BOT ELECTS OFFICERS
The East Carolina University Board of Trustees elected its slate of officers for 2020-21 during its regular July meeting on Thursday.
The board met via video conference due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson is shown in a screenshot during the Board of Trustees virtual meeting on Thursday.
During the meeting, trustees also heard updates on the return to campus, the budget and enrollment for the fall, and heard comments related to race relations.
Vern Davenport was re-elected as chair of the board, with Fielding Miller selected as vice chair and Vincent Smith as secretary.
After the unanimous vote, Davenport listed some of his priorities, such as a new building for the Brody School of Medicine, the hiring of a permanent chancellor, economic development of the region and the safety of students, faculty and staff as it relates to the coronavirus pandemic.
“There’s a lot for us to do, and I’m honored to be working with each of you,” he told trustees.
Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson focused on two topics in his comments to trustees — racism and the pandemic.
Mitchelson called racism evil and said the university would be at the forefront of change, including a requirement to include racism and racial equality as a public health issue in the Health 1000 course curriculum.
“We will listen, we will learn and we will lead action,” he said.
As for the pandemic, he outlined measures the university has taken in an effort to maintain safety, such as block scheduling, an adjusted academic calendar and face covering requirements.
“In summary, our return to fall semester will be unlike any we have had in our 113-year history,” Mitchelson said. “We will be challenged deeply as individuals and as an institution. But, this is what I know — Pirates will meet the challenges head on, and we will be a stronger university because we are willing to do so.”
During the meeting, the board approved a contract extension for head baseball coach Cliff Godwin and also approved a resolution introduced by Jason Poole that “commends and supports the leadership” of Mitchelson and Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert and notes that recent decisions concerning ECU Athletics are final.
Throughout the day, the board’s various committees met.
In the university affairs committee meeting:
- Members received updates on fall enrollment and the university’s Return of Pirate Nation Plans for classes, housing, dining, transit and student activities were outlined, all with social distancing and other health-related precautions in mind. Among those, dining halls and buses will have reduced seating capacity due to social distancing, and an app will be available for ordering food in advance from some on-campus eateries.
- ECU has received the largest number of freshmen applications in the university’s history at 22,500, said Acting Provost Grant Hayes. He expects enrollment to be down only 1% from last year despite the challenges created by the pandemic. Retention is up from last year, while transfer admissions are down. Graduate enrollment is up 6% compared to last year. “The numbers show that ECU continues to be a very attractive destination,” Hayes said.
- Housing is almost at capacity with more than 5,500 contracts signed so far, said Virginia Hardy, vice chancellor of student affairs.
In the athletics and advancement committee meeting:
- Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Chris Dyba reminded members that trustees have the authority to name or rename buildings on campus. Dyba also provided a fundraising update. For the most recent fiscal year, the university raised $23 million for east campus and $7.5 million for west campus. He added that the university had a very successful day of giving in June, raising $3.1 million.
- Gilbert said that there are still many uncertainties surrounding football games, but it is likely there will be capacity restrictions at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, perhaps 50% to 25% or less. He said the department does not anticipate selling single-game tickets and plans to accommodate season ticket holders and students first.
- Gilbert added that 270 student athletes, coaches and staff have been tested for COVID-19 and 16 tested positive. While most are asymptomatic, they will self-isolate and receive daily monitoring from ECU Athletics medical staff, he said.
- Regarding finances, Gilbert said the athletics department will continue to implement a permanent and temporary expenses reduction plan, including furloughs. Furloughs of the entire department for five days will save $300,000, but more are possible, he said.
- Finally, the committee approved new officers for the ECU Board of Visitors: Chair Linda Hofler, Vice Chair Wanda Montano and Secretary Shirley Carraway. The full board later voted to approve the officers.
During the finance and facilities committee meeting:
- Trustees were told of anticipated increases in expenses in the fall semester due to the coronavirus, but the university did receive about $14 million in federal and state aid to help offset coronavirus related expenses.
- The new Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building is about 45% complete. Though the pandemic and weather have caused some construction delays, the building is expected to be completed on time by July 2021, with opening set for Sept. 1, 2021.
- ECU Police Chief Jon Barnwell told committee members that the department is already meeting standards of the 8 Can’t Wait campaign, including a ban on chokeholds, has strengthened its duty to intervene policy and will be bringing in professionals for additional emotional intelligence training to help with situational de-escalation.
During the health sciences committee meeting:
- Mark Stacy, dean of the Brody School of Medicine and ECU’s vice chancellor for health sciences, gave an update on the division’s operational finances, which started the year strongly but were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, an increased number of patients are beginning to schedule routine procedures again, Stacy said, which should have a positive impact on finances in the months ahead.
- Stacy also discussed the number of students who have returned to clinical spaces and the importance of keeping that education going despite what happens elsewhere in the university or community related to COVID-19 safety measures. Data has proven that health care professionals and students have been less likely to be affected by the novel coronavirus while in clinical areas, Stacy said, because they practice the necessary precautions of wearing personal protective equipment and of washing hands regularly.
- Stacy asked everyone to remain vigilant in the fight against COVID-19 by committing to always wearing a mask and being diligent at all times. “We have to set examples for our patients, for our students, for our staff and for the community,” Stacy said.
- Paul Bolin Jr., Brody’s chair of internal medicine, and Dr. Paul Cook, chief the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brody, gave the committee a summary of the promising COVID-19 related clinical investigations and trials that are underway at ECU and Vidant Health.
In the audit, risk management, compliance and ethics committee, members approved the annual audit plan for fiscal year 2021.
The next regular meeting of the ECU Board of Trustees is scheduled for Sept. 10-11.