CALLING IN

Trustees discuss pandemic response, confer degrees

Published Apr 03, 2020 by
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Grant Hayes, acting provost, provided an update on the status of academic programming. (ECU file photo)

The East Carolina University Board of Trustees met by video conference Thursday and Friday for its regular meeting to receive updates on university business.

Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson presented an overview of the impact of COVID-19 on university operations, from classes and residence halls to athletics and finances. He commended the students for their resilience and the faculty and staff for their work in supporting the mission of the university as it adapts to a rapidly changing situation.

The board also received updates from David Powers of the UNC Board of Governors, the Faculty Senate, the Staff Senate and the student body. Colin Johnson, who serves on the board as president of the Student Government Association, introduced Tucker Robbins, SGA president-elect, who will serve on the BOT for the next year.

As the student body representative on the board, Johnson also made the motion to approve the conferral of degrees for ECU’s spring 2020 graduates, who will be honored with a virtual ceremony in May. The motion to confer 3,860 undergraduate and 1,201 graduate and doctoral degrees for the Class of 2020 was unanimously approved.

Vern Davenport, BOT chair, told the board that the timeline for the chancellor search process has been adjusted and remains uncertain due to the impact of COVID-19 and related restrictions. “We have effectively paused the process at the moment when we were about to present the candidate pool to the search committee,” he said.

The board also approved a resolution recognizing ECU’s faculty, staff, students and alumni for their efforts and perseverance during the current public health crisis.

A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

WHEREAS, the ECU Board of Trustees (“Board”) recognizes the role that ECU plays in the education, health and well-being of eastern North Carolina and the state; and

WHEREAS, the Board acknowledges and celebrates the pure Pirate Spirit of the students, faculty and staff of East Carolina University; and

WHEREAS, the Board thanks the faculty for their incredible commitment to student success by transitioning to distance and online learning platforms in less than two weeks, and doing so with positivity and high morale, and

WHEREAS, the Board recognizes the faculty and staff of the Division of Health Sciences for their commitment to develop learners and community leaders to fulfill the  healthcare workforce needs of the state and for their tireless efforts to provide healthcare services to the people of eastern North Carolina especially during this public health crisis, and

WHEREAS, Leo Jenkins’ vision for the Brody School of Medicine has never paid more dividends than today in the midst of this pandemic; and

WHEREAS, in two weeks, ECU Physicians transformed the existing health care delivery system to a  new system of virtual care platforms including telephone visits, telehealth visits, new triage algorithms, testing and PPE protocols, central testing locations and many others, all in the midst of looming manpower challenges due to childcare issues and personal health concerns.

WHEREAS, the School of Dental Medicine continues to operate emergency dental clinics in Greenville and all over the state in its Community Service Learning Centers in an effort to conserve Emergency Department resources, and

WHEREAS, ECU and Vidant are partnering to design and implement a seamless and nimble system of care to respond to the everchanging and unpredictable healthcare landscape resulting from this pandemic, and

WHEREAS, the Board expresses its immense gratitude to Pirate Health Care Professionals around the world who are on the frontlines of the fight against this pandemic.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees commends the faculty, staff, students and alumni of East Carolina University for their immeasurable resiliency and demonstrated leadership, and the Brody School of Medicine and School of Dental Medicine’s for their unwavering commitment to the people of the State of North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Adopted this the 3rd day of April, 2020.

On Thursday, Dr. Mark Stacy, dean of the Brody School of Medicine and ECU’s vice chancellor for health sciences, gave the Health Sciences Committee an update on finances and discussed the “mountains of cooperation and work” that has occurred across the university, along with ECU Physicians and Vidant Health during the past several weeks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think all of our centuries of dealing with storms in eastern North Carolina teaches us how to be at our best during these peak load times, and we have the biggest peak load time in our history coming,” Stacy said.

Dr. Jason Foltz, chief medical officer of ECU Physicians, then gave the committee a brief overview of how ECU Physicians reengineered its ambulatory space over the last several weeks in preparation for the local impact of COVID-19.

These steps included:

  • Rolling out an enhanced telehealth presence.
  • Developing a physician-directed, central testing site for symptomatic patients.
  • Ramping up screening procedures at the front doors of clinics.
  • Ensuring staff has the proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

“Our main goal through all of this is to be as open as possible so that we can prevent patients from seeking unnecessary care through the emergency room and really save that precious resource for our patients who need to head that way,” Foltz said.

In other business:

  • The board approved the removal of the designation as a UNC System Center for the Center for Applied Psychophysiology and the Pediatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center. The work of these centers will continue under the umbrellas of other labs and institutes.
  • The board approved the renewal of the lease of the Vidant Neurosurgery facility located at 2325 Stantonsburg Road.
  • During the Athletics and Advancement Committee meeting, Athletics Director Jon Gilbert said the priority deadline for football season tickets will be extended from May 1 to a later date. He added there is no indication at this time that the football season will be delayed.
  • Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Chris Dyba provided a fiscal year fundraising update. He reported that as of March 1, the university has raised $32.2 million. Of that total, east campus has raised $18.4 million, west campus has raised $5.5 million and athletics has raised $8.2 million. He anticipates the pandemic will negatively affect fundraising.
  • The board approved the appointment of eight new members and the reappointment of seven current members of the ECU Board of Visitors.
  • The Finance and Facilities Committee discussed an expected decline in tuition revenue with classes moving to 100% distance education for the summer. ECU is following guidelines from the UNC system and will be issuing prorated refunds for housing and dining for the spring semester; specific direction is expected soon.
  • Officials received an update on planned or ongoing construction projects on campus, including the $90 million life sciences and biotechnology building; a $6 million Phase 1 renovation to the Mendenhall Student Center building; a new ECU Innovation Hub to be located in the Wright Building; College Hill Drive steam project; Uptown 209, which has been occupied by the Division of Research, Economic Development and Engagement; main campus steam plant fuel tank farm construction; Legacy and Jones residence hall air quality improvements; and replacing main campus condensate lines. Additionally, MHAworks was selected as the designer for elevator updates for Clement and White residence halls. All timelines remain on target.
  • Acting Provost Grant Hayes reported to the University Affairs Committee that ECU has received a record number of freshman applications, but enrollment deposits are down due to the pandemic. Counselors are reaching out to prospective students, and communication plans have been developed to encourage enrollment.
  • Virginia Hardy, vice chancellor of student affairs, told the University Affairs Committee that 31 students remain on campus and have been moved to one central residence hall. The call center fielded more than 2,100 calls in the 13 days it was open. The counseling center has moved to teletherapy to provide resources to students and since that move has had 560 contacts with more than 400 unique clients.

The next regular meeting of the ECU Board of Trustees is scheduled for July 9-10.