PIRATE ACADEMIC SUCCESS CENTER

2022 Peer Enrollment Coaches

Over the summer, 11 peer enrollment coaches proactively contacted admitted students, providing support through a personalized enrollment process. Administered by professional staff at the Pirate Academic Success Center (PASC), the project utilized enrollment milestone data to target students who were not meeting enrollment benchmarks and initiated outreach activities through peer coaching and nudging techniques. Coaches provided five key support functions:

  • Guided students in a personalized enrollment process by proactively contacting demographic profiles of admitted students and guiding them through key enrollment milestones by phone or on demand virtual enrollment sessions;
  • Problem solved through barriers by escalating issues to professional staff for support and solutions;
  • Supported orientation academic activities including outreach events and registration support;
  • Established campus resource connections (Academic Advising, Financial Aid, Cashier’s Office, Office of the Registrar, Campus Living, Student Health); and
  • Extended an ECU Pirate welcome and reinforced belonging.

Coaches called over 16,000 students over the summer and students who were contacted expressed gratitude for the guiding influence of their ECU peer enrollment coach. Parents noted ECU was the only campus contacting their student in this manner. Not just working to solve enrollment problems, peer enrollment coaches functioned as an extension of welcome into Pirate Nation.

Peer enrollment coaches were recruited from multi-cultural student organizations, PASC student staff, campus partner recommendations, and PASC learning community students. The following students served as peer enrollment coaches, listed below with their majors:

  • Adam Harrison, Business
  • Andy Lewis, Elementary Education
  • Britani Melgar, Business
  • Edgar Romero, Psychology
  • Emely Palacios-Angulo, Information Technology
  • Ethan Flower, Community & Regional Planning
  • Grace Evans, Speech & Hearing Sciences
  • Jaidyn Steward, Elementary Education
  • Kylie Oakes, Nursing
  • Makaylia Wilson, Psychology
  • Matthew Elvington, Geology

OFFICE OF GLOBAL AFFAIRS

For upcoming Office of Global Affairs events and activities, please visit our Calendar of Events.

Dr. Jami Leibowitz, associate director of Global Affairs, has received a Fulbright U.S. Global Scholar Program award from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She will visit three countries in the coming semesters, developing opportunities for high-impact international virtual exchange programming with several universities abroad.

The Office of Global Affairs held its first annual Welcome Cookout for new international students and incoming Global Fellows on August 19. Over 150 new and continuing students and student volunteers attended the festivities intended help build social connections and provide a welcoming environment for our new students.

ECU’s School of Theatre and Dance and the Office of Global Affairs recently collaborated on an innovative Virtual Exchange to Study Abroad (VESA) program, pairing spring virtual programming with a summer study abroad program in Nairobi, Kenya. This project, funded by a U.S. Department of State grant, highlights ECU’s unique ability to leverage its world-class virtual exchange program to enhance the subsequent immersive experience abroad.

ADVISING

The Academic Advising Collaborative has an Advising Awards Committee made up of members from each college in the collaborative. Each year, the committee recognizes individuals for excellence in advising in several categories. Recipients are nominated by their peers for their outstanding work during the previous year.

The awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated excellence in advising by going “above and beyond” their expected duties. Nominees are judged on the evidence of qualities and practices that distinguish the nominee as an outstanding leader in advising. Awards were presented at the End-of-the-Year Advising Collaborative Breakfast, on April 27, 2022. This is the 10th year of this recognition program.

New advisors are classified as having fewer than three years of advising experience. At the time the awards should have been presented, both recipients had fewer than three years of experience but now have more than three.

2021-2022 Advising Award Recipients

  • Outstanding Academic Advisor – Jason Denius, Assistant Director of CET Advising
  • Outstanding Faculty Advisor – Dr. Laura Mazow, Director of Undergraduate Programs in Anthropology
  • Outstanding New Advisor – Jordan Skipper, Academic Advisor, CET Advising
  • Outstanding Administrative Assistant – Taryn White, Lead Administrative Assistant, Academic Advising & Support
  • Outstanding Advising Partner – Carol Woodruff, Career Counselor
  • Outstanding Advising Administrator – Kellie Dill, Director of HHP Advising

OFFICE OF RESEARCH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & ENGAGEMENT

New directors with REDE

Over the summer, REDE welcomed several new directors to the team:

We look forward to accomplishing great things with their guidance and expertise.

ECU and its partners took center stage Thursday, August 11, 2022 in the East Carolina Heart Institute auditorium for a town hall event hosted by Anita Brown-Graham with UNC School of Government’s ncIMPACT program which airs on PBS.

Cameras rolled on a panel of ECU alumni, faculty, and industry partners to feature regional collaborations including pathways leading from education to career opportunities. The town hall highlighted how ECU is impacting the region of eastern North Carolina.

Panelists included:

The episode aired on PBS (UNC-TV) Friday, August 26 at 7:30PM. Click HERE to watch the town hall event.

The RISE29 and RISEUp summer cohorts presented their work on August 9 to program members, clients, and ECU faculty and staff. RISE29 interns work to enhance and support businesses in eastern North Carolina. The fall cohort is now in session. Recruitment for the spring semester will begin in October.

Summer 2022 RISE29 clients included:

RISEUp students worked on their own businesses through their internship. Startups included:

ECU students set out for rewarding and impactful internships across eastern North Carolina this summer as part of the State Employees’ Credit Union Public Fellows Internship program. The program places undergraduate students with local governments, nonprofits and other organizations throughout the region for projects that address community-identified priorities. The program provides opportunities for students to develop leadership, analytical, problem solving, communication and project management skills, while allowing them to network in professional settings.

Over the past eight years at ECU, the program has provided more than 100 internships to 70 eastern North Carolina organizations. This year, 18 ECU undergraduates were selected to the program for 18 sites across 11 counties. Internship locations included positions at A Time for Science in Grifton, The Blind Center in Washington, and Weldon in Action in Halifax County. Click HERE to read about a few of their experiences and learn from supervisors the importance of the program.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) awards applications are now open. URCA awards can provide funding up to $2,000 to support faculty-mentored research and creative projects in the areas of biomedical sciences, social sciences, STEM, as well as arts and humanities. The fall deadline to apply is September 30. A virtual information session will be held on September 12 for those with questions.

Learn more HERE.

Make your discoveries real! The I-Corps@ECU fall cohort kicks off September 14 with a program and resources overview session. I-Corps@ECU trains faculty, staff, post docs, students and others to assess ideas, innovations and research and helps to turn them into new products, services or ventures. I-Corps@ECU uses proven methods in customer discovery and lean launch. Teams in the STEM disciplines are eligible for up to $5,000 in funding to support customer discovery and/or proof of concept efforts. To learn more, click HERE, or contact the Office of Licensing & Commercialization.

The Office of Licensing & Commercialization I-Corps Innovation Ambassadors presented their final presentations on July 27.

Projects included:

  • NoPest-Ag5: A low toxicity nanopesticide targeting honey bee mites; Team: Dr. Lok Pokhrel, assistant professor of Public Health; Summer Warner, masters student in biology
  • C1R Inhibition: Development of small inhibitors to treat effects of autoimmune disease; Team: Dr. Brandon Garcia, assistant professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Tinashe Jaravaza, masters student in biology
  • Education in Healthcare Professions: Advancement of learning modules to improve adult education; Team: Dr. Steven Schmidt, professor of interdisciplinary professions; Dr. Jo Anne Murray, director of Faculty Development and Continuing Education; Tinashe Jaravaza, masters student in biology
  • ADAPT: Grief platform for young adults; Team: Dr. Nancy Dias, assistant professor of Nursing; Summer Warner, masters student in biology

Project mentors included Mandee Schaub, licensing analyst, and Carlyle Rogers, director, Licensing and Commercialization.

The I-Corps Innovation Ambassador program is an experiential internship program made available through a grant from the National Science Foundation for highly motivated graduate students in the physical and life sciences, engineering, and technology fields. Information about the Ambassador program can be found HERE.

FACULTY SENATE

2022 - 2023 Faculty Senate meeting dates are as follows:

  • September 13, 2022
  • October 4, 2022
  • November 1, 2022
  • December 6, 2022
  • January 24, 2023
  • February 21, 2023
  • March 28, 2023
  • April 25, 2023
  • May 2, 2023 (Organizational Meeting for 2023-2024)

For more about ECU Faculty Senate, click HERE.

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COLLEGE UPDATES

ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES

East Carolina University will be the first, public university in North Carolina to offer a Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program. Faculty in the Department of Occupational Therapy spent several years planning and anticipating the necessary approvals to bring an OTD program to campus. They will support the new clinical doctorate and current Master of Occupational Therapy degree simultaneously. OTD applications will be accepted starting in October for the first class of students to begin the program in fall 2023. Learn more HERE.

The Department of Addictions and Rehabilitation Studies (DARS) welcomed Maya Pittman for a presentation celebrating National Minority Health Awareness Month. Nearly 50 individuals attended the live session titled, "With Clear Eyes: Sharpening our Commitment to Being Anti-Racist in Counseling Systems." DARS is committed to anti-bigotry work through its American Racism Advocacy Project which includes programming, curriculum, spending, and fundraising changes to support Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Maya Pittman formerly served as Coordinator of Outreach and Intercultural Services at East Carolina University. She is a North Carolina-based, licensed and nationally certified psychotherapist and wellness entrepreneur as well as the owner of Amethyst Counseling Services, PLLC.

Nearly 100 students enrolling in an Allied Health Sciences program this summer or fall attended an afternoon of Welcome Festivities together on Friday, August 19th. New Student Orientation included an introductory message from Dr. Bob Orlikoff, Dean of the College of Allied Health Sciences, followed by short presentations from staff representing key resources such as student health, campus safety, and university scholarships. The new Pirates then collaborated with other allied health students to complete a survival activity. This introduction to interprofessional education (IPE) was led by the college's IPE Task Force. Students will continue their interprofessional education by participating in two activities each semester. During a Welcome Social immediately following New Student Orientation, students enjoyed tie dyeing a t-shirt gifted to them by the college.

Faculty and staff members of the CAHS IPE Task Force include:

  • Dr. Christine Lysaght, Task Force Coordinator - Physical Therapy
  • Dr. Leigh Cellucci - Dean's Office
  • Audrey Eaves - Physician Assistant Studies
  • Elizabeth Locklear - Academic Advising, Health Services and Information Management
  • Dr. Ann Mannie - Clinical Laboratory Science
  • Dr. Jennifer McDougal - Addictions and Rehabilitation Studies
  • Dr. Heather Panczykowski - Occupational Therapy
  • Rhiannon Phillips - Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • Kate Willson - Nutrition Science
Left to right: Drs. James Lin, Stacey Meardon, Kathrin Rothermich, and Ryan Wedge

Faculty from Engineering, Kinesiology, and Physical Therapy hosted students for the multi-week Biomedical Engineering in Simulations, Imaging and Modeling Research Experience for Undergraduates (BME-SIM REU) program. Dr. Stacey Meardon, Associate Professor in Physical Therapy, is Co-PI and Program Co-Director for the National Science Foundation-funded project. Additional members of Allied Health Sciences serve as faculty mentors, including:

  • Dr. Chia-Cheng (James) Lin, Physical Therapy
  • Dr. Kathrin Rothermich, Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • Dr. Ryan Wedge, Physical Therapy

Occupational Therapy students - under the direction of Dr. Anne Dickerson, Professor - welcomed young adults on the Autism spectrum to campus for a week-long Driving Bootcamp in August. Campers learned the rules of driving and practiced interacting with officers from the ECU Police Department in a mock scenario. Dr. Dickerson is the Director of ROADI - the Research for Older Adult Driver Initiative.

INTERPROFESSIONAL 'SPEECH BEACH' PROVIDES ACTIVITY FOR KIDS, EXPOSURE FOR STUDENTS

Students in Communication Sciences and Disorders' Speech Language Pathology program teamed up with fellow graduate students in Occupational Therapy to provide a three-week long preschool program in July. SLP students led 13 children through structured speech and movement activities such as singing, dancing, and crafting during each morning of Speech Beach. OTs joined the group once per week to lead an activity that exercised fine and gross motor skills.

Professor Tricia Carter, Clinical Assistant Professor in CSDI, and Dr. Lauren Turbeville, Assistant Professor in OT, provided supervision and programming guidance to the graduate students. Prof. Carter started Speech Beach in summer 2021 as a way to meet several needs.

"I have had the benefit of working side by side with teachers in the classrooms for children with special needs...As a supervisor in the clinic, this is an area that I feel is incredibly important for students to become familiar with as they are discerning what population they may want to work with. I have also felt that this was an opportunity to provide a service to families in our community during the summer months, both as a way for children who are out of school to maintain good language and interaction skills, as well as for children who will be starting preschool in the fall and could use a “sample” of what it will be like." - Prof. Tricia Carter

Students choosing and leading Speech Beach programming this summer include:

  • Larymi Beck - Occupational Therapy
  • Elizabeth Broadway - Speech Language Pathology
  • Anna Paige Daniel - Speech Language Pathology
  • Carlie Davis - Speech Language Pathology
  • Camryn Heister - Speech Language Pathology
  • Phoebe LaCroix - Occupational Therapy
  • Paige Lawrence - Occupational Therapy
  • Emily Matthewson - Speech Language Pathology
  • Amanda McGahey - Speech Language Pathology
  • Nicole Pearce - Speech Language Pathology
  • Caroline Sprinkle - Speech Language Pathology
  • Jake Strong - Speech Language Pathology
  • Allie Wilson - Speech Language Pathology

SPEECH FLUENCY CAMP PROVIDES INTERVENTION, SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WHO STUTTER

Dr. Patrick Briley, Clinical Researcher in CSDI, and trained graduate students hosted 18 camp participants for the Positive Responses to Stuttering Program (PRSP).

"Stuttering is a complex disorder that is experienced internally before speech is executed. While many people define stuttering based on observable disfluencies, those are just some of the responses/reactions to the internal disruption that is experienced by the speaker. This program sought to teach people who stutter (PWS) more efficient and effective responses to that internal sense – equipping the participants with tools to use approach behaviors instead avoidance behaviors." -Dr. Patrick Briley

Students taught camp participants a new speech pattern during the intensive program, building towards its use while speaking conversationally. Campers were instructed to then identify anxious situations. Graduate students would help them become desensitized to those moments by going through them using their newly-learned speech pattern. Working alongside other people who stutter, the 12 adolescent and six adult participants developed a support network with one another. Graduate students prepared for PRSP with training sessions that taught them what behaviors to monitor and how to respond to camp participants. They also completed a stuttering course in fall 2021, so students were familiar with concepts that they could then practice.

Students leading the speech fluency camp include:

  • Eli Aiken
  • Lindsey Bryant
  • Anna Paige Daniel
  • Amber Faircloth, 2022 graduate
  • Sydney Flack
  • Camryn Heister
  • Kat Higginson
  • Taylor Licardo
  • Amanda McGahey
  • Cassie Miller
  • Holly Summerlin
left to right: Drs. Swati Surkar and John Willson

The National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) selected Dr. Swati Surkar, Assistant Professor in Physical Therapy, as recipient of the NCMRR Early Career R03 Grant. Dr. Surkar is a Principal Investigator on her grant-receiving research titled, "Remote Ischemic Conditioning to Enhance Motor Learning and Corticospinal Excitability in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy."

"Unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) is a leading cause of childhood disability. This project investigates remote ischemic conditioning as a novel method to enhance upper extremity function and brain plasticity in children with UCP. The acquired knowledge will develop a new paradigm for improving existing rehabilitation strategies in children with UCP." -Dr. Swati Surkar

Dr. John Willson, Associate Professor in Physical Therapy, serves as co-investigator as well as colleagues from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Pittsburgh, and MossRehab - a Pennsylvania-based rehabilitation facility. Funding will be available to Dr. Surkar for two years through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Shailesh Gardas

The American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) awarded Shailesh Gardas, Rehabilitation Sciences - Movement Sciences and Disorders concentration, with a Student Scholarship for his first-year research. Dr. Swati Surkar, Assistant Professor in Physical Therapy, serves as Shailesh's research mentor. He will present his work at AACPDM's annual conference in Las Vegas this September.

Left to right: Holly Batt and Jocelyn Dixon

Jocelyn Dixon, Nutrition Science graduate student and Project Coordinator in The Food-based Early Education (FEEd) Lab, received the MS Student Award from the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB) Higher Education Division for her abstract, titled 'Connecting Kindergarten Readiness and Food-based Learning in the Head Start Preschool Classroom.' Holly Batt, 2022 Nutrition and Dietetics alumna, received the Undergraduate Student Award for her abstract, titled 'COVID-19’s Impact on Head Start Teachers’ Relationships, Health Behaviors, and Stress Levels.' Dr. Virginia Stage, Associate Professor in Nutrition Science, served as faculty mentor for both Holly and Jocelyn.

ARTS & SCIENCES

In a break from tradition, Harriot College has named two professors to the college’s prestigious rank of distinguished professor. Dr. Wendy Sharer (left), professor of English, and Dr. John Stiller (right), professor of biology, are the college’s 22nd and 23rd distinguished professors. The announcement was made at the 59th annual college convocation on Aug. 19. Read more about Sharer and Stiller’s accomplishments HERE.

Harriot College will launch the 16th season of the Voyages of Discovery Series this fall, featuring three experts who will address the topics of sustainability through energy and innovation; activism, empowerment and justice; and diversity, race and identity in America. The season opens on Oct. 27. Read more HERE.

Harriot College has created minors in Medical Anthropology, Medical Humanities and Medical Sociology to help ECU students become more compassionate health care providers who understand how health care is situated in broader social, cultural, ethical, religious and literary contexts. Curricula is being implemented this fall semester. Read more HERE.

Dr. Margaret Bauer, professor of English, has reached her silver anniversary as editor of the North Carolina Literary Review. Since taking the helm of the journal in 1997, Bauer has spent the past 25 years providing a platform for both North Carolina’s emerging writers and its literary legends, as well as some of the state’s most gifted visual artists. Under her leadership, the annual print publication has added two online issues and has earned numerous awards, including the Best Journal Design award in 1999 and 2010, the Parnassus Award for Significant Editorial Achievement in 2007, and the Phoenix Award for Significant Editorial Achievement in 2014. Christy Hallberg, teaching professor of English, has been a member of NCLR’s staff since 2005, and she said she has enjoyed working on the journal with Bauer. Visit the NCLR website to subscribe and get your copy of the 2022 print issue.

The Department of History has launched a new graduate scholarship, “Department of History Graduate Diversity Scholarship.” The fund will support eligible students admitted to one of the department's graduate programs from a minority serving institution, as defined by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Preference will be given to students who hold their degrees from those institutions within North Carolina, including Elizabeth State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina-Pembroke, and Winston-Salem State University. In 2021, faculty and staff pledged $5,200 to establish the fund. If the fund reaches $25,000, the scholarship will become endowed and accrue a yearly expenditure.

Dr. Yu “Frank” Yang, professor of chemistry, has received a Visiting Scientist Fellowship from the Scientific & Technological Research Council Of Turkey. Yang will participate in the fellowship from May through August 2023, at Mersin University, in Mersin, Turkey. During his fellowship, Yang will conduct collaborative, subcritical water research; present lectures and seminars at Mersin University and other universities in Turkey; and lead workshops on subcritical water extraction and subcritical water chromatography.

Dr. Michelle Malkin, assistant professor of criminal justice, recently received the Dr. Durand Jacobs Dissertation Award from the National Council on Problem Gambling. This award is dedicated to Jacobs’ lifelong commitment to the mentoring of students and is presented annually to a student who has successfully completed a Doctoral Dissertation that merits special recognition, and whose research study has the potential to contribute to scientific knowledge and clinical understanding of problem and pathological gambling behavior. Malkin also received a bursary scholarship to attend the Howard League for Penal Reform’s conference, “Crime, Justice, and the Human Condition: Beyond the cris(es) – reframing and reimagining justice,” a two-day conference being held at the University of Oxford this month.

Morgan Banville, a doctoral student in the department of English’s rhetoric, writing, and professional communication program, has received a grant from the Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication to support her dissertation research.

Dr. Erin Frost, associate professor of English, has been elected as an at-large member of the Consortium of Doctoral Programs in Rhetoric & Composition. Frost is pleased to serve in the role and to continue representing ECU’s doctoral program with the consortium, which tracks and supports doctoral programs nationally.

Christopher Normile, a community and regional planning alumnus (‘22), is a recipient of the American Planning Association Outstanding Student Award. The APA Outstanding Student Awards recognize outstanding attainment in the study of planning by students graduating from Planning Accreditation Board–accredited planning programs during the academic year of the award.

Tess Johnson, a geological sciences graduate student, recently received the Lipman Research Award from the Geological Society of America, which includes a grant to support her thesis work studying the evolution of shallow magma systems beneath volcanoes.

BUSINESS

The Isley Innovation Hub is open. Located in the old Dowdy Bookstore, the Isley Hub is 15,000 square feet of ideation and maker spaces. It serves as the place for the entire ECU campus to come together, develop and validate ideas (entrepreneurial or classwork), create early-stage prototypes, identify team members and connect with the entire ECU entrepreneurial ecosystem. For more information, click HERE.

Dr. Dennis Barber III is the new acting director for the College of Business’ Miller School of Entrepreneurship. He will step in for Dr. Mike Harris, who became the COB’s interim dean July 1. Barber (BSBA ’04) came to the College in 2017 as an assistant professor. Since then, Barber has gained tenure, became an associate professor and been named the Chesnutt-Bond Distinguished Scholar of Entrepreneurship. As the acting director, Barber will be responsible for maintaining and creating programming that drives student success, public service and regional transformation. He will oversee the Crisp Small Business Resource Center and the Isley Innovation Hub.

Dr. Jay Lee, an associate professor in the School of Hospitality Leadership, and his co-researchers recently won the Best Paper Award at the 92nd TOSOK International Tourism conference for the paper “A consumer decision-making framework for eco-friendly smart-farm restaurants: A combined analysis of Norm Activation Model (NAM) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).” The conference, co-hosted by the Tourism Science Society of Korea, the Metropolitan City of Busan, and the Busan Tourism Association, was held July 13-15 in Busan, South Korea. During the 3-day conference, 151 research papers and 18 cases were presented.

left to right, Deale and Lee

At the recent International Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators (ICHRIE) conference, School of Hospitality Leadership’s Drs. Cynthia Deale and Jenna Lee were recognized for their submission to the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Cases (JHTC). Their submission, “The Case of Hazel Hollow Lodge: Focusing on Employee Recruitment and Retention,” was named as the 2022 JHTC Highly Commended Paper.

American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation awarded an Arthur J. Packard Memorial Scholarship to School of Hospitality Leadership (SHL) senior Courtney Muller. The Packard Competition recognizes and provides scholarships to outstanding students in lodging management education each year. Muller took third place in this year’s competition and won $2,000.

The College of Business has named Dr. Cody Logan Chullen its new associate dean for academic quality. He will report directly to the interim dean and serve as a senior leadership team member for the College. Chullen, a tenured professor in the Department of Management, will ensure the quality of all current and future academic programs and serves as a key leader in all academic quality-related activities, including assessment, accreditation, and new program development.

left to right, Karriker and Wells

Dr. Joy Karriker has been named the new chair of the COB’s Department of Management. Karriker joined ECU in 2005 after receiving her Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University and served as interim department chair this past year. The COB’s Department of Finance and Insurance welcomed Dr. Brenda Wells as its new chair. In 2009, Wells was hired to build and lead a new risk management and insurance (RMI) program at East Carolina University and the COB. She presently serves (and will continue to serve) as the director of RMI program and is the Robert F. Bird Distinguished Professor of Risk Management and Insurance.

EDUCATION

The College of Education welcomed more than 15 new faculty and staff members this fall to ECU’s campus.

left to right: Kumbar and Soulen

This summer, Library Science's Rita Soulen presented at the International Association of School Librarians annual conference on "Digital Learning & Media: A University-School-Public Library Partnership." She was also able to meet future collaborators at the conference, including Dr. Rashmi Kumbar from the Central University of Gujarat.

ECU Community School principal Tracy Cole attended this summer’s inaugural Lab School Summit to prepare for the upcoming academic year.

Marguerite Hemedinger was selected as the 2022 ECU Student Teacher of the Year. She graduated in 2022 with a degree in music education from the ECU School of Music and Hispanic studies from the ECU Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures and will now compete for the NC Student Teacher of the Year Award.

The College of Education welcomed Dr. Jerry Johnson as its inaugural Phoebe Moore Dail Distinguished Professor of Rural Education.

The Discoveries in Earth Science program held its first in-person summer program since 2019. K-12 students with visual impairment or blindness are eligible to participate in an interactive experience to learn more about earth science.

The newest edition of Theory & Practice in Rural Education was published this summer and featured research from professionals at UNC-Greensboro, West Texas A&M University, Illinois State University, University of South Carolina and more.

The 6th annual North Carolina Inclusion Summit was held at ECU and hosted by the Department of Special Education, Foundations & Research. It brought a wide variety of disability inclusion stakeholders together to discuss current practices and future innovations.

Interim Dean Art Rouse was selected as a new board member on the Public School Forum of North Carolina’s Board of Directors.

The College of Education hosted a new initiative this summer aimed at giving high school students the opportunity to find out if they would like to pursue a career in education. The two-day PIRATE Institute let them meet COE students, staff and leadership in a unique on-campus visit.

The College of Education was featured in Newsweek's 2022 list of Leaders in Teacher Education along with schools in New York, Colorado, Louisiana and more.

The Delta Eta chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi recognized Dr. Louis Warren, a professor in elementary education, as an official brother in the fraternity and created a leadership award in his name during the spring semester.

ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

The faculty and staff of the Department of Technology Systems voted to create the Dr. Tijjani (TJ) Mohammed Award for Academic Excellence to honor his 27 years of service to ECU, 12 of which have been spent as either interim chair or chair of the department. The award will be presented to master’s graduates who excel in the classroom with a 3.8 GPA or higher, and exhibit the highest integrity and character.

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and its Computing Accreditation Commission announced the initial accreditation of the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program through Sept. 30, 2028. This accreditation is the culmination of many years of hard work by everyone in the department, past and present, and the department has created a continuous improvement process that will help them stay on course for academic excellence and student success. Congratulations to Dr. Venkat Gudivada, chair of the Department of Computer Science, and all the faculty and staff.

Engineering students from East Carolina University and across the country completed a summer blitz of research as part of the Biomedical Engineering in Simulations, Imaging and Modeling (BME-SIM) Research Experience for Undergraduates. The annual 10-week program funded through the National Science Foundation brings together ECU’s departments of engineering, kinesiology and physical therapy with support from the Brody School of Medicine and the colleges of engineering and technology, and of health and human performance. Ten invited students conducted a wide range of research projects involving all aspects of health, from blood flow in the brain of concussed individuals to bone stress in the foot caused by running. Read more HERE.

The Department of Engineering has strengthened its long relationship with the Fleet Readiness Center East (FRC East) aircraft repair and maintenance depot at Cherry Point with the new Engineering Developmental Assistance Program (EDAP). Ten ECU students are participating in the first year of the program that is designed to help engineering students gain valuable experience through paid internships while providing FRC East with a future workforce of engineers. Read more HERE.

HEALTH & HUMAN PERFORMANCE

Dr. Jeffrey Skibins has been invited to be a keynote speaker later this year at the Developing Empathy for Conservation Outcomes conference hosted by the Seattle Aquarium. This invitation is supported by ongoing efforts by Skibins, an associate professor in the Department of Recreation Sciences, related to conservation, interpretation, augmented reality and visitor satisfaction for aquariums, zoos and preserves in North Carolina, the United States and internationally. A focus of this conference is to work with attending practitioners to develop compelling and feasible study topics for zoos and aquariums to execute.

Students in the School of Social Work accrued a total community impact of $8,678,880 for the academic year 2021-22. This community impact in dollars was comprised by hours provided by students in Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work at ECU.

In conjunction with the State Employees Credit Union Public Fellows Internship Program, Bachelor of Social Work student Constance Williams spent the summer as an intern at The Blind Center in Washington, North Carolina. This was Williams’ first internship and she was instrumental in bringing special programming back to the center. A full feature on her internship experience is available HERE.

HHP’s associate dean for research, Dr. Joseph Lee, recently received a $65,723 supplement to his current award from Rutgers University titled, “North Carolina Site: Adoption, diffusion, and implementation of Tobacco 21 policies to address health disparities.” This brought the cumulative amount of this award to $171, 040.

Dr. Leslie Cofie, an assistant professor in Health Education and Promotion, earned a highly competitive National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program award. Cofie also recently presented, along with others, in the Belk Annex building during a loan repayment program information session featuring advice and discussions about successfully competing for an LRP.

HONORS

The Honors College welcomed new staff and leadership this summer. Dr. Todd Fraley accepted the role of Interim Dean, while Dr. Katherine Ford accepted his former role and serves as the acting Associate Dean and Director of the EC Scholars Program. Recent Honors College graduate Maggie Baile will continue her education at ECU while working full-time as the administrative support associate for the college.

EC Scholar alumna Shaelyn Raleigh received an $8,500 Phi Kappa Phi graduate fellowship. She plans to use the fellowship to pursue her RELAY Graduate School of Education certification program to receive her teaching license in middle school science.

Honors student Emily Yates will serve as the university’s Student Government Association vice president.

ECU’s chapter of Delta Tau Delta received its charter and was installed as an official chapter this summer. Several Honors College students helped to start the fraternity on ECU’s campus. Last year, they hosted their first JDFR International OneWalk fundraiser that was very successful.

EC Scholar Lauren Garcia received 2nd place in undergraduate presentations at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences this summer. She presented on “Uterine Fibroid Myocyte Life Cycle Phase Formation in Fibroid Spheroids using 3D Co-Cultures of Human Uterine Leiomyoma Cells and Myofibroblasts.”

EC Scholar alumni Marguerite Hemedinger received ECU’s Student Teacher of the Year award. She will now compete for the North Carolina State Teacher of the Year Award.

EC Scholar Imaan Siddiqi worked on an initiative in New York this summer with Macy’s to improve mental health awareness. She is one of four young people highlighted in the national campaign.

EC Scholar Marzuq Islam took first place in Best Verbal Presentation of Posters at this summer’s PhysioCamp Symposium. His research focused on “Use of Early-Stage Infection Detection Bandages to Combat Diabetes for Rural African American Communities in North Carolina.”

Recent Honors graduate Omar Chaaban was recently published in the American Journal of Infection Control for his research, “Assessment of best-selling respirators and masks: Do we have acceptable respiratory protection for the next pandemic?” with his Honors Signature Project menor Dr. Sinan Sousan.

Honors and EC Scholar alumnus and current Brody School of Medicine student Conor Pumphrey was first author on a piece recently published in Cureus, “Acute Presentation of Newly Diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis Associated with Polymerase Chain Reaction-Proven Human Herpesvirus 6 Central Nervous System Infection.

INTEGRATED COASTAL PROGRAMS

Pictured L-R: (kneeling front row) Kyle Kirian, Hannah Blackburn, Caleb Anderson. Back row: Chris Pietryk, Rolando Rosado, Alex Ferro, Erica Stark, Jamie Bonfiglio, Dr. Teresa Ryan, Jeff Foeller, and Andrea Vecchiotti (Catholic U. PhD student).

Dr. Teresa Ryan and Jeff Foeller, of the ECU Department of Engineering, along with collaborators at the Catholic University of America, completed a successful field work session based at the ECU Outer Banks Campus during May and June. This work is part of Ryan’s ongoing Office of Naval Research project “Experimental Characterization of Near-Shore Atmospheric Acoustics,” which runs through 2025. The project seeks to measure and model the influence of wind, temperature profiles, and shore characteristics on how sound travels in the coastal environment, and has been bolstered by the purchase of a Vaisala WindCube 100s Scanning Doppler LIDAR (pictured here) that allows for high resolution (25 m) measurement of wind velocity over ranges up to ~8 km. The LIDAR system purchase was also supported by an Office of Naval Research DURIP award, “Characterization of Lower Atmospheric Boundary Layer to Support Acoustic Propagation Model Validation,” secured in 2021. The work involved eight ECU Engineering undergraduate students working on site for the 7-week program.

Dr. Sid Narayan (Coastal Studies) was awarded a ~$1.6 million NSF DISES project on ecosystem-based adaptation to extreme events in mangrove-reef social-ecological systems in Fiji and Puerto Rico. Narayan will lead this project with Drs. Nadine Heck (Coastal Studies) and David Lagomasino (Coastal Studies), in conjunction with partners at Virginia Tech and WCS Fiji.

Dr. Sid Narayan’s Coastal Engineering and Adaptation Lab recently submitted their first joint paper, led by postdoctoral scholar Dr. Zaid Al-Attabi (Coastal Studies) and Integrated Coastal Sciences Ph.D. students Yicheng Xu and Georgette Tso. Their research focuses on the combined influence of wetland loss and coastal development on flood risk in Galveston Bay, TX, as part of a research project funded under NOAA TX Sea Grant Award #NA18OAR4170088.

Drs. Linda D’Anna (Coastal Studies Institute) and Cindy Grace-McCaskey (Anthropology, Coastal Studies Institute) co-edited the most recent issue- Vol. 81, No. 3- of the social science journal Human Organization. Society for Applied Anthropology members can read the journal online now HERE.

The R/V Miss Caroline deploying the HeroX Wave Energy Converter (WEC) in CSI’s test region adjacent to Jennette’s Pier, Nags Head. Photo: John McCord

Teams from ECU’s Coastal Studies Institute, the National Renewable Energy Lab, and Jennette’s Pier recently completed a successful deployment of the Hydraulic and Electric Reverse Osmosis (HERO) Wave Energy Converter (WEC). The HERO WEC was deployed for 10 days to test two modules that generate electricity and pump high pressure water through a reverse osmosis system. The test was a successful collaboration that the teams hope to build on with a long-term experimental deployment in the near future.

Integrated Coastal Science Ph.D. student Jacquelyn Moore Flanagan was recently selected to serve as an ECU I-corps Innovation Ambassador for the Fall of 2022. Read more about the ambassador program HERE.

Dr. Eric Wade (Coastal Studies) recently co-authored a book chapter on Marine Spatial Planning in Regional Ocean Areas: Trends and Lessons Learned in the Ocean Yearbook Online. The peer-reviewed chapter examines concerns and reviews the evolution of marine spatial planning in 12 regional ocean areas. Wade described recent advances toward marine spatial planning in Belize and the Wider-Caribbean region.

A screengrab from the 18th plenary of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission on the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture which Dr. Eric Wade recently attended.

Dr. Wade also chaired an FAO high-level dialogue at the 18th plenary of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission on the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA). The session was titled: “Creating an enabling policy and practice environment for a post-IYAFA 2022 celebration in the context of the Voluntary Guidelines for SSF” and included regional experts on social justice, human rights, aquaculture specialist, and gender experts. Dr. Wade currently sits on the regional coordination committee for the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries for the Western Central Atlantic Region.

Summer 2022 REU students being introduced to coastal NC and learning about shoreline change, nearshore ecosystems, and coastal resilience.

Over the summer, a Resilience and Adaptation to Coastal Change Across Communities (C2C) REU cohort traveled to Roanoke Island from all over the United States and Puerto Rico to conduct research at the Coastal Studies Institute. Each of the undergraduates came from diverse academic backgrounds ranging from environmental science to math to geology to social science. While each of the students arrived on the Outer Banks with a unique set of skills, they all had one goal in common – to help communities better adapt to coastal change. The students were uniquely paired with a mentor who shared their research interests and could guide them in their respective fields. Learn more about the C2C REU in this short video.

Last but certainly not least, be on the lookout for more exciting Integrated Coastal Programs news and announcements later this month in the upcoming edition of the ICP seasonal newsletter, CoastLines!

JOYNER LIBRARY

Are you hoping or planning to publish a scholarly manuscript? The main campus library is hosting a series, beginning Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. in Room 2409, to offer advice and insight on how to successfully navigate the publishing process. Faculty and graduate students are encouraged to attend and ask questions. Sessions are free and open and will feature panelists from North Carolina university presses.

There are many examples of positive experiences by young visitors at our libraries. A student from Grifton School recently said, “That trip was a blast” when speaking about interactions with ECU students in the main campus library. More examples can be found HERE.

The exhibit, “Old Korea from the Eyes of Four Western Artists” is on display in the Faulkner Gallery through Oct. 1. This is part of a campus-wide showcase. The art exhibit, which is hosted by the College of Fine Arts and Communication and the School of Art and Design, is also being displayed at the Wellington B. Gray Gallery (main), Spilman Gallery and Proctor-Yongue House.

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