ALL HANDS ON DECK
Trustees attend stadium topping out ceremony
The topping out ceremony for the $60 million expansion project at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was held July 12 in conjunction with the summer meeting of the ECU Board of Trustees in Harvey Hall.
In welcoming guests to sign and watch the final beam placement, Chancellor Cecil Staton said it’s his belief that Pirates deserve facilities that are commensurate with ECU’s traditions and programs.
Student Government Association president Jordan Koonts, accompanied by his mother, Sarah Koonts of Apex, is sworn in as an ex-officio member of the ECU Board of Trustees.
Staton will be excited to see fans walking into the stadium for the football season opener Sept. 1 to get their impression of what the expansion will mean for the game day experience, he said.
“We had to tear down the old to welcome the new,” said Board Chairman Kieran Shanahan about the press box demolition. “The future starts in September with this new facility.”
As part of the project, the first floor of Ward Sports Medicine Building is undergoing renovation and is slated to open to all student athletes on Aug. 1.
Head Football Coach Scottie Montgomery said his biggest challenge recently has been keeping football players out of the almost-finished training room. “We’re very thankful and happy to be a part of this,” he said.
J.J. McLamb, senior associate athletic director, said the renovation and stadium expansion are a true testament to the Pirate slogan “all hands on deck” as hundreds of workers – including many ECU alumni – have been involved in the planning, development and construction of the facility.
Laura Miller of the architectural firm LS3P said it’s “great to see the facility taking form and really happening. It’s a testament to the athletes, donors, students and fan base.”
During the ECU Board of Trustees meeting, Shanahan, Vern Davenport and Kel Norman were reappointed as chair, vice chair and secretary of the board, respectively. Student Government Association president Jordan Koonts was sworn in as an ex-officio member of the board.
The board received updates on a number of ongoing and planned construction projects on campus. The student center construction is on track, and a grand opening is scheduled for Jan. 7, said Bill Bagnell, associate vice chancellor for campus operations. The board approved Clark Nexsen of Raleigh as designer for the renovation of Building 43, which will house the Miller School of Entrepreneurship, and the construction of a biology greenhouse north of the river off Greene Street.
The stadium expansion project is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2019 football season.
During his report to the board, Staton reported that $188 million has been raised, pledged or committed toward the university’s comprehensive capital campaign as of June 30. The chancellor also reported a 19.8-percent increase in the number of ECU students studying abroad during the 2017-2018 school year compared to the prior year, as well as a 7.5-percent increase in international students studying at ECU.
He recognized Dr. Phyllis Horns, vice chancellor of health sciences, for her 20 years of service to the university. Horns will step down from that role on July 31 and is expected to return to a faculty position in the College of Nursing.
Staton reported the findings of a UNC System study of relative funding levels among the state’s public universities, which found ECU to be the most underfunded institution in the system. The results show that continued effort is needed in advocating for ECU’s needs, Staton said, but they also show that “East Carolina University is the best return on the taxpayer dollar in the UNC System.”
The board also learned that ECU has been chosen to house the N.C. New Teacher Support Program, which is designed to promote teacher retention and improve the effectiveness of beginning teachers. The UNC System office convened an external review committee to review proposals from interested system institutions, and ECU was the unanimous choice.
During the Athletics and Advancement Committee meeting, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Chris Dyba provided a campaign and financial year fundraising update. He reported that the university raised $43.2 million in fiscal year 2018. While lower than last year, East Campus saw a record high of $20 million raised, and West Campus received a near record high of $14.9 million raised. ECU’s $500 million comprehensive campaign now totals $188 million.
McLamb said the Southside Expansion project at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium continues on schedule and that the temporary press box for football season will be capable of running all game-day operations. The work on the Ward Sports Medicine Building and baseball indoor hitting facility also are on schedule and will be completed Aug. 1.
Lee Workman, acting chief operating officer for athletics, reported the highest annual GPA (3.11) for student-athletes, breaking the university record for the second year in a row. Women’s golf had the highest GPA at 3.8. Other team highlights included successfully hosting the regional of the NCAA baseball tournament and track and field sending two athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The next meeting of the ECU Board of Trustees is scheduled for Sept. 6-7 at the East Carolina Heart Institute.