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On Deck with Student Affairs Mid-February 2023 Edition

Table of Contents

  • Power to Persevere
  • Robot Delivery Service
  • Collegiate Hunger Challenge
  • Student Success Conference
  • Nominations Open:
  • >>Centennial Awards
  • >>Creed Awards
  • >>Talton Leadership Award
  • Updates and Reminders:
  • >>Strategic Plan Refresh
  • >>Behavioral Health Convening
  • >>Safe Zone Trainings
  • >>Pirate Media 1
  • >>Yam Jam

Power to Persevere

Written by ECU News Services

Student perseverance and community and industry partnerships were highlighted in special presentations at the East Carolina University Board of Trustees’ February meeting.

The board also welcomed Brandon Frye, vice chancellor for student affairs, who officially joined ECU this week.

On Thursday, four students spoke during the University Affairs Committee meeting about their struggles and how ECU programs helped them continue to move forward. The students and the programs are: George Cherry Jr., Students’ Treasure Chest; Nellyana Cordero-Cisnero, Pirate Promise; Adam Harrison, Pirate Academic Success Center; and Iyaira Williams, Purple Pantry. Chris Stansbury, associate vice chancellor and senior operating officer for student affairs, moderated the panel.

In introducing the students, Provost Robin Coger said earning a degree requires students to persevere even when faced with challenges. ECU provides a range of support for student success. “Ultimately they come out of ECU ready for successful careers, but there are a lot of steps in between,” she said.

Cherry, who is earning three degrees and plans to attend medical school, put 24,000 miles on his car driving to class last year from his Bertie County home, where he helps take care of his younger sister. He was able to get help from the Students’ Treasure Chest when his car needed repairs. He is working to give back to the university through service and his involvement in different organizations, including the Student Government Association.

Cordero-Cisnero is a first-generation student from Raleigh who attended community college before transferring to ECU for a degree in elementary education. She said an ECU alum introduced her to Pirate Promise, which gave her a path to a four-year degree. “It opened a new door for me,” she said.

Harrison said he commuted from his home in Williamston his first year, and the connections he made at the Pirate Academic Success Center helped him become a stronger student. He now is a mentor to other students at the center.

Williams, from Raleigh, has volunteered at the Purple Pantry since her freshman year. As an ambassador, she helped the organization win a collegiate hunger challenge and $10,000, and she continues to work with the pantry to combat food insecurity. A recent partnership with the SGA has yielded almost 90 meals donated from unused meal swipes. The SGA also provided funding to purchase a freezer for the pantry to provide frozen meals.

The panel encouraged trustees to continue hearing from students and provide opportunities for conversation. They also suggested continuing to bring awareness to the resources that ECU offers.

Click here to read the complete story.

Starship Technologies and Grubhub launch robot delivery service on ECU campus

Written by ECU News Services

Students, faculty and staff at ECU can now have food delivered by robots from main campus dining locations through an ECU Dining Services partnership with Starship Technologies and Grubhub.

Starship’s fleet of autonomous, on-demand robots will deliver food and drinks from select campus eateries through the Grubhub app (iOS and Android) anywhere on main campus, including College Hill. The service can be used in conjunction with the student meal plan or through a Grubhub account.

“ECU Dining Services is excited to offer this innovative service to our campus community,” said Celia Daniels, director of dining services. “Campuses across the country have had to increase the size of their Starship fleets to meet demand, and these fun and convenient robots are sure to be popular in Pirate Nation as well.”

To get started, users open the Grubhub app, choose from a range of their favorite food or drink items from restaurants labeled “Offers Robot Delivery,” then select the location for their delivery to be sent. They can then watch via an interactive map as the robot makes its journey to their location. Once the robot arrives, they receive an alert and can then meet and unlock it through the app. Each robot can carry up to 20 pounds — the equivalent of about three shopping bags of goods.

Starship Technologies’ zero-emission robots have made more than 4 million autonomous deliveries, traveled millions of miles and make more than 140,000 road crossings every day. The robots use a combination of sophisticated machine learning, artificial intelligence and sensors to travel on sidewalks and navigate around obstacles. The computer vision-based navigation helps the robots to map their environment to the nearest inch. The robots can cross streets, climb curbs, travel at night and operate in both rain and snow. A team of humans also monitors their progress remotely and can take control at a moment’s notice.

For more information visit Starship’s website.

Collegiate Hunger Challenge

East Carolina University won 3rd place in the NC Collegiate Hunger Challenge (a $3,000 prize) and the Souper Bowl Event Challenge (a $1,000 Food Lion Gift Card Prize).

Congratulations to ECU MVP Student Hunger Ambassador, Katie Schiwy, and Mentor, Katy Locke, Assistant Director, Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement!

Student Success Conference

The 10th annual Student Success Conference was held at the Main Campus Student Center on January 27. Over 140 participants heard from keynote speaker and Provost of ECU Dr. Robin Coger who shared the importance of creating a sense of belongingness for our students and ensuring that no students slip through the cracks. There were 19 conference workshops that represented a wide variety of topics addressing the conference theme of “Equity & Access.” Attendees were able to network with colleagues over lunch. The Student Success Conference is a joint collaboration between the Divisions of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs.

Following the conference, attendees were requested to provide feedback on the conference. There was a 60% (n = 94) response rate to the survey. The conference received high ratings in majority of areas including satisfaction with the keynote, the conference value, and their overall satisfaction with the conference. Respondents noted that they learned strategies to help diverse populations at ECU, what on-campus resources were available to ECU students, and ECU’s diverse student population landscape. Aside from what attendees learned, they felt as if there were a variety of session topics to attend and the conference was well organized. Some areas of improvement were related to the lunch line and overall conference logistics. For further in-depth details on the Student Success Conference survey briefing, please click on the image below.

Nominate a Student Affairs Colleague

Centennial Awards for Excellence

The Centennial Awards for Excellence represent the highest awards given to ECU faculty and staff for excellence in each of the following areas: Service, Leadership, and Spirit.

The Centennial Awards for Excellence are given annually with up to three individual recipients and one team per category. The four recipients for each of the three categories will represent one staff member (SHRA or CSS), one faculty member, and one Administrator or EHRA non-faculty member, and one team. The selection process will be the result of peer nominations and selection by the Centennial Awards for Excellence Committee. Please refer to the website for selection procedures and guidelines.

Nomination form, letter of nomination and letter of support for the 2023 Centennial Awards for Excellence must be submitted by Friday, February 17, 2023.

Creed Awards

Deadline for nominations is Friday, March 3, 2023.

Talton Leadership

The Talton Leadership Award was created to honor the servant leadership of the late James R. Talton Jr. ('65). A servant leader is someone who serves others in his/her work through collaboration, empathy, trust, and the ethical use of authority. These characteristics are applicable to roles that you have in your work at East Carolina University and can be applied at any level position within an organization.

Nomination form (see link below), letter of nomination, and optional letter(s) of support for the 2023 Talton Leadership Award must be sent via email to Megan Ayers (ayersm@ecu.edu), Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees, by 5:00 pm on Friday, February 24, 2023. Incomplete nominations will not be considered.

Important Updates and Reminders

ECU 2023-28 Strategic Plan Refresh Open Forum

The ECU campus community is invited to participate in an open forum focusing on the mission, vision, priorities, and draft objectives of the 2023-28 strategic plan refresh.

February 27, 2023 - 10:00 am - Main Campus Student Center - Black Box Theater

A livestream of the session will be accessible on the strategic plan webpage with chat feature enabled and session won't be available for replay later.

For additional information on the strategic plan refresh, including members of the planning committee, the strategic advisory committee and to participate in the online strategic plan refresh survey, visit the webpage.

UNC System Hosts 2023 Behavioral Health Convening

Join us for the 2023 Behavioral Health Convening, hosted in-person at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, on Tuesday, March 21, 2023!

Offered as a partnership between the University of North Carolina System, the North Carolina Community College System, and the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, the 2023 Behavioral Health Convening is an opportunity for institutions to develop ideas, share best practices, and discuss the mechanisms and steps needed to nurture a healthy and resilient student body.

This year we are excited to have Vic Armstrong deliver our keynote, and Ruby Brown-Herring deliver our featured session. In addition to a wealth of educational sessions that support professional development and foster best practices, attendees will be able to interact with our sponsors in the exhibitor hall, engage in relaxation with our wellness sessions, connect with peers through our networking opportunities, and be entered into a drawing for an onsite professional headshot!

Registration will remain open until Sunday, March 12, 2023. For more details and to register, please visit our website HERE.

Upcoming Safe Zone training

Registration for ECU faculty and staff is now open for the following sessions:

  • Thursday, February 16 from 8:30 to 11:30 am in Laupus Library, Room 1504
  • Friday, March 17 from 10 am to 1 pm in Laupus Library, Room 1504
  • Monday, March 20 from 10 am to 1 pm in the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center

Safe Zone is an opportunity for ECU faculty and staff to talk, learn, and ask questions about sexuality and gender in a non-judgmental, safe, educational environment. The purpose of Safe Zone is to create a network of allies who are willing to talk to students about sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, in addition to demonstrating their support of the LGBTQ community by displaying the Safe Zone symbol. Each session is three hours in length and includes a panel of students who share their experiences as members of the LGBTQ community on campus.

Once you have completed the training, you will receive a Safe Zone logo to display in your office. The Safe Zone program is a symbol of this University’s commitment to diversity and inclusiveness and your participation in the Safe Zone training helps to create an ever-expanding network within the ECU community to support our students.

Pirate Media 1 – The Hook and Spring Holiday Package

Pirate Media 1 (ECU Student Media) is Greenville’s only multimedia company allowed to distribute its publications and advertise on campus and is a great way to utilize student media to get your message out to students, faculty, and staff.

The 2023 edition of The Hook, ECU’s student interest magazine, will be distributed in April. It takes an in-depth look at topics, interests, and activities of today's ECU students. The Hook also spotlights students, faculty and community members through interview and Q&A sessions.

Another outreach opportunity is through Pirate Media 1's Spring Holiday Package throughout the remainder of the semester. There are fun and creative ways, between now and May 14th, to advertise about your department, service, business, or event ahead with a Pirate Media 1 product mix package.

Pirate Media 1 is comprised of The East Carolinian, WZMB FM, Magazines (Hook, Anchors Away, Rebel and Expressions), and the Agency.

Please directly contact Tim Davis with Pirate Media 1 about this communication or to receive more information about products and services. Tim can be reached at 252-328-9245 or via email at smaa@ecu.edu.

Yam Jam

ECU! #ARRRGH you ready to sort over 50,000 pounds of sweet potatoes? Join us for this special volunteer event on March 22nd as we sort sweet potatoes into family sized portions for the distribution by the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC. Free food, music, and t-shirts for volunteers! This volunteer event is open to current faculty, staff, and students. Currently family members or children of faculty/staff are not eligible to volunteer unless they are current students.

Date / Location: March 22 from 9am – 4pm in the parking lot across from the Main Campus Student Center, next to the Parking office on 10th St.

This opportunity will benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC and is a collaborative event sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, Purple Pantry, ECU Sustainability, College of Business, Campus Recreation and Wellness, Student Activities Board, and the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC.

Sign Up for a 1 hour volunteer shift here with ECU Single Sign On.

"BRING A CAN, BAG A YAM!"

In addition to this volunteer opportunity, we will also be collaborating with ECU Purple Pantry to give volunteers a chance to make an impactful donation that will help stock our 4 food pantry locations on campus. The ECU Purple Pantry was created to decrease food insecurity among the students of East Carolina University and to increase their access to other personal care items. The pantry operates mainly from the gracious donations of ECU Students, Alumni, Faculty/Staff, and local Pitt County residents. If the volunteer positions fill up, we still strongly encourage you to DONATE!

You can make a donation in 3 ways:

  1. Volunteers can drop off their physical donations during the Yam Jam event at the start of their shift
  2. Volunteers can purchase options from the Purple Pantry Amazon Wishlist
  3. Volunteers can make a monetary donation to the Hunger Initiatives Fund which helps fund the pantry

Visit the ECU Purple Pantry Website to see an updated list of the most needed items in the pantry spaces.

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Credits:

Created with images by Creative Services, University Photographers, and SA Communications.

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