Laura Marie Leary Elliott ’66 (above), the first African American to graduate from East Carolina, spent a day on campus in October participating in an oral history project mounted by the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center and the ECU Office of Institutional Diversity. As a Greenville high school student in 1962, she was picked by Leo Jenkins and Dr. Andrew Best, Greenville’s first black doctor, as the centerpiece of their quiet plan to peacefully integrate the campus. Shortly before that time, Jenkins succeeded in amending the school charter to drop the word “white” from the description of its students. Ms. Elliott, who lives in suburban Washington, D.C., retired from the U.S. Treasury Department after a long career in government service. She visited with students in an African American Studies class and was feted at an honors event at the student center. Learn more about ECU’s African American Studies program by clicking here.




NIH grant funds
kidney research
Funded by a $1.6 million grant, an East Carolina researcher is studying a protein that might hold a key to reducing high blood pressure and improving kidney function in people with kidney disease. Dr. Yan-Hua Chen (above), an associate professor of anatomy and cell biology at the Brody School of Medicine, has received the five-year grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to study the function of claudin-7, a protein that makes up part of the barrier that controls the flow of molecules between cells.

Chen’s preliminary research has shown that claudin-7 interacts with an enzyme called WNK4 kinase and forms a pathway for chloride ions to enter the bloodstream. Interaction of claudin-7 with a mutated version of WNK-4 may lead to high blood pressure. Understanding the role of claudin-7 in these intercellular barriers and pathways could lead to medicines that could help people with high blood pressure as well as kidney disease, Chen said. It could also help people whose blood pressure is too low. “We need to find out the mechanism of this claudin-7 in the control of ionic balance in the body,” Chen said. “The next five years will be very exciting for us.”

Chen began her research with grants last year from the ECU Division of Research and Graduate Studies and the N.C. Biotechnology Center, which allowed her to collect necessary data to revise and resubmit her federal grant request. —Doug Boyd




Antibody offers
hope for cancer
Pathologist Anne Kellogg (above) has developed a monoclonal antibody that could play a vital role in treating the most common form of ovarian, breast and other cancers. She is working with two drug firms, ImmunoGen Inc. and sanofi-aventis, that have expertise in formulating antibodies into cancer therapies and taking them to clinical trials.

Kellogg created the antibody, called DS-6, that attaches to cancer cells, serving as a vehicle for delivering a potent cancer-killing agent developed by ImmunoGen. The antibody latches on to tumor cells and enables the whole compound—the antibody and the attached cell-killing agent—to enter the cancer cell. Once inside, the agent kills the tumor cell.

“We can’t give such a potent agent on its own because it would be too toxic, but if we can link it to an antibody, it goes inside the tumor cell and is released inside the tumor cell, which is really an amazing feat,” Kellogg says.

Monoclonal antibodies are manufactured proteins, produced from a single parent cell, that bind to a specific substance. One of the best-known monoclonal antibodies is trastuzumab, sold under the brand name Herceptin and used to treat breast cancer.

Kellogg’s research is funded in part by ECU and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. “We feel we made a wise investment that will help advance the treatment of cancer,” said Peter Kragel, chair of the department. Future grants from ImmunoGen and sanofi-aventis are under discussion. —Doug Boyd

Brody gets bigger: Hoping to increase the supply of family doctors serving eastern North Carolina, the Brody School of Medicine began the year with its biggest-ever class of first-year students, 76. All of the 37 men and 39 women are North Carolina residents. Four are part of the “MD in 7” program that allows students to enter medical school after three years of undergraduate study.

Family Medicine Center: Construction has begun on the $40 million Family Medicine Center, a 117,000 square-foot facility that will triple the space available for Brody doctors to see patients and train the next generation of family doctors.  “This project has been needed for 15 years,” trustees vice chair David Brody said at the September groundbreaking. “The facility we have was built at the beginning of the medical school when we were seeing a quarter of the patients we see now, and we outgrew it 15 years ago.” The new center will rise beside the East Carolina Heart Institute and will have more than 60 exam rooms, a pharmacy, laboratory, a geriatric center and better parking.


Trustees sweeten
Holtz’s contract
The Board of Trustees approved a six-year contract extension for football coach Skip Holtz that will keep him in Greenville through 2013.  The contract guarantees Holtz a compensation package of $4.07 million with incentives that could make the deal worth an estimated $9.5 million.

“I remain genuinely appreciative and grateful to the leadership we have at East Carolina for the confidence and support they have in the direction that our program is heading,” Holtz said. The contract calls for a guaranteed base salary of $565,000 in 2008 with an increase to $605,000 in 2009 and $655,000 in remaining years. He will receive incentive and bonus compensation, including $25 per season ticket sold, and 5 percent of all donations to the Pirate Club annual fund. He also will be rewarded for student academic success, starting at $100,000 and increasing by $25,000 per year.

Total potential compen­sation would be roughly $1.2 million a year. The agreement also includes a $100,000 buy-out clause should Holtz leave ECU prior to the expiration of the contract. Holtz, 44, has led the Pirates to two bowl appearances and consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1999 and 2000. He’s also led the Pirates to their first national ranking since 1999.

The trustees also approved an amendment to Athletic Director Terry Holland’s contract that raises his salary by $32,400 to $356,400 a year. The raise is retro­active to Jan. 1, 2008. Robert V. Lucas, who chairs the board’s university affairs committee, said the board believes “we have strong leadership at ECU, and we want to recognize that leadership and keep the team in place.”


Big fine for post-game revelry
Investigations and recriminations continued to echo across campus as a result of the post-game celebration and melee after East Carolina’s upset football victory over then-No. 8 West Virginia in September. Even as the university continued a probe into whether one or two police officers used excessive force in restraining some students as thousands of fans rushed the field, East Carolina paid a $10,000 fine imposed by Conference USA. Safety rules adopted by the conference stipulate that the playing field must remain clear until the visiting team and game officials have gone to the dressing room. Conference officials warned that any similar incidents could result in ECU losing hosting privileges for conference championships.


Campus crime remains low
East Carolina chalked up another year with very few major crimes, according to an annual safety report released by Campus Police Chief Scott Shelton. One case of forcible sexual offense was recorded on campus in 2007, the last year for which complete statistics were available, down from five in 2006, the report said. While major crime rates are low, arrests for liquor law violations are spiraling, rising from 126 in 2006 to 424 in ’07. In all, the school took 571 disciplinary actions for liquor law violations. There were 55 arrests for illegal drugs in ’07 compared to 48 in ’06; about half of the arrests occurred in residence halls. Campus police also investigated 44 burglaries, about the same as in ’06. Three car thefts were reported, compared to two in ’06. For the third year in a row, there were no cases of murder or negligent manslaughter.

Panel supports raising admission standards
The enrollment task force appointed by Chancellor Steve Ballard says East Carolina should raise its admission standards and restrict the size of next fall’s freshman class to 4,000. The group’s report to the Board of Trustees came as officials announced that enrollment has surged to 27,703, up about 1,700 students from a year ago. The student body has grown by roughly 6,000 in the past five years.

The task force—a broad group of faculty, staff, administrators and trustee Carol Mabe—recommends a cutoff point for admission at students scoring below 900 on the SAT with predicted college grade point (GPA) averages below 2.35. About 600 freshmen admitted this fall would not have met that higher standard.

Making it tougher to get into East Carolina would have some impact on diversity. Judi Bailey, senior executive director of enrollment management who leads the task force, told trustees the change would reduce the number of minorities in next year’s freshman class by 2 percent, falling from 21 percent of freshmen now to 19 percent. The freshman class also would be 1 percent more female, up from 56 percent now to 57 percent, she said.

Curtailing enrollment growth is a difficult issue for ECU leaders because it could be seen as closing the door to higher education for some disadvantaged students in eastern North Carolina. ECU for decades has striven to provide a college education to as many high school students in the region as possible. Doing so is widely viewed as a critical element in lifting the region economically and socially.

However, the task force concluded that rapid growth in enrollment has pushed ECU beyond capacity, producing crowded classrooms and the perception that the quality of education here has suffered. It also has diluted East Carolina’s efforts to improve its graduation and retention rates.
The average SAT score of in-state freshmen has declined from 1046 in 2003 to 1016 in 2007. That 30-point drop compares with a 1-point drop across all 16 UNC campuses, according to Board of Governors statistics.

The task force also recommends tightening admission standards for students transferring here from other colleges. Beginning spring semester, a priority will be given to students who have completed two years of community college, Bailey said.

The task force recommendations, which Bailey described as “a hallmark document that will guide this institution for the next 10 years,” were presented to the faculty and students in three forums held in late October in Mendenhall Student Center.

In his remarks at the annual Faculty Convocation, Chancellor Steve Ballard said the university must balance enrollment growth against the mandate to deliver a quality education to students. “This year, we expect to have the largest freshman class in our history and a total enrollment of over 27,000 students. At the same time, our retention rates have dropped and we know that retention is affected by academic preparation,” he said.

Ballard said enrollment growth also has put pressure on the university’s ability to protect the campus community and to provide necessary services. “We must stop for a moment and address the question ‘What is the right pace of growth?’ and ‘What are the immediate priorities for improving our infrastructure?’”

The chancellor said East Carolina “must invest more resources in enrollment management, enrollment services, student services and especially financial aid” because the surging enrollment demands “everything from more counselors to mentors to honors program staff.”


ECU aims to raise graduation rates
For every 100 freshmen who enroll at East Carolina, about 58 leave with a diploma within six years, a percentage that’s better than the national average for schools of the same type and size, according to a report by the UNC Board of Governors. Still, ECU officials say they aren’t satisfied and are trying to improve the school’s graduation rate by reducing the number of students who drop out.

“These aren’t bad numbers but they can be better,” said Judi Bailey, senior executive director of enrollment management. She said East Carolina is aiming to improve its retention rate—the percentage of freshmen who successfully make it to sophomore year—from around 77 percent now to 82 percent in four years.

“That will be hard for us to accomplish, given that East Carolina places such importance on providing access to higher education. We are opening the doors to a college education to a wider diversity of students, not all of whom arrive here completely equipped to succeed. Our challenge is to increase the services and support we provide these students so they have a better chance of making it through to sophomore year.”

In 2003, 53.3 percent of East Carolina students graduated in four years. Nationally, only 26 percent of college students graduated in four years.
ECU’s retention rate was 77.2 percent in 2006, down from 78.8 percent in 2003. The current national average for universities like East Carolina is 75.9 percent.

Studies have shown that most students who drop out of college do so during freshman year. East Carolina provides extra support and academic counseling services to students during those crucial semesters. One new service this year is the Pirate Tutoring Center, which offers homework help in one-on-one sessions every Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

For statistical purposes, the Board of Governors groups the 16 campuses by size and type. N.C. State and UNC Chapel Hill are the largest campuses in the system and have the most selective admissions standards. Thus, they also have the highest retention and graduation rates of the 16 campuses. East Carolina is grouped with UNC Greensboro, UNC Charlotte and N.C. A&T. East Carolina had the highest retention and graduation rates within its group, the Board of Governors report said.



Teaching financial fitness
You usually think of wellness in terms of your physical health, but two ECU professors want students to think about wellness in terms of their financial health. Mark Weitzel and Len Rhodes teach Finance 1904, which is becoming one of the more popular classes offered by the College of Business. This semester Weitzel and Rhodes are “team teaching” two sections of 250 students each. That’s 500 students taking the class now compared to just 60 seven years ago. Open to all majors, Finance 1904 is offered in conjunction with the Financial Wellness Institute within the College of Business. We asked Weitzel and Rhodes what they’ve learned teaching students how to balance a checkbook and other such skills.

Q: What are the two most important principles you try to teach students about handling money?
A: We instill the importance of constant financial planning and thinking early about retirement. We encourage students to take advantage of free money—such as matching 401K contributions. After all, where else can you get an immediate, 100 percent return on your investment? We also teach students to be savvy consumers and how to protect themselves—especially from individuals who prey on the financially illiterate. After taking our course, students will have learned the skills to make the most of their money through the lifelong principles we teach.

Q: What is the worst mistake students make managing their money?
A: Borrowing more than they need. Between credit cards and student loans, students get in over their heads without even realizing it. It’s a one-two punch: students will use a student loan for things it’s not intended for, trying to buy a better lifestyle. That problem is compounded with credit card debt they can’t pay off. Students take on all of this debt without truly understanding the long-term financial impact after they graduate.

Watch Pirate TV on YouTube East Carolina now has its own channel on YouTube, www.youtube.com/ecu, a site stocked with lots of programs about the school as well as pop music videos, hilarious accidents, “science” experiments featuring breath mints and diet cola and other serious and funny stuff. The channel’s lineup will evolve over time, using videos created by departments, organizations and individuals from across campus. Lectures, guest speakers, art performances and sporting events are among the type of videos available. “We see YouTube as an opportunity to push ECU’s educational efforts anytime and anywhere,” said Jack Brinn, ECU chief information officer.

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