Board of Trustees elects officers for 2022-23
The East Carolina University Board of Trustees elected its slate of officers for 2022-23 during its meeting Thursday at the Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building. Scott Shook was elected chair, Jason Poole was elected vice chair and Cassie Burt was elected secretary. Ryan Bonnett, president of the ECU Student Government Association, was sworn in as an ex officio member of the board.
Bonnett, a senior biology major minoring in Hispanic studies, said he looks forward to the challenge of representing the interests and concerns of students as a member of the board.
ECU Chancellor Philip Rogers address the Board of Trustees. (Photos by Cliff Hollis)
“Whenever I’m in my office my door is wide open, and I tell students to come in and talk to me,” he said. “I want to hear the experiences and problems they have firsthand so I can come here and present those to you.”
The board also heard from Chancellor Philip Rogers, who outlined some of the challenges facing ECU and other higher education institutions, along with the steps ECU is taking to address them. Demographic changes and shifts in education delivery models present a long-term challenge in terms of enrollment, he said, and ECU is acting now to get ahead of those challenges by investing in modernization, scaling online learning, aligning talent and resources, updating marketing and branding efforts, bolstering discretionary financial aid resources, and refreshing the strategic enrollment plan.
“We’ve had many wins over the past year, and we’ll keep the momentum going by addressing outside environmental and demographic pressures like this one proactively as we prepare for the future together,” Rogers said.
Rogers also welcomed Dr. Robin Coger, who began her tenure this week as provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. Coger comes to ECU from North Carolina A&T State University, where she served as dean of the College of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering.
“She gets our mission. She understands eastern North Carolina,” Rogers said. “She brings a multidimensional approach to the work that she’ll be leading in academic affairs and, of course, she’s already hit the ground running, learning as much as she can about the culture and the academic programs and the people in this university, and we look forward to her leadership.”
In other business, the board:
- Approved updates to the university’s Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) policy and Employee Code of Conduct.
- Approved ECU Athletics naming opportunities.
- Approved tenure for Dr. Jerry Johnson of the College of Education and Dr. Amanda Muhammad of the College of Health and Human Performance.
- Approved political petitions for Rick Smiley and Randall Martoccia.
- Approved a contract extension for Head Baseball Coach Cliff Godwin.
The next regular meeting of the ECU Board of Trustees is scheduled for Sept. 15-16.
Ryan Bonnett, president of the ECU Student Government Association, is sworn in as an ex officio member of the ECU Board of Trustees.