Board of Trustees elects officers for 2024-25
The East Carolina University Board of Trustees held its summer meeting at the Coastal Studies Institute on the ECU Outer Banks Campus in Wanchese Aug. 1. In the one-day meeting, Jason Poole was re-elected chair, Cassie Burt was elected vice chair and Dave Fussell was elected secretary. Anderson Ward, president of the ECU Student Government Association, was sworn in as an ex officio member of the board.
Anderson Ward, president of the ECU Student Government Association, is sworn in as an ex officio member of the ECU Board of Trustees.
In his remarks to the board, Chancellor Philip Rogers highlighted the applied learning opportunities the Coastal Studies Institute provides.
“We often discuss the importance of applied learning as part of the educational journey, and here, access to such transformational experiences abound,” Rogers said. “Undergraduate students have opportunities to spend the semester at the coast and participate in field-based experiences. Graduate students pursuing a doctorate in integrated coastal sciences have this beautiful setting to learn more about complex coastal systems. And through guided tours, the community learns and engages with us as well.”
The Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) is home to a variety of research opportunities including renewable ocean energy, marine and coastal resource management and conservation, oceanographic and coastal processes, coastal engineering, and the interaction across coasts and people.
“This facility exists because visionary leaders understood the intersection of education, research and community,” Rogers said. “The CSI Board of Directors, educators and researchers, and our students invest their time and talents in giving life to that vision. ECU was selected to lead the efforts at CSI because of our excellence in this space and natural connections to the region.”
As part of his remarks, Rogers informed the board that following a successful inaugural event in 2023, University Day is scheduled to return on Aug. 29 in the Main Campus Student Center.
ECU students Paige Day and Heath Faircloth tell board members about their experience at the ECU Outer Banks Campus.
In his report, Ward highlighted a collaboration between SGA and Campus Living to enhance accessibility to mental health services. Students living in residence halls will find magnets on the refrigerator with phone numbers for mental health resources. An ongoing initiative for Ward and his administration is increasing the number of meals donated through the Swipe out Hunger initiative. SGA members met with ECU Dining Services staff to develop marketing strategies and logistics with the hope of increasing donations.
“I want to ensure that our resources have a positive impact on as many students as possible,” Ward said. “I am excited to introduce new ideas to our university while also maintaining those that have had a positive impact on the student body.”
Thursday’s meeting was the first for ECU’s new SGA president, a business marketing major from Raleigh. Ward has been involved in SGA since his sophomore year, having served as a College of Business representative as well as the director of marketing communications for 2022-23 SGA president Ryan Bonnett. Ward also has been president of Kappa Alpha fraternity. His older brother, Chandler, served as SGA president during the 2021-22 school year.
In other business, the board:
- Approved multiple namings in athletics and Main Campus.
- Approved tenure for Dr. Keith Keene in the College of Arts and Sciences and Dr. Zhili (Jerry) Gao in the College of Engineering and Technology.
- Approved a contract amendment for ECU Head Baseball Coach Cliff Godwin.
- Plans were discussed for renovations to the crawlspace of Todd Dining Hall and for seating and audio/visual upgrades for a classroom in the College of Nursing.
After adjournment, board members were given a building and boat tour by Dr. Reide Corbett, executive director of the Coastal Studies Institute and dean of Integrated Coastal Programs, and John McCord, associate director of outreach and education. They heard from undergraduate students Paige Day and Heath Faircloth as well as graduate student Jacquelyn Moore and participated in a hands-on lab activity in which they designed wave energy generation devices.
The next regular meeting of the ECU Board of Trustees is scheduled for Sept. 26-27.