Strategic Direction: Economic Prosperity in the East

ECU will serve as a national model for public service and regional transformation by creating a strong, sustainable future for Eastern North Carolina through education, research, innovation, investment, and outreach.

2013

'In Demand'. New Master's Degree Offers Students Job-Ready Skills in Network Technology Kathryn Kennedy: A new graduate program capitalizing on continued growth in the information technology sector will begin accepting students this fall.

2012

Community Impact. ECU Earns Regional Kellogg Award for Outreach Crystal Baity: The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities announced ECU's selection as the South region winner of the 2012 Outreach Scholarship W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award, which honors the university's work with the Lucille W. Gorham Intergenerational Community Center.
DIgging Deep. Collaboration Leads to Curriculum, Playground Exchange. Joy Holster: ECU professor Linda Crane Mitchell created an educational curriculum in collaboration with playground manufacturer Little Tikes Commercial, in exchange for new, fully-accessible playground equipment for the Nancy W. Darden Child Development Center on campus.
Hope Bubbles. Art Mural Engages Children at Community Center Crystal Baity: Through the university's Student Engagement and Outreach Scholars Academy, faculty and students are collaborating with the Building Hope Community Life Center to provide art lessons for youth in the afterschool program. The center is a faith-based non-profit organization designed to help at-risk students from local schools stay on track academically, while giving them social and spiritual support and infrastructure for success.
Learning on the River. ECU Partners with Pocosin Arts on Planned Educational Lodge Crystal Baity: Pocosin Arts Folk School is partnering with ECU in the development and use of a planned educational lodge on the Scuppernong River in Columbia. The facility has many potential uses including summer or semester-long field courses, weekend retreats, education and health care outreach, creative arts field excursions or workshops and coastal research field work.
Reaching Out. ECU Faculty Partner with Region on Technology Kathryn Kennedy: ECU's Center for Innovation in Technology and Engineering is partnering with community colleges in eastern North Carolina to raise the visibility of ECU. Dr. David White, dean of the College of Technology and Computer Science says, "Working together, we can provide clear pathways for community college students to enter our college programs and gain degrees that will lead to exciting career opportunities."
Supporting One Another. ECU Wins National Community Engagement Award Crystal Baity: ECU won the prestigious C. Peter Magrath University/Community Engagement Award for its establishment and support of the Lucille W. Gorham Intergenerational Community Center in the underserved West Greenville community.

2011

ECU Experts Pen Book on North Carolina's Coast: In a new book called "The Battle for North Carolina's Coast", four ECU experts on coastal dynamics examine issues that threaten the North Carolina barrier islands.
ECU Partnership Stimulates Economic Development Across the Region: ECU will facilitate $700,000 of grant money through an existing partnership with the NC Department of Commerce. The program targets distressed, low wealth and limited capacity rural areas by providng both financial resources and training to help build stronger and more capable communities.
ECU Researchers Explore History Near Columbia: ECU researchers are collaborating with the UNC Coastal Studies Institute and the citizens of Columbia, NC to explore the region's history and close connection with the state's coastal waterways.

2010

ECU Establishes the First MS in Sustainable Tourism Degree in the Nation: ECU now offers the nation's first interdisciplinary Master of Science in Sustainable Tourism degree. The degree program seeks to transform the tourism industry in its sustainable practices.
ECU Researchers Survey Coastal Business Perception of Drilled Oil Risks: ECU researchers collected baseline data on what tourism businesses and organizations perceive as the potential effects of an oil spill or leak off the coast as part of a study funded by the North Carolina Sea Grant.
Grant to Help Boost Tourism Plan in Rural Communities: ECU and the Mid-East Resource Conservation and Development Council have been awarded a grant to help rural communities develop a shared vision for tourism.
Growing Season - Football Stadium Expansion: The Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium expansion will increase the stadium capacity from 43,000 to 50,000 by adding new seats to the east end zone. This expansion serves not only as an improvement for the footbal facilities, but also provides an economic boost for the region by bringing in more fans, increasing consumer spending on game days, and improving the quality of life in Greenville and the surrounding community.
Large ECU Presence at 2010 National Outreach Scholarship Conference: Forty-one faculty and staff members and seven graduate students were invited to present at the 2010 National Outreach Scholarship Conference. With the theme of Sustaining Authentic Engagement, the conference explored authenticity and sustainability as critical components of engaged scholarship.
Lucille W. Gorham Center celebrates the season: The Lucille Gorham Center was started in 2007 as a joint venture between ECU, Pitt Community College, and the City of Greenville. The center supplies what is lacking in the community by way of job training and after-school programs.The center also offeres GED classes and a quilting group.
Patent Pending. ECU Researchers Invent a New Way to Study the Building Blocks of Life: The brainchild of ECU physics professor Dr. Xin-Hua Hu, the diffraction-image flow cytometer is the first device of its kind and is a far-reaching step forward in increasing our understanding of cellular biology.