Five outstanding Pirates and one very dear friend of the university will receive awards from the Alumni Association at the upcoming ECU Alumni Awards Dinner to be held during this year's Homecoming Weekend in October. The awards celebrate individuals who demonstrate outstanding service to the university and accomplishments in their careers. Please make plans to join us on Friday, October 20. Registration for the event will open in July. Watch your email for more information or visit Upcoming Events on this site.
Virgil Clark '50 Distinguished Service Award
Matt Slate '96
Matt Slate ’96 has a personal determination to make an impact at ECU. He currently serves as a chair of the ECU Foundation board and as a member of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences advancement council. Slate spent 27 years in the banking and financial services sector, most recently working with Bank of America (BofA) where he was a managing director for BofA Securities in the global markets division as a senior credit trader in New York. Slate and his wife, Kelly, have endowed scholarships and planned gifts in the THCAS and ECU Athletics. They have also supported the Pirate Club, the Beacon Scholarship program, the College of Business, the ECU Alumni Association, Voyages of Discovery and veteran scholarships through annual giving.
Outstanding Alumni Award
Mary Earp '58
Mary Earp ’58 is a community advocate and agriculture business leader in Brunswick County, North Carolina. She served as operator and co-owner of Funston Farm in Winnabow, where she and her husband, Wilbur, used cutting-edge enterprises to sustain their farm operation which included a grape vineyard, and swine and cattle production. As an advocate for the people of Brunswick County, Earp was a driving force in lobbying for one of ECU’s School of Dental Medicine Community Service Learning Centers (CSLC) to be located in her county. She procured the land on which CSLC-Brunswick is built and was among the center’s first patients. Earp serves on the CSLC-Brunswick Advisory Board.
Scott Avett '99, '00
Scott Avett ’99, '00 grew up in a musical household in rural North Carolina. He is a founding member of the three-time Grammy-nominated band, The Avett Brothers. In addition to recording multiple records with legendary producer Rick Rubin, the band collaborated with directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio on the documentary May It Last: A Portrait of The Avett Brothers. Recently, Swept Away, a musical inspired by and featuring music and lyrics by The Avett Brothers, premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre to rave reviews from audiences and critics. The musical will be part of the upcoming season at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Beyond Avett’s work as a musician, he is also an accomplished visual artist with a BFA in studio art from East Carolina University. He has released two art books, Invisible and Purpose at Random, and his paintings and prints have been showcased in coveted galleries. Avett resides in North Carolina with his wife and three children and tours constantly with The Avett Brothers, selling out arenas around the world.
Vivien Sansour '02, '06
Vivien Sansour ’02, '06 is an artist, researcher and writer. She is a conservationist of international stature whose main goal is highlighting the cultural and agricultural heritage of communities. She uses installations, images, sketches, film, soil, seeds, and plants to enliven old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and to advocate for seed conservation and the protection of agrobiodiversity as a cultural/political act. Sansour founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library in 2014, where she works with farmers in Palestine and around the world. She is currently the Distinguished Artistic Fellow at Bard College, in New York, where she premiered her art performance, “The Belly is A Garden” at the Fisher Center for Performing Arts and the Bard Farm.
Honorary Award
Terry Holland - To be honored posthumously
Terry Holland served as ECU athletic director from 2004 to 2013 and led the department during one of the Pirates' most successful periods. Holland's tireless efforts in conference realignment led to the Pirates' membership in the American Athletic Conference. Prior to coming to ECU, Holland served as the head basketball coach for Davidson College and the University of Virginia. He returned to Davidson as athletic director in 1990. At ECU, Holland led efforts that resulted in an expansion of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and the creation of facilities for softball, track and other Olympic sports. Upon his retirement, ECU’s 4-venue Olympic Sport Complex was named in his honor. The complex is home to the 1,000-seat ECU Softball Stadium, the 1,000-seat Johnson Soccer Stadium, the eight-lane Bate Track Facility and an administrative building.
Young Alumni Achievement Award
Dr. Felix Morton IV '13
Dr. Felix Morton '13 serves as a wellbeing coach and assistant director for community well-being in the undergraduate business program at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is a certified counselor and certified clinical trauma professional. Morton has advocated for access to higher education and culturally-affirming clinical support for students across the K16 pipeline, with special attention to the experiences of Black boys and men. Through his efforts, Felix developed a professional network of Black male counselors to promote access to care for diverse populations of individuals. His network has been nationally recognized, and has grown to nearly 400 Black male counselors nationwide! Felix is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (NC), National Certified Counselor, and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development, with a specialization in Counseling and Counselor Education from North Carolina State University. His professional and scholarly interests include but are not limited to Black men’s health and wellness, sense of belonging, and inclusion and accessibility in the workplace. He has published research on college student mental health and was named the 2022 Mental Health Advocate of the Year by the Black Mental Health Symposium. He was also awarded an Interdisciplinary Minority Fellowship by the American Psychological Association, due to his commitment to improving the quality of mental health care provided to ethnic and racial minorities., with special attention to the experiences of black boys and men. He has developed a professional network of black male counselors to promote access to care for diverse populations of individuals. His network has been nationally recognized and has grown to nearly 400 black male counselors.