Renovated Mamie Jenkins building dedicated

Joining in the ribbon cutting for the renovated Mamie Jenkins Building are, left to right, first year Honors College students Chelsea Hughes and Kofi Monney, Provost Marilyn Sheerer, ECU Board of Trustees member Robert Brinkley and Chancellor Steve Ballard. (Photos by ECU Student Affairs Marketing)

GREENVILLE, N.C.  — University officials on Tuesday celebrated the re-opening of the Mamie Jenkins Building as the home of the ECU Honors College with a ribbon cutting and a history lesson.

The building, which opened in 1909, was one of the original buildings on the campus of East Carolina Teachers College, and a renovation project was recently completed at a cost of about $340,000. The general contractor for the project was WIMCO Corp. of Washington, N.C.

Mamie Jenkins taught English at ECTC from 1909 until 1946. While on the faculty, she edited the Training School Quarterly, advised the staff of the Tecoan (yearbook), and originated the school motto “To Serve.”

Speakers at the ceremony were Chancellor Steve Ballard; Chancellor emeritus Richard Eakin, who is serving as interim dean of the college; and Robert Brinkley, a member of the ECU Board of Trustees, who has been a strong advocate for the college.

About 440 students are enrolled in the college.

Chancellor emeritus Richard Eakin, interim dean of the Honors College, describes the history of the Mamie Jenkins Building, one of the original structures on the ECU campus and now the new home of the college.