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summer 2011EastThe Magazine of East Carolina University2020FEATURESOLYMPIC SPORTS HAVE NEW HOMEBy J. Eric Eckard The opening of the $24 million sportscomplex for non-revenue sports shows East Carolina ismore than a football and baseball school.28Jim Hunt’s Ms. Fix-ItBy Marion Blackburn Janice Faulkner already had compileda stellar record as an East Carolina professor when thegovernor summoned her to clean up state government.32SOCIOLOGIST, SURFER DUDEBy Justin Boulmay Jeff Johnson, one of ECU’s mosthonored professors, can capture a student’s attention—and catch a wave.322836mind gamesBy Bethany Bradsher The brain is a muscle, so sportpsychologists train athletes to work as hard to strengthen itas their abs, delts and pecs. They share some tips for yourown mental workout.DEPARTMENTSFROM OUR READERS ..................3THE ECU REPORT .....................4SUMMER ARTS CALENDAR ............ 18FROM THE CLASSROOM ..............32PIRATE NATION ......................40CLASS NOTES ........................43UPON THE PAST. .....................6036

from the editorOlympics sports have new homeWhether East Carolina has grown and matured into a major regionaluniversity was the question we raised in the winter issue. We concludedthat, based on ample evidence, ECU has achieved that recognition. Eventhose who once doubted East Carolina’s ability to operate a medicalschool, for example, now sing its praises.I witnessed further evidence of ECU’s maturity this spring in twovery different settings. One came during Research and CreativityActivity Week when the scientific inquiry of 270 undergraduate andgrad students was showcased on campus. The size and scope of theevent drove home the point that ECU is where many groundbreakingdiscoveries are being made in medicine, biology, computer science,education and other fields.It was on another kind of field where I witnessed a different aspect ofEast Carolina’s new maturity—a soccer field, to be exact. Our coverstory in this issue, which begins on page 20, is about the school’s newOlympic Sports Complex, a $24 million jewel in ECU’s sports crown.It has risen on what used to be dirt tailgate lots for Dowdy-Ficklen,Harrington Field, and woods where the Greeks used to party beforefootball games. By creating this new home for what are called nonrevenuesports, East Carolina is showing the world that it’s much morethan just a football and baseball school.Research week demonstrated that East Carolina is igniting a spark ofgenius in its students so they can go out and improve the health andeveryday lives of the people of the East. ECU wants every student,regardless of their major, to have the best classrooms and professors.East Carolina also wants every student athlete, whether they play amoney-making sport like football or a non-revenue sport like track andfield, to have an equal chance to achieve their athletic goals. Whetheryou’re a quarterback or a quarter-miler, ECU wants student athletes tohave coaches who inspire and facilities that showcase their success.The sports complex also creates an attractive new gateway into campus.It’s the new face of ECU that many football fans will see when theyarrive for games. When you come back to campus, take a few minutes todrive up Charles Boulevard, just past the football and baseball stadiums,and see for yourself how that corner of campus has been transformed.It may cause you to think, as it did me, that this is how a mature, diverseuniversity operates a first-class sports program.summer 2011EastThe Magazine of East Carolina UniversityVolume 9, Number 4East is published four times a year byEast Carolina UniversityDivision of University Advancement2200 South Charles Blvd.Greenville, NC 27858hEDITORSteve Tuttle ’09252-328-2068 / tuttles@ecu.eduART DIRECTOR/DESIGNERBrent BurchPHOTOGRAPHERForrest CroceCOPY EDITORJimmy Rostar ’94CONTRIBUTING WRITERSMarion Blackburn, Justin Boulmay,Doug Boyd, Bethany Bradsher, J. Eric Eckard,Kara Loftin, Jessica Nottingham ’08,Steve Row, Mary SchulkenCONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSJay Clark, Cliff HollisCLASS NOTES EDITORJoanne Kollarecuclassnotes@ecu.eduADMINISTRATIONMichelle SloanhAssistant Vice Chancellorfor University MarketingClint BaileyEast Carolina University is a constituent institution ofThe University of North Carolina. It is a public doctoral/research intensive university offering baccalaureate, master’s,specialist and doctoral degrees in the liberal arts, sciencesand professional fields, including medicine. Dedicated to theachievement of excellence, responsible stewardship of thepublic trust and academic freedom, ECU values thecontributions of a diverse community, supports sharedgovernance and guarantees equality of opportunity.©2011 by East Carolina UniversityPrinted by Progress PrintingU.P. 11-284 63,500 copies of this public documentwere printed at a cost of $37,778 or $.59 per copy.2

from our readersAmanda Etheridge had no regretsI was so pleased to find the “Upon thePast” column about Amanda Etheridge inthe current issue of East. Amanda was awell-respected member of our communityand of my husband’s family [John Wilson’50] here on Roanoke Island, a scholar anda star athlete with a never-yielding passionfor social justice in her community. She wasdevastated by her treatment at the collegein 1945, but went to her grave with noregrets. I wish she were still around to see thetruthful story of her devotion to doing whatwas right even though she personally sufferedthe consequences.—Estelle Jones Wilson ’51, ManteoI really enjoyed your article on AmandaEtheridge because I knew her when I was astudent there during the turmoil over Mr.Meadows. The last rehearsal for our seniorclass play, in which I had a part, had to becanceled because the SGA called one ofthe mass meetings to look into the issueof Mr. Meadows’ handling of the studentmoney. I also knew the professors who werefired by the trustees for not supporting Mr.Meadows, and I think your article had thewrong name for one of them. As I recall, thethree who were fired were E.L. Henderson,Herbert ReBarker and Hubert Haynes. Idon’t recall a professor by the name of M.L.Wright. But I’m 88 now so I occasionallyhave senior moments.—Mrs. Elizabeth Kittrell “Kit” Taylor ’44,Yorktown, Va.Editor’s note: We double-checked the official recordsand multiple accounts list M.L. Wright amongthe three professors fired by trustees during thecampus turmoil of 1943–44. Wright came tocampus in 1925 as a sociology teacher but heisn’t pictured among the faculty in yearbooks after1940. It’s possible he was performing duties otherthan teaching when the Meadows scandal erupted,which would explain why Mrs. Kittrell doesn’tremember him. Faculty records indicate Haynestaught education and psychology from 1924 untilhis retirement in 1959.Is this of historic value?I found this oldprogram going throughmy mother’s thingsrecently [MarthaRogers Taylor ’37].Just thought someonetheremight be able to use it. Bythe way, you folks put out awonderful publication.—Emmette Taylor, KinstonEditor’s note: We forwardedthis 85-year-old program toUniversity Archives, whichreported that it’s now theoldest in its files.Pepsi supportedcampus radioIn the “Coke comesto campus” storyin the last issue,another thing theMinges familygave us over multipleyears were annual grants for the campusradio station to contract with UnitedPress International for their news wireservice. Since the radio station was fundedtotally by student broadcasters (we “poundedthe pavement” to sell commercials!) with nodirect institutional or Student GovernmentAssociation monies, we always sort of heldour breath at the start of each academic yearuntil we had that $500 check in hand. TheMinges family business was given broadcastrecognition by us announcing that allnewscasts, weather reports and sports weresponsored by Pepsi.—Bob Blake ’66, Sarasota, Fla.College cheaper in ’52?A few weeks after reading “What DoesCollege Really Cost” in the winter issue, mywife, Mary Jo Outland Baugh ’55, and Ivisited her sister, Anne Outland ’56. Ourdaughter was digging through her AuntAnne’s artifacts when she came across herECC scrapbook. In it she found the enclosedletter from the registrar, dated Feb. 8, 1952,showing the cost per quarter of $87 fortuition and fees, plus $80 a quarter for mealsfor a total of $167 per quarter, times threefor a cost of $501 per year. I would saythat’s quite a bargaincompared totoday’s cost.—Marvin Baugh’55, GreensboroEditor’s note: Thestory Mr. Baughrefers to noted that itnow costs $16,405a year to attend ECU,a total which includestuition, books and feesas well as such nonacademicessentials as rent,food, clothes, laptop, car,cell phone, etc. The $501charged in 1952 didn’tinclude the non-academicessentials. To compare apples-to-apples costs, let’sassume that living expenses raised the price of ayear at ECC in 1952 to $750. At a web sitecalled MeasuringWorth.com, I computed what$750 in 1952 dollars would be worth today. Ifyou go by the consumer price index, $750 wouldbe worth $6,060 today. Purchasing the samebundle of consumer goods would cost $9,010today. It would be worth $10,700 using theproduction worker compensation guide, or howmuch an hourly worker would have to earn nowto generate the same purchasing power. Also keep inmind that the $16,405 figure does not include grantsor scholarships available to working families. Whenthose are factored in, the current cost of a year at ECUfor a child of a family earning less than $48,000 ayear is $7,232, or roughly the same as in 1952.3

consolidating services, doing more sharedservices and more partnerships, [and] lessadministrative expenditures. Productivityimprovements will only yield about 3to 5 percent of a $60 million goal. I’veasked Faculty Chair [Marianna] Walkerto speak with the Educational Policy andPlanning Committee of the Faculty Senateto recommend criteria by which we canconsolidate services [and] academic programs,and reduce administrative costs associatedwith overseeing departments and colleges.Second choice, we will look at our emergencyfund to help offset these cuts. This is a painfuloption because it is so difficult to replaceemergency funds once they are spent. At most,I estimate that we might be able to find onefourthof our cut scenario from this option.So, doing this complicated math, options 1and 2 may provide, at best, $20 million, orabout one-third the $60 million needed.The next two options are even more painfulbut unavoidable. Option No. 3 is called“Unit Reductions,” for every college andevery division. I know we’ll have to ask everycollege and division to meet a fixed reduction.Since we have made so many reductionsover the past three years, and sacrificed somany non-academic positions, it is inevitablethat the units will now have to cut into theacademic core and the size of our faculty. Ihope that we can keep the overall size of ourfaculty close to what it is today. Many schoolsand colleges will have no choice other than touse faculty openings and academic resourcesto reach their goal. The availability of classeswill be reduced, while class size and teachingloads, on average, will increase.We may have to ask each college and divisionto reduce their expenditures by 9 to 12percent. If we take 9 percent of the statefunding from each college and division, thatwould generate about $30 million, or half ofour $60 million target.Last, most painful for me, and inevitably,students will have to pay more for theireducation through increased tuition and fees.We anticipate that students will have to fundat least 20 percent, perhaps more, of the$60 million reduction, and this will followsubstantial increases in tuition and feesalready approved for the coming year by theBoard of Governors and already realized overthe last two years. We have always pridedourselves in being an access institution andour first university priority is student success,so making higher education less affordable isa not an attractive option for me.I will end the gloomy part of my speech withthis commitment: we will involve and engagethe campus community as much as we canduring this process. The budget estimatespresented today will undoubtedly changeand better options could emerge. We willdo everything we can to be innovative, findappropriate partnerships, and do all we canto protect the student experience.I look forward to working with every oneof you. Our challenges are not small, Ithink you all realize that, but they areinconsequential compared to our spirit.Lillington gets dental clinicLillington, the county seat of HarnettCounty southeast of Raleigh, will be the siteof a community care clinic to be operatedby the School of Dental Medicine. Theuniversity announced that it would buildone of the learning centers beside the newFirst Choice Community Health CenterSylvaoff U.S. 401. There, dental students andresidents will train and, together with ECUfaculty members, provide care to localresidents. “This is going to be a very goodsite, a good collaboration with First ChoiceCommunity Health Center,” said GregoryChadwick, associate dean for planning andextramural affairs at the dental school. Thetwo facilities “will really have an impact onprimary health care in Harnett County.”Lillington is the fourth site to be namedfor what will eventually be 10 such centersacross the state and the first in central NorthCarolina. The other sites identified so farare Ahoskie and Elizabeth City in easternNorth Carolina and Sylva in the westernpart of the state.The 7,700-square-foot center in Lillingtonwill be a fully functioning general dentistryoffice with 16 treatment rooms, X-rayequipment, educational space and more. Thestate will own the land, and constructioncould begin this year if all goes well,Chadwick said. Full-time dental schoolfaculty members will staff the center, alongwith dental hygienists and other staffmembers, and fourth-year dental studentsand residents will train at the center.Chadwick has described the centers assimilar to “moving the fourth floor of thedental school—the clinical training—offcampus to rural areas of our state wheredental services are needed.”The school will admit its first 50 students,all North Carolina residents, in August, withplans to admit 50 each year.—Doug BoydLillingtonElizabeth CityAhoskie5

the ecu reportLEGENDEXISTING BUILDINGCampus master plan advancesA preliminary master plan for East CarolinaUniversity’s Main Campus drew concernsabout safety, architectural consistency andpublic access from East Carolina trusteesseeing it for the first time. The plan looksout 20 years and expands ECU along ReadeStreet north of Fifth, refashions the 10thStreet corridor from Cotanche to CollegeHill, constructs three parking decks and closessome streets to traffic in the center of campus.IMMEDIATE NEEDFUTURE OPPORTUNITYPARKING DECK1419134Fifth StreetBoard of Trustees members discussed itand the preliminary master plan for theHealth Sciences Campus in April aftera presentation by representatives fromSmithgroup/JJR, a planning and architecturecompany consulting on the plan.“I hope you will resolve the safety issue thatI see,” said David Redwine, referring to aproposed parking deck the plan includes justnorth of 10th Street and west of CotancheStreet, across from the Student RecreationCenter. The long-term plan would includesecurity on site and for students crossingCotanche, Smithgroup representatives anduniversity officials said.As Main Campus expands beyond itsexisting borders, building placement anddesign should be in keeping with thecharacter of the existing campus, whichincludes open space and historic architecture,said David Brody, board chairman.“It should honor the core design of thecampus and it should not be so dense asto change the environment of the campus,”he said.Planners are currently drawing designguidelines for those future buildings,consultants said, that are tied to the originalarchitecture of the buildings built in 1907.Planners used a number of prioritiesidentified in campus meetings and asurvey to draw the preliminary plan.Among those: keeping academics on thecore of Main Campus, retaining openspaces, providing ample close-in parking,6207821Main Campus21Number Project Name GSF Floors1 Bio-Sciences Building 270,000 62 HHP Research Gym 55,0003 Academic A Building 275,000 44 Visual and Performing Arts Center 200,000 35 HHP Addition 60,0006 Facilities building 17 Police 20,0008 Parking, Environmental Safety, Mail Services9 Student Center 182,154 510Belk Hall Replacement and Living/LearningComplex275,500 811 Student Recreation Center Expansion 62,276 212 Slay (restore to residential: 100 beds)13 Alumni Center 36,000 214 Hotel and Conference Center15 Visitor Center16 Library Expansion 22,00017 Todd Dining Hall Expansion 9,300 118 Basketball Practice Building 38,000 119 Foundation Building / Offi ce / Swing Space 40,00020 IT Building / Data Center21 Millennial Campus Building22 Transit Hub23 Press Box31191510th Street16Charles Boulevard2512182223101716

Number Project Name GSF Floors1 Medical Education Building 250,000 62Brody Modernization / Reassignment(Offices / Millennial Uses)3 Research Expansion 30,000 14 Student Services Building 64,000 25Integrated Ancillary Services and Clinics280,000Building56 New Cancer Center 60,000 27 Faculty Offices 50,000 4Health SciencesCampusFifth StreetWest Fifth Street (Highway 43)6MacGregor Downs Rd.School of DentistrySONW. Arlington Rd.771Allied HealthMoye BoulevardFamily Medicine54Utility PlantNorth Campus LoopHeart Blvd.CardiovascularInstituteWarren Life Sciences3ExistingBio. Tech.2BrodyBuildingHpublic safety and easy pedestrian access.The plan closes some small parking lots nearacademic buildings on the Main Campusbut proposes at least three parking decksin central locations. It also closes FoundersDrive and Chancellors Way to through traffic.Brody noted that the public needs ampleparking near A.J. Fletcher Music Hall, wherepublic performances take place.Trustee Bill Bodenhamer suggested theuniversity use the price of parking forstudents, staff and faculty to manage spaces,setting the rate for close-in parking at a levelthat provides incentive to use shuttle services.The presentation to trustees was aninformation session only. ECU officials andPitt County MemorialHospitalplanners stress the plan will likely see tweaksbased on feedback from the 150’ campus and thecommunity. 3.22.11 A final version is expected to beready by fall for the board of trustees.To learn more about the preliminarymaster plan, visit www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/masterplan/alternatives.cfm—Mary SchulkenEast Carolina University0’ 300’N7

the ecu reportECU dropping art degreeTo increase efficiency, ECU is eliminatingthe bachelor of arts degree in art, afine arts program that has seen rapidlydeclining interest by students. Only eightwere majoring in the degree at the start ofspring semester, down from 12 the priorsemester. Those eight will be allowed tocomplete their degree before the programis completely shut down. The move won’tsave much money because faculty teachingthose courses also teach in related degreeprograms, and so must remain on staff.Across the 16 UNC campuses, 60 degreeswere targeted for elimination as the campusesrespond for legislative demands to do morewith less. On the chopping block are 36baccalaureate, 22 master’s and two doctoralprograms. Three campuses account for morethan half of the total—N.C. Central with13, N.C. A&T with 11 and UNC Charlottewith 10.The Board of Governors adopted newefficiency standards that campuses now useto decide if a degree program has outlivedits usefulness. Bachelor’s degree programsneed to award 19 or more diplomas over twoyears. Terminal master’s degree programsshould award at least 15 degrees over twoyears to survive, and doctoral programs needto award at least five diplomas over two yearsto avoid the budget knife.ECU to help Pottery CenterEast Carolina and the N.C. Pottery Centerin Seagrove are discussing a collaborationthat would link the university’s highlyregarded studio arts program with oneof the nation’s most prominent folk artscenters. Officials said the tight budgetsituation limits what ECU can contributeto the arrangement. The first collaborationcame in March when the two co-sponsoreda visit by a group of five potters fromChina. The visitors spent part of a week inSeagrove and the rest of the time conductingworkshops and colloquiums on campus.FurnishedThe first collaboration between ECU and the N.C. Pottery Center came in March when thetwo co-sponsored a visit by five potters from China. The visitors spent part of a week inSeagrove and the rest of the time conducting workshops and colloquiums on campus.“We’re looking at all aspects ofcollaboration, on everything from sharingvisiting artists to perhaps basing gradstudents and faculty over there,” saidMichael Dorsey, interim dean of the Collegeof Fine Arts and Communication. He saidthe discussions began in December whenhe and three other ECU representativesmet with the Pottery Center board. Oneof Seagrove’s most successful potters, BenOwen III ’93, who is participating in thediscussions, said he hopes the collaborationgrows. “If there is a way both parties canfind a common ground to work on a futureendeavor together it would be wonderful.The more people who know about[Seagrove pottery], the better.”A split has developed in the potterycommunity around Seagrove. A rival group,the Seagrove Area Potters Association,split from the Pottery Center over a rangeof issues. The new group, on whose boardOwen serves, began staging a rival festivalin 2008 on the same November weekend asthe annual Seagrove Pottery Festival, whichhas been managed for more than 25 yearsby the N.C. Museum of Traditional Pottery.However, both festivals have been successfuland tempers seem to be easing.News briefsRequired summerread: This summer,incoming freshmenwill be encouragedto read the truestory of an ElonCollege student whowas raped in herapartment in 1984and the man whowas wrongly convicted and spent 11 years inprison for the crime. Picking Cotton is writtenby the two victims in the case, JenniferThompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton.The two eventually became friends andwrote this book to educate the public aboutflaws in the criminal-justice system.Furnished10

Discussion program forms: ECU willopen its doors this fall to adults in theGreenville area who are interested in learningnew things but who don’t want the hassleof applying for admission. The LifelongLearning Program, to be launched this fallby the Division of Continuing Studies, ismodeled after the Elderhostel programs ofthe mid-1970s. N.C. State University hasoperated a similar program, called Encore,for about 20 years. “Seniors are the one whoso often say there is nothing for me to do.I’m retired but I still want to learn,” saidECU’s Clayton Sessoms. “They are curiousabout topics and want to learn new things,but don’t want to invest the time or moneyin pursuing a degree.” The program will befunded through modest workshop fees. Aschedule of courses will be announced May21. Interested individuals are encouragedto register by calling 252-328-9198 ore-mailing cpe@ecu.edu.Pedalling for health: People who worksitting at a desk all day could pedal their wayto better health by using portable exercisemachines, according to research by an ECUfaculty member published in the BritishJournal of Sports Medicine. These small exercisebikes, modified to fit under a desk, areeffective at burning calories and raising theheart rate without disrupting the office workflow, according to the study by Luc Car, anassistant professor in the Department ofExercise and Sports Science. For the study, 18office workers, who were mostly female, andoverweight, pedalled an average of 23 minutesa day and used the machine on an averageof 12 out of 20 days. The workers said in aquestionnaire that they would use the bikesregularly if their employer offered them one.Nursing grads score well: The percentageof School of Nursing graduates who passthe state licensing exam on the first try roseone point in 2010 to 97 percent. Of the268 graduates that year, 260 passed the examto become RNs. In 2009, 248 of the 257graduates passed the first time, or 96 percent.Alcohol abuse program honored: EastCarolina’s efforts to prevent alcohol and drugabuse by fraternity and sorority membershave been recognized as among the best in thenation. The school’s Greek Risk Managementprogram was one of four finalists nationwidefor the Outside the Classroom PreventionExcellence Award for Greek Life. Theaward is presented by the Student AffairsAdministrators in Higher Education andOutside the Classroom, a company thatdesigns online drug and alcohol educationprograms for colleges and universities.Campus repairs slated: East Carolinais planning $5.2 million in repairs andupgrades to four buildings on Main Campus.The largest project will see $2.4 millionspent to complete space in the Science andTechnology Building that was left unfinishedwhen it opened in 2003. Parts of the thirdand fifth floors will be upfitted as wetlaboratory space for the biology, chemistryand geology departments. The work will bepaid for with facilities and administrativereceipts; completion is expected in June2012. Green and White residence halls willreceive exterior masonry and structural repairscosting $1.9 million. Greene also will get anew roof. The project, funded with housingreceipts, should be completed by July 2012.Also, the Student Recreation Center, now 15years old, will receive a new roof and otherrepairs costing $798,000. The project, to bepaid for with student activity fees, should becompleted by December.Trustees complete termsFour veteran members of the ECU Boardof Trustees who helped lead the universitythrough a turbulent era will complete theirterms in June. Current chair David Brodyof Kinston, former chair Bob Greczyn’73 of Durham, current board secretaryDavid Redwine ’72 of Ocean Isle Beach,and William H. Bodenhamer Jr. ’74 ofFt. Lauderdale, Fla., each served two fouryearterms. The four had just joined the13-member board in 2003 when formerchancellor William V. Muse resigned undera cloud after only two years on the job.That led to the selection of Steve Ballard aschancellor and, with other board decisions,set East Carolina on a firmer footing. Twoof the vacancies were filled by the Boardof Governors, which appointed DeborahDavis ’79 ’83 of Henrico, Va., chiefoperating officer of Virginia CommonwealthUniversity Medical Center, and Raleighattorney Kieran Shanahan ’79. Gov. BeverlyPerdue will fill the two other vacancies.ECU down to one on boardEast Carolina is down from three alumnito only one—attorney Phil Dixon ’71 ofGreenville—serving on the 32-memberUNC Board of Governors. Charles Hayes’72 ’74 of Sanford will leave the board inJune after serving for six years; he filled avacancy for two years and then was electedto a four-year term in 2007. Althoughhe was eligible for another term and wasnominated in a House committee, Hayes,executive director of the Research TriangleRegional Partnership, was not on the finallist submitted for a floor vote. Hayes saidhe served during a pivotal era. “I was ableto serve with three of the five presidentsthe UNC system has ever had, includingErskine Bowles’ entire time as president.”ECU briefly had three on the board. Itdropped to two when J. Craig Souza ’71 ofRaleigh, president of the N.C. Health CareFacilities Association, completed his secondterm in 2009.11

the ecu reportAlan KypsonNeed a vein? Look in the fridgeAnyone who has undergone a heart bypassprocedure knows you usually have to recover fromtwo surgeries—one on your heart and another onyour leg, where doctors remove a section of veinto use to repair your heart. Thanks to pioneeringwork by an ECU surgeon, someday soon thatsecond surgery won’t be necessary.Research co-authored by Alan Kypson, a professorof surgery at the Brody School of Medicine,and published in the journal Science TranslationalMedicine demonstrated that scientists can“grow” new veins in the lab and store them in arefrigerator for up to a year. These manmade veinsare constructed from smooth-muscle cells takenfrom a human cadaver that are placed around atubular structure. The cells grow until they coverthe tube. The tube is then treated to remove thecells, leaving a hollow, flexible tube that works likea vein but will not be rejected by the body.Participating in the research with Kypson werescientists from Duke University, Yale Universityand Humacyte, a biotechnology company based inDurham. Humacyte funded much of the research.The medical advance is important given our agingpopulation. “People are having multiple heartbypasses and vascular surgery now and once apatient is on their third or fourth bypass, they areout of veins to use,” Kypson said.East Carolina timelineYEARS AGO100First student graduatesAmong the 13 students in the firstclass to graduate in May 1911 is PattieSimmons Dowell of Williamston,who was the first student to registeron Oct. 5, 1909, when ECTTS firstopened its doors. Founder and firstpresident of the campus YWCA, shegoes on to become the first ECTTSgraduate to receive a doctorate. Sheteaches here in 1923–24, leaves forSouthern Miss—where she authorsfour elementary school textbooks—but returns in 1958 to end her careerhere. She is the first recipient of theschool’s Outstanding Alumni Award.Dowell Way, the short street archingbetween Fletcher and Garrettresidence halls on the east end ofMain Campus, is named for her.YEARS AGO85The case of the purloined frocksThe campus is shocked and thespring social season is imperiledin April 1926 when silk gownspurchased or made by eightstudents disappear from dormrooms just days before the PoeSociety’s big dance. Oddly, allare about the same size. TheGreenville police are called and alocal woman is charged when thegowns are found at her home. TheTecoan reports a happy ending tothe incident in a front-page storyheadlined “The Easter Frocks AreReturned to Owners.”

the ecu report14

the ecu reportBB&T commits $1 million for centerBB&T, whose $250,000 gift in 1982founded the BB&T Center for LeadershipDevelopment in the College of Business, hasreaffirmed its support for the center througha new donation totaling $1 million. Thecenter advocates incorporating leadershipdevelopment as an important dimension ofintellectual activity, with an emphasis onthe proposition that every student shouldbe prepared to lead and become an agent ofpositive change in society.“The university’s continued commitmentto leadership development as a priorityand focus within its mission has beengreatly assisted through BB&T’s support,”said center director James Bearden.“Their latest contribution further extendsthe catalytic role the [center] has inemphasizing, enhancing and supportingleadership development in courses andclassrooms at ECU.”BB&T’s contribution to ECU’s SecondCentury Campaign is their fifth such gift toECU’s Jim Bearden, Danny Daniels of BB&T,Chancellor Steve Ballard, Scott Evans of BB&Tand Dennis Alexander of BB&Tthe center, and serves as a perfect exampleof how private corporations can make adifference at ECU. The gift helped push theSecond Century Campaign so far to $194million, or 97 percent of the goal.“We want 2011 to be the year that wesurge past the $200 million goal,” said ViceChancellor for University AdvancementMickey Dowdy. “We remain extremelygrateful for BB&T’s dedication to ECU andthe Center for Leadership Development andwe look forward to even greater things in thefuture as we continue our efforts in facultyand student leadership development.”Gifts to the campaign may be designatedfor a specific program, college or school.Every gift, whether large or small, isappreciated and makes a difference. For moreinformation about the BB&T Center forLeadership Development, contact Beardenat beardenj@ecu.edu. For more informationabout the Second Century Campaign andhow you can contribute, contact Dowdy at252-328-9550 or visit www.ecu.edu/devt.FurnishedVirtual early college top in stateEast Carolina’s online early college programfor bright high school students wasrecognized by the N.C. Distance LearningAssociation as the top program in thestate for course content and its uniquedelivery platform. The Early CollegeSecond Life Program (ECSLP), which usesthe Second Life 3D virtual technology, isunique in that students can take collegeclasses online without leaving their highschool environment. The ECSLP programpreviously received the InternationalIntraverse Award in Education, presentedin Monaco. About 40 students in Pitt andLenoir counties are enrolled in the program.“It is successful because it captures thestudents’ attention, challenges them, andallows them to interact with each other forprojects,” said Sharon Collins of ECU’sEmerging Academic Initiatives. “It truly isthe way students desire to learn these days,by advancing with technology.”Second Life is a virtual 3D world designedfor high school students. In that world,students have an “avatar” (a virtual presence)and attend a real-time class. ECU is the onlycampus using Second Life to offer classesthat let students earn college credit and highschool credit at the same time. Studentscan take classes in anthropology, personalfinance, child psychology, introduction tocomputers, English, sociology and web sitedesign and maintenance.—ECU News Services16

U N I V E R S I T YL I F EAfter a rigorous national search, formerCollege of Business Dean Rick Niswanderwas named vice chancellor for administrationand finance after serving in that role on aninterim basis since December. The Board ofTrustees approved Chancellor Steve Ballard’sappointment of Niswander at its Aprilmeeting. He replaces Kevin Seitz. Niswanderjoined the faculty in 1993 and became COBdean in 2004. In his new role Niswanderwill be responsible for business services,campus operations, financial services, humanresources, information technology anduniversity facilities, including constructionand renovation of campus buildings. Hissalary is $270,000 a year. Niswandergraduated from Idaho State University witha bachelor’s in accounting. He holds adoctorate in accounting from Texas A&MUniversity. In 1998 he received the Board ofGovernors Distinguished Professor forTeaching Award.Brody Division of Toxicology chief WilliamJoel Meggs received ECU’s LifetimeAchievement Award for Excellence inResearch and Creative Activity. Meggs haspublished more than 60 scholarly articles.His main research interests include antidotesto poisonings, poisonous snakebites, toxicityof pharmaceutical overdoses, effects ofchronic low level exposures to pesticides,environmental factors in obesity, and therole of inflammation in overall health. ECUpresented five-year achievement awards tobiology professor Jason Bond and psychologyprofessor T. Chris Riley-Tillman. Theyreceived a cash award and conductedseminars on campus during Research andCreative Achievement Week in April.Brody School of Medicine Dean Dr. PaulCunningham and Chief of Surgery MichaelRotondo were inducted into the prestigiousAmerican Surgical Association. Founded in1880, the ASA is the nation’s oldest andmost prestigious surgical organization.School ofCommunicationassociate professorJohn Howard III waschosen by the UNCBoard of Governorsas East Carolina’srecipient of theannual Awards forExcellence inTeaching. Since 1994 the board has honoredone professor at each campus to receive thehonor, which comes with a commemorativebronze medallion and a $7,500 cash prize.The 17 recipients, representing an arrayof academic disciplines, were nominated byspecial committees on their home campusesand selected by the Board of GovernorsCommittee on Personnel and Tenure, chairedby Fred Mills of Raleigh. The awards will bepresented by a Board of Governors memberduring the spring graduation ceremony oneach campus.Howard previously received the AlumniAssociation’s Outstanding Teaching Awardin 2008 and and Board of Trustees’Distinguished Professor for Teaching Awardin 2009. Graduating seniors in his schoolhave voted him “Most Inspiring FacultyMember” four times, most recently in 2009.Howard received an undergraduatedegree in political science from SUNYBinghamton, a master’s in policy analysisfrom the University of Rochester, a master’sin interpersonal communication fromBowling Green State University, and adoctorate in communication studies alsofrom Bowling Green.Christopher Locklear ’97 ’01 ’07 wasappointed associate provost for personneland resource administration. Locklear willbe responsible for oversight of all aspects ofEPA personnel for the Division of Academicand Student Affairs. He will continue to cochairthe University Policy Committee.Kidney specialistWafa Badwan ’97 ’05has joined the facultyas a clinical assistantprofessor aftercompleting herresidency trainingand a nephrologyfellowship here. Bornin Raleigh, she isboard-certified in internal medicine andnephrology and joins a growing staff of kidneytransplant specialists at ECU Physicians. Herclinical and research interests are critical carenephrology and renal transplant.17

Summer Arts CalendarWe aren’t suggesting that you travel all the way to asmall island in Lake Superior to hear two ECU studentsperform, but that is where some of the nation’s most talented youngchamber musicians will be this summer. Senior Caroline Cox andyounger sister Mary Catherine Cox, an incoming freshman, were amongonly 48 students nationwide accepted into the advanced string quartetprogram at the Madeline Island Music Camp. The camp is located on an islandoffshore from the Minneapolis area. Earlier this year, Caroline took top honors in theannual concerto competitions sponsored by both the Raleigh and Durham symphonyorchestras and later performed with both groups. She is majoring in violin under AraGregorian and piano performance under Keiko Sekino. Mary Catherine, who also hasstudied under Gregorian and others, received honorable mentions at both the Raleighand Durham symphony competitions. Caroline and Mary Catherine are the daughtersof optometrists Carson and Valerie Cox of Southern Pines.FurnishedPianist wins Fisher grantAssistant piano professor Benjamin Hochman,one of ECU’s newest music faculty members,has been named a 2011 recipient of an AveryFisher Career Grant, which is presented totalented instrumentalists with great potentialfor solo careers. Hochman will receive astipend of $25,000 to use for specific needsin furthering his career.Hochman joined the School of Music facultyin fall 2010, succeeding Henry Doskey, whoretired. The Israeli-born pianist made hisrecital debut at the Metropolitan Museumof Art in New York, and he has performedwith the New York Philharmonic and theAmerican Symphony Orchestra. He alsohas appeared with symphony orchestras inChicago, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Seattle andPortland, and he has played with the IsraelPhilharmonic Orchestra and the Raanana andJerusalem symphonies.Hochman is scheduled to participate in theAppalachian Summer Festival in Boonetwice in July as part of the Broyhill ChamberEnsemble; he will play with the BostonChamber Music Society in late August.Summer theatre on hiatusThe stage at McGinnis Theatre will be darkthis summer, as the popular ECU/LoessinSummer Theatre program has been affectedby the state’s budget crunch. Two yearsago, the summer program mounted onlyone production, Big River, and last year, ECUtheater students and faculty participated inthe Roanoke Island Festival Park summertheatrical season.This year, however, the drama and musicalseries will take a summer off, says JeffWoodruff, managing director of the ECUsummer theatre program. “There’s beena general, overall pulling back, and we’rebasically all tightening our belts aroundhere,” Woodruff says.Last summer’s financial situation preventedstaging shows on campus, so theopportunity to relocate at least part of thesummer series to Manteo proved to be agood move, he says. But ECU signaled thelikelihood of canceling its summer seasonwhen it was not represented in late wintercasting sessions in New York and other cities.This gave ECU students a chance to go18

FurnishedThe Greenville Museum of Art has expanded its collection of paintings by Francis Speight, who was artist-in-residence at East Carolina for15 years and is considered one of North Carolina’s most accomplished artists. “Winter Scene,” a 40-inch by 42-inch oil, was consideredone of the most important Speight paintings in private hands. Created in 1941, it was acquired by the Rachel Maxwell Moore ArtFoundation and other community donors from Christie’s Auction House in New York and donated to the museum. “Winter Scene,” whichwas owned by Winston-Salem art collector William Hanes, joins a number of other works by Speight and his artist wife, Sarah Blakeslee,that are on permanent display at the museum. Born in Bertie County, Speight studied and then taught at the Pennsylvania Academyof Fine Art from 1920 to 1961. The Rachel Maxwell Moore foundation now has acquired 130 pieces of art for the museum over the past50 years. Located at 802 South Evans Street, the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 1–4 p.m. onweekends. Admission is free.elsewhere for summer experience, Woodruffsays, and “our students are getting lots ofwork in lots of other places. They are doingoutdoor dramas, and some are doing theaterin Charlotte. They are all over the place.”School of Theatre and Dance administratorshope that the current hiatus “is as short aspossible,” he says, and the financial situationwill not affect the 2011–12 season, whichhas announced a full slate of theatrical anddance productions, including ThreepennyOpera, Oklahoma! and Elephant Man.Drama camp: The School of Theatre andDance is expanding its summer drama campprogram on campus this year, with two oneweeksessions instead of a single session.Patricia “Patch” Clark, associate professorand coordinator for both the Theatre forYouth and Theatre Education Programs andfounder and director of the ECU StorybookTheatre, again heads the Drama Camp, withsessions July 18–23 and July 25–30. DramaCamp is divided into three age groups:5–10, 11–13 and 14–18. Instruction is providedin beginning acting and performancetechniques for high school students;character development, performance andscript writing for middle school students;and integrated arts, puppetry, mask making,creative dramatics and storybook theater forelementary school students.Guitar Workshop: Among the guest artistsand instructors at the camp, which takesplace July 10–13, will be Mary Akerman andAndrew Zohn, who have both performed inprevious festivals. Festival artistic directorElliot Frank, professor of guitar in the Schoolof Music, also will perform. Among otherswho will play in recitals, teach classes or bothwill be Adam Kossler ’06, now pursuing adoctorate from Florida State University (July10); You Wang and Carlos Perez (July 11);and Jan Bartlema (July 13). Chinese guitaristYou won the 2010 ECU festival competitionand was first-place winner of the 2011 IndianaInternational Guitar Competition at IndianaUniversity. Perez is a visiting lecturer atColumbus (Ga.) State University. The youthand college level competition finals arescheduled July 13.Band Camp: The popular camp for middleand high school students is June 19–24, withinstruction and opportunities in full concertband, small ensemble and solo performance.Special coaching also will be available in jazzperformance techniques.Jazz Camp: This year’s camp will run June26–30 and provides opportunities forstudents to learn to play in combos, learnjazz theory and participate in improvisationclasses. The camp is for rising seventh gradethrough 12th-grade players. Faculty memberswill be joined by jazz professionals fromaround the state.Summer Choral Camp: The camp for risingseventh grade through 12th grade singerswill be June 26–July 1 and offer activities tostrengthen participants’ vocal skills, musicreading and aural perception of music.Suzuki Institute: This year’s camp will beJune 30 and July 1–8 for teacher instructionand July 2–3 and July 3–8 for studentinstruction. The institute has been ongoingfor nearly 30 years and provides privatelessons in small master classes and grouprepertory classes for all levels from Book1 through advanced. Students are placedaccording to skill level and age.—Steve Row19

By J. Eric Eckardphotography by jay clarkAttendance tripled at women’s softball gamesthis spring after the team began playing in animpressive new stadium that’s the centerpieceof the school’s new Olympic SportsComplex. Similar gains in fan support andstudent interest are expected this fall whenthe rest of the complex opens—a soccerstadium and a state-of-the-art facility fortrack. The complex, enclosed by a gracefulbrick wall and understated architecturaltouches, creates what officials say will be aneye-popping new gateway to campus.Located at the busy corner of Charles andGreenville boulevards adjacent to the footballand baseball stadiums, the 16-acre complexwill be the first impression of the schoolfor many visitors driving into town. “Thesefacilities will provide generations of students,fans, team members and coaches with a firstclassimpression of East Carolina University,”says Athletics Director Terry Holland.The development gives ECU some ofthe best facilities in North Carolina andin Conference USA. “Positive things arehappening on ECU’s campus,” says TraceyKee, the Pirates’ softball coach for the past15 years. “This is not just a football schoolor a baseball school.”The $24-million Olympics Sports Complexis the latest piece of the puzzle to improvePirate sports facilities. Since Holland camehere nearly seven years ago, a total of $60million has been committed to that effort,including the addition of 7,000 seats toDowdy-Ficklen Stadium last year and theplanned construction of a new practicefacility for the basketball and volleyballteams. Holland says the Olympic sportsfacility and the basketball gym will be paidfor with $1.5 million in annual revenue fromthe new football seats and $15 million inprivate fundraising. In addition, the $1.7million in student activity fees that had gonetoward Minges Coliseum, since paid for, will22be transferred to the new complex.In the center will be the new home fornon-revenue sports. The Olympics SportsBuilding will feature home and away lockerrooms for softball, soccer and track events aswell as equipment and training rooms. Thesecond floor will feature a team meeting roomand coaches’ offices. The building includes afully equipped sports medicine facility.All three playing fields will have restrooms,concession stands and wireless Internetaccess. The site is being landscaped withdogwood, holly, magnolia, cherry and mapletrees. A graceful brick and wrought iron wallextends along Greenville Boulevard.The site is a reminder of ECU’s continuingcommitment to what are called non-revenuesports. That commitment was first made twoyears ago with the opening of the NorthRecreational Complex (NRC), a sprawlingarea 10 minutes from campus with eightmultipurpose lighted fields, walking trailsand a six-acre lake. The last phase of theNRC, a six-acre lake with a sandy beach andboat rentals, will be completed soon.Coaches from the three Olympics SportsComplex teams say the facilities will improverecruiting and the overall cache from theschool’s commitment to sports of all types.“The whole place is looking different,” sayswomen’s soccer coach Rob Donnenwirth.“It looks big-time. And it’s setting us up forinclusion in other conferences.”Moving to a Bowl Championship Seriesconference would benefit the footballprogram because of the opportunity toplay in more lucrative postseason bowls.A conference change also would generatemore revenue for all ECU sports programs.But it’s not just about building shiny newstadiums or even winning games, althoughboth are important. What Holland has done,according to Donnenwirth, is to instill themindset that ECU “belongs” in a majorconference with other “big-time” schools.“It’s not just the facilities; it’s the culture thathe’s changed,” Donnenwirth says.Still, the victories have come. The women’ssoccer team posted its best overall record everin 2008 and went undefeated in conferenceplay. The women’s track team finished sixthat the 2010 C-USA Indoor Championships,its best showing in school history. Kee’ssoftball team remains the powerhouse it hasbeen for years; it’s the defending C-USAregular season and tournament championsafter winning at least 40 games in six of thepast seven seasons.Future Pirates are noticing. “ECU finallyhas a home that matches their level of skill,”says Emma Mendoker, a high school pitcherfrom Amherst, Mass., who will play for Keeas a freshman this fall. “For me, the mostimportant thing was the level of play, thecoaches and the academics. But it’s an addedbonus to have such great facilities.”Another incoming freshman athlete, KyleHefkin, who threw the javelin for StateCollege (Pa.) High School’s track team,said the complex influenced his decision.“Part of my decision was based on the newfacilities—probably about 30 percent of mydecision,” says Hefkin, who starts classes thisfall. “I’m pretty excited.”Curt Kraft, ECU’s director of men’s andwomen’s track and field teams, says hebelieves the new facilities definitely willboost community support and improveattendance for the Olympic sports teams.“I’ve been coaching for 26 years, and inall my days of coaching, I’ve never hadthe opportunity to coach on a brand-newfacility,” Kraft says. “But this is not aboutme, and it’s not about 2012. This is aboutthe future—2018, 2022. This will be herefor generations to come.”

SOCCERThe new soccer stadium is similar in designand materials as the baseball stadium. Thestadium will feature a video scoreboard anda modern press box. The stadium has 1,000seats, 192 of which are chairbacks. The field islarger than most such facilities, measuring 360feet from goal line to goal line and 225 feetfrom sideline to sideline.With its size, the soccer stadium can morereadily host regional tournaments, somethingECU could not do until now because itsexisting soccer facility was too small. “Didwe lose recruits because of our old facility?Possibly,” Coach Rob Donnenwirth says. “Ithink when the stadium is [completed], andthey’re coming to games, that’s when it willreally kick in.”East Carolina suspended its men’s soccerprogram in 2005. In three previous seasons,the men’s team went 7-37-3 and wonjust two conference games. Holland saidthen that the program could not continuewithout “a significant increase in resources”which weren’t available at the time. Thoseresources now seem to be coming into focus.23

SOFTBALLThe first of the three Olympic Sports Complex fieldsto debut, the softball stadium opened Feb. 16. CoachTracey Kee calls it a “miniature Clark-LeClair Stadium,”complete with lights, three covered batting cages, astate-of-the-art press box and a video scoreboardin right-center field. The stadium has 1,000 seats, ofwhich 200 are chairbacks. The field is 200 feet fromhome plate to the outfield foul poles. It’s 220 feet todead center.Although not expected to draw the same numbersas the Pirate baseball team with its near cult-likefollowing at the 6-year-old 3,000-seat Clark-LeClairStadium, the softball team “has unbelievable fans whoare slowly falling in love with the program,” Kee says.Incoming freshman Emma Mendoker, who has followedthe progress of the new softball stadium during visitsto ECU’s campus, says she was speechless when shesaw the near-finished field late last year. “When I firstwent into the stands and looked out onto the field,it’s hard to describe, but it was just how it waspresented,” Mendoker said. “I was readyto skip my senior year.”24

Jim Hunt’sMs. Fix-ItRocked by scandal and plagued withinefficiencies, the N.C. Division of MotorVehicles was the epitome of governmentgone wrong. It took three months just toget a car title transferred. The governorwanted an overhaul so he called on theperson he knew could get the job done—with grace. He tapped Janice Faulkner, aveteran college professor and DemocraticParty organizer whose second careerin politics often outshines an equallyoutstanding one in academia.29

By Marion BlackburnWhen she arrived at ECU, Janice HardisonFaulkner ’53 ’56 came armed with strongrural values and a tough skin from playingbaseball with future pitching greats Jim andGaylord Perry. Hard work came naturallyafter growing up on a Martin County farm,where sunrise brought countless chores andfarm duties. Education, she knew, was herticket off the farm.The grit and determination she demonstratedthen and later as a teacher and politicianinspired others to reach higher. “You’ve gotto connect to people who are engaged,” shesays. “You seek access, you find out more,you pour your energy into inquiry.”Starting with her first job teaching Englishat East Carolina in 1957, Faulknerdistinguished herself by encouragingstudents with her love for writers like JohnSteinbeck, Katherine Anne Porter andEudora Welty. In addition to teaching, sheserved as head of the Regional DevelopmentInstitute, which promotes economic growthin the East. She supported the college inother roles, including serving as a chartermember of the Board of Visitors.She had spent 36 years in the classroomwhen she began a phased retirement in 1992.About that time she got a call from Gov. JimHunt, whom she had met years earlier duringa student government trip. An energeticyoung lawyer and student organizer, Hunthad sought her help back then with an eventfeaturing Leo Jenkins. A great friendshipdeveloped between them. After his electionto a third term as governor in 1992, Huntnamed her secretary of the N.C. Departmentof Revenue. She became Hunt’s go-to personwhen thorny problems arose, such as in 1996when he turned to her to clean up a politicalmess in the Secretary of State’s office.She had restored integrity to that officewhen Hunt called with another assignment,appointing her commissioner of the DMVin 1997. By that time she knew politics30coddled no one, but she refused to letuncertainty limit her. “I wasn’t there topursue any goal for myself,” she says. “I wasthere to serve a governor I trusted, and thatmade me a little more confident than I wouldhave been under different circumstances.”In an interview with East, Hunt called her“one of the best people I ever worked with.You can tell how much how much I thinkof her. I was always very careful about thepeople I picked out, not only knowledgeableand able, but people who were reallypassionate about making change. She knowshow to reason carefully and persuasively,speak powerfully and convincingly. She waswilling to take on any job.”Although she often was the first woman toserve in statewide political positions, shecould handle the tough personalities oneencounters in the rough and tumble ofpolitics. “There’s a steel fist under that velvetglove,” Hunt said.A governor’s first choiceFaulkner says she felt like a visitor whenshe first joined DMV. Employees lackeddirection and supervisors resented her.“There were people who behaved badly onpresumed entitlement,” she recalls. “Becausethey knew people in powerful places, theydidn’t believe they were accountable to thecommissioner. So I just ignored them. I saidto the workers, ‘We’ve got to make this thebest agency in state government.’”Within weeks, the DMV was clicking onall cylinders. She appealed to employees todo their best—and they responded to herdown-to-earth appeal by moving thousandsof backlogged titles. She relied on hermother’s advice—and her father’s temper—to get things done.“You have to be polite, and kind andgenteel,” she says her mother told her. “Youhave to behave yourself until that stopsworking. When it stops working, you goright on and behave just like your Daddy,”she says. “My Daddy would pound the tableand cuss. So I learned to know when he hadto kick in.”“There are a certain number of bullies,” shesays. “If they are in control of an agendayou’re committed to delivering, you have toconfront them at some point. You have tokick them around the ankles.”Her steel fist in a velvet glove workedmiracles. Faulkner brought such efficiencyto the DMV that the title turnaround timeshrank to four days.She left state government in 2001 and hascontinued to work for the community oncampus and off. She currently serves as chairof the Pitt Memorial Hospital FoundationBoard of Trustees, as well as a member of theECU Women’s Roundtable. She was honoredwith an Outstanding Alumni Award in1993 and in 2009 received the Jarvis Medal,which recognizes extraordinary service to theuniversity. Earlier this year the Greenville-PittCounty Chamber of Commerce presentedher with its Legends Award.Looking behind—and aheadAs she reflects on public life, she generouslyshares stories without dropping names,though she certainly could. She met Johnand Robert Kennedy in 1960 when, at28, she was the youngest delegate to theNational Democratic Convention. “Bobbywas doing a lot of the heavy lifting for Jack’scampaign for the presidency,” she recalls.“He was very visible in the convention thatyear.” Later she met Ted Kennedy.Among the framed photos in her Greenvillehome are pictures of Hunt, former Lt. Gov.Dennis Wicker and JFK’s official WhiteHouse portrait. Nearby is a touchingblack-and-white image of Robert Kennedybeneath a painting of Christ. In anotherphoto she’s seen with British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher.

There are fewer volumes in her toweringbookshelves these days, because in Februaryshe made an exceptional gift to JoynerLibrary of first-editions and rare books,many of which have been added to theSpecial Collections and North CarolinaCollections.“It’s always especially meaningful to have thesupport of a long-time faculty member, andof such an important public figure in thestate,” says Maury York, assistant directorfor Special Collections. “The gift of booksis important, and to know that someone ofher standing and caliber supports the librarymeans a great deal to us.”Among the books she donated is a specialfirst edition of John Steinbeck’s East ofEden in a box, signed by the author. HarryGolden’s biography of Carl Sandburg, signedby both of them, also figured among thecollection. Cale, a novel by Sylvia Wilkinson,will go into the Roberts Collection of fictionset in North Carolina.One she held onto is a book about NorthCarolina’s first ladies autographed by severalof them.With her reputation as the iron lady of publicservice, it’s easy to forget she made her nameas a teacher. She always emphasized doingyour best. “I wanted students to pay attentionwhile they were in my keep,” she says.One former student, Wanda Yuhas ’75,executive director of the Pitt CountyEconomic Development Commission,remembers her considerable influence. “Shewas smart, she was funny. She made youwant to learn more.”“I was 19 years old and [having Faulkner asa teacher] changed my entire outlook on life,”Yuhas says. “We knew we could call on herfor advice or for assistance. She changed whowe are and changed who we are as a regionand as a state. She raised the bar for all of us.”EastJANICE HARDISON FAULKNER ’53 ’56ECU instructor and department chair1957–1992Director, Regional Development InstituteDirector of alumni affairsAssociate vice chancellor forregional developmentNorth Carolina state government1993Secretary of Revenue1996Secretary of State,the first woman to serve in that role1997–2001Commissioner of theDivision of Motor VehiclesOther honors and service1993Outstanding Alumni Award1989–1991President , N.C. World Trade Association1994Founding member and first chair of theuniversity’s Board of Visitors1998Honorary doctorate from ECU2003First chair of the ECU Women’s Roundtable2007100 Incredible ECU Women2009Jarvis MedalCurrentChair, Pitt County Memorial HospitalFoundation Board of Trustees and member ofthe PCMH Board of TrusteesUniversity Archives31

from the classroomSociologist,surfer dude

Jeff Johnson,one of ECU’smost honoredprofessors, cancapture a student’sattention—andcatch a wave.By Justin BoulmayWhen he was in graduate school, one of sociologyprofessor Jeffrey Johnson’s favorite classes requiredstudents to write a paper every other week and thensubmit their work for review by their classmates. Thatrepeated criticism showed Johnson the strong pointsand weak points in his arguments. It also taughtJohnson that his best work wouldn’t come easily.“The more I suffered, the better it was,” he says.The longer he’s been in the classroom at EastCarolina—which will be 30 years soon—the furtherJohnson has moved away from teaching by thetraditional lecture method. He wants his studentsengaged the same way he was as a college student. Heknows they will work harder if they have a personalstake in the outcome. “If you’ve got something thatpeople care about and then you have them take whatyou’re trying to teach them and put it to bear onwhat they care about, they’ll learn more and they’regoing to be more interested,” Johnson says.33

For his doctoral students, the incentive is tolearn more about the mechanics of research.Throughout the semester, his students writeobjectives, develop questions and hypotheses,and then submit their work to the classfor feedback. This teaching method givesstudents both a finished project at the end ofthe semester as well as experience defendingtheir views. That knowledge will come inhandy when they defend their dissertationsbefore a faculty committee.Jamie Brinkley, who is pursuing his Ph.D. incoastal resource management and also worksfor Johnson, said he has even enrolled incourses taught by Johnson that really weren’trelated to his major. “He just makes it fun,”he said. “He’s pretty personable.”Johnson himself likes seeing what happenswhen his students grasp what’s beingtaught in class. “I enjoy seeing studentsget something and actually being able tothink critically and apply something andsee the lights go off,” he says. “It doesn’talways happen, but when it does, it’s a realsatisfying thing.”Distinguished professorand scientistJohnson is one of East Carolina’s mostdecorated professors. He’s served as adistinguished research professor the past fouryears and was the 2010 Thomas HarriotCollege of Arts and Sciences DistinguishedProfessor. In addition to teaching, he alsoserves as a senior scientist at the Institutefor Coastal Science and Policy. He receivedECU’s 2007 Lifetime Achievement Awardin Research and Creative Activity. He hasauthored several books and dozens of peerreviewedarticles published in scholarlyjournals. He’s a favorite mentor for master’sand doctoral students in the Departmentof Sociology and the coastal resourcemanagement Ph.D. program.Winning the distinguished professoraward “was a great honor, and the peoplewho’ve gone before me—I knew some ofthe others—it was an honor to be in theirpresence, in themembership of thatparticular club.”Johnson hastraveled to Russia,Alaska and theAntarctic forresearch; he’sjourneyed toPanama and ElSalvador to pursueanother of hispassions: surfing.That’s a sport he’senjoyed since themid-1960s growingup in California.Johnson hadentered the University of California–Irvinewith the intention of becoming an engineer.However, he took an anthropology courseand was hooked on the subject. When thelocal economy suffered layoffs in the localaerospace industry in the 1970s, Johnsonstarted to think that if he was going to beunemployed, then he might as well pursuesomething he enjoyed.He graduated from UC–Irvine in 1975with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology.He started his doctoral classes as anundergraduate student, which allowed him toearn his Ph.D. in social science in 1981.Surfing in El Salvador$2 million in research fundingResearch is also something Johnson enjoysand, judging by the amount of funding he’sreceived over the years, is something at whichhe is talented. He has received more than 50grants totaling more than $2 million over thelast five years alone to support his research.Some of Johnson’s work has focusedon coastal issues, such as a study in theearly 1990s regarding conflicts betweencommercial and recreational fisherman,as well as tagging data from news articlesfrom the Sudan Tribune to build a networkof concepts that reveals the links betweenparticular topics, such as possible conflictsbetween two tribes. He’s also publishedresearch on ear infections among childrenin eastern North Carolina. Other projectsprovided Johnson with the opportunity tounderstand what makes social groups survive.During research in Alaska, Johnson studied agroup of fishermen who were on strike. Thegroup regularly picked on one of its members,but those actions helped to relieve tensionamong the group, which also rewarded themember it picked on by giving him fish. SoJohnson further explored how the importanceof these roles by studying different workingcommunities at Antarctic polar-researchstations belonging to the United States,Russia, India, China and Poland.Each study of each station yielded thesame answer: the more a group hasinformal roles—such as the informalleader and even the group “clown”—andmaintains a face-to-face connection, thestronger the group will be.“And lo and behold, it even holds up acrosscultures that the more of these informalroles of a certain mix you have, the betterthe group does,” Johnson said.Understanding human behaviorThese days, Johnson is helping the U.S.Army better understand other cultures.34

He has a two-year contract to develop abasic social-science program for the ArmyResearch Office that will help soldiers betterunderstand human behavior and othercultures. This year he is spending about 60percent of his time working for the militaryon the project.The Army’s request reflects a shift from the“us versus them” social perspective of theworld that was held during the Cold War.“There’s all kinds of players in any kind ofconflict or any kind of humanitarian effort,”Johnson says. “The real problem no longeris necessarily having to do with weaponsor anything else. The problem is trying tounderstand people, understand culture,understand those kinds of things.”His work could help the military know howbest to interact with people in countrieslike Afghanistan and Iraq, although theprogram isn’t specifically geared toward theMiddle East. Because the course is rootedin better understanding human behavior,it could help explore why the uprisings inthe Middle East and North Africa thatoccurred this year happened now and notfive years ago. Social networking sites likeFacebook and Twitter might have helpedfacilitate those uprisings, but Johnson alsosuggests underlying causes like rising foodprices and the lack of political freedom.Johnson visited Iraq last fall and interviewedFBI agents who told him that Iraqi judgesdon’t even consider forensic evidence whenhearing a case. However, many Iraqis havelearned about what constitutes evidence incourt by watching reruns of such AmericanTV cop shows as CSI.That’s one piece of a puzzle that alsoinvolves overcoming bad history. People haveto trust that they’ll be treated fairly whenthey appear in court, so in a place like Iraq,how do you get a Sunni citizen to trust thata Shia judge will try their case fairly? “Thoseare all human problems,” Johnson said.Judging by his previous accomplishments,the Army appears to have found the rightman for the job.Liza Wieland’s third collectionof short fiction is filled withwomen who find themselves atemotional crossroads: A younggirl encounters the elderly EzraPound in Venice; Marie Curie’sdaughter Eve attends thefuneral of her mother’s loverin Paris; a woman survivesthe 1944 Nazi massacre inOradour, France; a nun inNew York City catchesa baby dropped out awindow; a U.S. collegeapplicant whose talentis performing signlanguage at poetryreadings. As eachdeals with thedelicious dangersthey encounter,they seem togain a firmerunderstandingof themselvesand their ownambitions—aquickening,if you will, of the spirit.Wieland paints beautiful wordportraits of these unusualcharacters. The winner of twoPushcart Prizes, as well asfellowships from the NationalEndowment for the Arts,the Christopher IsherwoodFoundation and the NorthCarolina Arts Council, Wielandalso has written three novelsand a book of poems. On theacknowledgements page, shesays the book could not havebeen completed without a grantshe received from the ThomasHarriott College of Arts andSciences, where she teachesin the English department.It’s unfortunate, then, that the“About the Author” blurb saysshe teaches at Eastern CarolinaUniversity.QuickeningSouthern MethodistUniversity Press256 pages, $23.95Books by Faculty

Tom Raedeke

Mind GamesThe brain is a muscle,so sport psychologists train athletes toexercise it same as their abs, delts and pecs.Here are their workout tips on how you can, too.

By Bethany BradsherpHOTOGRAPHY BY FORREST CROCE38Hoping to boost morale and productivity,companies often bring in a motivationalspeaker to lead a rah-rah meeting to improveworkers’ attitude and motivation. Golfersrush out to buy the latest video promisingmental secrets to lower scores. But thesequick-fix approaches hardly ever work,according to psychology professor TomRaedeke, who has worked with athletes andcoaches for more than 20 years. Coachesaround campus agree with him that just asphysical skills can only become consistentthrough practice and repetition, improvingyour mental game only comes fromlearning proper thinking patterns and thencommitting to practice, practice, practice.“Some athletes are more physically giftedthan others, but everybody can improvetheir physical skills,” Raedeke says. “It takessystematic training, it takes hard work, ittakes conscientious effort. The same thingis true with the mental game. Some athletesare naturally more mentally tough, butevery single athlete can learn and grow andimprove in their mental game.”The mental demands in college athleticsvary from sport to sport, but the commonthread is this: A breakdown above the neckcan nullify untold hours of physical training.It happens when athletes can’t duplicate howthey perform in practice when they’re underthe pressure of competition.Raedeke has worked with volleyball players,runners and other athletes, but he prefers totrain coaches in the fundamentals of sportpsychology. If he can help a coach, he reasons,the impact will be much broader than if heworks with just one athlete at a time.“In talking to a lot of coaches, they say,‘I’m really good at the Xs and Os. I knowthe game. But that mental stuff ? That’s kindof touchy feely. I’m not sure what to dowith that.’” Raedeke says. “I think coachesare receptive to it, but some just aren’t verycomfortable in that side of it.”For us weekend warriors looking to improveour games, the good news is that this touchyfeelystuff that works for college athletes canwork for us, too. The experts say you shouldstart by focusing on your attitude. Thinkabout it like a muscle needing a workout.Take your mental pulse dailyIf any coach understands the necessity formental as well as physical workouts, it’sRick Kobe. As the head coach for 60-plusswimmers and divers, he presides over asport requiring early-morning workouts ina chlorine-scented facility that is more than40 years old. College swimmers never seethe sun; it’s a grind that tends to wear onsome psyches.“In swimming, it’s every single day, everysingle practice,” says Kobe, ECU’s longestservinghead coach, with 29 years ofexperience. “Any good swim coach has to bea psychologist or it’s not going to happen.”Kobe relies on his team leaders to continuallytake the mental pulse of other team membersand let a coach know when someone isstruggling. He might not do anything if oneof his swimmers seems off at one practice,he said, but if he sees the same poor attitudeon the second day he will have a one-on-onemeeting with the swimmer to help get themback on track.When he works with athletes, Raedeke, whohas been at East Carolina since 1998 and hasexperience in venues like the U.S. OlympicTraining Center, tries to identify what hascropped up to block their focus. “What Itry to do is figure out what is standing inthe way of them reaching their potentialor performing up to their physical abilitiesand then try to improve their mental game,”he says. “What I try to do is give them theskills to perform in a pressure situation.”Golf, it’s often said, is played on a six-inchcourse between your ears, which is why men’sand women’s golf coaches Press McPhauland Kevin Williams are completely sold onthe benefits of the mental game. They teachkids that if you master the little things,big things usually will follow. “It may beoversimplifying it a little bit, but a goodround is built on a lot of good shots, andgood shots are built on being confident,and being confident is built on feelingprepared, and feeling prepared comes fromhaving a trusted process that has yieldedgood results,” McPhaul says. “Most of thetime that they are having some swing erroror physical error, if you trace that back farenough that root is probably in some mentalor lack of trust breakdown. “Avoid ‘mental blindness’So, you develop and religiously adhere to apractice regimen, which helps you produce awinning backhand or a great putting stroke.It pays off when you hit that great shot andfeel that rush of adrenaline. You feel greatuntil your next shot sails out of bounds.What happened?Williams is constantly preaching a concepthe calls “emotional blindness,” which teachesgolfers to avoid letting one emotionalexperience affect their next decision on thecourse. “Emotional blindness is, you hita bad shot, and you let that control yournext decision.”Often it helps to stop thinking about yourperformance altogether. When Williams firsttook the ECU job in 2007, the team’s lonesenior was a Swedish golfer named EmelieLind. Lind had been averaging 77 strokesper round, scores that Williams felt didn’treflect her potential. He concluded she wasstruggling because she was too fixated onher own scorecard. He tried a new approach,telling Lind that as the team’s senior leadershe needed to stop thinking about her ownscore and instead focus on what she could doto direct her teammates.“During her senior year she had her loweststroke average ever, taking off almost twoand-a-halfstrokes per round,” Williams says.“I firmly believe that because she stoppedworrying about her game and just playedgolf, she got out of her own way.”

Volleyball coach Pati Rolf has integrated acampus ROTC instructor’s experience andinsight into her quest to develop leadershipon her squad. Lt. Col. Eric Buller, whofought in Somalia and now teaches militaryscience in Army ROTC, has met with thevolleyball players weekly to challenge themto dig deeper in athletics, in the classroomand in the community.“The first step was defining a leader,” saysBuller, who came to view his sessions withthe volleyball team as one of the highlightsof his week. “The act of defining leadershipis the instrument that has gotten them toopen up and talk about things.”Realize it’s a battle out thereJeff Connors is a coach known for his abilityto zero in on the mental side of the game.A strength-and-conditioning coach, he’sfond of saying, “Confidence is born ofdemonstrated ability.” And that ability, hebelieves, comes from showing determinationand focus through intensive strength-andconditioningregimens.Connors has made a 30-year career out ofhelping athletes find the internal motivationto push themselves up to and past physicallimits in the weight room and on the track.With a bookshelf full of military biographiesand tactical books, Connors adheres tothe ideals that soldiers carry into battle,and he believes that coaches can inspireathletes to the type of loyalty, hard work andselflessness that defines our military.When he held the same position at ECU inthe ’90s under head coaches Bill Lewis andSteve Logan, Connors became known forpulling surprising results from athletes whostarted out smaller, weaker and less recruitedthan their opponents at larger programs.With his drill sergeant mentality and plentyof tough love, Connors combined a stream ofpositive motivation with a brutal conditioningregimen to ensure that no team would be fitterin the fourth quarter than his team.“My favorite book is the Marine Corpswarfighting skills manual, because I cango in there and read about character, andI can read about discipline, and I can readabout accountability and I can read aboutleadership, and all these things have parallelsto athletics,” Connors says. “What I alwaystell athletes is I draw these parallels because ifit’s good enough for the most successful warfighting machine in the history of the world,it’s probably going to work for us, too.”EastJeff Connors39

pirate nationFrom guarding presidents toprotecting studentsAmong the first steps taken by the UNCBoard of Governors after the Virginia Techshooting tragedy was to hire an expert tolead a safety improvement effort for all thecampuses. The board found that expertisein Brent Herron ’77, a veteran SecretService agent who had helped guard fivepresidents. Since being named the UNCsystem’s associate vice president for safetyand emergency operations two years ago,Herron has worked quietly to implementa range of programs to improve studentsafety. He stepped into the spotlight recentlyto deliver a status report to the board andthe assembled chancellors. Here are somehighlights of his presentation:It’s a big problem. If the UNC system werea city, it would be the third largest in NorthCarolina with a population of more than265,000—about 220,000 students and45,000 faculty and staff.Campus police are highly trained. Allcampus officers are trained and statecertified.Five campus police departments,including ECU’s, have the same accreditationas city police departments.Policing a campus is difficult. Besidestraditional duties, campus cops operatehighly technical campus security systems andperform tasks city police don’t, like guardingmajor sporting events, concerts and theaterperformances. Campus police departmentsacted on more than 260,000 calls in 2010.At N.C. State, the 911 center answered80,153 calls last year.Student counseling centers help. Severalcampuses, including ECU, now operateaccredited counseling centers to servestudents. Counselors at these centers reportthat depression and anxiety are commonreasons students seek psychological help.Counselors talk with faculty and staff whenthere is a specificsafety concern.Use all availableresources. All thecampuses now havein place trained threatassessment teamswith representativesfrom the counselingcenter, campus police,academic affairs,residence life, deanof students’ office and human resources.Each campus has a written protocol foridentifying and responding to students whopotentially pose a threat. Faculty, staff andstudents should be trained to recognize signsof violence, suicide and mental illness.Respond instantly. Each campus hasemergency notification and communicationplans that include loud sirens and warningsbroadcast via test messages, voice mail,e-mail, web site and social media.Train for the worst. All UNC campusesconduct safety exercises at least twice a year.These include tabletop exercises and full-scale“active shooter” drills. A consulting companythat specializes in emergency response andpreparedness facilitates the drills. The toplesson learned from these drills is thatcommunication is the most critical elementto achieve the best emergency response.“It’s been a big learning experience for mebecause I had never worked on a campus,”Herron said the challenges of his job, whichincludes oversight of the 16 UNC universitycampuses and the N.C. School for Scienceand Math. “When I came on board we had17 campuses moving forward but in 17directions and my job was to say, ‘Let’s lookat this from a system perspective.’ I know fora fact that on the public safety side of thehouse, everybody now has a better idea ofhow [proactive safety programs] operate. Wehave better communication,” he added.All but two of the 16 campuses conductedfull-scale “active shooter” drills in the pastyear in which authorities respond as if itwere the real thing. Two campuses thatpreviously trained for a shooting incidentswitched to train for other disasters—ahurricane and a train derailment.Herron worked for the Secret Service for21 years until taking the UNC job. In thattime he worked protective assignments forpresidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, GeorgeH.W. Bush, Clinton and George W.Bush. “Reagan was in the last year of hispresidency when I started. The assignmentswith Ford and Carter were as formerpresidents. Most of my protection time waswith presidents Clinton and G.W. Bush,”Herron said. A photo on his office wall ofMarine One, which transports presidents toand from the White House, was presentedto Herron by the Marine squadron thatoperates the helicopter.The son of a military man, Herron isoriginally from Durham but moved arounda lot growing up. His is a true Pirate family.“My brother went to ECU, my two sisters,and my brother in law. My niece and ourdaughter are current students, so ECUdefinitely runs in our blood.”40

Alumni welcome atsummer outingsFreshmen Sendoffs events are a fun way foralumni to reconnect with each other andto meet the newest class of Pirates. Heldacross the Pirate Nation, these summeroutings are open to alumni and friends whowant to encourage Pirate spirit and instillPirate pride in the Class of 2015. FreshmenSendoffs will occur in the following areas:Arlington, Va.Charlotte, N.C.Clemmons, N.C.Fayetteville, N.C.Morehead City, N.C.New York metro—Cranford, N.J.Norfolk, Va.Philadelphia metro—Cherry Hill, N.J.Powhatan, Va.Raleigh, N.C. (2)Wilmington, N.C.Nominate someonefor an alumni awardEach fall the Alumni Association recognizesalumni and friends through our AlumniAwards Program. Alumni are recognizedwith Outstanding Alumni Awards forthose who have demonstrated uncommonachievement in their profession, in civicaffairs, and/or in politics. DistinguishedService Awards are given to alumni thathave given their time and talents to advancethe university through exceptional service.Honorary Alumni Awards are bestowed uponthose who did not attend the university,but have adopted it as their own throughoutstanding service, continuing commitment,and loyalty.Save the Date!July 11—Alumni Tailgate ticketson sale for membersSeptember 29—Pirate’s BountyScholarship AuctionSeptember 30—ECU AlumniScholarship Classic golftournamentOctober 28-29—HomecomingNominations for the 2012 AlumniAwards are now being accepted. Pleasevisit PirateAlumni.com/awardsprocessfor nomination materials and directionson submitting a nomination. Please callthe Alumni Center at 800-ECU-GRADwith questions.Exceptional Contribution awardsSix individuals and one group were honoredin April with Black Alumni ExceptionalContribution Awards at the “Reclaimingthe Past, Celebrating the Future”Reunion Gala during the Black AlumniReunion. Honorees were selected basedon outstanding contribution to the EastCarolina community and/or to their localcommunity. This year’s recipients include:Dr. Sheila G. Bunch ’77 of Greenville, directorof ECU’s School of Social WorkMr. Michael Moseley ’80 of Kinston,retired state Health and Human ServicesadministratorRev. James D. Corbett ’85 of Greenville,founder and pastor of Community ChristianChurchMs. Brenda Myrick ’92 of Greenville,administrator of Operative Services at PittCounty Memorial HospitalVonta Leach ’10, running back for the NFL’sHouston TexansDerval Hamilton of Greenville, exercisephysiology major and president of Circle KInternational at ECUEta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha FraternityNominations for 2012 Black AlumniExceptional Contribution Awards areaccepted year round. Visit PirateAlumni.com/blackalumnirecognition to download anomination form.Award recipients and other reunionparticipants enjoyed a weekend of eventswith the Michael Jackson theme “Rememberthe Times.” Activities included “I Want YouBack” mixer, “Got to Be There” GospelChoir Concert, Party with the Pros, “ABrand New Day” conversation, the 4thAnnual Pirate Alumni Road Race and FunRun, and the Annual Purple/Gold SpringFootball Game.In honor of Service Month, members ofthe Wake County Chapter of the AlumniAssociation formed a fundraising teamto assist the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, acharity that provides funding for researchto find cures for childhood cancers. Theteam surpassed its initial $2,000 goal byraising $2,730. The culminating event hadsix members of the team shave their headsat Napper Tandy’s during the charity’sannual festival.Reunion, anyone?Is your affinity group interested in gettingtogether? Contact the Alumni Associationto start planning your reunion. Whateverthe common interest, athletics, clubsand organizations, societies, the AlumniAssociation will work with you to plan anengaging and fun schedule of events.Call 800-ECU-GRAD or e-mailalumni@PirateAlumni.com to get started.41

CLASS NOTES2010MARY HOWELL exhibited her work at the UptownArt Gallery in Greenville. Staff Sgt. KATHERINEL. TRIPP, 982nd Combat Camera, completed theU.S. Army Combatives School at Fort Benning, Ga.She is a graduate student at ECU. MARGIE GRAYWORKMAN is an account manager with ConfidentialRecords Management Inc. in Greenville.2009ERIKA LYNN CONWAY was promoted to bankcenter manager at Bank of America and managesthe branch on West First Street in Greenville. Shewas assistant branch manager at Bank of America inWashington, N.C. BRANDON HENDERSONjoined Next Level Training Center in Greenville. Heplayed baseball at ECU. CHARLES DAVID PARKSjoined the Greensboro office of Brady Services as astaff accountant. JENNIFER RAINES wed LEI“NATHAN” ZHU ’08 at Messiah Lutheran Churchin Wilmington on Sept. 25. A second ceremony washeld a week later in Wuhan, China. ERIN TARTjoined the Country Club of North Carolina inPinehurst as special events and catering manager. Shewas resort services coordinator for Pinehurst Resort.JAY ROSS, a defensive lineman on the Green BayPackers’ practice squad, and C. J. WILSON, a Packers’defensive end, were on the Super Bowl winning team.2008ELIZABETH PAIGE BAGGETT ’08 ’10 teachessoftball at Next Level Training Center in Greenville.She played four years on the ECU softball team.JAKE DEAN joined Next Level Training Centerin Greenville. He played baseball at ECU. LEOJOHNSON II joined Going Bananas in Greenville,which offers a variety of games and activities forchildren. CHRISTIN NAOMI MATTHEWS wedJason Moore Harman on July 24 at Fuquay-VarinaBaptist Church in Fuquay-Varina. She teaches secondgrade in the Moore County School System. JIMMCATEE is director of career services at IndianaUniversity–Purdue University Fort Wayne (Indiana).He was in the ECU career services office. ASHLEYMARIE MCDUFFIE wed Dwight David Gane Jr.on Oct. 30 at the New Hanover County Arboretumin Wilmington. She works for Coastal ChiropracticCenter. SUSAN STANCILL ’08 ’09 joined EasternPsychiatric & Behavioral Specialists in Greenville,where she offers behavioral psychotherapy to pediatricand adult patients. KATIE REESE WEINER wedSteven Lewis Burger on Sept. 25 at the Orchard Housein Concord. She works for Gaston County Hospice.2007ELIZABETH FULTON was selected as treasurer ofthe executive board for the Student Bar Association forAlumni SpotlightMichellePearson’92,foundingmemberandcurrentlyone of fourartisticdirectorsof EvenExchangeDanceTheater inRaleigh,was invited by the U.S. State Department to serve as acultural envoy to Freetown, Sierra Leone, for two weeks inJanuary. Pearson worked with local groups in creating danceprograms and in cross-cultural exercises. In a country where80 percent of the population is illiterate, dance can be aneffective means of communication. “As a choreographer, Ioften learn about the world by dancing and creating dances,”Pearson says. “I believe an artist’s job is to provide anunderstanding of common issues in a different, deeper ornew way. Making dances about meaningful, difficult,surprising and human issues with a range of people is oneway to meet this challenge.” She specializes in working withgroups who would not ordinarily get to experience andcreate through dance. In turn she gathers information andmaterial from those she dances with. This “even exchange”provides the name for her theater company.GarrettMcNeill ’08worked in anorphanage inBen Hoa,Vietnam,beforeheading outto Guatemalaon his journeyto minister tothe poor in 11countries in 11months. As avolunteer in the Great Race, a nondenominational Christiancharitable organization, McNeill travels with other volunteers.“There is so much that needs to be done and that can bedone and this year has really opened my eyes to the lives ofmillions of people around the world and that we have theability to create a better life for them and for ourselves.” InGuatemala, McNeill’s group is fitting special needs childrenwith wheelchairs.43

class notesAlumni SpotlightOne year ago Rachelle Friedman ’08 was planning herwedding to Chris Chapman ’05 ’08. At her bachelorettecelebration in Raleigh, she was playfully shoved intoa pool by one of her bridesmaids. She hit her head onthe bottom and was paralyzed from the collarbonedown. The wedding was postponed, but Friedman andChapman are adjusting to their new life, living outside ofRaleigh in a house they bought together. When news ofher accident and their positive response to the tragedybecame national news, Friedman was chosen by theNBC television show George to the Rescue, whichsurprises people who have overcome difficulties ofsome sort with home renovations.“They saw my story somewhere and realized it wasn’t allpeaches and cream and wanted to know how Chris andI have been affected,” said Friedman. “I thought I washaving a typical interview when George to the Rescuesurprised me by showing up at our door.”The remodeling added an elevator to the home and alift system to help her get in and out of bed. The masterbath and closet were adjusted so Friedman can reacheverything from her wheelchair. The halls and doorwayswere widened to accommodate the wheelchair. Theguest bedroom and garage were decorated with an ECUtheme. A ramp and sidewalk were added to their deckso Friedman can access the back yard to play with theirdogs, PeeDee and [Jolly] Roger.“To be able to shower, pick out my own clothes and puton make-up myself has been amazing. It’s easier to bemyself now.”After the accident, Friedman spent two months at PittCounty Memorial Hospital and has made the most ofphysical-therapy sessions allotted by her insurancecompany. As a former dance and aerobics instructor,she’s determined to overcome and stay active. A majorsource of strength for Friedman comes from playing onthe Raleigh Sidewinders quadriplegic rugby team.“I get stronger and stronger at each practice. We doeverything any other team would do, laps and suicides.I have found camaraderie in the teammates. I can askthem questions and they can give so much supportsince they know what I’m going through.”Last fall Friedman appeared at ECU’s annual AdaptedRecreation and Wellness Day at the Student Rec Centerto share her experience with how playing competitiverugby has helped her physically and mentally. As anundergraduate, she volunteered at the event andplayed tennis and basketball in a wheelchair. WatchingMurderball, a movie about a team of paraplegics whoplay full-contact wheelchair rugby, for a class also gaveher some insight into adaptive sports.“This movie has helped me stay positive, because Iknew I could be independent and have fun.” A formerlifeguard, she said she would “love to get more involvedwith lifeguards and talk about being alert, safety aroundthe pool, and knowing the signs of injury.”The couple shares a love for ECU and Pirate football. “Ihave never missed a football game and was a volunteerat the ticket office,” said Friedman. “I had season ticketsbefore the accident, but was able to change them tothe handicapped seats. Almost everything in my life haschanged, but watching ECU play football hasn’t. I justhave better seats now.”—Jessica Nottinghamthe 2010–2011 academic year at the Charleston (S.C.)School of Law. ALLEN LLOYD LAWRENCE JR.wed Elizabeth Ann Baggett on Nov. 6 at the DuckWoods Country Club, Southern Shores. He isself-employed in construction management. CASIMOORING ’07 ’09 joined Eastern Psychiatric &Behavioral Specialists PLLC in Greenville, where sheprovides medical management to patients with behavioraland/or emotional issues. KATIE LYNN TYSON wedPhillip Charles Entzminger on Oct. 10 at First Free44Will Baptist Church in Greenville. She is pursuing asecond degree in clinical laboratory science at ECU.2006BRIAN FLYE is a home mortgage consultant in theGreenville office of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.MICHELE GLINCOSKY GARCIA received herMS in speech language pathology from ECU. Sheworks for the Ft. Worth (Texas) Independent SchoolDistrict. Dr. TANA HALL, specialist in obstetricsand gynecology, joined ECU’s Brody School ofMedicine and its group medical practice, ECUPhysicians, as an assistant professor. Dr. NICHOLASJERNIGAN heads a special needs department openedby Wilmington Health to see children and adults withautism, Down syndrome and other genetic diseasesand developmental disorders. ROBERT J. LEWISIII was appointed as planning department directorfor Columbus County. He was the planner/GISadministrator for Elizabethtown. LYNNLY MARTIN

Alumni Spotlight“Job searching and getting your career off the groundcan be overwhelming and students often don’t knowwhere to start. But, I’ve found you can begin anywhere,”said Miller. “Success for me has been less about findingone area to get plugged into or developing oneparticular skill, and more strategically taking advantageof a wide variety of opportunities in the classroom,professional organizations and interning or freelancing.”For the past three years, Miller has been contractedfull time with the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention (CDC) as a health communication specialist.She has served as the communication expert on anumber of health initiatives and campaigns for theCDC ranging from the Office of Women’s Health to theOffice of Workforce and Career Development. Currently,she is working in the Office for State, Tribal, Local andTerritorial Support, which works to ensure the useof evidence-based public-health policy, practice andcommunication at all these levels.Miller detailed her work on a health campaign calledtext4baby, a groundbreaking and award-winning mobiletechnology program to improve maternal and childhealth via text messaging.Amanda Miller ’06 ’07 of Atlanta, who was in thefirst class to graduate from ECU with a master’s incommunication degree, was invited back by the Schoolof Communication to talk with students about how tomake the sometimes painful transition between collegeand the real world. She gave them something textbooksand professors cannot: a first-hand account of how tobe successful in this job market with this specific degree.She shared industry-specific job searching tips, thedemands of health communication-related positions andrecent trends in the field.Miller served on the recent graduate panel for theregional chapter of the Public Relations Student Societyof America, an event ECU hosted this year, and spent anevening taking questions from communication master’sstudents about everything from student organizationopportunities, internships and assistantships,comprehensive exams, interviewing, teaching as agraduate student and career advice.“As one of the first graduates of the MA program andone of the founders of many of the student activities,Amanda was able to offer a fresh insight that thestudents really appreciated,” said SOC assistantprofessor Kris Kirschbaum. “Thankfully, she also openedthe eyes of many students who assumed that finding ajob would be easy after graduate school was over.”—Jessica Nottinghamwas named Pitt County Schools’ OutstandingSecondary Mathematics Teacher for the 2010 schoolyear. ALICIA NAGLE joined Eastern Psychiatric& Behavioral Specialists in Greenville, where shespecializes in psychological evaluations to delineateeducational, behavioral and emotional needs. ADAMCALHOUN PARKER wed Laura Marie Wing onOct. 23 at Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Churchin Southern Pines. He is an analyst at First CitizensBank in Raleigh. CYNTHIA TAYLOR, a licensedand registered occupational therapist, is director andowner of Carolina Therapy Connection in Greenville.Dr. JILL SUTTON, specialist in obstetrics andgynecology, joined ECU’s Brody School of Medicineand its group medical practice, ECU Physicians, asa clinical assistant professor. KIMBERLY DAWNWOOD wed Jay Douglas Benfield on July 30 at theFirst Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. She is a danceinstructor at In Motion Dance Center in Winston-Salem. MOLLY MCKEITHAN YOUNG wasinducted into ECU’s College of Education’s EducatorsHall of Fame. She was the 2010 Pitt County Teacherof the Year and now lives in Charlotte.2005LAUREN D. ASBY was promoted to banking officerfor Southern Bank in the South Charles Boulevardoffice in Greenville. She is president-elect of theGreater Greenville Kiwanis Club and a charter memberof Greenville’s Junior Women’s Association. JUSTIN45

class notesCOLE is a machining instructor in the engineeringand manufacturing technologies department at NashCommunity College.2004JENNIFER CUDNEY-BURCH was selected asa Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow. Aninitiative of the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration National Sea Grant College Program,the highly competitive fellowship places students inlegislative and executive branch offices to help solvemarine policy issues of national consequence. Sheis working on her doctorate in coastal resourcesmanagement at ECU. JAMES DOREY is a seniorcommercial real estate appraiser with CB RichardEllis in Washington, D.C. His wife, CORINNESPENCE DOREY, is a financial planning assistantwith Edelman Financial in Bethesda, Md. In thepast two years, she received four series licenses. Dr.CANDACE MARIE DRAKE wed Richard R.Locchead on Aug. 7 on Mackinac Island, Mich. Sheis the PTSD psychologist for Veterans Affairs GulfCoast VA Health Care System in Pensacola, Fla. AtECU, she was a Alpha Phi sister and former studentbody vice president. Dr. BRENNA MICHELLEFARMER wed Dr. Jason Chu on Dec. 18 at theBrooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, N.Y. She is anemergency medicine physician and medical toxicologistat New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital.MARIA GIRONDA ’04 ’08 received the Teacher ofExcellence Award from the Public Schools of NorthCarolina at the 60th annual Exceptional Children’sConference in Greensboro. She is an exceptionalchildren’steacher at Chocowinity Primary Schoolwhere she teaches children with autism. She also earnedher National Board Certification. ALYSON WILSONGIROUARD was inducted into the Mu chapter ofthe Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, anhonor society for outstanding educators. She teachesbiology and chemistry at Rocky Mount High School.JESSICA CAROL HOBGOOD wed William AlanMoss on Oct. 9 at the beach home of the groom’s aunton Topsail Island. She teaches first grade at AndersonCreek Primary School in Harnett County. GINGERLEAKE is a nursing instructor at EdgecombeCommunity College. She was a staff registered nurseat Nash Health Care. She is working on her master’sin nursing at ECU. JEFFREY GRAHAM RICKSwed Christine Anne Patterson on Oct. 23 at PalmettoPresbyterian Church in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. He worksin sales for ModSpace in Greensboro. SARAH E.WATTS joined the law firm of Parker, Hudson,Rainer & Dobbs LLP in the Atlanta office as anassociate with the firm’s commercial finance practicegroup. Her practice focuses on commercial lending andbanking transactions.2003RICHARD SCOTT BETHUNE received adoctorate in physical therapy from UNC Chapel Hill.KRISTEN IONE BOLTON ’03 ’08 wed JOSEPHERIC KING ’06 on Nov. 6 at Grace Lutheran Churchby the Sea in Nags Head. She works at ECU, and heworks at Tands in Greenville. MARIE HOUSEAL’03 ’10 joined Transitions Behavioral Healthcarein Greenville as its family nurse practitioner. PAULKAPLAR is a member of the Fuquay-Varina Chamberof Commerce board and president of Stephens SupplyCo. KRISTIN LYNN MASSEY wed Robert ElliottBivens on Sept. 25 at Bethesda United MethodistChurch in Salisbury, Md. She is director of marketingfor Virginia Health Services in Newport News, Va.2002WILLIAM JAMES DEWAN earned a doctorate withdistinction in American studies from the Universityof New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. Dr. BILLSTOREY joined the intellectual property practiceForty nurses were inducted to theinaugural class of the ECU NursingHall of Fame in a spring ceremonythat raised more than $40,000 fora new fund to provide merit-basedscholarships for nursing students.Creation of the Nursing Hall of Fameprogram coincides with the 50thanniversary of nursing education atEast Carolina. Inducted were:46Gale Brown Adcock ’78 of Cary; Alta W.Andrews ’74 of Ayden; Helen Merrill Brinson’72 ’79 of Greenville; Sylvia Thigpen Brown’75 ’78 of Greenville; Marshall Dewayne Byrd’83 of Greenville; Mary Sue Cummings Collier’81 ’91 of Greenville, Cindy Matthews Duber’82 of Winterville, Frances Rogers Eason ’79of Rocky Mount; professor Martha KeehnerEngelke; Lou W. Everett ’76 ’79 of Greenville;Selba Morris Harris ’64 of Alpharetta,Ga.; Linda Dunnam Hofler ’80 ’87 ’07 ofGreenville; Phyllis N. Horns ’69 of Greenville;Jacqueline Hutcherson ’69 ’94 of Winterville;professor Mary K. Kirkpatrick; retiredfaculty member Dixie Koldjeski; CynthiaSturdivant Kotrady ’64 of Lakeway, Texas;Karen Custer Krupa ’73 ’76 of Chocowinty;Judith Kuykendall ’70 ’75 of Greenville;Therese G. Lawler ’72 of Greenville; BelindaTemple Lee ’72 ’74 ’78 ’83 of Greenville;Deitra L. Lowdermilk ’66 of Chapel Hill;Bobby Lowery ’85 of Goldsboro; KimberlyGlover McDaniel; Richard E. McDaniel ’80of Greenville; Dianne M. Marshburn ’77 ’86’07 of Greenville; Hazel Browning Moore ’72’76 ’79 of Fountain; Brenda Darden Myrick’92 of Greenville; retired faculty memberEvelyn Perry; Eldean Pierce; Diane AdkinsPoole ’81 ’88 of Kinston; Donna Roberson ’86’93 of Greenville; professor Mary Ann Rose;Louise Haigwood Sammons ’68 ’73 of GrandJunction, Colo.; Elaine S. Scott ’77 ’90 ’05of New Bern, Sylvene Osteen Spickerman’79 of Greenville; Debra C. Wallace ’85 ofGreensboro; Sandra M. Walsh ’84 of Miami,Fla.; Patricia Perry Womble; and Annette B.Wysocki ’78 ’80 of Jackson, Miss.

group at the law firm of Dinsmore & Shohl in Dayton,Ohio. TIFFANY COX STRICKLAND ’02 ’08joined Physicians East in Greenville in the pulmonary,critical care and sleep medicine division.2001DOUG BATCHELOR was named general managerat Pecheles Honda in New Bern. He was salesmanager at Pecheles Ford Toyota in Washington. Dr.MARK BOWLING, a specialist in pulmonary andcritical care medicine, joined ECU’s Brody School ofMedicine as an assistant professor in the Departmentof Internal Medicine and its group medical practice,ECU Physicians. He was an assistant professor ofmedicine at the University of Mississippi. Dr. LISABROOKS is the owner and pharmacist at Clayton’sPharmacy in Cambridge, Md. KAREN FLORESKERR and DARREN KERR welcomed their fourthchild and second son on Sept. 30. She is an agencyfield specialist for State Farm Insurance, and he isan account executive for Deltek in Hickory. KELLYDEAN JOYNER LANCASTER and her husband,William, announce the birth of Chase Cameron onOct. 4. She is the director of student services andfinancial aid at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine.2000JAVIER CASTILLO JR. of Castillo LanguageServices was elected to a two-year term on the boardof directors of the Carolina Association of Translatorsand Interpreters, a chapter of the American TranslatorsAssociation for North Carolina and South Carolina.LAUREN GAST JACKSON and husband, Ashley,had a son, Logan Wyat, on Oct. 21. JOY LORENTZLOCKHART ’00 ’02 and husband, Jason, had adaughter, Journey Sheridan, on Oct. 22.1999Scott Avett ’99 ’00 and his group, the AvettBrothers, performed at the 53rd Grammy Awardslive CBS telecast. Dr. SHANNON B. DOWLERis vice president of the N.C. Academy of FamilyPhysicians. She is the medical director at the BlueRidge Community Health Center in Hendersonvilleand will serve a one-year term for the academy. DONHEARD was appointed the environmental, safetyand health director of Inspectorate America Corp. inHouston, Texas, where he has HSE responsibilitiesfor the company’s 1,200 employees in the Westernhemisphere. He was HSE manager with JohnsonMatthey-Tracerco. He recently earned his CertifiedHazardous Materials Manager certification.1998CHAD ALDRIDGE is a mortgage lender withFCSB Mortgage, a division of First Carolina StateBank, in Greenville. ALICIA MARIE TALMADGEDELSASSO and husband, Chris, had a son, MasonFrancis, on Aug. 18. He joins brother Parker. Sheworks for Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey.Alumni SpotlightJust getting admittedto the softwareengineering graduateprogram in ECU’sCollege of Technologyand ComputerScience was a big dealfor twin sisters Mekara’09 and Natara ’09Bryant of Battleboro.Neither had majoredin computer scienceas undergraduates. Plus, they knew there are only tiny numbersof African-American women working in the field. Mekarasuggested the idea after carefully researching careers andlearning that software engineers are well paid. She told hersister there were other compelling reasons to learn softwareengineering. “I told my sister, society has already concludedthat we are against the odds of being successful in thisprogram for a variety of reasons. We’re females, we’re African-American, and I didn’t have the computer science relatedbackground,” said Mekara. “But, as I saw it, your backgrounddoes not always determine success, but by how hard you’rewilling to work and your attitude.” Although both sisters admitthe program has been difficult, their hard work anddetermination have paid off. Neither has earned less than a B inall their grad school classes, and both were to graduate in May.“I knew that with a strong belief in ourselves, we can excel atanything we put our minds to,” Natara said. “Our parents,Alphonzo and Alice Bryant, instilled that in us.” —Dana NewellIt takes a lot of smart people toprepare a space shuttle forlaunch from the Kennedy SpaceCenter. One is Michael McGuirk’71, who retired in April after a31-year career in space sciencemanagement. McGuirk, afour-year football letterman atECU, was involved with the firstshuttle launch, STS-1, in April1981 and worked on most of the133 subsequent times that oneof the shuttles blasted intospace. “My career began in Firing Room One in November1979 as an operations analyst with the Checkout, Control &Monitor System,” he said by e-mail. “Later I moved intomanagement and was responsible for two firing rooms and 37operations personnel while employed by Grumman TechnicalServices from 1985 to 1995. I moved over to United SpaceAlliance in 1996 as a supervisor of operations for the threesubsystems within the Launch Processing System.” McGuirkexplained that the LPS, which he manages, is an integratednetwork of computers, data links, displays, interface devicesand software required to control and monitor flight systems.In all, the LPS monitors some 40,000 temperatures, pressuresand other vital signs of a shuttle in flight.47

class notesAlumni SpotlightThe Ramsey kids:Brittney ’11,Shelby ’14 andTanner ’15Some say that being aPirate must be aninherited conditionbecause it’s frequentlybeen seen to run infamilies. Take theRamsey kids, Californiatransplants by way ofwestern North Carolina.They had never heardof East Carolina untilBrittney, the oldest,was choosing a college.Listen as she explainswhat happened:“I visited and fell inlove. My younger sisterstarted looking forschools last year andsince Shelby had beento ECU many times to visit me, she also chose ECU over theother state schools she applied to. She is a proud memberof the Women’s Rugby team and is active in the theaterdepartment. Now that it has come time for Tanner to decide,he knows how great ECU is and what it has to offer so he alsowill be attending in the fall. Now we get to look forward tomany homecoming games to come when we can all bring ourfuture families and enjoy being Pirates together.”What did ECU do for you, Brittney? “I am a published poetand an English major. I am involved with Gamma Chi Epsilonsorority. I also attended the first ever Summer Leadershipprogram sponsored by ECU. After I graduate in May I plan tojoin the Peace Corps and leave sometime early next year.”The L.A. StageAlliance, one of thestrongest communitytheater programs inthe nation, presentedBeth Grant ’73 withits Ovation Awardfor best lead actressin a 2010 drama forher performance inGrace & Glorie. Theplay featured Grant as Grace, an illiterate, terminally ill90-year-old mountain woman who has returned to hermountain cabin to die. Gloria (Melinda Page Hamilton, atright) is the Harvard-educated hospice volunteer assigned toGrace’s case. In reviewing the play, the L.A. Times wrote thatGrant was “in rare form.” Meanwhile, Grant will reprise herrole as abused housewife Willadean Winkler, for which shewon best actress honors from the L.A. Stage Alliance eightyears ago, in a new movie being shot in Atlanta. The Trialsand Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife will have theoriginal cast from the stage production.1997Dr. WAFA BADWAN, a kidney specialist, joinedthe Brody School of Medicine and its group medicalpractice, ECU Physicians, as an assistant clinicalprofessor. STEVE MOSLEY was recognized as the2010 Top Revenue Producer for CopyPro in Greenville.GORDON RAWLS and wife, Amy, adopted EmmaNicole Rawls, born May 4. CAREY MEADOWSRIVERS and husband, Michael, had their third child,Presley Grace, on April 19, 2009. She joins brothersJackson and Hampton. GEOFFREY SUTER andKIMBERLY PIRKO SUTER ’97 ’05 had their seconddaughter, Isabella Virginia, in September. JENNIFERLINVILLE WARREN ’97 ’09 completed ECU’sfamily nurse practitioner program and works in theoccupational health and wellness department at HighPoint Regional Health System.1996KARA BLOUNT joined The SurgiCenter of EasternCarolina in Greenville as the physician networkmanager and will educate providers in eastern NorthCarolina on the center’s services. She was in thepharmaceutical industry. KIM HARRIS ’96 ’05joined Kerr Counseling and Consulting in RockyMount, where her counseling services include familyand couple’s issues; depression, anxiety and adjustmentdisorders; substance abuse and anger management.Army Lt. Col. ANGELA B. JONES handed overcommand of the N.C. National Guard’s 113th SpecialTroops Battalion in Greensboro. She is the nursemanager of the Rehabilitation Hospital for WakeMedHealth & Hospitals. HEATHER SMITH JONESpublished Water Paper Paint, Exploring Creativity withWatercolor and Mixed Media through Quarry Books. Sheis a studio artist and arts-based preschool instructorin Lawrence, Kan. KAYE F. LONG, a self-employedChristian author, was recognized by Cambridge Who’sWho for demonstrating dedication, leadership andexcellence in her career.1995RENEE MARTINEZ ’95 ’97 teaches English atNash Community College. MICHAEL PRESTON’95 is director of student affairs at the Universityof Central Florida in Orlando. He was director ofstudent affairs at Stephen F. Austin State University inNacogdoches, Texas.1993TRENT BRITT and his wife, Gaynel, opened NextLevel Training Center in Greenville, a training facilityto develop athletes of all ages committed to baseball,softball and volleyball. BEN OWEN III had anexhibit, “Ben Owen III: Earth, Water and Fire: Worksin Clay,” at the N.C. Museum of Natural SciencesNature Art Gallery in Raleigh. The Seagrove native wasnamed a North Carolina Living Treasure in 2004. Hiswork is displayed in museums throughout the country,and he’s been commissioned to create pieces for James48

Taylor, Mike Easley, Elton John, Elizabeth Taylor, BobHope and Ronald Reagan.1992MARGIE PARKER BRANTLEY ’92 ’96 wasinducted into the Mu Chapter of the Delta KappaGamma Society International, an honor society foroutstanding educators. A retired educator with a longcareer in schools in Nash County and in the U.S. AirForce, she served as an officer in the U.S. Air ForceNurse Corps at Seymour Johnson Air Force Basein Goldsboro from 1965 to 1968 and was on thenursing staff of Parkview from 2002 to 2004. She wascoordinator for the Drug-Free Schools and StudentAssistance Program in Rocky Mount and ninth-gradecounselor at Rocky Mount High School. SCOTTFISHER of Tarboro was named vice president ofinformation services for Barnhill Contracting Co. Hewas the IT director for the company. JENNIFERMARCERON MOSS, APR, CPRC, is president ofthe Florida Public Relations Association. She is thecommunications director for the Silverstein Institute inSarasota, Fla., and executive director of the institute’snonprofit Ear Research Foundation. SHERI MYERSjoined Central Michigan Community Hospital inMount Pleasant, Mich., as vice president of patientcare services. JAMES EDWARD POWELLgraduated from UNC-Charlotte with a PhD incounselor education and supervision in 2010. Heis a licensed professional counselor-supervisor anda licensed clinical addictions specialist in a privatepractice in Shelby. Dr. KYLE STEPHENS is thegroup publisher of three nondailies published byCooke Communications North Carolina LLC inGrifton, Farmville and Snow Hill. He was the associatepublisher. DEMETRICE LOUISE WARD ’92 ’97joined Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network’sphysician group in Allentown, Pa. She was a staffphysician at the Veterans Administration MedicalCenter, Minneapolis, Minn.1991LIZ PRICE opened the Tile Market in Tampa,Fla. Dr. KATHERINE WEEKS opened PrimaryAssociates of Byers Creek in Mooresville.1990SEAN M. GILSENAN joined the Rocky Mountregistered investment advisory firm of WhitenerCapital Management as a financial planning adviser.He is a certified financial planner and a member of theTriangle Financial Planning Association. A. DENISEWICKER OWEN participated in the 2010 SavannahChildren’s Book Festival where she signed and soldcopies of her book Turtle Gliding.1989JULIE BRICKHOUSE ’89 ’95, who teaches a multihandicappedclassroom at Eastern Elementary Schoolin Greenville, is the 2011 N.C. Council of ExceptionalChildren’s Teacher of the Year. She also serves as aAlumni SpotlightEditor’s note: An e-mail from Steve Wrenn’68 ’71 of Asheboro, who married DianneGolding ’68 ’85. An innovative educator andformer North Carolina Superintendent of theYear, Wrenn also was once (before a brokenwrist and rotator cuff surgery) a competitivegolfer and a course rater, along with thiseditor, for the N.C. Magazine Golf Panel.“After I retired [as schools superintendent inLee County], I started contract work anddeveloped a company called The Leadership Group for theCarolinas. We did work mainly with the North Carolina NewSchools Project [funded by the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation], working with restructuring high schools. Youmay have heard about the early colleges we helped todevelop. Later we contracted with the State Board ofEducation to support the low-performing schools identifiedby Judge Manning as part of his Leandro decisions. It endedup being a full-time job, so I sold the company but maintainedanother company called SW’s Leadership Designs, which Istarted prior to my retirement. My major client now is aninstructional technology company out of Georgia, Classworks,that will be working in over 200 schools this year.”Acclaimed golf writer and editor JamesDodson ’75 was honored with the 2011Donald Ross Award by the American Societyof Golf Course Architects. The award hasbeen presented annually since 1976 to anindividual who has made a positivecontribution to golf and golf coursearchitecture. Dodson is the author of fourbest-seller books, including one that becamea made-for-TV movie about his life. Hecurrently is writer-in-residence for The Pilot newspaper inSouthern Pines and editor of PineStraw Magazine. He wasfeatured in the Fall 2009 issue of East. “Jim is a real friend ofthe game of golf and is well-respected by his peers andreaders of golf literature,” said ASGCA President Erik Larsen.“Jim also has a great understanding of the economic,environmental and social value a golf course providesto a community. Rees Jones chaired the award selectioncommittee.Royce Lee Myers ’73 of Matthews wasappointed to the board of trustees ofPresbyterian Healthcare in Charlotte. Myers isan attorney who practices with his son,Matthew, in their firm, Myers Law Firm. Hisfather, Charles T. Myers, was also an attorneyand a former Mecklenburg CountyCommissioner. Myers served as mayor ofMatthews from 1991 to 2009 after servingtwo terms on the Matthews Town Council. Hereceived his law degree from Oklahoma City University. He ismarried to Lucinda Sigmon Myers ’74.49

class notesclinical teacher, one of Eastern’s Student GovernmentAssociation advisers and teaches courses at ECU.H. LEE RIDDLE graduated from the University ofTennessee Chattanooga’s Executive MBA programand is product development manager for LodgeManufacturing, a 115-year-old family-owned andmanaged company that manufactures cast iron cookware,of which he is a fifth-generation family member.1988LISA ROBERTS, a home mortgage consultant forWells Fargo Home Mortgage serving Washington,Greenville and Robersonville, received the SoutheastRegion’s top award for customer service. BILLY ROSSof Greenville received the N.C. Division of VocationalServices “VR Superstar Award” for excellence inleadership and customer service. He is the unitmanager of the agency’s Greenville office. RAGANSUTTON SPAIN ’88 ’89 ’92 was elected presidentelectof the N.C. Science Teachers Association. Heis a high school science consultant with the N.C.Department of Public Instruction. HARRYWARREN, director of the North Carolina Museumof Forestry in Whiteville, was named Communicatorof the Year by the N.C. Forestry Association.1987CHRIS KNOTT, founder of the Peter Millar lineof golf apparel, opened Peter Millar by Coffman’sat Ciao Bella Boutique in Renaissance Park inCary. JAMES PARIETTI, M.S.P.T., joined EagleCenter Physical Therapy in Anchorage, Alaska, as aphysical therapist. MICHELLE PARKIN, associatedirector of environmental, health, and safety forPPD in Wilmington, received the CEO PerformanceExcellence Award. PPD is a contract researchorganization providing expertise in clinical trialdevelopment, management and post-approval services.1986PEGGY YODER BLACKMON, dean of alliedhealth, business and technology at SoutheasternCommunity College in Whiteville, was selected as oneof four administrators nationwide to receive the 2010Instructional Leadership Award from the NationalCouncil of Instructional Administrators (NCIA) fordemonstrated leadership. ELLA TYSON HARRISwas inducted into ECU’s College of Education’sEducators Hall of Fame. She taught in Greenville for21 years and for 20 years served as assistant principalat J.H. Rose High School from which she retired.1985Dr. PATRICIA MACNEILL ’85 ’92 ’06 was inductedinto ECU’s College of Education’s Educators Hallof Fame. She is director of instructional/federalprograms for Greene County Schools. TIMOTHYDUKE RONEY ’85 ’87 was promoted to vicepresident/branch manager of Citibank in CoconutCreek, Fla., after working as a branch manager forCitifinancial for the past eight years.1983F. BRIAN BRITT celebrated 21 years withContinental Airlines for which he captains aBoeing 737 flying in and out of Houston, Texas.CLARENCE M. HUNTER was promoted to deputyfire chief for the Greensboro Fire Department wherehe will also serve as the public information officer.1982BENJAMIN E. NICHOLS of Greenville retiredafter more than 29 years of public service. He was anenvironmental health supervisor with the Pitt CountyDepartment of Public Health. SPENCER “KEITH”STEPHENS celebrated the 10th anniversary of theopening of his law practice in Rockville, Md. The firm,Stephens & Associates, provides litigation, corporateand contract services to small and medium firms in thereal estate and construction industries.1981MAC E. MANNING of Greenville retired after morethan 26 years with the Pitt County government. HeMake a NoteOF YOUR NEWS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTSComplete this form (please print or type) and mail to: Class Notes Editor, Building 198, Mail Stop 108, East Carolina University,Greenville, NC 27858-4353; or fax to 252-328-4269. Please use additional paper as necessary when sending your news. Youalso can e-mail your news to ecuclassnotes@ecu.edu. While East happily prints wedding announcements, it is our policy notto print engagement announcements. Also, when listing fellow alumni in your news, please include their class year.Please send address changes or corrections to: Kay Murphy, Office of University Development, Greenville Center, East CarolinaUniversity, Greenville, NC 27858-4353, fax: 252-328-4904, or e-mail: murphyk@ecu.edu.NAME First Middle last MaidenCLASS YEAR E-Mail day Phone evening PHONEADDRESS CITy sTATE ZIPYOUR NEWS

class notesAlumni SpotlightEditor’s note: April Davis ’06 was about halfwaythrough her first year teaching pre-kindergarten at theAmerican College of Cairo when the uprising beganthat toppled the Egyptian government. She shared anapartment with a Canadian national in the Zamalekdistrict of Cairo less than a mile from the center of theprotests. A native of Roanoke Rapids whose degree is incommunication, Davis described her experiences in thee-mail condensed below.April Davis and her roommate, Kira,in happier days before the revolution“Today is the fifth day of the riots and I am sitting in myliving room with the TV muted because I cannot standthe talk on TV any longer. I have my window open and Iam listening to the sounds of sirens, whistles and gunsgoing off. Friends in Egypt are beginning to call morefrequently to check on my well-being, as I am here alonewith no family.“Just talked to Beverly not too long ago, a fellowAmerican teacher at my school, and she is standing ather door with her hammer and other defense items,waiting for the looters just outside her building. Theyare trying to convince her and everyone in her buildingthat their residence is on fire in hopes they will comeout and the looters will come in and rob them. Theselooters are criminals that were released from jailsbecause the police are nowhere to be found. Dalia’sphone call was a little less disturbing. Knowing I amalone, she just wanted to make sure I felt safe, andinvited me to her flat if I felt I needed to come up.“Saturday night, Jan. 29, was the last night I stayed inmy home in Egypt. That night I did not even sleep in myown bed. I grabbed Mr. Bear and crawled in [roommate]Kira’s bed as I felt a little safer since she only hadone tiny window in her room. The next morning wasa whirlwind of emotions. Things were out of control,there was no bread to be found in all of Zamalek, and Icould not get through to the American Embassy. I alsowas trying desperately to contact my school. Finally Ireached Nahed in the [school] office who told me shewas having trouble getting to the banks and was notsure when she would get funds for teachers.“It was the end of the month and my funds were runninglow, ATMs were empty and the internet was shut. I felta sick feeling in my stomach and began to panic. Finallymy roommate, [who] has been on the phone with herwork for almost an hour, told me they were thinking ofevacuating her as they no longer felt it safe for her to bethere. She told me she was not sure of the hour of herevacuation but she was not going to leave without me.Shortly after, my phone rings and it is a friend who is inthe Marines at the American Embassy. He told me that theevacuation was voluntary for Americans but soon wouldbe mandatory. Not even 15 minutes later Kira bursts out ofher room and says we have 20 minutes to pack.“Once at the hotel [near the Cairo airport] I was able tocall a friend in America who, after two hours of trying,was able to get me a plane ticket back to the States.I said one final prayer and made my journey into theairport. I then made my way to the bar in the airport,waiting hours for my flight and praying it would not becanceled. At 4 p.m. I notice every single flight on thescreen went to red and cancelled. My heart sunk. I gotup to look a little closer and noticed of all the flightscanceled my flight [to Istanbul, Turkey] was the onlyone with no status. I began to pray even harder andthank God at 10 p.m. my flight left the airport.“I slept on a bench at the Turkey airport for about10 hours and then boarded the plane to NYC. Thankgoodness I have a friend here I can stay with for a fewdays to decompress and try to find the best methodto get home. I cannot wait to see my family in the nextfew days and figure out what to do from here. It is like Iam starting all over again. No job, no salary, many of mybelongings left in Cairo and a loss of many friends I wasnot even able to say goodbye to before I left, and whoknows if I will ever see them again. It is like my life justended in a matter of 20 minutes.”Update: Davis is back home in Roanoke Rapids and jobhunting. “I don’t plan to go back to Egypt until thingscalm down and even then maybe just to visit my friends.My boyfriend is in Egypt. My old roommate Kira, hercompany is supposed to be relocating her. But teachingthis year is finished with me.”52

was the sheriff of Pitt County. CINDY VAINRIGHTwas selected as Teacher of the Year at EasternElementary School in Greenville.1977JOHN BANKS JR. was appointed to the Pitt-Greenville Airport Authority. He is vice president forbusiness development at IES Lighting. Dr. WILLIAMHARRISON ’77 ’80 was inducted into ECU’sCollege of Education’s Educators Hall of Fame.He is the superintendent of Cumberland CountySchools, chair of the N.C. State Board of Education,Governor’s Advisor for Education Transformation andchair of the Governor’s Education TransformationCommission.1976JAMES L. CAPPS ’76 ’80 of Greenville retiredafter 28 years as a social worker with the Pitt CountyDepartment of Social Services. LYNDA COXDIXON retired from Wake County Human Servicesafter more than 34 years in public health. She workedin the Durham County Health Department andin Edgecombe County Public Health. RONALDD. EURE was named installation sales manager atFireline Corp., a fire protection equipment contractor,distributor and service company, in Baltimore, Md.He was the Fireline fire alarm sales representative inthe Washington, D.C., market. PHILLIS QUINNOSTHEIM ’76 ’88 was inducted into ECU’s Collegeof Education’s Educators Hall of Fame. She is thepresident of True Vine Associates, a corporationspecializing in staff development, educationalconsulting and grant and program evaluations.1975JANICE VERTUCCI SCHREIBER, director oftheatre at Arendell Parrott Academy in Kinston, receivedthe 2010 K-12 Theatre Educator’s Award. A formerinstructor in the ECU Department of Theatre andDance, she also received the John W. Parker Award forExcellence in Directing at the high school level in 2007.1974KAY GOODING ’74 ’80 was named the 2010Triumph Pioneer Award recipient by the AmericanHealth Information Management Association. Shedirects the health information technology programat Pitt Community College, overseeing a 13-statehealth information management training consortiumfor PCC. Her program was one of the first in NorthCarolina to be offered entirely online. Last year, shehelped PCC secure a $10.9-million grant from theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services tohelp prepare thousands of new HIT professionalsneeded to create electronic health records.1972GARY A. JEWELL, CPA, joined the Raleigh officeof Pittard Perry & Crone, Inc. as a shareholder. Hehas operated a CPA practice in Raleigh for the past 32years and was formerly with Jewell, deButts & Roberts.1971BEATRICE BEHR ’71 ’74 displayed her artworkat the Unitarian Universalist Church in Greenville.KATHERINE LONG, ASID, won first place andhonorable mention awards from the Gala AwardsPresentation for the Carolinas Chapter, ASID. Topprize was for Tupelo Honey Cafe on HendersonvilleRd. in Asheville, and honorable mention was foradaptive reuse of 189 E. Chestnut St., home ofAmbiance Interiors in Asheville, which she owns.ROGER S. TRIPP practices law in Lexington as apartner at Biesecker, Tripp, Sink & Fritts. He serves onthe N.C. State Bar Council as councilor for the 22BJudicial District consisting of Davidson and DavieCounties. He was elected in 2008 for a three-yearterm. He serves on the Ethics and AdministrativeCommittees on the Bar Council. At ECU, he wasspeaker of the Student Legislature from 1969-71.Tap into the power of thePirate Alumni NetworkJoin us at one of our upcoming networking events to meet fellow ECU business and socialcontacts. You will have an opportunity to personally introduce yourself to attendees in afacilitated environment, exchange business cards, and learn about all participants.May 18 Greensboro, NCThe Painted PlateMay 24 Durham, NCHope Valley Country ClubMay 31 Raleigh, NCNatty Greene’s Pub and Brewing Co.June 8 Virginia Beach, VAMcCormick & Schmick’sJune 9 Washington, DCLocation TBDJune 22 Wilmington, NCDocksideJuly 20 Greenville, NCLocation TBDJuly 27 Raleigh, NCIrregardless CaféVisit PirateAlumni.com/networkingevents for details.SPONSORED BYJoin our LinkedIn group to network with alumni throughout the Pirate Nation!PirateAlumni.com/linkedin53

class notes1969CHARLES ATWATER and his wife, Vickie, wereinducted into ECU’s College of Education’s EducatorsHall of Fame. LINDA CUTLER WARDEN ispresident/CEO of LCW Productions, a production/post-production company in Wilmington, N.C.,which focuses on videos addressing social, health andenvironmental topics, and children’s movies. GARYWEST is strategic initiatives director for informationsystems and research with the Council of Chief StateSchool Officers in Washington, D.C. He was thechief information officer for the S.C. Department ofEducation in Columbia.1966Only In Cameron is thefirst novel by AnnNeville ’66 ’68, aClyde Edgerton-like lookat life in a small Tennesseetown. Neville dedicates thebook to her parents “whoselove of rural life and smalltown America was passed onto me.” Neville recently retiredas vice president of studentaffairs at Martin Methodist College in Tennessee.BRUCE SHEPARD retired as Kitty Hawk ElementarySchool’s assistant principal after a 24-year career ineducation in Dare County. A fifth-generation OuterBanker, he accepted a middle school teaching positionafter graduation and taught in several countries beforereturning to the Outer Banks to work as a counselorand administrator for various schools.1964Dr. ROY ALTON HYLE II retired from ThomasNelson Community College in Hampton, Va., after38 years of teaching. He also taught at the College ofthe Albemarle in Elizabeth City and at ChristopherNewport University at Newport News, Va.1962NICK HILGERT was named to the Fairfax County(Va.) Football Hall of Fame 2010. At ECU, he playedfootball for four years under Coach Jack Boone and wastri-captain his senior year. After serving in the MarineCorps, he coached in Northern Virginia schools, 4years in Alexandria and 25 years in Fairfax County.1960JIM WARD celebrated his 75th birthday on Feb. 6with family and friends. The event was hosted by hischildren Cam Ward Steele ’89, Laura Ward O’Brien’91 and David Ward. A dedicated Pirate, he can be seenwith Betty and David at Williams Arena, Clark-LeClairStadium and Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Join him in theWhite Lot where they have tailgated in the same spotsince 1985.1944Veteran educator Genevieve Hodgin Gay ’44’54 ’82 was inducted into the North Carolina Orderof the Long Leaf Pine in recognition of her 47 yearsin the classroom, almost all in Northampton Countyschools.1936MARY BOYD MANN of Greenville celebrated her95th birthday on Jan. 10. A Pitt County native, sheis a retired school teacher, but still teaches her SundaySchool class.1929SARAH STALLINGS MAY was inducted intoECU’s College of Education’s Educators Hall ofFame. In 1985 she retired from teaching in Bailey.Be a part of The Big PlaysBe a part of The EmotionBe a part of The Pirate NationBe a part of The Team Behind The TeamsVisit www.ecupirateclub.com orcall 252-737-4540 for more information54

Elizabeth Drake uses a walker to move from her living roomchair to the Steinway in the next room. Delicately she sits atthe bench and positions her hands over the keyboard. Soon,the notes of a Brahms sonata fill the room and she smilesfaintly, seemingly carried away by the music to another time,another place.“I was the only piano teacher here when I came to EastCarolina in 1946,” she says. “Dr. Messick hired me, and Iactually started a year before Leo Jenkins came. Most of mystudents were going to be schoolteachers, and we wantedthem to learn some music and some art so they could takethose skills back to the classrooms in those country schools.”Drake, who accepted emeritus status in 1977, turned 95 lastfall and still lives in the tidy bungalow on Rotary Street just afew steps off Main Campus. “Ihad close to 500 piano studentsover the years, and I still stayin touch with a lot of them,although most are in their 70snow. It’s been a blessing to seemany of them went on and didsomething with the music, withtheir talent. I didn’t realize whenyou teach one-on-one the wayI did that they remember thingsyou said that had nothing to dowith the music. They tell me,‘You taught me so many things,’and I’ll say, ‘I’m glad you learnedto play.’ And they’ll say, ‘Oh, Iwasn’t talking about piano.’”A native of Scotland Neck,Drake received her training atDrake performing witha faculty quartet in 1950Julliard and joined the facultythe same year as Herbert Carter.Three years later, Beatrice Chauncey arrived. Those three areregarded as among the founders of ECU’s highly regardedmusic program. Combined, they taught here for 107 years.Alisa Gilliam ’78, an instructor in the school of music, studiedunder Ms. Drake the last three years she taught. “She wasone of the last of a great tradition, very proper and dignified,”Gilliam recalled. “She wanted her girls to wear dresses andkeep their hair pulled back. I had waist-length hair and shesaid she couldn’t stand to see it draping across my armsas I played, so I always made sure to come to lessons withmy hair braided. She had a wealth of knowledge that sheeagerly passed on to her students. She was very supportive,traveling with meto Greensboro andChapel Hill to playin competitions.After she retiredit was a pleasureto see her atmost of the ArtistSeries concertsand many Schoolof Music recitals.She alwaysremembered herstudents whenshe would see usat these events,even the onesshe taught yearsbefore me.”55

in MemoriAm1920sANNIE LAURIE KEEN MORGAN ’24 ’30 ’53 ofWinston-Salem died Nov. 16 at 92. During WW IIshe worked at Fort Bragg. Later she taught the Giftedand Talented Program at Brunson Elementary Schoolin Winston-Salem.1930sDORIS JONES BAKER ’33 of Mooresvilledied Dec. 10 at 98. She taught third grade in theKannapolis school system and was later a substituteteacher in the Mooresville school system. Shevolunteered with the Mooresville Public Libraryand later, as part of her employment, helpedestablish several children’s reading programs. WILLNELL HIGDON DAVIDSON ’34 of Swannanoadied Dec. 17 at 97. She taught school in Wake andBuncombe counties, Georgetown, Asheville BiltmoreCollege and the Dietetic Clinic at MMH.CATHERINEGASKILL FULCHER’32 ’49 ’52 of Sea Leveldied Jan. 27 at 97. Shetaught 40 years, beginningat Freewill BaptistOrphanage in Middlesex,then at Dudley in WayneCounty, briefly at SeaLevel and several years atBeaufort ElementarySchool. Following herhusband’s military career, she taught in Portsmouth,Va., Washington, D.C., and Cape May, N.J. When heretired in 1966, they returned to Stacy, where shetaught at Beaufort Elementary until 1975. KATIECORBETT JOHNSON ’31 of Clinton died Jan. 12at 98. An elementary school teacher, she taught atChicod School in Greenville, Princeton ElementarySchool in Princeton, Bethel Elementary School andMayo Elementary School, where her student was EdithDoughtie Warren, N.C. state legislator. After herhusband became pastor of Rowan Baptist Church inClinton, she taught at the College Street ElementarySchool from 1952 to 1978. Upon retirement in 1978,she was a regular substitute teacher from 1978 until1990. Her teacher companions continued to bring herinto their classrooms for reading presentations withtheir students until age 90. In 2007, at age 95, she wasa Grand Marshall in the ECU Homecoming Parade,which celebrated its 100th year of history. She wasinducted into the ECU School of Education’s Hall ofFame. On her 98th birthday, she was inducted into theN.C. Order of the Long Leaf Pine by her formerstudent Edith Warren. MARY GREEN JONES ’36’40 ’54 of Apex died Feb. 5 at 91. She was a retired4th-grade teacher at Clara Hearne Elementary Schoolin Roanoke Rapids. MARY LILLEY MORRIS ’39of Sunbury, Va., died Jan. 19 at 92. She taughtelementary school for more than 30 years. MILDREDGIBSON NISBET ’35 of Wilmington died Jan. 15 at96. After teaching two years in Grifton, she marriedand devoted her time to being a wife and mother. At52, she taught again, taking over the third grade atLincoln Elementary School in Leland. She wasrecognized for 10 years of dedicated service to theschools of Brunswick County and was awarded aplaque at her retirement in 1977. NANCY HAISLIPWALTERS ’39 of Greenville died on Jan. 21 at 92.She taught at Merry Hill in Bertie County andScotland Neck in Halifax County. After her marriage,she moved to Greenville, where she taught in theGreenville City Schools and was devoted to herstudents for many years, the last few at E.B. AycockJunior High.1940sEVA ADAMS BENSON ’41 of Benson died Feb. 4.She was secretary to the director of the old Raleighairport and later moved to Miami, Fla., to administerpilot exams for Eastern Airlines. She returned toJohnston County to farm with her husband and laterworked for Hudson Belk. ROSALIND TUCKERBRANCH ’42 died Feb. 15 at 91. The land that isnow the new ECU women’s softball field, footballpractice field and baseball stadium was her farm inthe early 1940s. She saw Greenville grow from a smalltown with a fence and a gate to keep the chickensand cows out, on what is now Charles Blvd., to aprosperous and thriving city. Burchie SmithJohnston ’44 died Nov. 11 in Belhaven. Shetaught home economics in the Beaufort Countyschools for 30 years and was a member of DeltaKappa Gamma honorary teaching society. She wasactive in the Belhaven community and First ChristianChurch. She was historian of the Student CooperativeGovernment Association her senior year. Lt. Col.JAMES R. “JIM” BRILEY ’49, USAF (Ret.) ofOgden, Utah, died Nov. 30. He had 20-year careerin the USAF, retiring in 1975. In 1955, he graduatedfrom USAF pilot training and served during both theKorean and Vietnamese conflicts, including combatduty in Vietnam in 1968–69. He amassed more than6000 hours of flying time, had a tour of duty with theU.S. State Department as an Air Attache assigned tothe U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, India. After retirementfrom the military, he owned and ran several companiesin Ogden, Utah. EDITH VERA HAMILTONMCBRIDE ’41 of Raleigh died Jan. 6 at 97. Shetaught more than 40 years in towns includingHarrells, Kenansville, Rosewood, Warsaw, Harrisburg,Concord and Kannapolis. RAGELINE RUSSELL’49 of Greensboro died Jan. 30. She taught math inGreensboro for a number of years.1950sHEBER RAY ADAMS ’50 ’52 of Greenville diedDec. 22. He taught in Pitt County Schools for severalyears and in 1953 went to work at WNCT-TV as anengineer, advancing to chief. He retired from WNCT-TV in 1989. OGDEN S. BABSON ’58 of Columbia,S.C., died Feb. 12. A U.S. Army veteran, he retiredin 1999 after 42 years in trade association work, thelast 32 years as executive director of the S.C. AsphaltPavement Association. A member of many stateand national asphalt pavement design, construction,environmental and administrative organizations, hewas a founding member and second president of theS.C. Society of Association Executives. He was arecipient of the State of South Carolina’s Order ofthe Silver Crescent, the President’s Award from theCarolinas Air Pollution Control Association and wasa Kentucky Colonel. JOYCE PIERCE BROWN ’59’64 of Annapolis, Md., died Dec. 28. For 24 yearsshe taught in Maryland public schools in Harfordand Prince George’s counties. Retiring in 1984, shebegan her second career as a substitute librarian forAnne Arundel County Public Libraries until August2010. FORREST HUBERT DESHIELDS ’54 ’74of Fayetteville died Jan. 24. He worked in the FortBragg school system for 33 years and was principal ofBowley, Butner, Murray and Spring area schools. Healso taught math at the Army Education Center. Afterretirement, he spent 17 years at Fayetteville TechnicalInstitute. GEORGE WESLEY GILLIE ’51 of HighPoint died Feb. 19. A WW II Navy veteran, he taughtand coached at High Point Central High School. Afterteaching, he worked in insurance until retirement.MARGARET ANN “PEGGY” GRIFFIN ’58 ’60of Columbia died Nov. 27. She taught music in NorthCarolina, Arizona and Maryland. After retirement, shewas a reporter for The Coastland Times and The ScuppernongReminder and was active on many boards and committeesin Columbia and Tyrell County. CHARLESHERBERT “HERB” JOHNSON ’50 of Roanoke,Va., died Dec. 19. A Navy and Army veteran, he servedin both WW II and the Korean conflict. He workedfor General Motors Acceptance Corp. for 31 years.After retirement, he was president of Herb JohnsonBuick. RALPH EMERSON “SONNY” MILLSJR. of Dover, Del., died Dec. 13. After graduating in1959, he began his career as an accountant, but afterpurchasing his first business in 1975, The LiquorLocker in Dover, he went on to own several otherbusinesses during his career. DEWEY T. OAKLEYJR. ’56 of Colonial Heights, Va., died Feb. 8. Hewas the head of vocational education for many yearsand ended his career in Henrico County. In 1991,he was awarded the National Educator of the Year.WALLACE BURTON ROBINSON ’54 of Suffolk,Va., died Jan. 4. An Army veteran, he played football56

at ECU. He was retired as a sales representative for R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Co.1960sREBA BATTEN BONE ’64 ’80 of Rocky Mountdied Jan. 26. A lifelong educator, she was a teacher,assistant principal and principal for more than 35years, first in Cary and later in Rocky Mount schools.She sang in the Rocky Mount-based a cappellaensemble “Sounds of Gold.” CHESLEY JAMESBROWNE ’60 of Yorktown, Va., died Jan. 8. Afootball player at ECU, he taught and coached atNewport News High School. Later, he was supervisorand assistant general agent for John Hancock LifeInsurance Co., CA Swanson Hornsby General Agency,Newport News, Va. For years, he was a leading agentfor both Newport News and Norfolk John HancockAgencies, and was a life and participating member ofthe Million Dollar Round Table. DORIS CLAIREBARBEE DUPONT ’61 of Plant City, Fla., diedFeb. 6. She taught in Florida schools for 31 years.MARIAN TURNER EURE ’60 of The Villages,Fla., died Jan. 3. She was a retired teacher from theVirginia Beach public school system. RICHARD L.“DICK” GALLIMORE SR. ’65 of High Point diedFeb. 1. He worked for 3M Co. for 33 years as salesrepresentative, technical service specialist and area salesmanager. After retirement, he was a courtesy driverfor Greensboro’s Autobahn Garage and Bob NeilMercedes-Benz. MARY WILLIAMS GARRIS ’68of Goldsboro died Jan. 21. She retired from WayneCounty Public Schools with 32 years of service andcontinued as a tutor until age 80. Maj. BEN G.IRONS USAF ’62 of Santa Cruz, Calif., died Dec.27. In 1938, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and thentransferred to the Army Air Corps where he trained asa bombardier. His B-17 was shot down over Germanyin July 1943, and he spent nearly two years as aprisoner of war. The most difficult part of his POWexperience occurred during the forced evacuation fromSagan, Germany, ahead of the advancing Russian Armyand subsequent “March” to Moosburg, Germany,during the brutal winter of 1945. He received aPurple Heart for injuries when he was shot down. Hecontinued to fly during his career in the Air Force andspent the final years in the Strategic Air Command asa navigator on B-47s. His second career was with theSocial Security Administration from 1962 until 1986.He worked the final 20 years in Santa Cruz, Calif.LELIA CAROLE MCCAIN LEWIS ’63 of Waxhawdied Jan. 19. She taught sixth grade at BrunsonElementary School in Winston-Salem and third andsixth grades at Wesley Chapel Elementary Schooland East Union Middle School in Union County.MALCOLM HUGH “MACK” MAXWELL ’64 ofAyden died Jan. 14. A retired quality control specialistwith the N.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Services,he helped organize the Eastern Carolina DiabetesAssociation, the Ayden Kiwanis Club and served onthe Ayden Board of Commissioners. Dr. HILDAFAYE OWENS ’60 ’65 of Wilson died Feb. 6. Aneducator for more than 40 years, she began teachingin the New Bern school system. Later she was deanof students at Mount Olive College, graduate internfor the Florida State Board of Higher Education,assistant professor at the University of South Carolinaand vice president of academic affairs at SpartanburgMethodist College. She retired from Excel Resourcesas a consultant, trainer and mentor in managementand organizational development for businesses andinstitutions in the South Carolina area. JOSEPHSTANCIL “SHORTY” PADGETT ’65 of RoanokeGift Your Home Now and Stay in It for LifeA retained life estate is a gift plan that allows you to donate your home, vacation home,or farm to one of the ECU foundations while retaining the right to live in it for the restof your life and/or a term of years. If you decide to vacate your property, you may rentall or part of it or sell the property in cooperation with the ECU Real Estate FoundationInc. When your retained life estate ends, the ECU foundation of your choice can use yourproperty or the proceeds from the sale of your property for the purpose you designate.EXAMPLE:If you irrevocably transfer your property with a value of $250,000 and a cost basis of $50,000, toECU Real Estate Foundation Inc., and the right to live in it is retained for an individual, age 60:• You qualify for a federal income tax deduction of approximately $113,154. Your deduction mayvary depending on the timing of your gift. Deductions for this and other gifts of long-termappreciated property will be limited to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. You may takeunused deductions of this kind over the next five years, subject to the same 30 percent limitation.• Your estate may enjoy reduced probate costs and estate taxes.• The residence sale price after the donor’s lifetime will fund a project of your choice at the EastCarolina University Foundation Inc., East Carolina Medical & Health Sciences Foundation Inc.,or the East Carolina Educational Foundation Inc. (Pirate Club).For more information regarding planned giving instruments, please contact Greg Abeyounis,assistant vice chancellor for development, at 252-328-9573 or e-mail at abeyounisg@ecu.eduor visit www.ecu.edu/plannedgiving.57

in memoriamRapids died Nov. 27. He was a teacher and principalin the Hampton City (Va.) Schools for six years beforebecoming the assistant superintendent in the Fluvanna,Prince William and Loudoun County Schools. Afterretirement from the Loudoun County Schools, hewas director of policy services for the Virginia SchoolBoards Association for two years. BARBARA ANNWEEKS STANLEY ’65 of Hubert died Nov. 20.She taught in Swansboro for five years, worked inthe family business and later worked for S&H Feedand Garden Supply for 25 years. ROGER LYNNSTEPHENS ’66 of Loudon, Tenn., died Feb. 20.He was the director of the School of Music at theUniversity of Tennessee. In 2006, he was honored asthe ECU School of Music’s Distinguished Alumnus.In addition to serving on the faculties of severaluniversities, he had a career singing and directingprofessionally throughout the U.S. A. THOMAS“TOM” STOTT III ’63 of Wilson died Dec. 11. Heworked for the Wilson County Schools for 49 years,including being inaugural principal of Vinson BynumSchool and principal at Ralph L. Fike High Schoolfor 16 years. DOROTHY WORTHINGTONWALKER ’60 of Greenville died Dec. 13. Shetaught elementary school at Arnold Heights at MarchAir Force Base, and Cloverdale Elementary, bothin Moreno Valley, Calif. In 2003 she moved backto North Carolina to enjoy her retirement. JEANCANDACE “CANDY” WHITEHEAD ’65 ofSouthbury, Conn., died Nov. 29. She taught schooland was active in local politics. CAROLYN PATEWILLIAMS ’61 of Franklin, Va., died Dec. 10. Shewas retired from the Southampton County PublicSchool system and was a former teacher in Suffolk andHolland, Va. She taught piano lessons in her homefor many years and played the organ for High StreetUnited Methodist Church and Sedley Baptist Church.CLARA PEEL WILLIAMS ’62 of Greenville diedFeb. 5. She was an educator and school administrator.When she and her husband returned to Greenville in1979, she began the Greenville Women’s Aglow andserved as its first president. She was a licensed ministerof the N.C. Conference of the Pentecostal HolinessChurch.1970sFRED L. BROOKS JR. ’73 ’76 of Greenville diedNov. 20. A painter, his work was shown locally andregionally and won many awards. He also worked inspecialty house painting (including murals), colormatching in the screen printing industry and drivingfor Car Quest. HORACE BAXTER COWELLII ’70 of Washington died Feb. 3. A sergeant in theArmy from 1955-1957, he worked with R.J. ReynoldsTobacco Co. and was involved with the family business,Pamlico Chemical Co. He taught in the WashingtonCity Schools and was a guidance counselor at theformer P.S. Jones Junior High School. In 1988, heretired from the school system. For 43 years, he was acommissioner with the Washington Park Town Board,coached Little League, announced athletic games at58P.S. Jones, was a supporter of the WHS wrestling teamand booster club member. BURLON A. GAULT ’79of Smyrna, Ga., died Jan. 1. He was the administratorat St. Anne’s Terrace Retirement Community for21 years. HOPE CANNON MITCHELL ’71 ofColumbia, S.C., died Dec. 24. For many years, she wasthe Christian education director for Trinity EpiscopalChurch in Portland, Me., and worked seasonally forLL Bean of Freeport, Me. JAMES PAPPAS of Joplin,Mo., died Dec. 13, 2009. After a career in the U.S.Marines from which he retired in 1975 after fourtours of duty in Vietnam, he earned a bachelor’s atECU, a master’s at Central Michigan University andtwo doctorates from the University of Missouri. Heworked for the Vocational Industrial Clubs of Americafor the state of Kansas based out of Pittsburg StateUniversity until retiring in 1999. STELLA JEANPEARMAN ’76 of Goldsboro died Feb. 1. She wasretired as a social worker at Cherry Hospital. JIMARTLEE RHINEHART ’73 of Wilmington died Jan. 24.A member of the N.C. Bar Association, he practicedlaw in Wilmington until retiring in 2006. He wasa board member of The Friends of the BattleshipNorth Carolina in Wilmington and an active memberof the British Motor Club of the Cape Fear and theNorth Carolina Region of the Sports Car Club ofAmerica. THOMAS D. SUTTON ’76, CMSgt.(USAF retired), of Goldsboro died Jan. 25. Hismilitary service was spent working on Air Defensefighter planes, including the P-61, P-82, F-94 andthe F-102 throughout the country and overseas. Afterretiring from the USAF in 1966 and graduating fromECU, he taught in the business department of WayneCommunity College for 14 years. In 1987, he and hiswife, Carol, incorporated HV Processors as an animaltissue supply business, specializing in harvesting,preparing and shipping pig hearts to doctors for valvereplacement training and pig heart valves to research,training and manufacturing facilities all over the world.PAULETTE BRYANT TAYLOR ’70 of Dunn diedJan. 27. She taught elementary school in the Dunn areaschools, teaching last at Harnett Primary for more than23 years.1980sROBERT KEMP EDWARDS ’88 of Raleigh diedJanuary 2011. He was the supervisor of recreation atthe Federal Correction Complex in Butner. FREDTYSON GAYLOR ’85 of Burgaw died Feb. 10.He taught art at Cape Fear Community Collage.He did floral design at A Christmas House inHendersonville and later at Hanford Creations inCharlotte. He also painted and designed artwork forpublishing companies. ARNOLD E. GREENE ’80’84 of Greenville died Feb 8. He worked in varioussupermarkets in Greenville. Dr. GERALDINE N.“GERRY” JORDAN ’84 of Casa Grande, Ariz., diedDec. 7. In 1988 she retired after heading a communitycollege consortium for nine years and establishing aBS in nursing program at Wingate College. She was aweather observer in the Air Force, serving at WalkerAir Force Base in Roswell, N.M., and Andrews AirForce Base in Maryland and was honorably dischargedin 1952. MICHAEL PATRICK MCCAFFREY’89 of Trent Woods died Feb. 7. A Navy veteran, heenjoyed playing the guitar. JILL ADAMS MORRIS’81 ’89 of Kitty Hawk died Dec. 1. She taughtEnglish for 20 years to middle school and high schoolstudents at Ridgecroft Academy, Manteo High School,Currituck Middle School and First Flight MiddleSchool. TAMI LYNN BOONE PROCTOR ’82 ofRocky Mount died Jan. 21. She taught high schooland special education for Nash-Rocky Mount PublicSchools. JANET MOORE WATERS ’83 of Bathdied Nov. 23. She was a CPA first at Pittard, Perry andCrone and later at Keech & Company in Washington,where she was a partner.1990sSOPHIA FEARING BRYANT ’93 of Wintervilledied Jan. 7. She was a school counselor with PittCounty Schools. RHONDA ELAINE WOOTENCHADWELL ’92 of Winston-Salem died Jan. 23.She was a cancer researcher at Wake Forest UniversityMedical Center. CYNTHIA “CINDY” WILLISKREAGER ’93 of Sea Level died Dec. 25. Shewas a board member at Atlantic Elementary SchoolParent Teacher Organization, a den leader and boardmember for Down East Cub Scout Troop 252and a camp counselor for Croatan Trails cub daycamp. LINDA KAYE HINNANT KURNEY ’94of Wilson died Jan. 18. She was a school teacher.MELVIN EDWARD LANG ’95 of Ayden died Feb.3. He served in the Army and later worked for TheAssociated Press and retired from The Daily Reflectorin Greenville. After retiring, he taught journalism atECU. EUGENE SMITH JR. ’96 of Greenville diedFeb. 4. He was a tight end who was a member of theECU football program in 1990 and 1991. ANGELADAWN TOUCHET ’93 of Goldsboro died Nov 25.She worked in intelligence for the Air Force.2000sNATHAN WILLIAM BLACK ’03 of MurrellsInlet, S.C., died Jan. 21. He worked at Home Healthspecializing in geriatric rehabilitation. SAMANTHAJEAN SMITH FOX ’04 died Dec. 15. She worked ininformation technology for WebSource and RegencyOffice Products. PAULA KATHLEEN GRANTWOOLARD ’03 of Kinston died Jan. 11. She wasa teller supervisor with the State Employees CreditUnion.FACULTYEdgar Loessin, the founding chair of the ECUtheater program for whom the Playhouse and SummerTheatre are named, died April 22 in Norfolk, Va. Hewas 82. Since retiring in 1991, Loessin had servedas arts critic for public radio station WHRO-FMHampton Roads. Loessin already was a successful stagedirector in New York when he came to East Carolina

in 1961. Two years later he was named head of thenew theater program, which he led for the next 28years. A native of Texas, Loessin received a degree indrama from UNC-Chapel Hill, then earned a master’sdegree in directing from the Yale School of Drama.Dr. MARK M. BRINSON of Greenville died Jan.3. He came to ECU in 1973 and taught ecology andbiology courses and published widely. He announcedhis retirement last fall. A technical consultant to theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish andWildlife Service and the Smithsonian Institute, healso served as president of the Society of WetlandScientists. His many honors and awards includedthe Thomas Harriot College of Arts and SciencesDistinguished Professorship, ECU’s Board of TrusteesLifetime Achievement Award, a National WetlandsAward for Science Research cosponsored by theEnvironmental Law Institute and the EnvironmentalProtection Agency and a Fellowship of the Society ofWetland Scientists.Dr. ANNE ELIZABETH KELLOGG ofGreenville died Jan. 23. A physician and researcherin the pathology department at ECU’s BrodySchool of Medicine from 1993 until her death,she invented and patented a number of antibodies,some of which are being tested in a novel approachto fighting various forms of cancers.Dr. MALLIE MAE BENNETT PENRY ofReedville, Va., died Dec. 25. She taught at the Schoolof Medicine from 1967 to 1986, retiring as anassociate professor emerita.Dr. LEON ELVIN JOHNSON of Columbia, Mo.,died Dec. 21. A WWII veteran, he taught physicaleducation at ECU from 1967 to 1971 before movingto the faculty at the University of Missouri. A retiredprofessor emeritus from that university’s Departmentof Health and Physical Education, he developed agraduate program to train educators to teach physicaleducation to children with mental and physicaldisabilities.Col. GEORGE C. MARTIN JR. of Greenville diedDec. 6 at 101. A U.S. Army veteran, he retired fromECU as professor emeritus after teaching in thegeography department from 1948 to 1975.LOUISE WOOD BRIMLEY of Colfax died Jan. 13at 100. She was the widow of Dr. Ralph Brimley, whotaught in the School of Education from 1957 to 1973.STAFFELIZABETH “BETH” MCDOWELL EVERETTof Greenville died Dec. 19. She worked for the PirateClub and later in the ECU Athletic Ticket office.RICKY RAY STANCIL of Winterville died Dec. 11.He was an electrician at ECU and later self-employedas the owner of Life Cycles.FRIENDSMORRIS BRODY, the Greenville retailer whosefamily championed the growth of ECU’s medicalschool, died Jan. 28 at 92. A co-owner of Brody’sDepartment Stores, he later became a tireless advocatefor ECU, the City of Greenville and eastern NorthCarolina. His and his brothers’ financial contributionsto ECU launched the effort to secure and later buildthe School of Medicine, which was later named theBrody School of Medicine.HAYWOOD MERCER “H. M.” POYTHRESSof Goldsboro died Feb. 11. An entrepreneur in therestaurant business, he opened Pizza Inns and severalother restaurants in eastern N.C. He helped form theDFI Family of Friends, an annual golf tournamenthelping to fund scholarships for the ECU Departmentof Hospitality. In 2008, ECU presented him with theECU Hospitality Legacy Award.It takes EVERY PIRATE for East Carolina to reach new heights.“I could always see myself in the PURPLE and GOLD! I am a Pirate for life.”Tim Willis ’12Business majorRaleigh, NCYour membership in the Alumni Association helps support AlumniScholarships, which help to retain deserving ECU undergraduateswho excel in the classroom and serve the community. These studentswalk the same grounds you did…sit in the same classrooms you oncesat in…and proudly proclaim their Pirate heritage as loudly as you do!Become a member today. Impact students tomorrow.800-ECU-GRADPirateAlumni.com/jointodayVIsIt PIratealumnI.com/eVeryPIrate tosee why each of these students loVes ecu.59

upon THE PAST“We are not here to destroy the old and accept only the new, but to build upon the past…”—Robert H. Wright, Nov. 12, 1909From his inaugural address and installation as East Carolina’s first presidentUniversity ArchivesThanks a millionIn the early 1960s when East Carolinaaspired to join the NCAA and play bigtimecollege sports, the school knew itneeded two things. It had to find a greatfootball coach. But to lure such talentthe school would need an impressive newfootball stadium. President Leo Jenkinswanted to build that stadium in a hurry,so he put the arm on Greenville’s businesscommunity to raise the money. Pepsibottler Jack Minges and insurance executiveWaightsill H. “Booger” Scales agreed tolead the fundraising effort. In a single week,they raised $215,000, an amount thattranslates into more than $1.5 million intoday’s dollars. That show of commitmentbrought Clarence Stasvich and his vauntedsingle-wing offense to campus. To thankthe men whose names later would graceMinges Coliseum and Scales Field House,President Leo Jenkins treated them todinner at the Copacabana Club in New YorkCity in October 1963. Playing in the newFicklen Stadium they helped build, CoachStas’ teams reeled off three consecutive 9–1seasons and earned trips to three consecutivebowl games in what is now considered thegolden age of East Carolina sports.Nearly half a century later, the survivingchildren of Coach Stas have donated hislibrary and memorabilia to the school.Story, pages 14-1560

EastUniversity AdvancementGreenville CentreMail Stop 301East Carolina UniversityGreenville, NC 27858-4353NonprofitOrganizationU.S. PostagePAIDPPCOchange service requestedecu galleryA new entrance welcomes athletes and visitors to the Olympic Sports Complex from Charles Boulevard.Photograph by Jay Clark