EXTRAORDINARY DONATION
BB&T Leadership Center receives $5 million anonymous gift
Exterior of Bate Building on ECU’s campus, where the BB&T Center for Leadership Development is located. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
An extraordinary $5 million gift to East Carolina University from an anonymous organization will support leadership initiatives across the university. The gift was awarded Wednesday to the BB&T Center for Leadership Development, which has provided opportunities for leadership growth at ECU since 1983.
“Faculty and student leaders are made here with invaluable help from the BB&T Center for Leadership Development,” Chancellor Cecil Staton said. “This tremendous donation will help ensure leadership is truly a part of the university’s DNA, thereby enabling Pirates to lead in the community, the state and beyond in whatever capacities they wish to pursue.”
ECU, with the continued support of the BB&T Center, strives to ensure every student the opportunity to develop leadership skills and define his or her leadership philosophy. The goal of the BB&T Center is to effectively embed leadership development into all curriculums, with a focus on developing student leaders as a part of regular classroom instruction. The center has provided grants to colleges and schools across the university.
Successful initiatives include a four-course leadership component in the College of Business curriculum, implementation in the Brody School of Medicine of the LINC Program (Leaders in Innovative Care) required of all medical school students, and the Enhancing Leadership course of study each year for all students in the College of Nursing. The Honors College, with the center’s support, added a leadership internship at local nonprofits and an outreach engagement with local business and civic leaders. A leadership minor is now offered through the College of Arts and Sciences.
The center also provides opportunities for leadership development through several outstanding programs for faculty, including the BB&T Faculty Leadership Fellows Program, the BB&T Active Learning and Leadership program, and the Chancellor’s Leadership Academy.
By teaching faculty how to cultivate classroom leaders, students in turn learn the art of motivating, influencing and directing others. The 146 faculty members who have completed the programs have incorporated leadership development in 2,400 sections of close to 900 courses for over 40,500 students.
“The center is truly a unique aspect of the university and of the University of North Carolina higher education system; it fully supports our vision that ECU students will receive a great classroom education, practical problem-solving experience, and a better understanding of who they are as leaders,” said Dr. Steve Ballard, director of the BB&T Center for Leadership Development.
The $5 million gift is also a significant step toward ECU’s comprehensive fundraising campaign that now totals more than $200 million. Each gift ECU receives helps grow students into community-first leaders and change-makers driving transformation in North Carolina and beyond.