LEGACY HALL

Board approves Legacy Hall, new School of Entrepreneurship

The East Carolina University Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename Building 71, formerly Aycock Residence Hall, as Legacy Hall during its regularly scheduled meeting Friday, Feb. 19. The motion came from the trustees’ Athletics and Advancement Committee.

“This would enable us to recognize the traditions and contributions handed down from the past, while at the same time promoting our motto to serve the greater community in an ongoing manner,” wrote Bill McCartney, associate vice chancellor for Campus Living, in his written proposal for Legacy Residence Hall. “This is an inclusive and celebrated word which reaches all cultures, beliefs, socio-economic levels and disciplines and will not be one that will ever need to be changed again.”

It was noted during the committee meeting that the Board of Trustees as well as faculty, staff and students had input on possible names for the residence hall, which was built in 1960.

Trustees Chairman Steve Jones (left) speaks with vice-chair Kieran Shanahan during Friday’s meeting.

At the request of students and others, the board began discussions in 2014 about renaming Aycock residence hall, which honored former Governor Charles B. Aycock whose tenure at the turn of the century has been associated with white supremacy campaigns.

In late December 2015, ECU Facilities Services staff members removed the lettering and signage designating the building Aycock Residence Hall. Since late December, the building has been referred to by its campus building inventory number, 71.

During its September 2015 meeting, the board voted to transition the name from Aycock once 60 percent of the cost to create Heritage Hall had been raised. The hall will be a permanent place to recognize people of historical significance to the university, including Aycock. The eventual Heritage Hall is intended to occupy both a physical space in a new Student Services Center as well as virtual space in a website that’s being designed and developed now.

On Dec. 3, 2015, University Advancement staff reported that the initial fundraising goal for the cost of Heritage Hall had been met. Advancement staff reported that $300,000 has been pledged toward the estimated total cost of $500,000 to develop Heritage Hall on campus.

Additionally, trustees approved the establishment of the School of Entrepreneurship, a new academic unit within the College of Business. “We envision this as a destination program for ECU,” said Dr. Stan Eakins, dean of the School of Business. The request will now go before the UNC Board of Governors. The school was made possible thanks to a generous $5 million commitment from Raleigh businessman J. Fielding Miller and his wife, Kim Grice Miller.

In other business, trustees:

• Heard a presentation during Thursday’s Health Sciences Committee meeting from Dr. Sylvia Brown, dean of the College of Nursing, regarding how ECU is partnering with Vidant Health and community colleges to address a nationwide nursing shortage. Brown emphasized that maintaining the quality of their programs is as important as increasing the quantity of nurses, and reported that her team continues to increase online options and rely on partnerships to bolster the flow of new nurses for North Carolina. The college graduates more new nurses than any other university in the state and boasted a first-time licensure exam pass rate of 98 percent in the 2015 calendar year.
• Heard remarks from new ECU head football coach, Scottie Montgomery, on his efforts to help the team grow into young men who succeed in academics and athletics.
• Discussed the master plan for athletic facilities, which included information about the renovations to the south side of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Concept development for the renovations is advancing and fundraising will begin immediately.
• Approved the sale of a parcel of ECU property located at 210 E. Fourth St. for the construction of a new hotel that will house ECU alumni offices and meeting space. The sale of the parcel is contingent upon a finalized operating agreement between the buyer and the East Carolina Alumni Association, as well as approval by the trustees and the UNC Board of Governors. The association will purchase its space with private funds.
• Approved the purchase of a building at 209 E. Fifth St. from Green Town Properties, Inc. The two-story building will be renovated into university office space. The purchase is part of a joint effort between ECU and the City of Greenville to increase the safety and productivity of the downtown business area.
• Approved new travel reimbursement guidelines for board members.
• Received preliminary information regarding the ongoing faculty salary study.
• Selected Greenville firm MHA Works to design renovations for Greene Residence Hall, a 10-story building constructed in 1966. It is the last of three high-rise dorms in the West End campus neighborhood receiving renovations. The project will bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and renovations will include a remodel of the lobby, relocating laundry facilities to the ground floor and improvements to the bathrooms, study rooms and exterior. The project has two phases: bathroom renovations from May to July 2017 and remaining renovations from January to August 2018.

— Jackie Drake contributed to this story

Below, Chancellor Steve Ballard updates trustees on recent university accomplishments.