ECU Alumni Association to recognize 2019 award winners
The East Carolina University Alumni Association will recognize four alumni and two honorary Pirates at its annual alumni awards ceremony on Friday, Oct. 25.
The awards recognize alumni and friends of the university who have demonstrated outstanding merit and achievement, distinguished themselves as leaders for the university, and adopted ECU as their own.
“Spanning the classes of 1974 to 2013, this year’s awardees include those who have served ECU selflessly in order to improve the general welfare of this great university. Through their time, effort and financial support, they have shown the incredible impact alumni and friends can have on their alma mater. We feel privileged to call them Pirates and are thrilled to recognize them for their excellence,” said Scott Francis, associate vice chancellor for alumni relations.
The recipients will be honored at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Greenville Convention Center. The media is invited to attend.
The event will take place prior to ECU’s homecoming football game against the University of South Florida on Oct. 26. The honorees will be recognized on the field during the game.
2019 Alumni Award Recipients
Virgil Clark ’50 Distinguished Service Award
Robert Brinkley
Robert Brinkley ’78 is an accounting graduate from the College of Business and earned a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1981. He is a partner with the law firm Womble Bond Dickinson, and for over 20 years has been selected by his peers as one of the “Best Lawyers in America.” While at ECU, Brinkley was a four-year varsity letter winner on the baseball team. His leadership roles include serving on the ECU Board of Visitors, the Board of Directors of the ECU Foundation, and the ECU Board of Trustees, including one year as vice chairman and two years as chairman. He continues to serve ECU as a member of the Honors College Advancement Council and has been recognized with two ECU Foundation awards, theChairman’s Award for Outstanding Service and the Advancement Award. Brinkley lives in Charlotte with his wife, Amy.
Wanda Montano
Wanda Montano ’74 of Greenville holds a social work degree from the College of Health and Human Performance. She is the president of Undaunted Vision, LLC, a business consulting and coaching company. Montano serves on the Board of Visitors, is the chair of the Health and Human Performance Advancement Council, and is a member of the Chancellor’s Society and the Leo Jenkins Society. She also gives to the ECU Foundation, Pirate Club, Medical and Health Sciences Foundation, and the alumni association. She recently established the Wanda Montano Scholarship Endowment for Leadership Excellence.
James Mullen
James Mullen ’74, ’80 earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences and his master’s in rehabilitation counseling from the College of Allied Health. He is a founding member of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Advancement Council and is a past chair. After a successful career in rehabilitation, Mullen returned to ECU as the director for employment and clinical services. He was later appointed as the assistant vice chancellor for human resources, a position he held until his retirement in 2010. Mullen currently serves on the ECU Foundation Board of Directors and holds membership in many of the university’s philanthropic societies. Mullen lives in Greenville with his wife, Pam. Together they established the Jim and Pam Mullen Study Abroad Scholarship for Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences.
Young Alumni Award
Lauren Patterson
Lauren Patterson ’11, ’13 of Cary earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in special education from ECU’s College of Education. When she was a freshman at ECU, Patterson always talked about becoming a teacher. She is now a valued educator at White Oak Elementary School in Apex, where she teaches special education for grades 3-5. Patterson serves as her school’s department chair for special education, is on the School Improvement Team, led the school’s One Book, One School campaign, and mentors new teachers in her spare time. Her commitment and passion was recognized when she was named White Oak Teacher of the Year in 2016. Patterson is now getting a master’s degree in school administration at ECU.
Honorary Alumni Award
Christa Reiser
Christa Reiser has served the university in a number of roles during her tenure at ECU as a sociology professor focusing on gender, family and social psychology. She was co-director of the women’s studies department, where she was instrumental in establishing programs and events highlighting issues important to women and families. Under Reiser’s leadership, women’s studies brought major feminist scholars to campus and established the first Women of Distinction Award in 2006, which continues today under the Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Women. Reiser, even after retirement, maintains an enthusiastic relationship with the university. In recent years, she developed new courses on the sociology of emotions and animals and society. Reiser and her husband, Ken Wilson, established endowed scholarships for students in sociology.
Ken Wilson (posthumous)
Ken Wilson enjoyed a 44-year career at ECU teaching sociology. During his career, Wilson worked to help establish ECU’s Survey Research Lab, now the Center for Survey Research. He also directed the Community Research Laboratory and served as chair of the ECU Faculty from 1985 to 1987. He was ECU’s representative to the UNC Faculty Assembly from 1987 to 1993, and chair of the UNC Faculty Assembly from 1991 to 1993. Wilson also served as faculty advisor for Alpha Kappa Delta, the international sociology honor society, for 40 years.
Visit www.piratealumni.com for more information about the ECU Alumni Awards.
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