East Winter 2021 by East Carolina University

EAS T Businesses change course with COVID-19

TEACHERS TAKE SCHOOL ONLINE TO REACH STUDENTS

A Black student and alumna talk race at ECU

THE ECU MAGAZINE

THE YEAR EVERYTHING CHANGED

WIN 2021

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winter 2021

Amanda Avery, left, and Jaelyn Woods bag items Nov. 17 at ECU’s Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement for Turkeypalooza 2020. Students with the center and the ECU Campus Kitchen provided 35 turkeys and meal boxes to community organizations.

CONTENTS

EAS T IN EVERY ISSUE

View from Spilman . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 ECU Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Discovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Faculty Focus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Student Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Pirate Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Alison Thomas ’99 and her brother, Justin Wilkes, co-owners of Scarborough Fair Catering, saw business plummet due to COVID-19 but found ways to adapt. Read more about how alumni business owners navigated lockdowns and restrictions this year beginning on page 20.

Pirate Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Horizons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

main feature

More coverage, including links to videos and more photos, is at east.ecu.edu

24 Changing Classes

From kindergarten to high school, ECU teachers are making school work during COVID-19.

34 New Normal,

New Future?

Experts weigh in on life post-COVID.

36 Building Up A conversation on race

highlights how Black alumni can drive change.

39 Where Were You When? Alumni recount monumental

moments in history that intersected with their time on campus.

East Carolina University is a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina System. It is a public doctoral/research-intensive university offering baccalaureate, master’s, specialist and doctoral degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and professional fields, including medicine. Dedicated to the achievement of excellence, responsible stewardship of the public trust and academic freedom, ECU values the contributions of a diverse community, supports shared governance and guarantees equality of opportunity. ©2021 by East Carolina University

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East magazine

Safe and sustainable

View from

Spilman 4

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I met with a group of Honors College students in October who want to create a sustainable, edible landscape on campus. Fruits and vegetables and orchards. They’re so serious they’re creating a business plan on how that can work at ECU. That got me thinking that as we move through this pandemic, sustainability is going to be the key. We have to operate in a way that will allow us to keep campus open. Looking at the spring semester, which starts Jan. 19, we’re taking steps such as requiring students to have a negative COVID-19 test within seven days of move-in for those living on campus, weekly testing of students who live in our residence halls and setting aside beds in two residence halls for quarantine and isolation. It’s been a very difficult time we’ve coped with since last March. Our faculty, staff and students have been adaptive, creative and nimble. We even set a record retention rate of 84% from the fall 2019 semester to fall 2020. A resilient group of Pirates for sure! Now we have to sustain our success. We Pirates might be too far apart for our liking during the time of COVID-19, but also know Pirates come together to achieve our goals and take nothing for granted. Ron Mitchelson, Ph.D. Interim chancellor

School of Art and Design assistant professor Gabe Duggan gives instructions during an art installation class Aug. 17.

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ECU Report

In This Issue

ECU plans on-campus spring semester Historic gift funds teacher scholarships

Women in STEM thrive at ECU ECU’s work to address gender inequality has received a major boost in the form of a three-year, $999,074 grant from the National Science Foundation. Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson is the principal investigator on the project, called THRIVE: Towards Hiring, Resources, Inclusion, Value and Excellence. Stephanie George of the Department of Engineering, Rachel Roper of the Brody School of Medicine, Crystal Chambers of the College of Education and Kristen Myers of the Department of Sociology are co-principal investigators, and numerous other faculty members have contributed to the pursuit of NSF funding for the project, which dates to 2013. The NSF ADVANCE program that funded ECU’s project is designed to build gender equity through identifying and eliminating organizational barriers that impede the full participation and advancement of diverse faculty in academic institutions. The project is aimed at supporting and improving efforts to recruit and retain women in faculty positions, especially in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. THRIVE is adapted from a

From left, Ashleigh Hudson, Ashley Beach and Sokeang Heak work in Adam Offenbacher’s biochemistry lab in the SciTech Building.

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project called Advocates and Allies that began at North Dakota State University and has been implemented at other institutions across the country. “Advocates and Allies recognizes that the people who really have to change the structure are the people who are most privileged by the structure,” Myers said. “And typically in STEM fields that is full professors, who are usually men. So they recruited these usually white men in positions of authority” as allies in the effort to change the culture. Fortunately, she said, ECU isn’t starting from scratch. “ECU has made a ton of progress over the years,” she said. “We were able to demonstrate that we’re not dealing with a toxic, hostile climate that we have to fix; it’s that ECU has laid this groundwork, and we’re ready to roll.” Having the interim chancellor as lead investigator shows ECU is serious, she added. Roper said raising awareness is a foundational goal of the project because most people are unaware studies show men and women are still biased against women in STEM. ECU has 23 STEM departments, she said, encompassing a considerable proportion of the university’s faculty. – Jules Norwood

Left, ECU Interim Chancellor Ron MItchelson looks at the second floor in the Prichard-Hughes Warehouse in the Greenville Warehouse District. Below is an artist’s rendering of the 19-acre Intersect East project.

Warehouse district gets new name, plan for future ECU’s millennial campus in Greenville’s former warehouse district has a new name and master plan. Designated Intersect East, the property covers 19 acres between Main Campus and Dickinson Avenue, including the historic Export Leaf Tobacco building, the American Tobacco Co. storage warehouse No. 2 and the Prichard-Hughes Warehouse. The eight-year master plan includes developing or repurposing 14 buildings and an investment by Elliot Sidewalk Communities of more than $150 million. The project is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs, a financial impact exceeding $141 million annually and $3 million in annual property tax revenues. Highlights include building a research and innovation hub beside 10th Street; keeping the historic water tower and smokestack; converting an abandoned railroad bed into a hiking-biking trail; and developing residential, office and parking space. “(Intersect East) is a place where business and science will merge,” said Tim Elliott, managing member at ESC. “(A place) where innovation will flourish … you could say this is an Olympic training center for business growth where university research and corporate research and development meet, train and win.” Phase one focuses on Intersect East’s three historic properties. The buildings, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will be renovated and open for business tenants looking to collaborate with the university. The renovation will include 200,000 square feet of office space with an initial investment of $30 million. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2021 with completion by fall 2022.

“We had an asset, a great location of tremendous value,” said Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson. “We had something to provide, but we’re not professional developers. With (ESC’s assistance), we really do know what to do with it now.” The project will have four phases with an expected completion date of 2027. The development will have mixed-use space including apartments, townhomes and restaurant space. The University of North Carolina Board of Governors approved the development deal between ECU and ESC in July. As part of the deal, ESC will control the property for 99 years and pay the appraised value of the buildings over the life of the deed. ESC developed The Lofts at Dickinson in Greenville with partner Hallmark Campus Communities. The company has also partnered with the city of High Point and the city of Rock Hill, South Carolina, for projects related to universities in those cities. More information is at intersecteast.com. – Matt Smith

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ECU Report

Back to campus for spring semester ECU officials plan to bring students back to campus and resume in-person classes for the spring semester — so long as COVID-19 cooperates. The spring academic calendar, published in the fall, remains in effect. Classes will start Jan. 19 and finish April 27. ECU will have no spring break. Final exams will take place April 29-May 6, and spring commencement is scheduled for May 7. ECU will offer a mix of in-person, hybrid and online classes for undergraduate and graduate students.

Officials will work to ensure any students who want to take courses remotely will have the opportunity to do so. Classes will return to the normal 15-week semester rather than the 7.5-week block schedule used this fall. ECU also plans to provide the option of on-campus living in the spring at reduced capacity. All rooms will be single occupancy. ECU has waived the residency requirement for freshmen for the spring semester. Officials will also establish significant capacity for on-campus isolation and quarantine, update plans for COVID-19 testing and develop a vaccination plan for students. – ECU News Services

Rebecca Hansen ’14 dressed as Anna from Frozen 2 during a drive-in movie showing July 31 at Hampton Coliseum. She’s the assistant marketing manager for the venue and the Hampton (Virginia) Arts Commission. “We were set to have two major concerts at Hampton Coliseum in mid-March when COVID-19 precautions forced them to be canceled,” she said. Since that time, she and her group have come up with new ways to keep the arts and entertainment scene alive at their venues, such as the drive-in movies, reduced seating, guest appointments and a new web series called “The HeART of Hampton” that highlights visual and performing artists.

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ECU-tested COVID-19 treatment receives authorization An ECU infectious disease specialist at Vidant Medical Center was among the first to trial a COVID-19 antibody treatment that in November was granted an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Paul Cook, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Brody School of Medicine, began enrolling patients in August in the clinical trial investigating the monoclonal antibody treatment now named bamlanivimab and developed by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. Early studies showed a statistically significant reduction in the need for patient hospitalization compared with a placebo. “What it means is that we’re at the forefront — it doesn’t mean that we’re the only place in town,” Cook said. “I’ve gotten emails about it asking, ‘How are we going to do this?’ and, ‘Where is it going to be done?’ We already know how to do it because we have already been doing it. We’ll probably do it at our infusion center, which we already have in place.” Cook added that the early supply of the treatment is limited, so providers will have to be judicious in determining patient eligibility. Bamlanivimab targets the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, designed to prevent the virus from attaching and entering human cells. It is intended for higher-risk patients who have been recently diagnosed with mildto-moderate COVID-19. It is one of six drug and biological products that have received the emergency use

authorization from the FDA. Veklury — also known as remdesivir — which has also been tested at ECU, became the first and thus far only fully FDA-approved treatment for COVID-19 on Oct. 22. Once the initial clinical trial showed bamlanivimab, also known as LY-CoV555, to be effective in treating high-risk COVID-19 patients in the early stages of their infection, the trial was expanded. Cook, his colleagues at ECU and other sites around the nation are testing a combination treatment of bamlanivimab and an additional SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody called etesevimab, or LY-CoV016. The treatment is intended for higher-risk patients who have been recently diagnosed with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. Cook said the combination therapy is similar to the one used to treat President Donald Trump when he was diagnosed with COVID-19. “We think that these double monoclonal antibodies are probably better than one,” Cook said. “We don’t know that for sure, but that’s why we do trials.

Top, Dr. Paul Cook, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Brody School of Medicine, speaks to a group about the coronavirus. Above, Cook speaks during a COVID-19 podcast.

– Natalie Sayewich

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ECU Report

Steve and Nancy Ballard

Campus buildings named for Eakin, Ballard ECU renamed two campus buildings for former chancellors Steve Ballard and Richard Eakin during a ceremony Nov. 6. The Student Recreation Center is now the Richard R. and JoAnn M. Eakin Student Recreation Center, and Gateway Hall is now Steve and Nancy Ballard Hall. “These strong pillars of ECU’s family left an indelible mark on this campus and its people,” said Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson. “I’ve been at this interim chancellor thing for one year, so I stand in awe of these two leaders.” Ballard became ECU’s sixth chancellor and 10th chief administrative officer in 2004. As chancellor, he established the School of Dental Medicine and the Honors College and secured funding for the new Main Campus Student Center and Gateway Hall. Gateway Hall opened in 2015 and is the hub for most of the university’s living learning communities.

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Richard Eakin

Ballard also oversaw the move to the American Athletic Conference and the establishment of SECU Partnership East, a $2 million grant in partnership with the State Employees’ Credit Union to educate teachers in rural communities. Ballard retired as chancellor in 2016 but returned to ECU as a professor in the Honors College. “ECU is a special place. I recognized it when we arrived in 2004,” Ballard said. “It seemed to be a perfect fit for us, and we stayed for 12 years because we had a strong affinity for ECU’s mission.” Eakin, ECU’s fourth chancellor and eighth chief administrative officer, was unable to attend the ceremony but said before the event, “We have a great deal of love for the East Carolina family, and we’re deeply touched by the university returning that love in this most tangible way.” Before coming to ECU, Eakin played a key role in getting a student recreation center at Bowling Green State University. At ECU, he did the same, and the $18 million, 150,000-square-foot facility opened in 1997. Eakin also oversaw a major expansion of Joyner Library and the university’s reclassification as a doctoral degreegranting institution. During his tenure, the student body grew from 13,000 to 18,000. He retired as chancellor in 2001 but returned a year later to teach higher education administration in the College of Education. He then served as interim chair of the Department of Mathematics followed by dean of the then-new Honors College. Eakin retired for the third time on June 30, 2013, capping 26 years of service to ECU. – Erin Ward

Study finds ECU’s statewide economic impact exceeds $2.5B ECU packs an annual economic punch across the state of more than $2.5 billion, a 2019 study led by a team of Pirate researchers found. In total, the university supports more than 27,000 jobs, with nearly 96% of those jobs in eastern North Carolina. Conducted by ECU economics professors Meghan Millea and Haiyong Liu and former College of Business director of Millea professional services and research James Kleckley, the study tracked the influence of university-related spending through university operations, student spending, visitor spending, capital expenditures and alumni dividend. Overall, university operations spending accounted for 71.5% of the total economic impact. That includes funds for employee salaries and purchases of goods and services to maintain daily operations. Student spending was second on the list, accounting for 14.6% of total impact, while capital expenditures and visitor spending accounted for 5% each. “Universities are economic engines,” Millea said. “ECU’s instruction prepares our graduates for careers, expands their minds through enriching programs and improves their quality of life through its research and creative endeavors. This study quantifies how ECU’s spending on these transformative functions impacts the state and regional economies in terms of output, income and employment.” The university’s research enterprise provided an $86 million economic output, according to the study, while supporting 912 jobs. ECU researchers have set new benchmarks in productivity over the last five years, reaching a record-high $74 million in sponsored program funding in fiscal year 2019. Additionally, the university has increased its support of Pirate-backed small-business ventures, ranging from medical imaging startup companies to student-led graphic arts companies. During the 2019 fiscal year, the university assisted 32 startup companies through the Small Business and Technology Development Center at ECU; supported 29 student-led microenterprises; and helped create or retain 336 small business jobs. Overall, ECU’s alumni base of 170,000 accounted for $75.5 million in spending across the state, including $6.3 million in eastern North Carolina. Data for the report was gathered and analyzed before the coronavirus pandemic. Like many academic institutions across the country, ECU and its economic impact have been affected by the coronavirus. The full report, along with the research team’s methodology, is at go.ecu.edu/economy. – Matt Smith

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ECU part of effort to develop global, high-speed research network Creating a research data superhighway across the Atlantic Ocean is the focus of a collaborative project that includes ECU. Researchers at ECU and George Mason University have received a $463,256 grant from the National Science Foundation under the International Research and Education Network Connections program for BRIDGES or Binding Research Infrastructures for the Deployment of Global Experimental Science. Ciprian Popoviciu, assistant professor in the Department of Technology Systems at ECU, said the goal is to deploy next-generation research infrastructure. The 8,000-mile optical network ring that includes Washington, D.C., New York, Amsterdam and Paris will be capable of delivering science data at a rate of 200 billion bits per

Popoviciu

second. By comparison, a typical high-definition video requires about 8 million bits per second. Popoviciu said today’s large-scale scientific experiments require faster speeds to transmit data. “There is a big push to build high-bandwidth infrastructures because the current ones cannot cope,” he said. He said BRIDGES would demonstrate a new vision for research and education cyberinfrastructures that will enable multiple research groups

to collaborate across the ocean at the same time. These capabilities will be implemented through Global Virtualization Services software, an open-source project the BRIDGES team will add functionality and optimizations to. ECU’s role in the three-year project centers on designing the infrastructure and developing functionality features for the GVS software. Popoviciu was involved with the development of the GVS software and monitored its evolution as an expert for the European Commission that funded its creation. ECU will also develop operational procedures and tools for managing the highly virtualized, highly configurable cyber infrastructure and will lay the foundation for the network operation center of the service. – Ken Buday

ECU=environmentally conscious university ECU is one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to the Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges for 2021. ECU is one of 416 institutions that has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and is profiled in the new guide. The Princeton Review chose the schools based on a survey of administrators at 695 colleges about their institutions’ commitments to the environment and sustainability. The company’s editors analyzed more than 25 survey data points in the process of choosing schools for the guide. Creating a culture of sustainability on campus has been a focus for Chad Carwein, ECU’s sustainability manager. He has worked with hundreds of students, staff, faculty and community

members over the past four years in developing ECU’s first sustainability plan, which outlines goals in the areas of climate change mitigation, academics and research, campus grounds and materials management. ECU sustainability manager Chad Carwein, left, While long-term efforts such and Griffin Avin, director of facilities on the Health Sciences Campus, work at solar-powered charging as recycling and water and energy stations near the Brody Building. reduction have been successful, Carwein said the work to create a more sustainable campus continues. “Two of the most commonly asked questions I get are ‘Why doesn’t ECU have solar power?’ and ‘Why don’t we compost in the dining halls?’” Carwein said. “Both are excellent questions in my opinion and perfect examples of the progress yet to be made.” In addition to being named a Green College by Princeton Review in consecutive years, ECU has been designated a Bicycle Friendly University, Tree Campus USA and Bee Campus USA. ECU also has a silver rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, which is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. “All of these designations put the university on the map and are powerful recruiting tools for prospective students and their families,” Carwein said. – Crystal Baity

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Historic gift funds teacher scholarships A new scholarship at the ECU College of Education will award $5,000 a year to outstanding incoming freshmen and graduate students who wish to become, or already are, classroom elementary teachers. Edward and Sara Coble Roos ’65 recently made a record seven-figure gift to the college to establish the Roos Elementary Education Scholars Program. Including graduate students in the scholarship program is significant. There is less incentive for teachers to pursue graduate degrees because North Carolina lawmakers in 2013 eliminated a provision that granted automatic pay raises to public school teachers who completed master’s degrees. “When that occurred, the bottom fell out of our graduate program,” said Patricia Anderson, professor and interim chair of the Department of Elementary Education and Middle Grades Education. “Although our numbers have increased, graduate scholarships are almost unheard of.” However, there are signs those incentives could be reinstated, and when that happens, ECU’s teachers will be ready, she said. Roos Scholars will also be a part of the College of Education Living Learning Community and will have leadership development and travel opportunities in addition to other programming. Originally from High Point, Sara Coble Roos studied elementary education and graduated in 1965. She loves children, and teaching a younger age group appealed to her. “They’re like sponges. They’re interested in everything, they like learning, and teaching sets the tone for their lifelong learning,” she said. “The basic tenets of elementary education are reading, writing and arithmetic. It is important to establish those skills at an early age.”

Sara and Ed Roos

After graduating, she got a teaching job in Florida, where she met Ed, a technician working at Cape Canaveral. Ed studied physics at the Florida Institute of Technology. They eventually married and moved to Los Altos, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. With neighbors like Facebook, Google and Apple, the Rooses invested in tech companies before they became the behemoths they are today. The couple decided to put their earnings toward donations to several universities, including ECU. The Roos Elementary Education Scholars Program at ECU is an endowment and a future planned estate gift. “We want people to have the means to be educated. I’m very disturbed about the escalation of the cost to go to college,” Ed Roos said. “In my day it was relatively inexpensive. Students are forced to take out these college loans that could lead to an unstable financial future. You shouldn’t have to borrow that kind of money to go to school.” Sara Roos added, “We want to give back to the universities that provided the skills we needed to succeed and hope we can help someone pursue their dream of becoming a teacher.” More information is at bit.ly/2UDpZQq. – Erin Ward

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ECU Report

A year like no other

Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson speaks during an ECU board of trustees meeting Nov. 6.

Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson talks about his time at the helm and what the future holds for ECU – and himself.

little bit harder. Emotions have run high, and everyone is a bit fatigued. But we Pirates have rallied around the mission. We are still serving our students and our region as best we can. We have certainly needed to expand our toolbox. Even I have gotten good at “sharing my screen.” While I believe there will always be a market for in-person education for young people, I also believe that we are now even better positioned to address nontraditional markets like adult learners. We do “tele-everything” better today than we did 12 months ago, and those capacities will be important in the future.

How would you sum up your year-plus as interim chancellor? Roller-coaster ride. In many ways it has been a difficult and very challenging year. But I have been very well supported by members of our ECU community, and I will be eternally grateful for that support. So while it has been a great challenge, it has also been very rewarding. I certainly have newfound respect for longserving chancellors like Dick Eakin and Steve Ballard. With just one year in the office, I find their commitment and endurance to be profound. Remarkable leaders for sure.

How would you describe the impact COVID-19 has had on ECU and higher education in general? COVID-19 is like the toughest final exam you can imagine. We have been and are being tested. It seems like nearly everything we do is a

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Last year we had a cover story titled “Pirates Ascending” about ECU athletics. A lot has changed since then. How would you describe the state of Pirate athletics today and what the near future holds? ECU athletics is important to our institution and our region. It’s been an historic source of identity and pride for all Pirates and citizens of the East. The disruption to revenues from COVID-19 has challenged our athletic programs greatly. We completed a fiscal sustainability analysis for athletics last spring, and that has provided some key recommendations. We’ve reduced the number of NCAA sports from 20 to 16, and, while necessary, that was very painful for all concerned. I believe that we are very well led in athletics, and we will right the ship. I really like

our presence in the American Conference; they are all great universities, and we must compete at that level. We can do that with our current leadership.

What have been some of the top faculty achievements as they’ve dealt with teaching and doing research during the pandemic? ECU faculty continue to do an outstanding job of educating students. Throughout this COVID episode they have adapted what they do, and they have illustrated a deep concern and compassion for our students. We set a record for retention rates last year, and faculty played the key role in that success. In addition to carrying on the great work of the classroom, they have elevated our research profile. We had the second-largest sponsored program total in history during the past year, and that says a great deal about commitment and resilience.

What have been the biggest rewards of serving as interim chancellor? Helping to lead a great university like this is experienced by very few people. It’s humbling. It has been a privilege to work with and to serve

Mitchelson taught an online geography class at ECU in the fall semester.

the campus and our UNC System leaders. The reward that I most cherish is the gratitude expressed by others. They know this has been a difficult year, and many go out of their way to say thank you for staying the course, for steadying the ship. I have had an amazing level of support. The team has pulled together, and I am pleased with that. I have learned that only great teams win.

What will ECU look like this time next year? Will there be significant changes due to the impact of COVID-19? I certainly hope that COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror and we have all the excitement that students bring when they are on campus. Density will be back! The campus was built for people, and people need to be here. I think we all look forward to welcoming and supporting a new leader, a new chancellor. We’ll be in our new life sciences and biotech building, and we should see significant progress in adaptive reuse of the warehouse district, Intersect East. So there is plenty to look forward to next year.

What is your future at ECU? My intention is to teach another intro geography class in the spring, to assist the new chancellor with transition and to retire at the end of June. I have had a long and wonderful career, chock-full of great people and memories. After 42 years at three universities, it’s time to relax a bit, get some exercise and spend more time with the grandkids. I will stay busy, and I will always support ECU.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Mitchelson gives keynote speaker Christopher Chung a chancellor’s coin during virtual commencement in Wright Auditorium.

I just want all of Pirate Nation to know how grateful I am for the opportunity to serve. It really has been an honor I shall never forget. – Doug Boyd

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Discovery

Latest Investigations

Grant funds saltwater infiltration research Hope for those with restless legs

Team awarded $1.5 million to study watershed resiliency An ECU research team will use a grant of nearly $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation to combine science and economic policy to support eastern North Carolina’s environment, farmers and rural communities. The four-year study aims to determine how environmental changes modify nutrient pollution in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin. The study also examines how local, state and federal nutrient management policies influence water quality now and in a saltier, wetter future. Associate professor of biology Ariane Peralta leads the team, which includes faculty from ECU’s biology, anthropology, coastal studies, economics and engineering departments. Peralta said one of the main focuses of the study will be predicting how future environmental changes, such as sea level rise, will influence how microorganisms process nitrogen on farm fields and lead to increased nutrient pollution levels downstream. During the next 15 years, scientists expect North Carolina’s sea level to rise by 6 inches, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The grant team will collect soil samples from farm fields and adjacent wetland areas to measure how increasing concentrations of saltwater will affect microbial processing of nitrogen. These experiments will show researchers how soil microbes respond to increased salt levels and how water quality functions are expected to change.

The watershed resiliency grant will take a multi-pronged approach to better understand future pollution models in eastern North Carolina, including soil sample experiments in the lab and in-person interviews and surveys with farmers.

“We want to know what the microbes in our soil are doing when they’re exposed to greater salt levels,” Peralta said. “Will greater levels of salt interrupt the processes microbes use to transform nitrate and ammonium from fertilizers into nitrogen gas? We want to know how salt modifies soil microbes on croplands and alters pollution levels in eastern North Carolina waterways.” In addition to studying how environmental hazards affect environmental conditions, the research team will use surveys to better understand how policies and incentive programs can increase the use of best management practices in the region. These practices, which may include transitioning land used for farming to fallow land to allow for nutrient recovery or changing crop production type, may be more likely to be used when they provide an economic or societal benefit for the farmer. The study features two dozen undergraduate and graduate students and will also provide data to K-12 classrooms throughout the state. The project begins in March and runs through 2025. – Matt Smith

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Physiologist receives patent for treating restless legs An ECU faculty member’s latest patent may change the way restless legs syndrome is treated, leading to more effective care over a longer period of time for patients. Stefan Clemens, an associate professor in the Brody School of Medicine’s Department of Physiology, was awarded U.S. Patent 10,751,327 on Aug. 25 for his novel treatment of RLS. Restless legs syndrome is a nervous system disorder that affects between 5% and 8% of the population in the United States. Those suffering from RLS experience an uncontrollable urge to move their legs caused by an unpleasant sensation. While the exact cause of RLS is still unknown, the syndrome is typically treated with dopaminergic drugs — medications that replace or prevent the loss of dopamine — that have a high initial effect but over time lose their effectiveness. “The problem is that patients on these dopaminergics eventually develop a side effect called augmentation,” Clemens said. “Their symptoms get worse while taking the current medication used for treatment.” Classic RLS treatments act on a dopamine receptor known as D3 that has a suppressive effect in the nervous system. However, Clemens’ lab has shown in animal models that over time this medication leads to an increase of a different, excitatory receptor subtype,

Stefan Clemens has developed and patented a new treatment for restless legs syndrome that can provide relief for longer periods.

D1. This increase of the D1 receptor might be the cause of augmentation. Clemens’ patent proposes a new treatment method that targets the increased D1 receptor levels in RLS patients suffering from augmentation, leading to reduced activation of D1 receptors while providing traditional therapy relief from RLS. “Our lab postulates that this new compound will maintain long-term efficacy for RLS,” Clemens said. “If augmentation begins, we predict that we can reduce D1 receptor activation in patients and balance things back out, keeping the treatment effective.” Clemens received a grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to run a small pilot study with a collaborator from the University of Houston. This work has gained the attention of a company interested in establishing a partnership where ECU’s patent rights may be used in combination with its existing drug formulation. Clemens said the idea to apply for a patent came from the ECU Office of Licensing and Commercialization. “They not only brought the idea of patenting our research to my attention, but they also helped me through the process and handled all of the legal and technical aspects of filing a patent,” he said. – Matt Smith

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Focus

Rachel Roper

Brody School of Medicine Associate professor of microbiology and immunology

Rachel Roper is a go-to source for reporters covering the coronavirus pandemic In the first half of 2020, the associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the Brody School of Medicine at ECU sat for almost 50 national and international interviews explaining COVID-19 in layman’s terms to better inform the public. Roper — whose expertise extends to the SARS coronavirus in the early 2000s — regularly posts about COVID-19 on her Twitter account, @Roper_Lab. “Being on Facebook and Twitter helps me see what the public knows or doesn’t know or understand,” she said. Providing accurate information is part of her obligation as a scientist to help society while fulfilling ECU’s mission to serve, she said. “I believe scientists have a duty to provide good information to the public and to our government officials who need information to make good policy decisions and laws,” said Roper, adding that sense of obligation comes from the support of citizens and government throughout her publicly funded education — from primary school to the university level — as well as state and federal funding for her research and lab throughout her career. Roper decided to be a media source — and a role model for girls and women — when she joined ECU in 2004. At the time, she was the only woman in her department. “I want little girls to see a professional woman talking about science,” said Roper, whose lab also studies the effects of gender bias on women in STEM and other male-dominated disciplines. “I can’t imagine how anything could be more interesting than how virus genes evolve to spread infections and how our immune system works to counter them and then how we can use this information to design better diagnostics, therapeutic interventions and vaccines to protect the population from these pathogens.” – Crystal Baity

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Allison Danell was named dean of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences in July. She previously was interim dean and professor of chemistry. She received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Truman State University in 1996 and her doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Rowland Institute at Harvard. An analytical chemist, she was director of undergraduate studies for several years in the Department of Chemistry and served as interim department chair in 2014-2015. Danell oversees the largest college at ECU, with nearly 5,500 declared undergraduate majors. The College of Arts and Sciences encompasses 54 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in 16 academic departments.

Andrea Kitta, an associate professor of English at ECU, has won the 2020 Brian McConnell Book Award, given by the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, for her recent book, The Kiss of Death: Contagion, Contamination and Folklore. The book sheds light on how information and misinformation spread during an outbreak such as COVID-19. It’s the second time she’s received the award. In October, she was also named one of two recipients of the 2020 Chicago Folklore Prize. The recognition is offered jointly by the American Folklore Society and the University of Chicago. Stephanie George, an associate professor of engineering at ECU, has been appointed to the program director position within the National Science Foundation’s Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems. The program provides opportunities for creating fundamental and transformative research projects that integrate engineering and life sciences techniques to solve biomedical problems.

Anne Dickerson, professor of occupational therapy in the College of Allied Health Sciences, won the 2020 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service for her work teaching young people on the autism spectrum disorder how to drive and navigate their communities. She was one of 13 people this year to receive the highest honor awarded to state government employees during a virtual ceremony Oct. 27.

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SURVIVING THE

While the state battled the coronavirus, eastern N.C. businesses also fought to survive.

Chris Loignon â&#x20AC;&#x2122;08 â&#x20AC;&#x2122;09 began offering curbside service, online orders and appointments when COVID-19 hit. 20

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STORY BY KEN BUDAY

usiness owners entered 2020 with optimism. Unemployment hovered around 4%, people were spending money and the United States had a record streak of 128 straight months of economic expansion. “Year 2020 was supposed to be the best year yet, one of setting records for us and so many in the wedding industry,” said Alison Thomas ’99, co-owner of Scarborough Fare Catering with her brother, Justin Wilkes. “We set records all right, and it has been a humbling experience.” The coronavirus pandemic prompted stay-athome orders and lockdowns. In a matter of months, unemployment climbed to 14% and the gross domestic product — considered a benchmark for the economy — declined by 5% in the first quarter of 2020 and a record 31.7% in the second quarter. Some businesses closed; many cut employees. Even East Carolina University furloughed workers and faced an estimated revenue loss of $25 million for the fall semester. Particularly hard hit was the leisure and hospitality sector, which saw a national unemployment rate of 39% in April. “This pandemic recession has affected services and service jobs far worse than many other industries,” said Rick Niswander, an accounting professor in ECU’s College of Business. “Since services are about 70% of all jobs, the effect is wide and often deep. Further, service jobs tend to be lower-paying jobs, so job loss has disproportionately affected those who were paid less to start with. This has significant long-term implications with respect to income disparities and gender inequality.” Scarborough Fare Catering, which works weddings and other events from Raleigh to the coast, is one of those leisure and hospitality businesses. Thomas said about $500,000 in catering jobs shifted from the spring and summer months as a result of restrictions on large gatherings. Thomas said the Paycheck Protection Program provided help for the business for a couple of months. Its main event venue, the Martinsborough, was closed, yet bills continued to come in. “You could say we have bled quite a bit with our venue, and it has been terribly painful,” Thomas said.

This pandemic recession has affected services and service jobs far worse than many other industries. Since services are about 70% of all jobs, the effect is wide and often deep. Rick Niswander, accounting professor, ECU College of Business

Adding services

Chris Loignon ’08 ’09 and wife Kendra ’08 returned to Greenville three years ago to open Fleet Feet, which sells exercise shoes, apparel and equipment. “When the pandemic hit, just like most people, the second half of March and April were really, really slow,” Loignon said. “It picked up when people picked up new hobbies, and fortunately for us, that was people running and walking.” Loignon adjusted his business model to serve customers during the pandemic, offering curbside service and filling online orders. He also implemented an appointment system to reduce the number of customers inside the Greenville store. He said community support has been key for his business, and he’s giving back with a monthly charitable campaign that provides help to schools and soup kitchens. “The saying is Pirates support Pirates, and it’s true,” he said. “Whether you went to ECU or not, you’re part of Greenville, and Greenville people support each other. Our community has been so supportive. One of the things that drew my wife and I to this town is not only are we alumni, but we like this small-town feel. We’re very fortunate to have met a lot of great people in this town, and to have the support of this town has been a blessing.” ecu.edu/east

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Amy ’02 and Barry White ’05 ’11 own Sweet Couple Bakery in Winterville.

Amy ’02 and Barry White ’05 ’11 met, fell in love and married 16 years ago. He proposed with a cake, not knowing that in 2013 they would open the Sweet Couple Bakery in Winterville. He couldn’t say if opening a business was as stressful as trying to run one during the pandemic. “Dealing with the pandemic has been stressful, just not knowing what was going to happen,” he said. They closed for about a month, and supplies for the shop proved difficult to obtain. With restrictions on large gatherings, they weren’t making wedding cakes, a mainstay of the business. They adjusted, offering curbside pickup. When allowed to open, they reduced their hours and permitted just two customers in the shop at a time. Customers sometimes lined up outside the door to enjoy the couple’s famous chocolate chip cookies and other treats. “We pushed through,” Amy White said. They said shop-local campaigns and social media brought them new customers as pandemic restrictions eased, and they’re looking forward to a busy holiday season, though they offer no ideas about what 2021 will bring. “We’re just trying to get through the rest of 2020,” Amy White said with a laugh. “Let’s just get this year under our belts first.” As for Scarborough Fare Catering, Thomas hopes the worst may be over as well. Work has increased as restrictions decreased, and a partnership with 22

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a seafood company in Beaufort provided revenue opportunities with grab-and-go meals. The business expanded into a wholesale model of sorts, with five retail outlets across some rural areas. “We are committed to these outlets even as we return to normal catering,” Thomas said. “We hope to grow the volume and hire a larger team that will concentrate on this new business line.” Thomas is looking forward to a more normal 2021. “We love full-service events and relish the day of getting back to weddings each week,” she said. “2021 will prove to be the record-breaking year we thought 2020 would be.” Niswander called the economic impact of the virus “uneven.” He cited construction, manufacturing, grocery and tech sectors that did fine during the pandemic, but airlines, hotels and restaurants sustained major losses. “Yelp has estimated that as much as 60% of restaurants that are closed will remain closed permanently,” he said. “Even those that are open show traffic that is down 45% from pre-pandemic levels.” He said businesses that were able to adapt, such as pivoting to online services, and those with sufficient capital may be able to sustain themselves. Still, he thinks the economy will “sputter along at best” until vaccines become generally available. “It is important to note that this is not over yet,” Niswander said. “We don’t really know whether we will continue to recover economically or whether there will be

another downturn. Some of the early negative economic effects were mitigated with increased government spending, particularly on PPP and higher unemployment insurance payments. Those programs have not been renewed, and the reduced spending has not yet rippled through the economy. I also believe that we are, at best, six months into a one-year — hopefully — downturn.” Supporting businesses

Ryan Simons ’04 is the chamber of commerce president in Wilson. “I think most of my members, and local businesses in general, are resigned to the fact that the coronavirus is simply a factor that we’re going to have to learn to live and adapt with,” he said. “The initial lockdowns and stay-at-home orders were stress tests that proved economically unsustainable, so now we’re all looking to see how it’s possible to calibrate business practices with safety protocol in a way that allows goods and services to be delivered, for livelihoods to be preserved and for jobs to be created.” Simons said the chamber has been a strong advocate for businesses with legislators in Raleigh and Washington during the pandemic while also providing marketing tools and resources. “Businesses succeed and economies prosper when there is certainty, and there has been very little certainty since March,” he said. “While I think there is some optimism about our economic resilience, the prevailing thought is that economic progress is going to be blunted without information about the virus that is more consistent and conclusive.”

I’m convinced that a commitment to service is the only way that we will persevere through this crisis. Ryan Simons ’04, president of the Wilson Chamber of Commerce

I expect to see continued challenges across all sectors. I also expect to see resiliency that we as a community see despite any challenge thrown our way. Kate Teel ’07, president of the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce

He said community strength has been evident, and he goes back to ECU’s motto of Servire, or To Serve, as the backbone of business and of his role with the Wilson chamber. “I’m convinced that a commitment to service is the only way that we will persevere through this crisis — selflessness, giving more than what is expected and a willingness to make a sacrifice for our neighbor,” Simons said. “I was fortunate that an education at East Carolina not only reinforced the importance of service but made sure that the spirit of service was an integral part of my career.” As president of the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce, Kate Teel ’07 has heard from businesses on the brink of closure and others that have thrived. “It depends on the day, honestly,” Teel said. Teel said the chamber provided its more than 950 members an online COVID-19 resource guide and contacted business owners to answer questions and connect them with resources. Virtual marketing was implemented, and new gift cards and games encouraged support of local businesses. “The chamber helps their businesses become stronger,” Teel said. “We work with them to reach their goals, we’re here to help when they can’t do it on their own, and we’re the biggest cheerleader for local business you’ll ever find.” Teel said some Pitt County businesses are back to hiring workers. Still, the course of the pandemic makes 2021 difficult to predict. “I expect to see continued challenges across all sectors,” Teel said. “I also expect to see resiliency that we as a community see despite any challenge thrown our way.”

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East magazine

STORY BY MATT SMITH • ERIN WARD • DOUG BOYD

Changing classes From kindergarten to high school, ECU teachers are making school work during COVID-19.

Online classes. Face-to-face classes. Virtual Mondays. Zoom, Seesaw and Bitmoji. Twelve months ago, few thought about these concepts or technologies in public schools. Not anymore.

“I never thought I’d have another first year of teaching, but this is it,” said Beth Mahony ’03, a fifthgrade teacher at Colin Powell Elementary School in Centreville, Virginia. “I have to learn new skills with new technology and then somehow teach it to my kids as well, even when I’m green as a gourd myself.” Mahony and three other teacher alumni sent East a week’s worth of thoughts and experiences from the 2020-2021 school year. Read about them on the next several pages.

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winter 2021

Alex Bryant

Alex Bryant â&#x20AC;&#x2122;17 teaches ninth-grade world history at Purnell Swett High School in Pembroke. 9:31 a.m.: I got into work a bit before 8 a.m. Two of my

assistant principals were at the door taking our temperatures and asking us COVID screening questions. Today we have all three world history classes together for lecture. I am teaching on Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, but before I can make it to Egypt, the internet goes out. It has not returned. We had to tell kids using our phones to work on their assignments that are due this week. Noon: My world history team and I prepare assignments for the MON

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following week. Today we spent the time calling students who did not do much work last week. We usually do not have this much of a problem with students not working, but online work is a different beast. This can be stressful, so to cool off some of my team and I walk a lap around the school with our masks on. 3 p.m.: The rest of the day the internet worked pretty well.

Third and fourth period had some wonderful questions in the chat box. Although it was a pretty good discussion, I cannot help but to think how much better it would have been in person. We desperately miss actually being in front of our kids. We feel like we cannot reach them how we normally do. It is honestly hard for us not being with them. There have been many of us literally in tears because this is not how school should be.

Bryant (right) and Purnell Swett High School teaching team members greet students at Swettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive-through graduation last spring.

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9:40 a.m.: Today is the first day we are teaching from home. As a core class, I teach from home on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I may have stayed in bed a little longer than usual this morning. As soon as I got up, I had assignments to grade and emails and texts to answer. First period went smoothly. We have a steady number of kids that show up to these online meetings. Rarely do we get them all online. They are still getting used to Canvas. We are having to explain numerous times how to submit work, access notes and get on their live meetings. The rest of the time we spend reviewing yesterdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lecture. TUE

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1:35 p.m.: Third period just finished. It is pretty cool being able to be comfortable at home while working. This definitely has its perks. However, I would still rather be in the classroom. One thing that really helps in this virtual setting is kids having a badge that shows me something they care about. I have one student that had a Boston Celtics player on his badge. I do not like the Celtics, so I was able to joke with them and start a conversation about sports. Other students have anime characters, musical artists and other icons that show me who they are. I still cannot get to know them as much as I like, but the badges certainly help. 3:15 p.m.: The first day of working at home was rather successful. I started getting a headache, but I was able to light my eucalyptus candle to help with stress relief. I certainly could not do that at work. Although I was able to be more relaxed at home, I really missed being with my co-workers. I love my job so much because of my team. I have the best team you could ask for, so working without them just is not the same. Noon: I have said it once and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll say it again, I have the best team. Having no kids on campus

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means my co-worker Mrs. Courtney can bring us food! She made us a low-country boil and it was wonderful. During this lunch/planning period I had to call six students who have not been on our online platform at all. I had two explain they are in the process of getting Wi-Fi. Another student cannot get their laptop to access the information. One parent explained they cannot get their child to do any work. The last two I could not get in touch with. 8:30 a.m.: Since we are working from home and I have a long weekend, I decided to go visit a

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friend for a few days. This friend has been working from home since March and is one of the people in my small group of friends and families that I have seen throughout COVID. I know he has done what he must to remain safe and social distance, so I felt it was not a problem to visit. It will be interesting working from his one-bedroom apartment. There is only so much space and we both will be online talking to people. Hopefully it goes well. 7 p.m.: On Fridays we do not meet online with our kids. Today is the day set aside for them to take

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East magazine

their tests. Although we are not formally meeting on Google Meet or Zoom, they can still reach me through Canvas, email and my Google number. I am still on the clock from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., so I am here if they need me. Although we have designated hours, we are available pretty much all day and most of the night. We understand some of our kids can only do work later in the day, so we need to be there to help them. Teachers are dedicated people in normal circumstances. We certainly do not get paid enough for what we do. Our hours are now longer. We have to be available for our students who cannot work during traditional school hours. As I finish this entry, I will turn my attention to grading and answering emails.

winter 2021

Kristen Flynn

Kristen Flynn â&#x20AC;&#x2122;18 is a kindergarten teacher at H.B. Sugg Elementary School in Farmville. 7:30 a.m.: Out of the control of our school, devices were very delayed for kindergarten students,

so all of the kindergarten students just got their devices last week. I have had to plan digital lessons that students could somehow do at home, without a device.

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Today is the first day that my students will use the learning platform Seesaw to complete their virtual learning. I am posting their assignments in a template that I am hoping is very easy for them to navigate. I worked for countless hours on this template and on a Bitmoji classroom full of extra resources for my students. This morning, I am already responding to lots of parent messages about technology issues, getting into Seesaw, things not working, etc. I am also making video tutorials to post on my class Facebook page, to hopefully help families. 12:30 p.m.: I am just getting out of my second meeting. I still havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had lunch or gone to

the bathroom today. Parents are still having technology issues and questions about how to navigate Seesaw and the assignments. Parents are frustrated and I understand why. I just wish they knew how hard I was working on the other side of the screen. 3 p.m.: Despite all of the technology issues and questions that parents had today, I am

impressed with how many of my students did their work on Seesaw. 5 p.m.: I just shut my computer down for the day. Our day does not end when the students

leave the building at 1:30 p.m.

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11 a.m.: I have been assessing students on Zoom this morning. It makes my heart so happy to hear

and see how excited they are to be talking to me. It amazes me how pure children are; they have only met me one time (at our open house) and still they are bursting with excitement on these Zoom calls and making sure to tell me that they love me. Even on the tough days, I remember the little faces that are behind those screens that need me. TUE

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4 p.m.: Once again, I am happy with the amount of my students that got on Seesaw and turned things in today. I spent a good portion of this afternoon reaching out to parents of students that have not turned anything in yet. A huge part of my job is making sure that I am fully communicating with parents, being transparent with them and giving them grace. 7 p.m.: I am home but still working. I am getting progress reports set up for each child and getting them filled out and ready to send to parents tomorrow. 11 a.m.: Planning ahead is hard to do but I am trying to do some of that this morning. I have a

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student who has a broken device, so I had to figure out what to do about that. I also got a new student this morning, so I am reaching out to them and getting information from them so that I can get her a device and set up on Seesaw. 3:30 p.m.: I am finishing up for the day. I have been checking assignments on Seesaw and trying to check in with parents. My students are doing well with Seesaw. This teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart is proud! 7:30 a.m.: The internet was being slow

and nothing would post to Seesaw, so I had to post on our class Facebook page. 7:30 a.m.: I woke up to over 20 messages

from parents, so I took some time responding to them. 10:45 a.m.: I had a hard time coming up

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East magazine

with something fun to do with my virtual students as a rewards system. Some type of rewards system is so important at this age but especially virtually, because they have to be motivated somehow. I decided to do virtual marble jars. Each student has their own marble jar, and each day if a student does their check-in and all of their work, they get a marble in their jar. Every other Friday, I put all of the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; names who have 10 marbles in their jar Kristen Flynn teaches from her classroom. into a name-choosing app and choose two students. Those two students get to choose from a choice board of virtual rewards (for example, lunch with your teacher on Zoom, wear a hat to Zoom, virtual field trip just for you, read aloud from your teacher). This morning, I am working on updating all of the marble jars. I am hoping this will keep my students motivated and excited to do the work!

winter 2021

Beth Mahony

Beth Mahony ’03 is a fifth-grade teacher at Colin Powell Elementary School in Centreville, Va. 9 a.m.: Today is our second Monday, and I still don’t really know what I’m supposed to do

with the time. Initially, Monday was supposed to be planning, but half the day is now to connect with kids and meet with small groups (mostly interventions). If I were in school with data, I would know which kids need what from me. I can do this, but I wish things were more clear. There’s still so much unknown. 11:05 a.m.: I’ve met with all my kids today and am done. MON

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Now what? I’ve turned them loose after explaining what they should do with their time on Mondays AGAIN. I hate second-guessing myself. I never do when I’m in the building. Now I’m wondering, would I be in trouble for letting them go early? And how am I supposed to tell kids which specialists wanted to see them? How is that also my job? AND, I have never heard this staff sound like we did today. One teacher sounded like she was about to cry. Others are super frustrated about the amount of time we’re working outside of contract hours and how much is falling on the classroom teachers. It felt like we were turning on each other. 4:12 p.m.: HOLY COW! We just had a staff meeting of the

sort that has never happened at my school, and I’ve been here for eight years now. There is another plan for Mondays to streamline kids getting to see a specialist, if they’re invited, and it is so confusing! I usually have no problem understanding the how and why we do things, but this doesn’t make sense.

Beth Mahoney’s guest-bedroom virtual classroom.

FOR MORE INFO

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A full Q&A with Beth Mahony is available online at east.ecu.edu

East magazine

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1:10 p.m.: WOW! I feel like I was really a teacher just now. I am taking time each day to just read to my kids. It is the best feeling because I know what I’m doing, and I’m good at it. And my kids are asking and answering questions and totally into the story! 3:38 p.m.: First time I really felt odd about being “in” people’s homes. A mom jumped in on a

conversation I was having with her son earlier. I get it and I appreciate her support, but I really just need her son to answer some questions if I’m going to help him. It was awkward. Definitely tired and glad today is over. Now, I’ll get some planning done. 9:12 a.m.: I’ve just put a message in my classroom chat for kids to have their paper/pencil/

whiteboards ready to do some math with me. I already have 26 out of 28 logged on. I am feeling pretty good about today. They’re getting into the routine. WED

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10:45 a.m.: So I tried something brand new today, and it didn’t work. I’m sure there’s some

button I didn’t click or something, but it is so frustrating. And with the limited time I have for our science lessons, spending part of that time walking them through the electronic piece of it to not have it work is a colossal waste of time. I’m falling behind in my science lessons, and I love science. I’ll figure it out, but it’ll just take more time in my evening. 10:58 p.m.: I didn’t realize how late it was, so I need to stop planning, looking at student work

and replying to emails!!!

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4 a.m.: I’ve been awake for hours now. I did fall asleep, too late, but woke up sometime after 1 a.m. Falling asleep has never been a problem because school wears me out. It still does, but it is a different kind of tired this year. Anyway, I couldn’t go back to sleep so I decided I should just give up and start working. My mind is constantly on school anyway, and if I get some work done, maybe I’ll feel better. 9:10 a.m.: Class is about to start, and I’m feeling so tired now. OF COURSE! I’ve not had an all-nighter since college. Today should be interesting, and I’m praying for patience. 3:25 p.m.: I’ve gotten through it and didn’t snap at anyone. My dog hung out with me the whole day in my “classroom” at home. I am so tired I might not do any schoolwork tonight. 7:47 a.m.: A teammate just texted the group and asked if we’d watched our principal’s video

message. Bottom line, they’re giving us an hour of that time on Monday for real planning without any other meetings or things getting in the way! It felt really good. Every single minute helps, and it is just good to know that they took our concerns seriously. It doesn’t mean we no longer have to plan beyond contract hours, but it helps. 10:30 a.m.: Kids are finishing up their first math test. My scores (stink). This isn’t unusual for FRI

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the first math test of the year, and even though I know that, it still stings. It is really hard to deliver the content through a device. I know there are things that would have helped if I’d been in person. So much is beyond my control. Silver lining: Now I KNOW who I need to support during those Monday blocks of intervention time. 5:05 p.m.: Just finished a parent conference on a FRIDAY AFTER SCHOOL! What was I thinking agreeing to that? Right, when a parent wants a conference, I make it happen. She is also a teacher, and it was great having a chance to talk with her about her son, but I had already emailed her all the information. I said it was my dad’s birthday a few times and I hoped to call him before I “passed out,” but she just kept talking. I do love connecting with parents, and we had some great conversation. I’m going to call my daddy right now.

East magazine

winter 2021

Delaney Singer

Delaney Singer â&#x20AC;&#x2122;20 teaches seventh- and eighth-grade social studies at Grifton (N.C.) School. 6:25 a.m.: I leave for school, which is about 25-30 minutes away. During my commute, I complete

my COVID screening Google form and try to prioritize the things that have to get done as soon as I enter the school building. 7:30 a.m.: I have my B Week students, whom I have not seen since the end of the first week of

school. I am excited to see them but worried that because I have not seen them in so long they have fallen behind. This prediction comes true and makes the morning slightly overwhelming. My social studies classes are only 40 minutes long so there is not much time for extra unplanned agenda items. 1:30 p.m.: I have a team meeting that lasts until about the end of my planning period at 3 p.m. MON

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With all the COVID changes, there are a lot of new requirements and procedures to cover every meeting. It also does not help that this is my first year teaching so I am also trying to get used to just the normal procedures of the school. I often leave these meetings overwhelmed. 3 p.m.: I finish creating materials and activities for the next day. It is very difficult to create lessons

for two subjects that have in-person and virtual students. It is not easy to create lessons that can be put online and completed at home that will also engage and challenge students. 7-10:50 p.m.: After getting home around 5:30, I took time to eat dinner, tidy the house and spend

a little time with my husband. In turn, this means I have to stay up later working. When I take these very necessary breaks, I often feel guilty and regretful because I still have so much work to do. It takes a very long time to create materials for all of my classes that arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the same thing every day and then post them with all the necessary instructions online. I still did not finish my very lengthy to-do list, which creates stress for the next day. ecu.edu/east

East magazine

Delaney Singer

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(Due to workload, Delaney had to put off her diary entries for a couple of weeks.) 8:30 a.m.: I had my whole day prepared, but once I looked over student work and grades, we had to change everything. A big part of being a teacher is thinking on your feet and being able to change things on the fly. But as a new teacher this still stresses me out. Noon: Getting back on track with content was fun today with my three classes of seventh

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graders and three classes of eighth graders. We are learning about the Renaissance in seventh grade and the 13 colonies in eighth grade. Today one lesson sparked a fun conversation on where we would live if we were colonists. 4:30 p.m. I’m exhausted. I treated myself to a Dr Pepper from McDonalds to get through a

night of work. THU

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11 p.m.: I’m still up trying to rework my lessons so that my students are engaged and receiving

the content they need while also being able to complete everything at home. Among educators, there’s something we call “teacher tired.” Before I was a full-fledged teacher, I didn’t think much of this because I was used to being up all night studying in college. But nothing can prepare you for the “teacher tired.” It is a whole-body tired on top of emotional and mental exhaustion. 7 a.m.: The teacher tired hit me hard. I fell asleep mid-conversation with my husband last night

and on arrival to school this morning attempted to use my house key to unlock my classroom door. At least it’s Friday! FRI

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Noon: My seventh graders that I just had were very excited and involved in our lesson on

Renaissance art which made it so fun. They were jumping in with questions and examples throughout our time together which makes all the difference. It really makes me appreciate and enjoy what I do when my students get just as involved in a lesson as I do. 5:30 p.m.: After school, I sat with some co-workers and debriefed on the week, laughed and

did work together. The time that I can have with my fellow middle school teachers just to chat and decompress is so refreshing. When you can talk to and lean on people that know exactly what you’re going through it makes life so much easier.

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Administrators address educating during a pandemic It’s not only teachers and students who have had to adjust due to COVID-19 but administrators as well. Steve Lassiter Jr. ’04 ’10, assistant superintendent for educational programs and services for Pitt County Schools, and Sonja Emerson ’09, executive director of the exceptional children program for Wayne County Public Schools, answered questions about how their districts are dealing with the coronavirus.

What’s been something unique you’ve experienced so far during this pandemic?

Lassiter: The pandemic placed us in a position where decisions have to be implemented in a matter of weeks and sometimes days. Therefore, we used our best judgment to make each and every decision — our teachers, staff, students and families were at the forefront of every decision. These decisions are not always easy. How have the students responded?

Lassiter: Many of our students are responding well, but it is not without challenges such as maneuvering technology, accessing the internet and the lack of immediate access to their teachers. How this will impact the educational growth will be seen in the future. Right now, we are focusing on giving students a quality face-to-face and virtual learning experience. Emerson: For our students who are very young and our students with the most significant cognitive needs, online learning and a hybrid model are very challenging for them and for their families due to their need for specially designed instruction and related service therapy. What do you think will be some of the longterm effects of the pandemic on education and educational services?

Lassiter: Long-term, virtual education in the K-12 setting is here to stay. We have to prepare how to make it better for students and families. This means, as a system, we

Steve Lassiter Jr.

Sonja Emerson

must begin designing how it looks in the future. It will require our curriculum department to shift our lens, in that virtual instruction does not look like in-person instruction. Therefore, curriculum specialists and instructional technology specialists must work collaboratively to support teachers in their planning. Emerson: We have learned to adapt to how we provide instruction and therapy for our students. The laws and policies did not change with the pandemic, but how we facilitate and implement these requirements has. What do you hope we can take away from this experience?

Lassiter: I hope the community sees the unwavering commitment and resilience of our public schools. I hope they see that teachers and district leaders are committed to ensuring that students are given the best education possible despite our circumstances. I also hope that the community has seen our school system rise to the occasion since March and support families by serving meals, delivering learning packets, providing resources to families and doing what educators, and Pirates, always do — serve. Emerson: One of the positive changes that we have seen is that some of our students excel and do very well with virtual and online learning. Another positive change, even though it was quite challenging in the beginning, is that our teachers and instructional staff have learned new skills and methodologies for providing instruction to our students and will now have these new instructional tools to add to their toolbox for supporting all students. I honestly believe that the challenge is the same as the positive. Change is difficult for everyone, even more so for the adults versus the students. However, often with change, we are open to accepting the challenges that come with the change. We become better teachers, better instructors, better therapists and better directors. ecu.edu/east

East magazine

EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON LIFE POST-COVID STORY BY JULES NORWOOD

John Drake

Associate professor of management information systems

“Working from home will be normalized in the future,” Drake says. The increase in teleworking will create initial confusion about work/life balance, and new work patterns will develop around ensuring assigned work gets done. Teleworking may also result in fewer office romances and increased compartmentalization of information. In the business world, companies with e-commerce in place before the pandemic have been supercharged, he says. Companies have pushed their e-commerce initiatives into high gear, cramming five years of planning into a few months as they’ve dealt with the impact of lockdowns and social-distancing demands. By the time the pandemic has subsided, Drake says, “any business without a sophisticated e-commerce system will be seen as backwards and will struggle.”

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2020 has brought dramatic changes to daily life in the United States and around the globe as employees have adapted to teleworking, students and teachers have tackled virtual learning, large events and gatherings have been dramatically curtailed, and masks have become a standard accessory for public life. At East Carolina University, researchers have been involved in the effort to understand the pandemic and its implications since COVID-19 began to spread in early 2020. From business to education to health care, the virus and our response to it are certain to bring about lasting changes. Three ECU experts weigh in on how the post-COVID world could look different. The pandemic has been harder for small businesses than big businesses. Drake says the massive new federal debt resulting from relief efforts and decreased tax revenue could create inflation pressures and reduce the nation’s flexibility to adapt to the next crisis. “It will be harder for small and new businesses to grow,” he says, and there’s a danger of stagflation, the combination of increasing inflation and slowing economic output, like what the U.S. experienced in the 1970s.

Jalayer Khalilzadeh

Assistant professor, School of Hospitality Leadership

Khalilzadeh describes the global tourism industry as a complex system with a hub-and-spoke structure, where a few main hubs such as major airlines are connected to numerous spokes, such as local pubs and restaurants. “The fact that COVID-19 is attacking both hubs and spokes simultaneously with intense and forceful waves is very concerning,” Khalilzadeh says. “This behavior makes COVID-19 the most disastrous health crisis of tourism history over the past 70 years.” As a whole, he says, the tourism industry has proven to be resilient in bouncing back from crises such as terrorism, natural disasters, epidemics and economic recessions. Globally, tourism will rebound, he says, but at the local level, some tourism systems could collapse, which is concerning because the industry is human-intensive and employs a significant portion of the global workforce. Tourism scholars are exploring alternative arrangements that would reduce job losses while maintaining the industry’s ability to adapt to fluctuations in demand, Khalilzadeh says.

Sy Saeed

Professor and chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Saeed, along with Brody School of Medicine colleague Emily Esterwood, recently published “Past Epidemics, Natural Disasters, COVID19, and Mental Health: Learning from History as we Deal with the Present and Prepare for the Future” in Psychiatric Quarterly. The pandemic and the changes it has wrought on daily life have led to an increase in the need for psychiatric services at a time when there was already a national workforce shortage of psychiatrists, primary care physicians and mental health care providers. Telepsychiatry has become vital, and Saeed’s NC STeP program is at the forefront of a statewide effort to improve access to timely specialized psychiatric treatment. “With a limited number of mental health care professionals and a growing number of people in need of services, group therapy may also prove to be beneficial,” he says. Online modules such as cognitive behavioral therapy and meditation could be beneficial for those unable to schedule a face-to-face or virtual meeting with a mental health provider. “We’ll also need to find ways to create physical and social supports to ensure mental health during these times of social distancing,” Saeed says. Jalayer Khalilzadeh describes tourism using a hub-and-spoke model in which a few main hubs, such as airlines, connect to numerous spokes, such as local restaurants and lodging. COVID-19, he says, has attacked the hubs and spokes of the global tourism industry.

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BUILDING

UP Kamari Purvis is an active member of Pirate Nation, including as the president of the ECU Chapter of the NAACP.

A conversation on race highlights how Black alumni can drive change FOR MORE INFO

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Hear the entire discussion at go.ecu.edu/ PirateVoices.

winter 2021

Linda Thompson Thomas ’81 and student Kamari Purvis are proud Pirates. Thomas was a student four decades ago, and Purvis is working his way toward a 2022 graduation. They share a tradition with nearly 200,000 ECU alumni and 15,000 living Black ECU alumni. Recently, Purvis interviewed Thomas for a new “Pirate Voices” segment for ECU’s “Talk Like a Pirate” podcast. They discussed what it was and still can be like for a person of color on campus and the need for role models. “There’s a lot of African American students who go to ECU and don’t have Pirate pride,” Purvis said. “And so, when you put on your alumni shirt, why are you proud to put that on – where’s that rooted?” “It’s because I’m grateful for the transformational education and experiences that I got – and relationships – because I could not have gotten it in a different place at that time,” Thomas replied. “(It) laid the path, not only for me, but for others in my family as well.” According to ECU’s Institutional Planning, Assessment and Research office, in the fall of 2020 4,710 Black or African American students were enrolled among the 28,798 total student body. But when Thomas arrived on campus in the late 1970s, she said there were only 1,200 African American students on campus out of a student body of about 12,000. She said she and her Black friends were close.

STORY BY RICH KLINDWORTH

Purvis gives non-Black people at ECU credit for putting their words of diversity into action. But in 2020, Thomas believes more needs to be done, especially when it comes to the number of leadership and faculty of color.

Linda Thompson Thomas ’81 reengaged with ECU when her son Joshua Thomas ’16 was accepted. Since then she’s been heavily involved with many university organizations.

After Thomas graduated in 1981 with a degree in science education, she went back to her native Charlotte to work for Duke Power (now Duke Energy) and retired 34 years later. She is now a long-term high school substitute teacher for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teaching mainly STEM classes. Other than occasionally coming back to ECU for homecoming, she wasn’t involved with her alma mater. But when her son, Joshua Thomas ’16, was accepted at ECU, she reengaged in a big way. She’s a former chair of the ECU Board of Visitors, she’s on the board of the ECU Alumni Association, she’s been named an “Incredible Woman” by the ECU Women’s Roundtable, and she’s active in recruiting efforts in the Charlotte area. One thing she takes pride in is revitalizing the Black Alumni Chapter of the ECU Alumni Association. “I feel a sense of responsibility and obligation to give back to my alma mater, which gave me more. I’m standing on the shoulders of others … who were there before I got there,” Thomas said. “And I can’t just sit back and wait for things to happen and not help. “I want to be able to be a role model – an example for other Black students and help them to see that they deserve a college education and belong at ECU,” she added. One way she does this is by inviting Black students to a homecoming tailgate some of her college friends have. She feels it’s important for students of color to see alumni who look like them.

“They go, ‘Wow, what do they do?’ Oh, well this one is a physician in Texas, this one is an occupational therapist, this one is an educator, this one is a principal, this one is a superintendent of a school system, this one is a retired executive with IBM,” Thomas said. “And just to see the sparkle in their eye and they say, ‘Well, I can do that.’ And I say, ‘You can do anything you want to.’” Purvis is from Greensboro and has become active with different groups, perhaps most notably as president of the ECU chapter of the NAACP. Purvis said he appreciates how Thomas bridges the networking of students and alumni. He said those connections are strong at historically Black colleges and universities and something he would like to see a lot more of at ECU. He pledged to work toward that. “It’s crazy to think that there are so many Black students who don’t realize there are Black alumni out there who are connected,” Purvis said. Purvis gives non-Black people at ECU credit for putting their words of diversity into action. But in 2020, Thomas believes more needs to be done, especially when it comes to the number of leadership and faculty of color. “I want to help fill that gap for others because the students we have coming through right now can go on and do much more than I’ve done in terms of academic achievement, and I want to be part of that solution – to help ECU grow and be all that it can be,” Thomas said. Hear their entire discussion, including personal stories about diversity and aspiring to achieve, at go.ecu.edu/PirateVoices. ecu.edu/east

East magazine

STUDENT SNAPSHOT

Haley LaBelle

a degenerative disease progress in someone that you love and depend on, but this was just the start of my desire to care for people in need,” LaBelle said. In addition, she was inspired by nurses who cared for her grandfather after five heart attacks and chronic health conditions. “I aspire to be that support for my future patients and family because I know how relieving it was when my family was in need,” she said. Haley LaBelle has wanted to be a Pirate for as long as At ECU, she’s received numerous scholarships she can remember. including ones from the Golden LEAF Foundation, LaBelle’s father and several family members are JA’s Uniform Shop, the Merry Widows of Topsail East Carolina University alumni. She attended ECU Island and other groups. football games and often competed in Greenville with Following graduation, LaBelle plans to work as her travel softball team. a critical care nurse before becoming a certified “I just came to love the atmosphere here in registered nurse anesthetist. Greenville,” she said. “There was no question this was “I really just want to be the best possible nurse the school I was meant to attend.” for all my future patients. This goal is a constant A graduate of Topsail High School, where the reminder and motivator as I encounter all of the mascot is a Pirate, LaBelle also was drawn to ECU for its outstanding nursing program. Braxton Chase, co-presidentchallenges faced in nursing school and now amongst of themedicines ECU Bass Fishing As a child, she helped give her mother by Clubthis global pandemic.” injection to treat multiple sclerosis. “It is hard to see – Crystal Baity

Hometown: Hampstead Major: Nursing Career goals: Critical care nurse, certified registered nurse anesthetist

East magazine

winter 2021

WHERE were YOU when...? The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world and will most certainly be a moment in time that we talk about for years to come. To give perspective to ECU students navigating education during this challenging period, alumni shared recollections of other monumental moments in history that intersected with their time on campus. By Erin Ward

James A. Hicks ’71 ’73 I was a freshman at ECU during the 1967-68 school year. I was very involved with the campus radio station, WECU. On the evening of April 4, 1968, I was working at the station when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. I remember the old ticker tape machine going crazy printing out the news of the shooting and the resultant riots that occurred all across America on that night and for weeks afterward. I was at the station all night monitoring the events. On June 5 of this same year, Sen. Robert Kennedy was shot and killed in Los Angeles while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. More unrest followed his death. In August 1968, the Democratic Party held their convention in Chicago. There were many violent protests against the Vietnam War at the convention. I often think about 1968 and how it compares to the riots and protests going on now across America. In many ways they are very similar some 52 years later.

MLK ASSASSINATION

July 20, 1969

Stephanie Carlson ’70 I was an ECU nursing student spending six weeks at the Oteen VA hospital in Asheville for a coronary care experience when man walked on the moon. We were all away from home and we huddled around one small television to see it. My thenboyfriend, an ECU grad actually, drove down there to see it for himself.

FOR MORE INFO

More alumni recollections are available online at east.ecu.edu

I was a senior living in Jarvis dorm when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. I had just come back from an early morning class and turned on the TV in our room. The shuttle lifted off and just a minute or two into the flight, it exploded into a ball of fire and a trail of smoke falling from the sky! I remember the disbelief. I went running out into the hall and started telling everyone about the tragedy. I have never forgotten that day!

CHALLENGER EXPLOSION

April 4, 1968

MOON WALK

John Martin ’86

Jan. 28, 1986

9/11

Sept. 11, 2001 Bobbi Newton ’04 I was on campus in a computer lab printing out an assignment for class when everyone’s phone was ringing and people started saying that the World Trade Center was blown up and that the White House was next. I remember grabbing my Nokia phone at the time and trying to reach my parents and could not get through for some time. I went on to class and a professor walked in and started teaching and stopped a couple of minutes in asking where everyone was (he had a very strict attendance policy). A student in the class raised his hand and shared that there was a national incident and perhaps people were shaken by that and I remember he just kept teaching. My following classes for the day were canceled. Where my parents lived was about an hour-and-a-half drive away so I went back to my apartment, packed up an overnight bag and went home for a few days after that. Ironically, the World Trade Center is now in my front yard in NYC which is likely why that memory sticks so close for me.

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PIRATE NATION

THIS SOLDIER FOUGHT FOR THE NORTH, FOR THE SOUTH AND FOR FREEDOM In his latest book, Galvanized: The Odyssey of a Reluctant Carolina Confederate, Michael Brantley ’12 tells the story of his great-great-grandfather, a private from Nash County who fought for the Union and Confederate armies. The book was published in May by the University of Nebraska Press/Potomac Books. He ran across Wright Batchelor while doing other research. Since Batchelor is his mother’s maiden name, he looked for a connection and found more than just a family tie. “This guy had several lives,” Brantley said of Batchelor. And the fact he was a private and not a general or governor or wealthy landowner added to the story. “To me, if you want to get people interested in history, that’s what people can connect with – telling them stories of the ordinary people.” Batchelor opposed slaveholding and secession, but fought with the South, was taken prisoner and then joined the Union forces as a way to get out. Fearing he would be hanged if Confederates captured him, he then deserted the Union Army and walked hundreds of miles to Petersburg, Virginia, where he rejoined the Confederates. Once the war ended, Batchelor walked to his farm, became a Radical Republican – a faction that pushed for equality for freed slaves – and later was involved in a bizarre hometown murder on the steps of the county courthouse. Brantley graduated from Southern Nash High School and has a bachelor’s degree from Barton College, a master’s in English from ECU and a master of fine arts degree from Queens University in Charlotte. He teaches journalism, English and creative writing at Barton. He also advises the student newspaper, The Collegiate. Brantley got his start in the writing business at 15 covering sports for the Nashville (N.C.) Graphic. After college, he served as editor of The Spring Hope Enterprise, worked in public relations then ran an award-winning photography studio for 18 years while freelancing for magazines.

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Michael Brantley ’12 He said the Civil War presents conflicting thoughts. Confederate statues don’t belong on courthouse lawns, he said. But judging people from the past by modern standards is messy. In the book he quotes historian and professor Lynn Hunt’s idea of presentism: “Interpreting the past in terms of present concerns usually leads us to find ourselves morally superior. ...Our forebears constantly fail to measure up to our present-day standards.” “But,” he added, “if you’re offended, you’re offended. You can’t be told to ‘get over it.’ These things are not uncomplicated.” Galvanized has been nominated for the Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction, given by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association. Before writing Galvanized, Brantley published creative nonfiction, fiction and poetry in numerous publications, including the First Day, Dunes Review, Broad River Review, WordRiver, and Broadkill Review. He is the author of Memory Cards: Portraits from a Rural Journey. He and his family live in Spring Hope on the farm where he grew up. Keep up with him at michaelkbrantley.com — Doug Boyd

STAY IN TOUCH WITH

WINNING ON TRACK AND WATER

“Big Ed” Watkins ’98 fueled every one of Denny Hamlin’s seven wins in this season’s NASCAR Cup Series. Though the team came up short in the championship race, it was still a year to remember for the former Pirate football player.

“Big Ed” Watkins ’98 with Denny Hamlin’s NASCAR Toyota. Follow him and his boat dealership on social media.

“It was crazy,” Watkins said recently. “It goes from winning the Super Bowl of racing (the Daytona 500 in February) — little did we know when we were in Phoenix we’d get put on hold for two months.” Like most professional sports, NASCAR shut down competition in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was the first major sports organization to go back into action, holding races with no fans and plenty of testing and protective gear for participants. “I applaud NASCAR for what they did to ensure safety,” Watkins said. He got into the sport in 1997 while still a student, knocking on shop doors in the Charlotte area. Ray Evernham, the Hall-of-Fame crew chief for four-time champion Jeff Gordon, liked what he saw in the offensive lineman and hired him to work the jack on pit stops. Since then, Watkins has jacked or fueled for several drivers including 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. He’s also crewed for Indycar champion Scott Dixon. “Give me an opportunity to do an Indy 500,” he said. “I can gas one of those rascals.” Watkins played four years for the Pirates, including the 1996 team, the last to finish the season ranked in the AP Top 25. The team’s signature win was a 31-6 Watkins played offensive line during his whipping of No. 12 Miami. days with the Pirates.

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Watkins said coach Steve Logan could accurately visualize each game, including the win at Miami, and also noted his wellknown intensity. “I never could understand how many neck veins and forehead veins a human being could produce,” Watkins said of Logan, known for squatting and scowling on the sidelines during games. Since 2017, Watkins has owned Ed Watkins Marine, in Denver, N.C. Business has been good during the pandemic; the dealership sold its entire 2020 stock by the summer. Fishing, he said, is a great way to social distance. “If it’s a pontoon boat, center console, deck boat or a bass boat, we have what you need,” Watkins said. “Go on our website, pick out a boat and let me deliver it to you in eastern N.C.” – Doug Boyd

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East magazine

PIRATE SPIRIT

Ready to take off KNIGHT’S FINAL SEASON COULD BE BIG Sommer Knight has her sights set high — in athletics, academics and beyond.

The senior ECU women’s pole vaulter is the school indoor and outdoor record holder. She is a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and one of the team’s diversity and inclusion coordinators. She’s ECU’s first female vaulter to clear 13 feet and make it to the first round of the national championship. Although she’s setting the bar for the team’s pole vaulters, her coaches point first to her personal qualities that make her such a valued contributor. “Sommer is a wonderful athlete and a wonderful student, but she’s an even better person,” said pole vault coach Brie Berkowitz. “You just want to clone student-athletes like Sommer. Her work ethic is relentless.” When the 2020 outdoor season was canceled due to COVID-19, Knight said she took the extra time to refocus on her relationship with God while continuing to train. The nursing major returned to campus in the fall and is taking classes online while completing her clinical requirements in person.

East magazine

winter 2021

“I still trained hard over the summer,” she said, adding that her dad installed a high bar in their yard for her to do drills on. “I think that because of this extra time (away from competition) we’ll be more prepared going into this season, so I’m really excited about it.” There are lots of goals on Knight’s checklist for the upcoming year, some specific and others less so. Berkowitz and Curt Kraft, director of track and field/cross country, hope to see Knight return to the national championship and possibly get to the final rounds. Knight, meanwhile, is prioritizing goals more localized but no less lofty. “My main goal is to just have fun and not stress myself out. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself, and that’s when I don’t perform well. My number one goal since freshman year has been to clear 14 feet, and I’ve been getting closer to it,” said Knight, whose personal record in competition is 13 feet 9 inches. “Hopefully this will be the year.” – Natalie Sayewich

Sommer Knight

Year: Senior Major: Nursing Hometown: St. George, S.C.

MY MAIN GOAL IS TO JUST HAVE FUN AND NOT STRESS MYSELF OUT.

5 minutes with

LANIKA WRIGHT ’14 By Jeannine Hutson

Occupation: Director of ECU Student Health Services Degrees: Bachelor of nursing, East Tennessee State University, master and doctor of nursing, ECU Hometown: Marion, Va.

“Our new motto is all COVID all the TIME. Every person in our building is working hard. This time has impacted our work family and allowed us to grow closer and stronger. I’ve watched many of my coworkers come into their own and blossom in their roles. “Prior to COVID, SHS had not been involved in telehealth. With the sudden switch to online learning in the fall, SHS began incorporating telehealth as an option for care. (Another change is) drive-through testing. The service not only decreases the amount of time patients spend inside clinic but is also is very convenient for our students. “The experiences that have impacted me most have been my patient experiences. In the moments I’m most frustrated or

overwhelmed, it is remembering those experiences that center me and help me remember my why. Those experiences are the ones that truly influence me as a provider and as a leader. “Since being at ECU I’ve learned it matters who you work with, (so) surround yourself with amazing people; doing the right thing is not always the most popular thing, even in circles where you think it should be – do it anyway; people genuinely do not care what you know until they know you care; your life committee should be full of different types of people – it opens your eyes to many different, beautiful worlds. “My favorite quote right now is, ‘Life is tough, darling, but so are you!’”

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We want to hear stories from alumni about how their experiences at ECU shaped them today and how they pass those lessons to others. Send us an email at easteditor@ecu.edu.

East magazine

Horizons CHANGING LIVES, CHANGING COMMUNITIES By Erin Ward

Caroline Galindo

What made you want to pursue your major?

Hometown: Merrick, N.Y.

I started working at a day camp in high school and fell in love with the children that I got to look after. Their innocence, joy and love just brought me a lot of happiness. It helped me realize that I worked well with children, and it was something I was good at.

Major: Birth-kindergarten teacher education Career goals: Work at or own a day care or be a child specialist in a hospital Scholarship: Walton Academy & Children’s World Learning Centers Scholarship

What does receiving this scholarship mean to you? It was the first scholarship I ever received, so I was very happy when I got the news. I think it’s important that more education majors receive scholarships, and we have people like Billy Walton to thank for that. Educators work so hard and do so much. They are waking up every day and changing lives of people and helping shape them. Sometimes they do this on their own dime and time.

East magazine

winter 2021

Donor spotlight: The Walton family The Walton Academy & Children’s World Learning Centers Scholarship supports students in the College of Health and Human Performance majoring in birth-kindergarten teacher education or child life. Alumnus Billy Walton ’77 and sons Chad ’05 and Blake ’05 own and operate several child care centers in Greenville. In the future, the Waltons would like their scholarship to include a business or entrepreneurship component to help students understand the business side of child care.

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GRANT TO HELP NEW AND EXPECTANT MOTHERS IN RURAL N.C.

Dr. Melissa Davies, left, and nurse Monica Horne examine a pregnant patient. A $1.25 million grant will help expectant mothers in rural North Carolina receive health services. Pregnant women in North Carolina’s rural communities face a lack of access to maternal health services. Now, a $1.25 million grant from the United Health Foundation will help experts at the Brody School of Medicine address that problem.

One in four mothers in eastern North Carolina lives in poverty, and one in eight is uninsured, according to the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics. Many have trouble getting transportation to prenatal appointments, adequate nutrition and mental health provisions. The challenges increase if the mother has a high-risk pregnancy. “If she can’t get off work, or can’t leave her other children, or can’t get a ride, or doesn’t have the money for the co-pay, you’re basically terminating her prenatal care,” said Dr. James

deVente, associate professor of the Department of OB/GYN at Brody. “When you’re talking about some of the greatest challenges for our patients, geography is huge. Socioeconomic status is huge. Access to specialty care is huge.” The United Health grant addresses all these concerns. The money will help develop a new care model for high-risk patients, expand telepsychiatry services to better address the mental health needs of expectant and new mothers and decrease food insecurity among pregnant women. This effort is part of UnitedHealth Group’s more than $100 million commitment to support communities and address health care issues during the coronavirus pandemic. It will also enable ECU to provide more care for at-risk patients closer to their homes using telemedicine.

Additionally, the grant will support the expansion of NCSTeP, a statewide telepsychiatry program founded by Dr. Sy Saeed, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Brody, to three community-based primary care obstetric clinics serving patients across a 29-county area. The third prong of the grant addresses food insecurity among pregnant women by expanding the Medical Food Pantry. The pantry provides emergency food bags to patients who have been identified as having food insecurity. The bags cater to patients with different dietary needs like diabetes or hypertension. Now there will be specific bags for pregnant patients. “We know that food insecurity for pregnant individuals leads to more stress, more disordered eating, greater postpartum weight gain, iron deficiency and pregnancy complications,” said Kay Craven, director of clinical nutrition services at ECU Physicians. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, Craven said that insecurity can be exacerbated by higher food prices and limited supplies at grocery stores. ECU is well-suited to reach the impact goals of the United Health Foundation grant because it has already been working to meet the health needs of the region. Increased funding will boost these efforts and improve outcomes for mothers and their babies, deVente said. “This will help make eastern North Carolina a better place to be born, and that is something the Brody School of Medicine has been passionately dedicated to for the past 40 years,” he said. – Erin Ward

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East magazine

In Memoriam A LU M N I 1940s Florine C. Everett ’45 ’69 of New Bern, N.C., on July 29, 2020. Marie S. Harrell ’41 of Mebane, N.C., on May 3, 2020. Martha Iley ’46 of Harrisburg, N.C., on June 25, 2020. Katie E. Morgan ’46 of Buies Creek, N.C., on April 15, 2020. Helen F. Winchester ’41 of Monroe, N.C., on June 17, 2020.

1950s William Nelson Best ’54 of Leland, N.C., on March 27, 2020. Peggy G. Billings ’53 of Oak Island, N.C., on April 20, 2020. Edward L. Bleynat ’53 of Valdese, N.C., on Feb. 29, 2020. Jesse R. Boyd ’50 of Washington, N.C., on March 27, 2020. Dempsey Burgess ’59 ’60 ’62 of Shiloh, N.C., on Aug. 21, 2020. Mary W. Cain ’57 of Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 8, 2020. Junius Capehart Jr. ’54 ’60 of Washington, N.C., on April 29, 2020. Horace Cline ’56 of Gastonia, N.C., on Sept. 7, 2020. Robert N. Crowley ’53 of Kill Devil Hills, N.C., on June 1, 2020. Alton T. Dale ’58 of Kinston, N.C., on March 6, 2020. James “Fred” Fordham ’58 of Bath, N.C., on Sept. 14, 2020. Frances M. Geddie ’59 of Fayetteville, N.C., on May 19, 2020. Shirley Hargrove ’57 of Wilmington, N.C., on March 30, 2020. Ronald Duane Hintz ’57 of Corinth, N.Y., on July 21, 2020. David E. Jones Jr. ’53 of Virginia Beach, Va., on Aug. 5, 2020. Cecil Earl Long ’57 ’66 of Tarboro, N.C., on Sept. 24, 2020. Clyde V. March Jr. ’54 of Norfolk, Va., on Aug. 3, 2020. Larry Charles Martin ’57 of High Point, N.C., on Sept. 24, 2020. Virginia B. Maynard ’57 of Raleigh, N.C., on Feb. 24, 2020. Joan E. McLawhorn ’57 of Snow Hill, N.C., on April 2, 2020. Walter “Guy” Mendenhall Jr. of Cary, N.C., on Sept. 21, 2020. James Pittman ’55 of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., on April 7, 2020. June Price ’57 of Charlottesville, Va., on April 22, 2020. Helen S. Purdy ’59 of Charlotte, N.C., on May 8, 2020. Preston C. Rawls ’59 ’65 of Swansboro, N.C., on May 7, 2020. Barbara F. Taylor ’58 of Raleigh, N.C., on March 10, 2020. Carol Waters ’59 of Roper, N.C., on March 9, 2020. Charles H. Wentz ’54 ’60 of Pensacola, Fla., on Aug. 18, 2020. Anne S. York ’51 of Kinston, N.C., on March 12, 2020.

1960s Lillian M. Bolen ’62 of Virginia Beach, Va., on April 6, 2020. Carol J. Booth ’65 of Raleigh, N.C., on June 18, 2020. Robert C. Branch III ’64 of Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 23, 2020. William Buffaloe Jr. ’61 of Garner, N.C., on Feb. 24, 2020. Kay Epton Butler ’64 of Lillington, N.C., on Sept. 15, 2020. Ted Chappell of ’62 ’77 of West End, N.C, on July 27, 2020. Rosalie V. Cumbee ’64 ’67 of Gloucester Point, Va., on June 19, 2020. Dirk Dixon ’61 of Washington, N.C., on Sept. 8, 2020. Judith A. Dorman ’61 of Fayetteville, N.C., on April 22, 2020. Greta Jane Fisher ’66 of Raleigh, N.C., on April 22, 2020. Lance Gherlone ’66 of Woodbridge, Conn., on April 10, 2020. Mitchell G. Graham ’69 of Fayetteville, N.C., on July 23, 2020. Linda Lou Green ’67 ’69 of Harvest, Ala., on Sept. 4, 2020. Joseph D. Griffin ’60 of Hampton, Va., on Sept. 6, 2020. Robert Haywood Hall ’68 of Apex, N.C., on June 11, 2020. Kathryn A. Hammond ’69 of Ashburn, Va., on May 21, 2020. Celia Harding ’60 of Chocowinity, N.C., on Sept. 16, 2020. James “Pat” Harrell ’61 of Hertford, N.C., on June 2, 2020. Terry T. Harrison ’68 ’86 ’92 of Smithfield, Va., on Sept. 8, 2020. Gordon R. Howell ’64 of Goldsboro, N.C., on July 15, 2020.

East magazine

winter 2021

Robert “Bob” Howitt ’68 of South Boston, Va., on March 27, 2020. Richard L. Humphrey ’62 ’64 of Smithfield, N.C., on May 27, 2020. Charles F. Hunnicutt ’69 of Wilmington, N.C., on Feb. 29, 2020. Joseph Hunniecutt ’67 of Greenville, N.C., on Sept. 28, 2020. Rosalyn Johnson ’60 of Chapel Hill, N.C., on May 10, 2020. Raymond Margerum III ’69 of Allentown, N.J., on March 26, 2020. John Thomas Mathews ’62 of Suffolk, Va., on Sept. 4, 2020. Kenneth “Casey” Mayer ’68 ’69 of Raleigh, N.C., on June 9, 2020. William D. McRoy ’62 of Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 11, 2020. Douglas G. Mercer ’60 of Washington, N.C., on Feb. 21, 2020. Dave Millson ’64 of Hamlet, N.C., on Feb. 19, 2020. James W. Morrison ’68 of Cary, N.C., on April 25, 2020. Sue Norris ’65 of Myrtle Beach, N.C., on May 2, 2020. Mary W. Owens ’67 of Kinston, N.C., on Feb. 21, 2020. Jack B. Phillips ’64 of Raleigh, N.C., on July 25, 2020. Alice N. Smith ’69 of New Bern, N.C., on Aug. 26, 2020. Larry M. Stack ’69 of North Attleboro, Mass., on March 6, 2020. Mary “Claire” Stroud ’67 of Peachtree City, Ga., on March 22, 2020. Joseph Lindsey Tart ’69 of Dunn, N.C., on Aug. 12, 2020. Robert L. Thomas ’64 of Wilmington, N.C., on June 28, 2020. Laverne M. Thornton ’69 of Porter’s Neck, N.C., on April 15, 2020. Charles Tomlin ’65 of Springfield, Va., on July 26, 2020. Marjorie T. Way ’64 of Wrightsville Beach, N.C., on June 20, 2020. John West Jr. ’60 of Greenville, N.C., on July 1, 2020.

1970s Elizabeth Ross Bare ’79 of Concord, N.C., on Sept. 6, 2020. Florence C. Bunn ’74 ’79 of Spring Hope, N.C., on July 23, 2020. Sharon Lane Carter ’78 of Jacksonville, N.C., on April 5, 2020. Steven E. Dilday ’75 of Core Point, N.C., on March 31, 2020. Linda R. Dove ’77 of Burlington, N.C., on March 12, 2020. Wade Dudley ’75 ’97 of Winterville, N.C., on Aug. 8, 2020. Virgie Easterling ’78 of Asheville, N.C., on July 17, 2020. Phyllis May Ellenberg ’74 of Leland, N.C., on April 21, 2020. David L. Floyd ’79 ’85 of Raleigh, N.C., on May 8, 2020. Pell Pickett Fulp ’76 of Greenville, N.C., on April 2, 2020. Catherine Goldberg ’74 of Middletown, N.Y., on April 27, 2020. Sammie Hannon ’76 of Bridgeton, N.C., on Sept. 17, 2020. Helen C. Hightower ’79 of Chesterfield, Va., on Aug. 23, 2020. Jay “Mac” Hodges III ’74 of Washington, N.C., on Aug. 12, 2020. Sarah “Sally” Hollar ’76 of Asheville, N.C., Fla., on June 2, 2020. Tim Jackson ’77 of Roper, N.C., on March 21, 2020. John P. Johnson ’76 of Etowah, N.C., on Aug. 23, 2020. Joan W. Jones ’78 of Providence Forge, Va., on April 12, 2020. Mary E. McAllister ’77 of Fayetteville, N.C., on Aug. 20, 2020. Jane G. McDougal ’79 of Raleigh, N.C., on May 17, 2020. Kathleen L. McLaughlin ’78 of Fayetteville, N.C., on Aug. 16, 2020. Martha V. Meeks ’71 of Vincennes, Ind., on March 13, 2020. Carl F. Parrish ’71 of Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 9, 2020. Kathryn F. Paylor ’74 of Kinston, N.C., on May 2, 2020. Marian Perry ’71 of Colerain, N.C., on June 9, 2020. Steve Predaris ’78 of New Bern, N.C., on June 28, 2020. Charles J. Prince Jr. ’75 of Fairview, N.C., on Aug. 10, 2020. Minnie D. Savage ’74 ’76 of Kinston, N.C., on Aug. 28, 2020. John “Dan” Searcy ’70 of Cary, N.C., on April 23, 2020. Charles Sheldon Jr. ’75 of Hubert, N.C., on Aug. 4, 2020. Vivian Speight-Bridges ’75 of Elm City, N.C., on May 10, 2020. Joseph R. Szilagyi ’77 of Morehead City, N.C., on April 24, 2020. Dorit L. Teeters ’78 of Boone, N.C., on July 23, 2020. Bernard R. “BR” Ward ’70 of Chapel Hill, N.C., on Sept. 24, 2020. Libby K. Willis ’77 of Flagler Beach, Fla., on July 1, 2020.

1980s Marjorie Barfield ’82 of Kinston, N.C., on Feb. 26, 2020. Donald Burnette ’86 of Greenville, N.C., on April 16, 2020.

Robert S. Foster Jr. ’81 of Cary, N.C., on May 15, 2020. Ara B. Griffin ’82 of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., on June 25, 2020. Susan Kyle Grubbs ’86 of Scotia, N.Y., on July 16, 2020. Richard B. Hinnant ’83 of Kernersville, N.C., on Sept. 9, 2020. Laura Hoke ’84 of Raleigh, N.C., on March 21, 2020. June Bledsoe Huling ’80 of Savannah, Ga., on May 30, 2020. Robin Porter Love ’87 of Matthews, N.C., on April 5, 2020. Robin Mitchell ’82 of Kernersville, N.C., on Feb. 26, 2020. Betty Prevatte ’88 of Fairmont, N.C., on Sept. 28, 2020 Wandra A. Raynor ’83 of Emerald Isle, N.C., on May 17, 2020. Holly V. Riggsbee ’84 of Charlotte, N.C., on May 11, 2020. Mitchell Keith Rivenbark ’87 of Raleigh, N.C., on June 18, 2020. Joseph “Josh” Rogers ’82 of Durham, N.C., on June 8, 2020.

1990s Jill L. Armacost ’97 of Westminster, Md., on May 4, 2020. Ronnie B. Britt ’98 of Mount Olive, N.C., on July 8, 2020. S. Christopher Ford ’91 of Raleigh, N.C., on May 16, 2020. Joseph Phillip Horne ’90 of Greenville, N.C., on Aug. 17, 2020. Peggy W. Jones ’95 of New Bern, N.C., on Aug. 29, 2020. Laura Moss ’92 of Chapel Hill, N.C., on July 10, 2020. William L. Nichols ’98 of Washington, N.C., on May 31, 2020. Pamela C. Rife ’90 of Winston-Salem, N.C., on July 4, 2020. Melissa P. Ward ’92 of Raleigh, N.C., on May 14, 2020.

2000s Jeannie Adair ’03 of Norfolk, Va., on May 25, 2020. Whitney Ballance ’05 of Greenville, N.C., on April 8, 2020. Virginia “Ginny” Brown ’03 of Greensboro, N.C., on Sept. 2, 2020. Lanie B. Cox ’06 of Washington, N.C., on Sept. 12, 2020. Alana M. Honeycutt ’05 of Havelock, N.C., on July 1, 2020. Charles Brian Kistler ’02 ’04 of Gastonia, N.C., on June 27, 2020. Jake “Jay” Lewis ’03 of Simpson, N.C., on April 1, 2020. Penny Noble Strain ’04 of Kinston, N.C., on March 4, 2020. Jeffrey Ward ’05 of Raleigh, N.C., on March 22, 2020.

2010s Annie U. Mirra ’13 of Fairfield, Conn., on Aug. 11, 2020. Tommy Wall ’13 of Burlington, N.C., on June 14, 2020.

FA C U LT Y / S TA F F Kenneth Bass (business) of Winston-Salem, N.C., on May 6, 2020. GentryAnn Brady (biology) of Monroe, N.C., on May 18, 2020. Charles Bloom (business) of Madison, Miss., on July 29, 2020. Rosina Chia (psychology) of Palo Alto, Calif., on Aug. 23, 2020. Joseph Cory (biochemistry) of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Aug. 19, 2020. Michael Cotter (library services) of Greenville, N.C., on April 15, 2020. David Dosser Jr. (marriage and family therapy) of Greenville, N.C., on April 28, 2020. Pat Dye (athletics) of Notasulga, Ala., on June 1, 2020. Henry Ferrell (history) of Greenville, N.C., on Aug. 21, 2020. Lloyd Goodwin Jr. (allied health) of Greenville, N.C., on March 2, 2020. Marian Carmel Harding (music) of Williamsburg, Va., on April 23, 2020. Charlie Harrison (athletics) of Morehead City, N.C., on April 13, 2020. Victor Mallenbaum (psychology) of Raleigh, N.C., on Aug. 29, 2020. Kenneth Page (police) of Chocowinity, N.C., on March 28, 2020. Balaji Pabbu (medicine) of Greenville, N.C., on March 27, 2020. Glenn Rohrer (social work) of Semora, N.C., on Feb. 26, 2020. Annie Stewart (physics) of Raleigh, N.C., on March 7, 2020. Joel Vickers (allied health) of Matthews, N.C., on April 9, 2020. Felicia West (education) of Jacksonville, Fla., on April 4, 2020.

CONNECT WINTER 2021 VOLUME 19, NUMBER 1 East is produced by East Carolina University

Managing Editor Doug Boyd ’99

Art Director Mike Litwin ’01

Photographers Rhett Butler, Cliff Hollis

Contributing Writers Crystal Baity, Ken Buday, Jules Norwood, Natalie Sayewich, Matt Smith, Erin Ward

Contributing Photographers Erycka Anderson, ECU Athletics, Linda Thompson Thomas, Ed Watkins

Copy Editor Jimmy Rostar ’94

Chief Communications Officer Jeannine Manning Hutson Contact Us • 252-737-1973 • easteditor@ecu.edu • www.ecu.edu/east Customer Service To start or stop a subscription or to let us know about a change of address, please contact Advancement Services at advancementservices@ecu.edu or 252-328-GIVE (4483). Send letters to the editor to: easteditor@ecu.edu or Howard House Mail Stop 107 East Carolina University Greenville, N.C. 27858-4353 ECU photographers followed the COVID-19 health and safety guidelines in place at the time the photos were taken.

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DueEast 8.20.20 Graduate students Patrick Boyle, left, and Andi Yoxsimer document their findings during a shipwreck investigation in Washington, N.C. Read more at bit.ly/2Vpu7nA.