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On Deck with Student Affairs December 2022 Edition

Table of Contents

  • Farewell Message from Vice Chancellor Hardy
  • November Dedications
  • New Hires, Promotions and Separations
  • Treasured Pirates
  • Student Affairs Making Headlines:
  • >>Dean Smith
  • >>Voting Award
  • >>Dennis McCunney
  • Updates and Reminders:
  • >>Safe Zone Trainings
  • >>Student Success Conference

From the Desk of Vice Chancellor Virginia Hardy

November Dedications

Written by ECU News Services

University history, urban legends and bold initiatives for future students were celebrated across ECU on Nov. 18 during a series of campus dedications.

A major donation to the College of Business will lead to transformational work for its graduate school. One family’s love of Pirate Nation will be honored in the Main Campus Student Center. And a former chancellor’s vision is honored.

Read more about the recent dedications below and their impacts on ECU’s future.

Conrad Family created Meaningful Conversations

Ken and Lee Conrad talked to everyone.

The ease with which they carried on conversations throughout their lives is the inspiration for naming a meeting room in their memory at the East Carolina University Main Campus Student Center.

A gift from Bay Hill Seafood Sales aims to keep conversations going on campus among people from all walks of life.

“The naming of a conference room made a lot of sense,” said Justin Conrad ’96, president of Bay Hill Seafood Sales. “They would be pleased having their name on a place where meaningful conversations can happen and where decisions can be made, not just about the university, but the world at large.”

The gift will be shared between the Students Fund for Excellence and the Student Centers Priority Fund. The Fund for Excellence supports funding priorities across the division of Student Affairs for quick response to emerging issues and student needs. The Student Centers Fund is used to respond to needs related to the Main Campus Student Center and related areas.

Click here to read the complete story.

Student Recreation Center Dedication for Chancellor Eakin

A long-delayed in-person tribute was held Nov. 18 to celebrate the naming of the Richard R. and JoAnn M. Eakin Student Recreation Center at East Carolina University. A plaque dedication ceremony honored the former chancellor and his wife for their unwavering commitment to student recreation and wellness.

The center was renamed in the Eakins’ honor in 2020.

As university leaders, staff members and former employees gathered in the center’s rotunda to celebrate with the Eakins, a prospective student tour group walked through, machines whirred as members exercised, and students checked in at the desk for programs.

It was just as it should be — a campus resource that thousands of students utilize every day.

“It is a special day to be celebrating this place where students come to relax, workout and manage stress,” said Dr. Lynn Roeder, ECU Dean of Students. “I can tell you, now more than ever, we need a place like this.”

The building name is about more than the former chancellor and his wife being integral parts of East Carolina and Greenville. Click here to read the complete story.

New Hires, Promotions and Separations

New Hires

Ebbony Williams - Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities Assistant Director

Ebbony Williams has joined the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities serving as a conduct administrator on a wide range of student conduct cases. She will also co-advise the Student Conduct Board.

Prior to ECU, Ebbony was a lead Special Education teacher in Edgecombe County Public Schools for 4 years. She received her Bachelor of Science in Recreational Therapy with a minor in Psychology from ECU in 2018. In addition, she received her Masters of Arts in Higher Education: Community College and University Leadership from Appalachian State University in 2022.

Ebbony is from Tarboro, NC and a proud wife of a military veteran and mother of an energetic toddler boy. She enjoys reading books, making crafts and traveling with family and friends. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and is excited to be back at her alma mater.

Promotions

  • Lisa Compton – Tech Support – Campus Living – November 16
  • Fernando Betancourt – Facilities Maintenance – December 1
  • Lynn Copeland – Assistant Director – Career Services – December 1

Separations

  • Joshua Lanier – Tech Support – Campus Living – October 21
  • Briana Spruill – Admin Support – CRW – November 11
  • Daniel Fontenette – Coordinator – Campus Living – November 16

Treasured Pirates recognized for outstanding contributions to ECU

Written by ECU News Services

Twenty-seven East Carolina University faculty and staff have received the 2022 Treasured Pirate Awards for their outstanding contributions to ECU.

Employees are nominated by their peers for accomplishments that exceed expectations or go beyond the employee’s normal scope of duties. Awards may represent achievement in several categories: customer service, efficiency and innovations, human relations, outstanding state government service, public service, safety and heroism, or demonstration of the spirit of North Carolina.

Nominations are reviewed at the division or departmental level and presented to the Treasured Pirate University Committee, made up of representatives from each division. Winners received a certificate and trophy at the ceremony and will receive a $250 monetary award.

2022 Treasured Pirates - Student Affairs

Wood Davidson, director of transit, and his team transformed a bus that normally carries ECU sports teams into a mobile medical clinic for the Department of Public Health’s school telehealth outreach program during the pandemic. At least a dozen day trips were made to rural communities in three counties to provide physical examinations and care for children.

Madeline O’Connor is an administrative associate within Campus Living, specifically for the residence life area. Amid significant changes due to departures, retirements and struggles to fill open positions, O’Connor stepped in to cover the work of three and sometimes four people, all while displaying her cheerful and supportive approach.

Click here to read about all twenty-seven exemplary employees.

Student Affairs Making Headlines

Smith-Steele Award given to Dean Smith, Director of Student Centers for Student Involvement and Leadership

The Smith-Steele Award for Professional Staff is to recognize union and student activities professionals of Region III member institutions who have demonstrated a long-term commitment to the profession, Region III, ACUI, and their campus community. The nominee must be a staff member of an active ACUI member institution and have been in the profession for a minimum of 10 years.

The award is named for two individuals who have dedicated their lives to the profession: C. Shaw Smith and Richard Steele. Smith served as the first union director for Davidson College for more than 30 years, the Region 5 coordinator twice, and as the ACUI national director. Steele served Region 6 as a member of the Regional Leadership Team, as a regional director, and as an ACUI president.

Dean Smith nomination: While higher education is not this individuals’ original career field, they have devoted over ten years to the development of students and staff, creating programs and policies, and providing strategic direction to many offices.

He has been a colleague, mentor, champion, and fellow Association volunteer to many of us. One of these colleagues had this to say, “There are Student Union professionals who often fly under the radar, but you know most assuredly that their impact is felt far and wide by those they work with. This person is a pillar of the profession and a gift to all who have ever had the honor of working with him / her."

A leader on their home campus, this individual serves on numerous committees, continues to be “gifted” with other departments and also teaches class during their “free time”. Staff members of this person state that when they ask for advice, the advice is always spot on.

He serves at the international level on the Education Council and has served our region as Business Manager, Education Program Coordinator, Corporate Sponsorships Coordinator and Regional Director.

Congratulations to Dean Smith!

East Carolina University is a 2022 ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting

East Carolina University joined 394 colleges and universities in earning the inaugural ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting recognition! The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. Campuses that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items, with the support of ALL IN Challenge staff, to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation on their campus.

Congratulations to the CLCE staff and students for the intentional work you did in 2022 to institutionalize nonpartisan democratic engagement to increase student voter turnout.

Society for Experiential Education Fellow

Dennis McCunney, Intercultural Affairs, was recently selected to be a Society for Experiential Education Fellow for the 2022-2024 cohort. As a SEE Fellow, he will be part of a cohort of professionals committed to experiential education who seeks to develop a community of scholarship in the experiential education field. Responsibilities of this program include:

  • Attending monthly meetings of SEE Fellows to support project initiatives
  • Exploring their practitioner-scholar identity in light of their professional role(s), experiences in experiential education, as well as professional goals
  • Learning scholar-practitioner roles and methodologies combining theory and practice
  • Creating and implementing an action plan regarding a scholarly project they hope to accomplish at the completion of their fellowship
  • Supporting SEE scholarly initiatives, working collaboratively with SEE Scholars on research and scholarly projects related to experiential education
  • Presenting at a future SEE annual conference

Updates and Reminders

Upcoming Safe Zone training

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

  • Thursday, December 8 from 9am to Noon in Laupus Library, Room 1504
  • Tuesday, December 13 from 9am to Noon in the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center (Suite 209 in the Main Campus Student 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.

Registration on Cornerstone is limited for each session.

2023 Student Success Conference

The ECU Divisions of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs are pleased to announce the tenth annual Student Success Conference, scheduled to take place on Friday, January 27, 2023, in the Main Campus Student Center. The theme for the conference is “Equity & Access.”

Conference registration is open, and the registration fee is $50 for early registration which runs until December 16. Regular registration will be $75 and on-site registration will be $100. Additional information about the conference can be found on the 2023 ECU Student Success Conference website.

The 2023 conference is intended to promote opportunities that lead to student success strategies for all students. An opening session will be followed by three rounds of workshops and a closing session. Lunch is included in the registration fee.

The purpose of the conference is to promote a sense of community among faculty and staff that leads to opportunities for student success strategies for all students. This conference is designed to share, discuss and analyze strategies related to how students change and how they can build a plan for success. The theme was chosen due to the shifting landscape of higher education with the projected enrollment cliff and changing demographics of students (Hoover, 2020). But are our institutions ready to reduce barriers that do not support access, equity, and student success? The 2023 Student Success Conference will highlight and explore opportunities to close social, emotional, and educational gaps and support a more diverse student body.

For additional information, please contact the Office of Student Transitions at transitions@ecu.edu or call 252-328-4173.

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Created with images by Creative Services, University Photographers, SA Communications and with an image by Olena Rudo - "Christmas holiday background".