Living the motto: Faculty, staff and students recognized for service
East Carolina University honored faculty, staff and students for living the university’s motto – Servire, to serve – during an event March 22 as part of Chancellor Cecil Staton’s installation week.
More than 100 members of the university community were honored at Harvey Hall; afterwards many of the group walked over to Clark-LeClair Baseball Stadium to see the Pirates take on the UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels.
“The honorees tonight represent the very best of our university. They are talented and engaged and committed to transforming our community, North Carolina and the world,” said Staton in his welcome to honorees and guests. “Service is among the hallmark characteristics of this university, and one that sets us apart.”
Dr. Glen Gilbert, dean of the College of Health and Human Performance, receives the James R. Talton Leadership Award from Chancellor Cecil Staton.
(Photos by Cliff Hollis)
Staton presented the first award of the event, the James R. Talton Leadership Award, to Dr. Glen Gilbert, dean of the College of Health and Human Performance.
The award for servant leadership is in honor of the outstanding life and work of James R. Talton Jr., a former chair of the ECU Board of Trustees and a lifelong Pirate.
A nomination letter said of Gilbert: “His philosophy of leadership helps every person feel as though his or her voice is important and his or her contributions are essential to the success of the team. Dean Gilbert is committed to many great initiatives throughout eastern North Carolina, but perhaps most impressive is his unwavering support for our country’s servicemen and women.”
Also recognized were recipients of diversity and inclusion awards, presented by the Office of Equity and Diversity. Recipients, who can be faculty, staff, students or teams, are engaged in meaningful diversity and inclusion activities in addition to or extending beyond their primary responsibility at the university.
Honored were faculty member Dr. Nicole Caswell, the director of the University Writing Center and assistant professor in the Department of English; staff member Mark Rasdorf, associate director for the LGBT Resource Office in Intercultural Affairs; senior art major Janae Brown; and the Department of Sociology in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences.
Students who have completed the State Employees Credit Union Public Service Fellows Internship program were recognized by Jama Dagenhart, executive director of the State Employees Credit Union Foundation.
The internships are a component of the larger Public Service Fellows program, led by Dr. Sharon Paynter, assistant vice chancellor for public service and community relations.
Recognized were Eva Gallardo, Lauren Barkand, Toni Abernathy, Ashley Cromie, Lucas Merriam, James Kidd, Damiere Powell, Alexis Everette, Lee Hodges, Andrew Strong, Taylor Nelson, Stephanie Minor, Hope Stuart, Connor Hoffman, Matthew Barrier, Andrew DiMeglio and Nelson Martinez-Borja.
The Centennial Award in the category of leadership recipients are Dr. Wendy Sharer, John Gill and Ernest Marshburn, from left.
The annual Centennial Awards for Excellence recognize contributors in each of the following four areas: Ambition, Leadership, Service and Spirit.
The recipients represent one staff member, one faculty member, and one other contributor —a member of the administration or an administrative team, a second staff member or a staff team, or a second faculty member or faculty team. Winners are selected from peer nominations and selection by the Centennial Awards for Excellence Selection Committee.
The team honored for ambition was the North Carolina Literary Review Staff: Margaret Bauer, Diane Rodman, Liza Wieland, Christy Hallberg and Randall Martoccia for innovation and commitment to “showcase the best … authors and scholars.”
Dr. Wendy Sharer was the faculty honoree in leadership for her transformative work leading ECU’s Quality Enhancement Plan, establishing the University Writing Center, founding a sophomore-level writing course and coordinating writing liaisons from disciplines across the university.
The staff honoree in leadership was John Gill, campus landscape architect, for his leadership in education and research, and leadership to the university and regional community in improving environmental quality.
The honoree in leadership for the “other” category was Ernest Marshburn for many years of institutional and public service with the Office of Research Development and as a volunteer in recreational boating safety.
Dr. Mary Jackson was the faculty honoree in the service category for her service in helping those who suffer from substance use disorders by enhancing the training program at ECU and working with military personnel who are trying to overcome their own addictions.
The Tedi Bear Child Advocacy Team was the team honoree for their service in providing a nationally recognized child advocacy center. The team members are Julie Gill, Ann Parsons, Cassandra Hawkins, Latoya Mobley, Katie Wood, Lauren Miller, Rebecca Yoder, Wendy Shouse, Mary Curry, Andora Hankerson, Melanie Meeks, Kelly Baxter, Kia Glosson, Lacy Hobgood, Coral Steffey and Matthew Ledoux.
This year’s staff recipient was Lori Lee for her undaunted commitment to ECU, her steadfast support for Faculty Senate, its officers and committees, and unparalleled dedication to ECU’s system of shared governance.
Employee Steven Asby was the final spirit award honoree in the “other” category for his unwavering support of the Pirate Nation, his volunteer work with student-athletes, and his commitment to first-generation students.
The Servire Society recognized 22 first-time inductees, 12 members were recognized for two to four years and 20 were honored for five to eight years of membership.
Each Servire Society member has contributed 100 or more hours of volunteer service – without compensation and outside his or her normal realm of duties – to the community at large within the previous year.
The students who have completed the State Employees Credit Union Public Fellows Internship were also recognized.
The following members of the ECU community were recognized Austin Allen, Crissa Allen, Mona Amin, Terah Archie, David Batie, Sheresa Blanchard, Craig Brown, Nicole Caswell, Lisa Compton, Sahil Dayal, Daniel Dickerson, Denise Donica, Lori Earls, Sylvia Escott Stump, Tina Mickey, Nicole Fox, Amy Frank, Sylvia Fuller, Lou Anna Hardee, Dawn Harrison, Archana Hegde, Jason Higginson, Jennifer Hodgson, Pamela Hopkins, Jakob Jensen, Plummer Jones, Andrea Kitta, Angela Lamson, Kim Larson, Janice Lewis, Huigang Liang, Aaron Lucier, Susan McCammon, Vivian Mott, Sandra Nobles, Patty Peebles, Annette Peery, Nancy Ray, April Reed, Leah Riddell, Jonelle Romero, Melanie Sartore, Lorie Sigmon, Robert Stagg, Jamie Williams, Marsha Tripp, Tracy Tuten, Deborah Tyndall, Garrett VanHoy, Sandra Warren, Bryan Wheeler, Courtney Williams, Yajiong Xue and Breyah Atkinson.
As he congratulated all of those recognized, Provost Ron Mitchelson said their service to the community and others “is a great testimony to a great university.”
He added, “So much of this work is quiet. I think it’s good for the university to shine a bright light on these efforts.”
-by Jeannine Manning Hutson, ECU News Services