Alumni News

Congratulations Class of 2012!
The 2012 Commencement exercises will be this Friday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and the East Carolina Alumni Association would like to welcome these graduates to the ranks of alumni! After years of hard work and dedication, these students are now part of the Pirate Nation as proud alumni and graduates. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors and encourage them to keep in touch with their alma mater through the Alumni Association.



Robert H. Wright Award Recipients
Each spring, the Alumni Association awards exceptional graduates with Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Awards. This award, named for the University's first president, is the most prestigious given to graduating seniors and recognizes academic achievement, service to the University and community, and leadership qualities (both potential and exhibited). Five graduates were selected to receive this accolade. [More]


Faculty Recognition
The Alumni Association recognizes that it is through faculty excellence that the University thrives and students are prepared to be the leaders of tomorrow. To honor this arduous work, the Alumni Association annually gives Faculty Awards. These professors share their immense knowledge, guiding young minds through critical thinking, research, service, and decision making. Congratulations to this year's Faculty Award recipients:

Outstanding Teaching Award

• Ms. Patricia A. Clark, Associate Professor for the School of Theatre and Dance in the College of Fine Arts and Communication
• Dr. Subodh K. Dutta, Teaching Instructor for the Department of Chemistry in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences
  

Robert L. Jones '58 Teaching Award

• Dr. Alan C. Taylor, Assistant Professor for the Department of Child Development and Family Relations in the College of Human Ecology
  

2nd Annual Coach Rock Cancer Research Golf Classic
Thomas “Rock” Roggeman coached with everything he had. That is how he fought cancer, too. Join East Carolina’s Brody School of Medicine in carrying on Coach Rock’s memory and his fight against cancer by supporting the 2nd Annual Coach Rock Golf Classic on Monday, June 18 to benefit the Coach Rock Roggeman Cancer Research Fund at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine. [More]


Save the Dates for Auction and Golf
Two fantastic scholarship events are planned for this fall. The annual Pirate's Bounty Scholarship Auction, sponsored by Duplin Winery, and ECU Alumni Scholarship Classic golf tournament will take place on Thursday, September 27 and Friday, September 28, respectively. Hilton Greenville is title sponsor for both events, and other sponsorship opportunities are available now! The auction will take place at the Hilton and golf tournament at Ironwood Golf and Country Club. Please contact Director of Alumni Programs Tanya L. Kern '02 at 252-328-1958 if you would like to become a sponsor or serve on the Auction and Golf Committee.


Date Correction - Homecoming 2012: ECU, The Greatest Place on Earth!
Last month's ECUpdate erroneously listed Homecoming 2012 the weekend of October 26-27. The correct date for this year's Homecoming weekend is October 12-13, with other events available beginning October 8. Please mark your calendar with the correct Homecoming date and check PirateAlumni.com/Homecoming for information about 2012 Alumni Homecoming activities and serving on the Homecoming Planning Committee.

Pirate Voyages
Pack your suitcase and your passport for an exciting adventure with the Alumni Association on a Pirate Voyage! Through partnerships with AHI Travel and Go Next, travel opportunities are available for ECU alumni and friends to travel the world at affordable prices. Set sail this October for an odyssey back in time to the Islands of Antiquity: Athens to Athens. [More]


Ground Rules for Teen Drivers with Liberty Mutual
Setting safety ground rules for teenagers is an effective method of engaging them in a conversation about responsible driving. You just might save yourself some stressful confrontations down the road. Be sure, however, not to break the rules yourself if you want to act as a role model. [More]


Your Purchases Support the Alumni Association
Support Alumni Association initiatives with every purchase you make with your East Carolina Alumni Association Bank of America Rewards™ American Express® Card with WorldPoints® rewards–at no additional cost to you. Use your ECU credit card for all your purchases–gas, dining out, shopping, travel and everyday expenses–and watch the rewards add up fast. [More]

Spotlights

Alumni Spotlight
Dr. Brenda Ryals '71 knows why the caged bird sings—or at least why the Belgian Waterslager canary can overcome a hearing impairment at birth to become one of the prized crooners of the avian world.

Ryals, professor of communication sciences and disorders at James Madison University and director of its Auditory Research Lab, has spent nearly two decades studying the canary’s and other birds' remarkable ability to regenerate sensory cells in the inner ear. For her many contributions to the advancement of auditory neuroscience, her service to the scientific community and her expert mentoring of students, Ryals is the recipient of the 2012 Jerger Career Award for Research in Audiology.

When she isn’t teaching or in the lab, Ryals puts her clinical skills to good use in places like Kenya and with groups such as Special Olympics International. She has also served on numerous scientific review panels for the NIH as well as the Scientific Review Board of the Deafness Research Foundation and the NIH/NIDCD National Research Advisory Council. She is a past president of the American Auditory Society and a former member of the executive board of the American Academy of Audiology, and is currently editor-in-chief of Ear and Hearing, the journal of the American Auditory Society.

Volunteer Spotlight
Doug Strickland '64 is an avid Pirate fan and University volunteer. He is currently a member of the Board of Visitors and is assisting the Alumni Association with a Johnston County reception in May. He and his wife, Kay, are life members of the Alumni Association, and members of the Chancellor's Society, Old Austin Society, and Pirate Club.

"I have been very proud of my University since attending as a student in 1960. ECU has made tremendous strides over the years in its efforts to become a strong regional and now a quality national institution. It's a place that has worked hard, often with less and against the odds, to be where it is today. ECU refuses to let others tell us we can't become this or that. We have worked hard to identify and achieve significant academic as well as athletic goals. That philosophy very much represents my philosophy of life. We can be what we want to be if we have a vision and are willing to work hard enough for it," said Strickland.

Strickland retired from Virginia Tech in 2003 after serving 32 years as a university administrator and faculty member. He and Kay then moved to North Carolina to Strickland's home place in Johnston County. He is proud of his historic family farmhouse, especially the "Pirate Barn" that is full of ECU sports memorabilia and enjoys every opportunity to talk with people about ECU and its development.

Top Tweets

Voting has re-opened for the filming of an ESPN College GameDay commercial on a college campus. Vote for ECU now... [More]

ECU graduates prepare to open Mellow Mushroom in Greenville ... [More]

Sights and sounds from Barefoot on the Mall ... [More]

Exotic visitors made their way to campus ... [More]

We just hit 5,800 members in our LinkedIn group. Are you 1 of them? Here's where you can network with all of them ... [More]

Alumni Events

May 3-4
Class of 1962 Golden Alumni Reunion
[More]

May 3
Senior Salute
[More]

May 3
Senior Candlelight Induction Ceremony
[More]

May 9
Pirate Armada - Advance, NC
[More]

May 11
A Pirate's Life for Me!
featuring Tremayne Smith '11
[More]

May 21
Retired Faculty Annual Business Meeting and Chancellor's Reception
[More]

May 24
Alumni Reception in Johnston County
[More]

May 25
A Pirate's Life for Me!
featuring Don Edwards '89 (h)
[More]

June 4
17th Annual E. Marvin Slaughter '50 and James A. Johnson '38 Memorial Golf Tournament
[More]

June 7
Alumni Reception in Oriental, North Carolina
[More]

All Upcoming Events

Save the Dates

Alumni Tailgate Tickets On Sale To Members
July 10, 2012

Pirate's Bounty Scholarship Auction
September 27, 2012

ECU Alumni Scholarship Classic
September 28, 2012

Homecoming 2012: "ECU, The Greatest Place on Earth!"
October 8-13, 2012

Alumni Awards Ceremony
and Dinner
October 12, 2012

How Do You Show Your Pirate Pride?

YouTube

Twenty-four ECU students have been named 2012-2013 Alumni or Retired Faculty Scholars. Learn more about these deserving students.

Photos

Hundreds of runners took part in the 5th Annual Pirate Alumni Road Race and Fun Run. Find yourself or a friend in our photo gallery.

A Pirate's Life for Me!

Legendary football Coach Henry Trevathan '55, '56, '81 is an NC Sports Hall of Fame inductee. Listen to his story and other Pirate stories!