ECU ‘Goes for the Gold’ in Homecoming 2008
East Carolina University will celebrate Homecoming 2008, Nov. 7 through Nov. 9.
Events planned by the East Carolina Alumni Association and other campus departments include an open house, awards ceremony, homecoming parade and tailgating before the ECU vs. Marshall University football game. The parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and will come down East Fifth Street.
A luncheon at the Mendenhall Student Center will kick off the weekend on Friday, Nov. 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Attendees will hear about plans to remodel the student center and other new projects taking place at ECU.
On Friday afternoon, visitors can take a bus tour of campus or attend ECU Classroom Experiences meant to take alumni back to their college days.
Gerald Prokopowicz, ECU history professor, will lead a discussion on his book, “Did Lincoln Own Slaves?: And Other Frequently Asked Questions about Abraham Lincoln” at 1 p.m. in Joyner Library.
Pat Dunn, mayor of Greenville and a 1958 ECU graduate and professor emeritus, will speak on her vision for the city and the revitalization of uptown Greenville at 2:15 p.m. in Joyner Library. ECU archivists will discuss how University Archives and Special Collections preserve ECU’s history at 2:15 p.m. in Joyner Library.
Lt. General Gary North, a 1976 graduate of ECU and Commander, 9th Air Force and U.S. Central Command Air Forces, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., will present a special guest lecture at 2:15 p.m., in the Mendenhall Student Center.
At 6 p.m. on Friday, alumni are invited to a cocktail reception at the Hilton Greenville to honor this year’s recipients of the Outstanding Alumni, Honorary Alumni and Distinguished Service awards. A ceremony and dinner will follow.
On Saturday, the Alumni Center on Fifth Street is hosting an open house with complimentary breakfast from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for all ECU alumni and friends. The Homecoming Parade will make its way down Fifth Street from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This year’s floats will embody the Homecoming Theme, “ECU Goes for the Gold.”
A Homecoming Alumni Tailgate will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, at Gate 1 outside Minges Coliseum.
More information about activities can be found online, http://www.piratealumni.com/homecoming, or by calling the association at 328-6072.
Individual colleges and campus groups have special events planned for Homecoming weekend. College and school homecoming events are as follows:
Division of Health Sciences
• The Brody School of Medicine Alumni Society will be hosting a homecoming pre-game barbecue and social Nov. 8. All students and alumni and their families are invited. Dr. Paul R.G. Cunningham, dean of the school of medicine, and Dr. Phyllis Horns, interim vice chancellor of the health sciences division, will be there. The tailgate will begin at noon at Bunting Field. For more information, visit http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/mhsfoundation/alumni.cfm.
• The College of Allied Health Sciences will honor 40 outstanding students in celebration of its 40th anniversary. Last year, the college honored 40 distinguished alumni as part of the anniversary. A “Welcome Home” reception will be held 8-8:30 a.m., Nov. 8, in the allied health sciences lobby of the Health Sciences Building. Departmental visits and tours will be held 8:30-9:30 a.m. and a brunch buffet and awards ceremony for the students will be held 10-11:30 a.m. in the former library on the first floor of the Brody School of Medicine. The distinguished alumni will present the awards to the students. For more information, log onto www.ecu.edu/ah.
The College of Nursing will honor the inaugural inductees to the new Golden Lamp Society as 2008 Distinguished Alumni