Students in Duplin County now have an easier path to an East Carolina University degree thanks to the signing of a bilateral agreement with James Sprunt Community College. Dr. Robin Coger, center left, provost at ECU, and Dr. Jay Carraway, center right, president of James Sprunt Community College, sign a bilateral agreement surrounded by ECU and JSCC faculty in the high bay lab of the Science and Technology Building. (Photo by Steven Mantilla) The agreement provides guaranteed admission into ECU’s Bachelor of Science in industrial technology (BSIT) program for JSCC students who graduate with ..read more

Dr. Rukiyah Van Dross-Anderson, professor in East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine, won the second statewide NC Biotech Venture Challenge on June 27. She received $40,000 from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in seed funding for her company, Claradele Pharmaceuticals, which is working on a patented therapeutic to treat melanoma. Van Dross-Anderson was one of five teams from across the state pitching their innovations. “I am proud and honored to have represented eastern North Carolina and to receive first place in the statewide Venture Challenge pitch competition,” said Van ..read more

In a world where robots constructed from cardboard boxes battle for ultimate supremacy, Jordan Elliott surmised that his came out on top. Jordan Elliott, right, and other students in the STEM Mavericks camp operate robots made of cardboard boxes in the high bay lab of the Science and Technology Building. (Photos by Ken Buday) “They double-teamed me at the end, but I feel like I won though,” said Elliott, a rising sophomore at Bertie Early College High School in Windsor. East Carolina University hosted Elliott and 61 other high school students in three one-week sessions as part of the STEM Ma ..read more

East Carolina University’s 26th annual Summer Guitar Festival and Workshop will be July 11-14 in the A.J. Fletcher Music Center. The event features public concerts and instruction for anyone wanting to acquire or improve guitar skills, said Elliot Frank, director and founder of the festival and ECU professor of guitar. Frank, who also founded the Hispanic Heritage Guitar Series at ECU, will be retiring at the conclusion of the four-day guitar festival and workshop. Armin Abdihodzic, ECU alumnus and professor of guitar at the University of Alaska Anchorage, will take the stage July 12. (Contri ..read more

Nicole Stokes has been promoted to assistant vice chancellor for strategic advancement operations at East Carolina University. Stokes has served as the strategic initiative and campaign manager with University Advancement since 2015 and worked in higher education communication for more than 20 years. Nicole Stokes has been named assistant vice chancellor for strategic advancement operations at East Carolina University. Christopher Dyba, vice chancellor for University Advancement, said Stokes’ leadership has been vital to the success of the $500 million Pursue Gold campaign, the Pirate Nation ..read more

East Carolina University’s Economic Development Academy certified its largest group with 16 members completing the program this year. The economic development certification provides those in the profession with a competitive advantage to boost their local economies. The 16 newly certified economic developers were recognized at the annual North Carolina Economic Development Association conference in Wilmington. (Contributed photo) The certification program is offered through a partnership between ECU’s Office of Innovation and Engagement and the North Carolina Economic Development Association ..read more

Two East Carolina University nursing professors have been accepted to a national program aimed at addressing health care inequities and ensuring that nursing education programs are inclusive. Drs. Brittany Baker and Adrian Lennon will be part of the inaugural six-month Health Equity Influencers Program (HEIP) at Mercy University in New York. Baker and Lennon are both clinical assistant professors in the ECU College of Nursing’s Department of Advanced Nursing Practice and Education. Dr. Brittany Baker, a clinical assistant professor in the ECU College of Nursing’s Department of Advanced Nursin ..read more

East Carolina University is introducing a new textbook and course material program designed to save undergraduate students time and money this fall. Students listen during a literature class in Bate Building. (Photo by Rhett Butler) ECU First Day is offered by Barnes & Noble College and operated on campus by Dowdy Student Stores. The program will ensure that eligible undergraduates will have required physical textbooks, lab manuals, access codes and digital textbooks by the first day of class Aug. 19. Graduate, certificate-only and doctoral students as well as part-time online and summer ..read more

This summer, heavy equipment will be laying down steaming hot asphalt around campus, but new chilled water pipes will soon be delivering cool, crisp air if you need to duck inside a building for relief from the heat. Those are just some of many construction projects – some that have been going on for a while, some that are new – happening at East Carolina University now and in coming months. For many, work on one segment or building has to be done before another can begin. Main Campus Rendering of the interior of Mendenhall after renovations are complete. “We’re doing a chilled water distrib ..read more

The East Carolina University Police Department remains one of two university police departments in the UNC System to earn dual accreditation after completing a reaccreditation process. ECU Police Chief Jason Sugg addresses the media at a swearing-in ceremony in December. (ECU photo by Rhett Butler) ECU completed the reaccreditation process to be certified by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) last week. The department is also certified by the Commission for Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). According to ECU Police Chief Jason Sug ..read more