STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY
Steve Ballard
April 10, 2012
Thank you very much for that warm introduction.
This is our 8 th year at East Carolina University and it remains a privilege to be a part of a university that does so much for its state, its taxpayers, and its students. My two previous messages have explained our long-range goals and strategic plan (2010) and in 2011 we discussed our approach to the budget. Both topics are still relevant and both influence my remarks for today. I will discuss:
 Athletics and Athletic conferences
 Our approach to money as we move forward in this new era of reduced state appropriations, and
 Most importantly, our mission and our impact on North Carolina.
My theme today is simple and I hope powerful. It is this. ECU has a strong and authentic mission. We live it every day. It makes a powerful difference for North Carolina. Help me deliver this message and commitment every chance you have.
Athletic Conferences
As you know, we are working on the possibility of a new athletic conference, which at some point would merge the old Conference USA with the Mt. West conference. This merger touches
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some raw nerves in the Pirate Nation because, quite frankly, we have never received the national respect that we have earned on the playing fields. But we should all remember this: Bad decisions made externally only means that there are bad decision-makers out there.
Unfortunately, the way athletic conferences choose new members is no longer a rational process. As one commissioner said to me, “We no longer have athletic conferences, we only have
TV partnerships.” Because of the overwhelming influence that large TV contracts now have on college sports, ECU does not control and indeed can barely influence the factors that dictate conference alignment. As the author Meg Wheately said, “IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, IF
YOU’RE NOT CONFUSED, YOU’RE NOT THINKING CLEARLY.”
So here is where we stand in terms of a new conference.
First, if this merger is successful, it could be stronger than the old CUSA and it will probably be more stable.
Second, members of the new conference recognize the importance of regional rivalries; they are committed to adding more teams with the goal of ensuring 4 divisions of geographical proximity. We look forward to playing long-time rivals such as Marshall and Southern Miss and to adding several eastern universities to our schedule. Hopefully, one will be Charlotte. This is a good trend and certainly one that allows us to concentrate on the academic success and graduation of our student athletes.
Third, we have great optimism about our future because of the quality of our coaching staffs and the leadership in the Athletic Department. We are thankful every day that we have Coach
Holland and Nick Floyd on our side. Our leadership also includes dozens of coaches and staff members and, perhaps as important as anything, our academic support staff, our compliance office,
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and our “new” Academic Success Committee which focuses on what we must do to meet the academic obligations we have to all 450 student athletes who compete for the purple and gold.
We have numerous examples of student athletes who embody the Pirate Spirit…I wish I could talk about them all. Today, I will talk about Andrew Stoker, a record holder in men’s swimming who in 2011 was the Potash Outstanding Scholar Athlete. But he didn’t stop there.
Because he had a close family member affected by cancer, Andrew established the first Ovarian
Cancer Walk for Greenville. The walk attracted 75 participants and generated $3,800 for the
Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. When I think about “The Leadership University” I think about people like Andrew Stoker.
So, our goal moving forward will be to ensure the academic success of every student athlete, to compete with integrity, and to achieve excellence in every one of our 19 sports. ECU will be recognized and defined by how we perform, not by the name of our conference.
Excellence in Times of Fiscal Crises
We are all familiar with the fiscal crisis in North Carolina and the resulting impacts on higher education. Let me briefly identify the major elements of this “perfect storm”.
 Nationally, higher education funding is at a 25-year low, according to the Chronicle of
Higher Education (Jan 27, 2012). The pressure on state budgets will only get worse over the next decade according to many assessments;
 ECU saw rapid enrollment growth for most of the last 10 years which has placed demands on our classrooms, infrastructure, and all support systems of the university. From 2001 to
2010, our enrollment grew approximately by one third.
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 Yet, total spending power has been reduced by about $ 120 Million over the past 4 years, including base budget cuts and one-time reversions;
 Unfunded mandates, usually from state and federal agencies, have increased and most of them are appropriate… they address campus safety, sprinkler systems for the residence halls, better auditing and fiscal warning systems, and compliance in all areas from medical records to athletics. Each of these mandates is expensive and requires creative financing strategies by the university.
 Over 200 faculty positions have been lost as we have responded to budget cutbacks.
I told you Chancellors whine a lot…
This picture presents great uncertainty, if not chaos. But we are the leadership university, and strong leadership in these times will require great teamwork, discipline, and adherence to our values. We are responding aggressively.
ECU is re-engineering our academic programs and our services. Every choice we make and every committee we have initiated has been done with a focus on two goals that we will continue to protect.
 First, we are adamant about our mission, which is to be a national model of public service and regional transformation; and
 Second, we are adamant about maintaining the quality of our classrooms and doing all we can so that our students can be successful.
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So, we will continue to adjust to the new economic reality in several important ways:
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Since 2006, we have focused on efficiency and cost savings. While we are never satisfied, the record shows that ECU has never been a wasteful university and has been a leader in reducing costs.
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Despite six years of focusing on productivity and efficiency, we have initiated new commitments to consolidating services. On February 1 of this year, all central marketing and communication functions were integrated into one unit under the leadership of
Mary Schulken. This was done in response to a committee of our Board of Trustees which correctly asked for a stronger brand and improved efficiency.
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Cost management in higher education is being redefined as a result of the fiscal crisis. At
ECU, we have initiated a faculty led process to ensure that the realignment of resources is consistent with that of our mission and strategic plan. Our Program Prioritization
Committee has finished Phase 1 of its report, and will soon complete Phase 2, addressing academic consolidation. We expect this process to help us further reduce expenditures on administrative positions.
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ECU remains a university that is lean administratively and we will continue to evaluate how we can save money from this source. To cite just one comparison, we are about the same size as Virginia Tech, but have half of the vice chancellors of that university.
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And, we get better every day in private giving, private endowments, and raising non-state dollars. Vice Chancellor Dowdy has done a remarkable job leading the effort to grow endowed professorships, as well as increase private giving to support the geriatrics center, dental school, access scholarships for our neediest students, and dozens of other
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opportunities to achieve the margin of excellence. We are planning a new campaign to build on the momentum and success from “THE SECOND CENTURY CAMPAIGN”.
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And, unfortunately, students will almost certainly pay a higher percentage of the total cost of education in the future. While this option is not our first choice, it is now required to maintain the quality of their education. We will do all we can to balance the need for excellence in the classroom with our traditional goals of access and affordability.
New times demand new strategies and ECU is ready for the challenge.
Service to the East and to North Carolina
Despite severe fiscal challenges, we remain focused on our mission of being a “national
model of public service and regional transformation”. Our faculty, staff, administrators, and students ensure that we pay particular attention to the 29 counties of eastern North Carolina.
I will identify five significant ways that we make a positive difference: research for people, a great return on investment, preparing tomorrow’s workers, building communities, and excellence in public service.
Research
I want to start with our research, because research and creative activity do not receive enough attention and because so much of our research is devoted to “applied research’’… using knowledge to solve real world problems. There are dozens of excellent examples exist: from the
Coastal Studies Institute to the Center for Health Disparities to the Center for Sustainable Tourism.
We have path-breaking research on Traumatic Brain Injury as well as Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. Rachel Roper’s work on viruses promises possible breakthroughs in treating cancer and
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former faculty member Art Bodde developed the patent for freeze dried blood platelets that could revolutionize the treatment of severe trauma and battlefield injuries. There are dozens of similar examples.
One of my favorite programs is the Medical Family Therapy program in the College of
Human Ecology, because the faculty and staff in it do so much with so few resources. They prove the hypothesis that money is a bad thing…the less you give them, the more they accomplish. That program remains the only accredited medical family therapy program in the country. Since 2005, it has brought in more than $1million in research funding. Its graduates have a 100% placement rate.
Its doctoral students average almost 3 publications per student, and the program donates more than
$350, 000 in clinical services to the community each year.
A much newer addition to our profile is “Operation Re-entry North Carolina”. Our faculty members have secured $2.1 Million dollars of federal funding…with the possibility of $8 million more to serve the needs of military personnel and their families as they re-enter civilian life after their military service. The program addresses a range of needs…from traumatic brain injury and other severe medical problems… to behavioral health, rehabilitation, and family sustainability.
Faculty members from 7 colleges contribute to Operation Re-entry.
So, the lesson is clear… Research is an essential function at ECU. Much of our research results in better treatment for illnesses, better methods to manage natural resources, better understanding of history and economics, better ways to solve speech disorders, and hundreds of other ways to improve our quality of life.
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Under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Mageean, our research productivity has grown about 17 percent per year since 2007. This year, revenues from our funded research account will reach an all-time high….most of which is re-invested in our research infrastructure and our faculty.
Dr. Mageean is moving on to greener pastures after 7 excellent years at East Carolina. Dr. Mageean, we greatly appreciate all you’ve done for this university.
Economic Impact on North Carolina
Equally significant to our mission of being a model of regional transformation is our economic impact on North Carolina and especially on the state’s eastern 29 counties. Since 2004, ECU has invested $437 million in construction projects, with numerous other projects now being prepared to move forward. This is over $60 million per year and these expenditures prepare us for tomorrow.
Professor Wubneh, Chair of the ECU Planning Department, recently completed a study of the overall impact of ECU on the state and the region. Here is an example of what we found:
 Our economic impact each year on Eastern North Carolina is $1.8 billion
 For the entire state, our economic impact is over $3.3 billion, including more than 17,000 jobs; and
 The return on the state’s investment in ECU is nearly 14 dollars for every 1 dollar invested.
I’m not sure, but it might be a good idea to increase this state investment in the future.
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Our impact, of course, is much more than just the dollars. For example, our Office of
Engagement, Innovation and Economic Development reports that 29 communities were supported in the past year through research efforts, grant writing, technical assistance, and training from ECU.
In addition, new federal funding has been obtained by 22 communities and government agencies because of our partnership with the State Department of Commerce to bring more capacity to our communities.
And, we provide access to education for people who cannot come to campus and be full time students. Our distance education programs….among some of the best in the nation, enables more than 6,000 students to gain new competencies, certificates, or degrees that allow them better employment opportunities.
Workforce Preparation
Distance education is just one element of workforce preparation. Another significant contribution we make to the east is how well we prepare tomorrow’s workers. This is the promise of our vision.
In North Carolina, a college graduate can expect to earn, on average, $73,900 per year. In contrast, the average high school graduate earns $33, 615 – or less than half that of the average college graduate. Plus, the unemployment rate for college graduates is less than half the rate for high school graduates. In this context, ECU’s Health Sciences Division is nearing perfection in workforce preparation. We are on our way to having 2500 students enrolled in degree programs in the 4 Health Science Colleges. Because there are more new jobs in healthcare than any other
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profession, nearly all of these students will be offered a good job with good pay, a job that has real security, and usually at a location suitable to our graduates.
For example:
 97% of our nurses pass the national exams and 98% are employed directly after graduation;
 Physical therapy graduates have a 100% pass rate on national exams and 100% are employed after graduation;
 For Nurse Anesthetists, 100% are employed at graduation at salaries in the range of
$125,000 per year.
In fact, workforce preparation is successful in virtually all of our professional schools. Although some, such as construction management, are affected by the current economy, half of those graduates are employed after graduation. In hospitality management, 90% are employed at graduation. And, teacher preparation, 93% of the graduates of our Wells Fargo Partnership East program are licensed to teach in North Carolina and almost 80% of the program’s graduates are currently employed. Of those employed, 97% are teaching within eastern North Carolina.
The Intergenerational Center
We have a special obligation to help Pitt County and I could talk about the work our EC scholars have done in the Belvoir Schools, the incredible service provided by Medical Family
Therapy program, or how many at-risk kids have been helped by Project HEART in the College of
Education.
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Let me also make sure that no one forgets our work with the Lucille Gorham Intergenerational
Center, an excellent partnership with Pitt Community College and the City of Greenville. ECU faculty and staff have supported the Intergenerational Center since its inception in 2007. Important programs provided by the Center include:
 The Youth Apprentice Program, which places troubled youth with an employer partner and provides educational assistance so they can re-enter the educational system;
 The Summer Significance Academy: a program to help the math and science skills of 5 th graders. College acceptance, retention, and success all depend on such skills;
 The 21 st Century Project which improves reading and math skills for grade schoolers; and
 A broad range of after school programs, health screening, behavioral health programs, and financial planning assistance.
Excellence in Public Service
Public Service is one of three essential components of the mission of public universities. All applications for tenure must document success in teaching, research, and service. However it is a poorly kept secret that, at many universities, service is by far the least significant of the three. In some places, young faculty are actually advised to “stay away from service” because it conflicts with their “real job.”
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NOT at ECU: I report with great pride that not only is “SERVICE” our university motto, it is the soul of ECU. It embodies our commitment to eastern North Carolina. Even more important is “why” we do so much service… we do it because we believe in helping people.
To enhance efficiencies and consolidate additional critical services within the university, I elected on March 1 of this year to realign the public service coordinating functions at ECU. Before that time, public service initiatives occurred across the university with no coordinating mechanism.
The newly aligned Office of Public Service and Community Relations now exists as a central unit within the Chancellor's Division and will allow us to strategically accomplish our public service initiatives. I have appointed Dr. Beth Velde to fill this critical role in addition to her current responsibilities as director of the Engagement and Outreach Scholars Academy and her work on special projects in the College of Allied Health Sciences.
It is, perhaps, unfair to the hundreds of faculty, staff, and students who do so much service to single out one individual, but I’m going to brag about one more person who embodies our motto,
“TO SERVE”. I’ve been bragging about this person since last fall and I’m enjoying it. The person is Dr. Tom Irons, and I think nearly everyone at ECU knows why we love him so much.
In case you missed it, last September Tom was awarded the statewide, University of North
Carolina System award for Excellence in Public Service. This was the second time in four years that an ECU faculty member received this prestigious honor. The first award was given to the late
Dr. Lessie Bass for her pioneering work for the Intergenerational Center that I just discussed. So they’ve given four awards for excellence and ECU has been recognized two of the four times. Does this say anything about our great university? I’m going to get in trouble with my boss for this next statement, but I’m just a little puzzled that we haven’t won all 4 times…
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Tom Irons’ accomplishments are too numerous to list in this talk, but let me briefly review:
 Tom’s entire career in pediatric medicine has been devoted to the underprivileged and those with few support systems;
 He was the driving force behind the Bernstein Community Health Center which opened in
2007 to provide health and dental care to the entire county and its neediest citizens.
 He worked tirelessly with Dr. Bass and many others to establish the Lucille Gorham
Intergenerational Center and still serves as Co-chair of its board today.
That says a lot about Tom’s energy, dedication and success, but I want to say a word about what kind of character he is. To be sure, he is a character and if you don’t believe it, ask him how he keeps his composure in public speaking. But I want to mention something else. When he was given the UNC Award for Excellence in Public Service, he gave one of the best acceptance speeches
I’ve ever heard…it was from his heart. And, here is a direct quote from that speech that tells you what kind of person he is:
“None of the things I’m credited with accomplishing are really mine. They belong to all of those committed colleagues, staff, and community members along side whom I have had the privilege to serve. My life has been enriched by their presence.”
Folks, that is the ECU soul.
Tomorrow Starts Here
In conclusion, we have a great university built over the past 104 years.
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While the fiscal crisis is unprecedented, it will not define us nor deter us as we pursue our vision and mission. We realize the difficulty of cutting services, reducing the number of academic programs, losing good faculty, of doing more with less… forever.
But, we will flourish tomorrow and in the future because we have an authentic goal and because we believe in people. Our DNA is true and our resiliency is un-paralleled. We work together better than anywhere I’ve ever been.
I hope you help me tell our story. Please tell it with Pirate Pride.
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