Chancellor Rogers' Message, November 2024

To the Pirate Nation Family:

This point in November is one of my very favorite times of year on campus. The fall colors are still hanging on, while the campus community is making a final push toward completion of another successful semester. It seems fitting to pause and reflect on some of the people and things I am most grateful for — from the members of the ECU family who live and work our university’s mission every day to the region and state we serve and are fortunate enough to call home.

I am grateful for the recognitions bestowed on our mission and people.

ECU has received several momentous honors recently, thanks to the hard work and commitment of people across both campuses, among all disciplines. The university received the 2024 C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award this month from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, for our “extraordinary commitment to community engagement, innovation and economic prosperity.” We also received the APLU’s Innovation and Economic Prosperity Award for Talent, most notably for our standout innovations including our School of Dental Medicine’s network of statewide community service learning centers, our telepsychiatry program and our early educator mentorship initiative.

I could not be prouder of these awards — but I am even more extraordinarily grateful to those whose tireless passion to make life better for others through health care, education, community engagement, economic efforts and other realms at the forefront of our mission has been honored on a national stage.

On a statewide front, our own ECU Police Officer Frannie Tarkington has been named the UNC System Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. In her interview with ECU News, she said she and other officers strive to be a strong line of communication for ECU students who may be on their own for the first time, adapting to a new environment or experiencing stressors. She is what being a Pirate is all about.

I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the region we call home.

Last week, we broke ground for the future Center for Medical Education Building on the Health Sciences Campus. Not only does it represent a new era for medical education at ECU, but it stands for our commitment to provide physicians for rural eastern North Carolina and beyond. The new building, made possible by the N.C. General Assembly, will support enrollment growth from 86 up to 120 medical students per year, allowing us to further our mission.

The University Economic Development Association named ECU as a finalist for its Engaged University award, recognizing the successful engagement of multiple community partners to link, leverage and connect efforts in workforce development, industry demands and problem-oriented research within the Engage ENC project. This recognition represents the top university-based economic development initiative in the country as judged by our peers.

ECU was also awarded the “best community engagement staff” by the Engagement Scholarship Consortium for the staff of RISE 29. These awards recognize institutions for excellence in the practice of engaged scholarship. RISE 29 connects student entrepreneurs and small business ideas to a community-driven need and helps launch microenterprises, strengthen existing businesses with long-term continuity plans, and commercializes new technology that enhances our region.

The Miller School of Entrepreneurship moved up to No. 30 in the 2025 Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine’s Top 50 undergraduate entrepreneurship programs, as the only ranked undergraduate entrepreneurial program in North Carolina and third highest in the South. The school has spurred a spirit of entrepreneurship, an innovation hub and collaborations that lend to economic possibility for our region and beyond.

I am also grateful for the resilienceresponse and research engagement that give ECU its unique identity.

While western North Carolina continues to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, our campus and alumni continue to respond in kind with relief efforts. As that service continues, another story continues to evolve. Before, during and after the storm, our fellow Pirates — students, faculty, residents and staff — at the dental school’s community service learning center in Spruce Pine had to assess the impact on their own lives while also figuring out how to reopen the clinic to patients for emergency cases. Their resilience and response are the signature of our mission in the rural communities we serve.

For all we have accomplished and celebrated on campus and beyond this month and this semester, thank you. Each of you plays a unique and important role in the story of ECU and how our university transforms a region and its people every day. During this season of thanksgiving, I am grateful to our employees, our students, our faculty and staff and those in our community, region and state who stand in support of our mission — every day, all year long.

Sincerely,
Philip G. Rogers
Chancellor