From the Chancellor

A force for progress.

It’s been over a century since ECU started making an impact in eastern North Carolina, and there’s no stopping us now.

Our credentials speak to that. We remain the only institution in the University of North Carolina system with professional schools of engineering, medicine and dental medicine at the same institution. We have more than 300 faculty members engaged in externally sponsored research and service, with grants from the National Science Foundation to the Department of Defense. And our 200,000 square feet of research and laboratory space continues to grow.

Simply put, we are eastern North Carolina’s humming engine for research, revival and positive change—and what we do here transcends Greenville to the national stage.

Now is the time to work together as a community of students, faculty, alumni and researchers to keep ECU on this ever upward trajectory. Goals for the future include the following:

• The doubling of our sponsored research enterprise

• The building of a new research and greenhouse bioextraction facility

• The successful redevelopment of a historic community landmark into an innovation hub, via public-private partnership

• The continuation and growth of our recently announced Rural Prosperity Initiative, which serves as a rallying cry to support the development of our rural areas

These are achievable in spades with your unwavering Pirate Nation support and continued interest in our endeavors. Let’s keep building a stronger ECU—and stronger nation—together.

Cecil P. Staton, D. Phil.
Chancellor