SERVICE-MINDED PIRATES

2020 Treasured Pirates honored in virtual ceremony

East Carolina University recognized 26 service-minded faculty and staff members who were named 2020 Treasured Pirates during a virtual ceremony on Dec. 2.

“2020 has certainly thrown numerous challenges our way, but I am very excited to get the opportunity to start the last month of the year taking some time to recognize these Treasured Pirates,” said Justin Yeaman, director of learning and organizational development who served as master of ceremonies.

2020 TREASURED PIRATES

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Academic Affairs

Rachel Gaskins, in her first six months after being promoted to coordinator in the ECU Proctoring Center, saved the department $11,000 by implementing a staffing operations model. At the time of her nomination, the center was on track to save an additional $13,850 in the spring semester while expanding the number of hours the center is open to students.

As president of Joyner Library’s State Human Resources Act employee committee, Andrew Grace set a goal of 500 volunteer hours of community service for library staff, who volunteered at several places including the local food bank and Sheppard Memorial Library’s annual book sale. As co-chair of the library’s paraprofessional conference, Grace’s efforts helped attract more than 150 attendees, the largest number in recent history.

Teaching instructor Rose Haddock helps coordinate internship opportunities for undergraduate students in the public health program in the Department of Health Education and Promotion in the College of Health and Human Performance. According to her nomination, she is the internship expert, mentoring all students during this pivotal point in their college careers.

Greg Harris created a dashboard using data visualization to show undergraduate admission trends. The dashboard replaced reports that were difficult to interpret, allowing for greater information and insight. He has helped to make ECU a leader in the UNC System in providing campus constituencies the data resources they need for business operations and decision-making.

Rachel Gaskins

Greg Harris

Rose Haddock

Cui Meadows

Pamela Hopkins, director of ECU’s Speech Communication Center, worked with ECU Physicians to improve patient satisfaction. Outside of her regular duties, she shadowed health care workers, providing accolades or coaching where communication could be improved. Under her guidance, the practice increased its physician communication score by almost 7% and its staff communication score by almost 21%.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Cui Meadows in the School of Communication began producing a bilingual podcast reading classic children’s stories to kids in China. She translates the stories to Chinese and provides commentary on the vocabularies and contexts of the stories. At the time of her nomination, the latest story attracted more than 300 listeners, and the number continues to grow.

Amy Waters consistently offers support or a kind word by boosting morale in the Office for Equity and Diversity, where she helps recruit a diverse workforce to ECU. For example, when she noticed that one of her coworkers was overwhelmed with her workload, she arranged a surprise break time to recharge with others in the department.

In her first six months after being promoted coordinator, Rachel Gaskins helped ECU’s Proctoring Center, pictured here, save money while expanding the hours the center is open for students. (File photo taken pre-COVID-19)

Pamela Hopkins during a 2015 training. Hopkins, director of ECU’s Speech Communication Center, worked with ECU Physicians to improve patient satisfaction. (File photo taken pre-COVID-19)

Administration and Finance

Jason Beasley, support services associate in the ECU medical storeroom, has been the primary contact for all urgent requests for personal protective equipment during the COVID crisis. He has worked diligently to keep an inventory of masks, gowns, face shields, gloves and hand sanitizer, while answering numerous daily emails about supplies. Beasley’s work has not only impacted ECU, but also the health and well-being of the citizens of eastern North Carolina.

When a faculty member noticed a student scored poorly on a test, she learned the student hadn’t been able to access the course content because she lived in a rural area with poor internet and cellphone service. The faculty member contacted tech support specialist Allen Dennis, who within a couple of hours converted the audio on all course presentations to podcasts and posted them to a link for students to easily access regardless of internet service challenges.
Vicky Grimes’ work ethic exemplifies what it means to be a hard-working, dedicated employee. According to her nomination, she is meticulous yet efficient in her housekeeping duties, continually going above and beyond to ensure that her area of responsibility is the benchmark of cleanliness and organization. She’s an outstanding role model of motivation and dedication to anyone she encounters.

Accounting manager Steven G. Hopper has made processing reimbursements for employees a more efficient and effective process through a new system. He motivates and encourages his colleagues to be better and do better, while recognizing their strengths and knowledge. His team approach and openness has motivated the department to fulfill its potential.

The buck stops with Darius Smith at ECU’s Help Desk. According to his nomination, he goes above and beyond to help customers with technical issues and general questions, even when the customer may be frustrated or angry. Patience is a virtue, and Smith has a surplus of it.

Athletics

Brandon Smith is a problem solver who works long hours to make the fan game day experience a joy. When the Jumbotron was installed in the football stadium, he immediately recognized the need for live game stats. When fans asked why the audio from different promotions and commercials sounded uneven, he worked to fix them. When player introductions needed to be produced, he made them.

Health Sciences

Martha Dartt has served more than 30 years with dedication, determination and patience. She is the primary go-to person for Brody School of Medicine and ECU Physicians nursing and clinical operations, providing insight about population health and quality initiatives. Her reputation for getting things done and her knowledge of ECU policies and procedures are continually relied on by all in the organization.

Melissa Eakes used her own time and funds to bake and deliver trays of homemade goodies for all ECU Physicians clinics every other week. In addition to showing her appreciation for the workers on the front lines of the COVID pandemic, she wanted to teach her son, Grayson, how important it is to thank others.

Alan Gindoff in the College of Allied Health Sciences supports students and employees to help better their careers and meet their ambitions. He continually keeps the pulse of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies to make sure everyone is doing well to make the team successful. He recognizes that every employee contributes to the success of the department and does his best to promote a positive environment where students, faculty and staff can flourish.

Along with his regular duties overseeing pharmacy, lab and imaging services as the director of ancillary services for ECU Physicians and the Brody School of Medicine, J. Todd Jackson volunteered his free time during the pandemic to help manufacture hand sanitizer for the university and surrounding communities. He compounded the first batches then taught distillery employees how to accurately mix the ingredients to make hand sanitizer on their own.

Tiffany Johnson volunteered to coordinate, organize and improve workflow for ECU’s dental clinic in Elizabeth City. She established a supply organization strategy, researched and streamlined the process and was able to troubleshoot a malfunctioning piece of equipment. Repairing instead of replacing the equipment saved more than $3,000.

Martha Dartt

J. Todd Jackson

Alan Gindoff

Greg Kearney

Greg Kearney has been with the Doctor of Public Health program since its inception. He recruited the first class in 2018. He led efforts to obtain initial accreditation for the program, which was an extensive and time-consuming process involving a self-study, site visit and reports, all of which led to the program’s full accreditation this spring.

Erica Maine is committed to supporting children with developmental delays through her work at the Children’s Developmental Services Agency. Outside her regular duties, Maine coordinated the coaching plan for the agency and its providers. She actively serves with a community group calling for Pitt County to work with families from a trauma-informed perspective. She also works closely with ECU’s child life department to introduce the early intervention model and supervises a student each semester at the agency.

Gene Self, business services coordinator at ECU’s Community Service Learning Center in Spruce Pine, was recognized for his leadership, team building and dedication to coworkers and dental patients. From leaving Snickers and Post-it notes of encouragement for staff to comforting elderly patients about payment issues, the center is a great place to work — largely because of Self.

Allen Watkins helped establish the project management office for Brody School of Medicine and ECU Physicians, creating a dashboard to track projects for bottlenecks and progress. His attention to detail, willingness to work long hours, customer focus and professionalism are invaluable. He’s led many critical projects including the development of the online virtual health program and the replacement of more than 500 older computers to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of ECU Physicians.

Debbie Whitley, financial controller in Brody’s student affairs office, is a steadfast steward of university funds. She ensures that students have a positive experience when working with or seeking advice or resources from the university through her excellent customer service skills and uncanny ability to remember and relate to students, faculty and staff.

Research, Economic Development and Engagement

Moving a division from one building to a new one is challenging but Becky Gardner excelled in coordinating with multiple teams on campus as well as external vendors to ensure that the division’s move to its Fifth Street location was timely and smooth.

Student Affairs

Karen Franklin, event coordinator for ECU Career Services, co-supervises the center’s front desk office assistants, who are the first point of contact with students, faculty, staff, families, employers and the community. Franklin manages the day-to-day desk operations, oversees timecards, manages student schedules and encourages professional growth. She has improved customer satisfaction and contributed to the success of career services and numerous university-wide events.

Mark Rasdorf saw the need to expand Safe Zone training to K-12 educators. The training gives people an opportunity to talk, learn and ask questions about sexuality and gender in a non-judgmental and safe educational environment. The goal is to create a network of allies who are willing to talk with students about sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. The first training last fall attracted more than 60 educators from eastern North Carolina.

Karen Franklin

Mark Rasdorf

Jason Beasley was named a Treasured Pirate for his work to keep supplies of personal protective equipment — like the mask shown here — available in the ECU medical storeroom during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)

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