Greek Life Suite to be named in honor of the Little family
ECU’s Greek community will have a new place to gather in the Main Campus Student Center thanks to a gift from the Little family. (Photo by ECU Student Affairs)
The Greek Life Suite in the Main Campus Student Center will be named in honor of East Carolina University alumni Kirk and Dasha Little of Chesapeake, Virginia.
A substantial gift from the Littles will be used to support Greek Life leadership programming, Student Veteran Services, a scholarship for ECU Ambassadors and scholarships for fraternity and sorority members.
In addition, a new fund called the Interfraternal Scholarship will support members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). The Littles are advocates for the NIC and want to recognize membership in NIC organizations.
The Little Family Greek Life Suite will be an important part of the new Main Campus Student Center, scheduled to open in January. The suite will house five professional staff offices, student workspaces and a conference room. The Main Campus Student Center will be a place for students to come together and collaborate, engage in leadership experiences, and connect to ECU’s more than 500 student organizations.
“This generous gift will make a tremendous difference to our Greek community of 40 fraternities and sororities and over 3,000 students,” said John Mountz, director of Greek Life. “The scholarships will help our students complete their education and the enhanced leadership programming will improve our students’ readiness for post-graduate success. Our student leaders are excited about the new office suite and the impact that it will have on campus collaborations.”
Rendering of the new student center that will open in January.
The naming honors Kirk ’82, a member of Beta Theta Pi, Dasha ’81; their sons Forrest ‘09, Raleigh ‘16, and Robert, a current ECU student; and daughter Meredith ’12. All three of the Littles’ sons are members of Beta Theta Pi and Meredith is a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma.
“I personally gained a lot from Greek Life on campus,” Kirk Little said. “The new Greek Life Suite will give ECU room to expand and work more with our chapters. Fraternities and sororities only compete with other fraternities and sororities two times –during recruitment and intramurals. The other times, we need to be working together. This gives us a chance to be under the same umbrella and pulling the oars in the same direction, and we’re excited to be contributing resources.”
Kirk Little is a former vice president of the Beta Theta Pi Board of Trustees and a longtime advocate of Greek Life at ECU. Little earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from ECU and is the current vice president and COO of the allied health management company Apogee Solutions Inc.
Dasha Little graduated ECU with a degree in art. She is a member of the ECU Medical and Health Sciences Foundation and the president and CEO of Apogee Solutions Inc. In 2011, Dasha was recognized as an Incredible ECU Woman by ECU’s Women’s Roundtable.
T-shirts are distributed during recruitment week orientation in Wright Auditorium. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
The Littles’ gifts and scholarships emphasize leadership and require students to demonstrate leadership qualities in addition to academic prowess.
“We want students who want to stretch themselves and stand apart,” Kirk Little said. “We want them to leave ECU with more than a degree – with a life-changing experience.”
The Little Family Greek Life Suite joins the Alice Crawford Ballroom and the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Resource Center as named areas within the new Main Campus Student Center.
Gifts to the Student Center projects through the Division of Student Affairs count toward ECU’s campaign goals supporting scholarships, programming, student-learning opportunities, academic programs, and study abroad opportunities.
For more information contact the Office of Student Affairs Development at sadevelopment@ecu.edu.
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-by Erin Shaw, University Communications