Chancellor Rogers’ Message, March 2024

March 22, 2024

To the Pirate Nation Family:

Of the many good habits that make East Carolina University an effective community, this one’s a constant: We all listen to one another.

That includes leadership at the university and UNC System levels. We take pride in lifting up and listening to voices across ECU, each one a contributor to our collective betterment. I was particularly inspired during the Pirate Perspectives listening tour that provided the opportunity to hear from a broad set of university constituents who have a stake in ECU’s future. Similarly, energizing conversations have unfolded in other targeted engagement sessions with faculty, staff, and students over the last year. Each time I hear about an ECU experience from one of our valued campus stakeholders, I am reminded of why this place is so special and how each of you make a direct impact on our mission each day.

Starting March 25, all faculty and staff will have another prime opportunity to be heard: the 2024 UNC System Employment Engagement Survey. The vendor ModernThink administers the survey, a channel for direct input on a variety of university operations.

You may recognize ModernThink — it’s the group behind The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For” survey. The UNC System survey is now in its fourth iteration since the first version rolled out in 2018.

Since then, it’s become an invaluable gauge of our progress under the UNC System Strategic Plan. It’s led us to identify key focus areas, such as communication, confidence in senior leadership, and performance management. And it’s helped the university develop a wide range of improvements — including better engagement through newsletters like this one.

Past survey results led to the revision of our award programs; the university-level strategic plan, “Future Focused. Innovation Driven”; and new approaches to enrollment branding and marketing, among other enhancements. For more specifics, see this rundown posted after the 2022 survey.

I urge every faculty and staff member to participate in the 2024 survey when it arrives. It’ll be delivered via email from ModernThink, easy to navigate, and respectful of everyone’s valuable time. As usual, the university will release the results as they become available.

We’re at our collective best only when we all contribute insights, experiences, and perspectives to the community’s shared wisdom. In this challenging period for higher education across the country, we have a particular need for that guidance.

I’m grateful for yours. Thank you for supporting our steady climb to an ever-better ECU.

With my gratitude,
Philip G. Rogers
Chancellor