2021-2022 Student Affairs Annual Report

STUDENT AFFAIRS

ANNUAL REPORT

AFFAIRS

We all knew the global pandemic would change things. I don’t think we knew it was going to change EVERYTHING. After spending two years in “crisis” mode dealing with all COVID-19 presented, we are still trying to define what the new normal will truly become.

It seems like we are heading toward a hybrid society where we mix in-person with virtual opportunities. This, however, presents challenges in higher education and, more specifically, within Student Affairs.

By our very nature, Student Affairs educators are in-person, forward-facing professionals who must be on campus to deliver the high-caliber programs and services ECU students have come to expect. However, the pandemic did empower all of us to explore and create new pathways through advanced technology and remote/virtual options to meet students where they are.

Thus, the hybrid world continues to progress. We can deliver face-to-face new student orientation in the summer but complement it with virtual elements to bridge the gap between a student’s visit and movein. Speaking of move-in, ECU started a new model during the pandemic where it became a two-step process, Drop-Off and Move-In, to help reduce large crowds in small spaces. This practice has continued “post-pandemic” as it has helped us better manage the 5,000 students making the residence halls their home.

We’ve incorporated more hybrid options in many SA offices such as the Counseling Center, Career Services, Campus Recreation and Wellness, Student Engagement and Student Health Services, which has been well received by many students.

ECU Student Affairs leadership is still working to address one major challenge prompted by COVID-19: staff well-being, self-care and burnout. While many in higher education worked remotely for two years, many frontline Student Affairs staff never left; recharging the batteries, finding brief respites or even taking personal leave has been difficult.

There is no crystal ball for what the future will hold, but there are many certainties we do know.

• Mental health and well-being of our students and staff are top of mind, and we must make the commitment to think, develop, plan and execute proactive and reactive efforts. We won’t be able to provide enough resources to find a solution, but we must do more.

• The pandemic reinforced the fact that students desperately want and need oncampus engagement opportunities. This engagement creates a bond with the institution and fellow Pirates to help students feel like this campus is their home.

• Diversity and inclusion efforts must advance. Our students of color, military-affiliated, first-generation, gender/ethnic minorities, and low-income and rural students will need to know their campus is here to support them, but also to listen to them and empower them to be part of the solution.

• Adult learners and Hispanic students are increasing in North Carolina, and we must be ready to explore new, innovative and creative ways to support these students.

Divisions of Student Affairs across the country are up to these challenges. After all, this is what we have always done. When everyone else is running away from the problems, Student Affairs educators are running toward them. Finding a balance of caring for others but also caring for self is key.

Dr. Virginia Hardy Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

28,021

22,463

5,558

We Are Student Affairs

Mission

Student Affairs provides programs and services that optimize student learning and leadership; builds a safe, supportive and welcoming campus community; fosters the emotional growth and personal development of students; and makes a positive contribution to the overall student experience.

Vision

Student Affairs fosters an environment where all students achieve their academic and personal goals. Values

Maximize STUDENT SUCCESS

Student engagement continues to grow on campus with 386 official student clubs and organizations.

Student Engagement

Student Affairs welcomed Pirate Nation back to campus by kicking off the fall semester’s opening weekend with The Pirate Experience. The weekend was filled with special events — such as Raid the Rec, Pirate Palooza and New Student Welcome and Convocation — designed to engage students and help them connect with new friends.

While the fall semester remained a hybrid mix of online and in-person events, many spring semester university and divisional events returned safely to face-to-face interaction led by Campus Recreation and Wellness.

A new initiative for the academic year was to engage sophomore students who missed out on the traditional first year due to COVID. The sophomore focus was developed by Campus Living and Student Transitions based on educational, social and connection experiences that included programmatic events and communications.

Parent Participation

24,376 total users on Parent and Family Portal

Parent and Family Grant Program

Through generous donations to the Parents Fund from ECU parents and families, a committee of parent volunteers allocated $14,000 through 11 grants supporting multiple ECU offices/areas, student organizations and community endeavors. This included Laupus Health Sciences Library, Greenville Community Garden and Orchard, the pro-bono and student-led Physical Therapy Clinic, Undergraduate Admissions’ MADE Day, the Walk With a Doc student program and more.

Maximize STUDENT SUCCESS

Maximize STUDENT SUCCESS

The success of our students is the ultimate measure of our university. We will support excellence, expand opportunity and celebrate achievement.

The Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement (CLCE) reimagined programs with the pandemic in mind by gauging student interest that led to the following accomplishments:

• The Purple Pantry (which focuses on students who are food insecure) opened additional locations in the Main Campus Student Center and the Health Sciences Campus Student Center.

• The National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) stated that student voting on ECU’s campus increased 21 points in the last presidential election, rising to 73% in 2020 from a rate of 52% in 2016.

• Student Affairs and Academic Affairs collaborated for a successful programming event recognizing the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

In collaboration with Career Services, the Campus Living Brain Trust Committee hosted an event to connect students to their major or give them the opportunity to explore different majors. Career Services talked about their services and resources, and students were able to talk to peers in different majors to learn about opportunities in their college.

Campus Living received positive feedback on the early drop-off and move-in process due to COVID precautions.

Student Affairs departments provide support to our students in so many ways beyond programs and events.

17 living learning communities and 1 thematic community that include

731 residential students

2,777 exams given by Disability Support Services

9,265 total sessions completed by 1,861 clients at the Counseling Center (First-Year Students: 22.2% | Sophomores: 18.8% | Juniors:

19.6% | Seniors: 22.6% | Graduate Students: 14.9%)

5,247 Dean of Students cases

1,077 ECU Cares cases

90,772 job and internship opportunities posted by Career Services in Handshake

Student Workers Within the Division

1,002 students were paid $2,271,366 in compensation

Graduate Assistants

40 students were paid $390,278 in compensation

Scholarships

A total of 4,300 students attended New Student Welcome and Convocation to officially welcome new students to Pirate Nation. Following the event, a first-year photo was taken at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium with the classes of 2024 and 2025.

More than 58 individual Student Affairs Scholarships were offered in 2020–2021 totaling more than $112,700 in student aid distribution.

Serve THE PUBLIC

Service has always been at the heart of this university. We will inspire the next generation of leaders to carry this spirit of service into their professional lives. We will demonstrate this commitment to service by being engaged with the needs of eastern North Carolina and beyond.

12,500 total student service hours recorded in Givepulse for 2021–2022

Pirates Give

• Four Days of Service, Mystery Service Saturdays, Pop-up Opportunities and the inaugural Yam Jam

• 380 participants

Purple Pantry

• 763 total visits

• 6,356 pounds of items distributed

• 7,291 pounds of food and items received

East Carolina University partnered with 130 local community organizations.

2021 Homecoming Food Drive

• 25,889 pounds of food donated for the Purple Pantry and local food bank

Turkeypalooza

• 53 turkeys, 28 meal boxes and $225 in gift cards donated, including over 1,500 pounds of food and items

The Purple Pantry received first-place honors in the North Carolina Collegiate Hunger Challenge with Food Lion Feeds and North Carolina Campus Engagement (formerly North Carolina Campus Compact). The $10,000 prize supported hunger initiatives at ECU.

Yam Jam, a collaborative program between the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement and the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, served the public and Greenville with over 100 faculty, staff and students sorting 18,000 pounds of yams. Yam Jam also claimed the 2022 Student Affairs Program of the Year Award in the Divisional Year-End Celebration Ceremony.

Lead TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE

The past, present and future of this university are closely aligned with the region it calls home. We see the challenges of eastern North Carolina and accept them as our own. Through partnership, leadership and discovery, we will be a force for progress and growth.

Over $1,133,361 was raised in pledges, cash, sponsorships and estate gifts for the Division of Student Affairs in 2021–2022.

Pirate Nation Gives Day 2022

Division brought in $54,000, a $29,000 increase over Pirate Nation Gives 2021

Numbers on Campus 2021–2022

441,941 Campus Recreation and Wellness visitors

152,404 Health Sciences Campus Student Center visitors

1,233,662 Main Campus Student Center visitors

806,398 Transit passengers

Flu Fest was a campuswide event sponsored by Campus Recreation and Wellness, Student Health Services and ECU Physicians to promote preventive health measures of obtaining 1,234 flu shots, COVID vaccines and booster shots to help keep ECU a healthy and safe place to live and work.

Disability Support Services worked with high school counselors to provide information to incoming first-year students with disabilities. Providing this information to students while still in high school prepared them for the transition to college.

The Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center partnered with ECU Health and the Pitt County Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) for the premiere of YOU BELONG HERE, a locally produced documentary exploring the lived experiences of LGBTQ youth and young adults in Pitt County. The audience included a broad representation from ECU and across Pitt County, and a panel discussion with the creators of the film followed the screening.

ECU Transit has applied for a grant to acquire new battery-operated electric buses. Currently, Transit has six compressed natural gas buses and two hybrid buses. The goal is to replace buses as needed with sustainable options.

SUSTAINABILITY and RESOURCE STEWARDSHIP

DIVERSITY and INCLUSION

ECU Club Sports was recognized as the recipient of the Charlotte Hornets’ 2021 For the Love of the Game award. Thanks to Club Sports’ development of a standard operating procedure with an emphasis on inclusivity and a forward-thinking approach, participants were allowed to play on teams based on their gender identity. The Hornets shared a video detailing ECU’s efforts.

Disability Support Services (DSS) completed a total reorganization and update to its website to allow current and prospective students and faculty to better understand the services provided by DSS and increase access to resources.

Through its My Culture Is Not a Costume campaign, the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center (LWCC) engaged more than 800 students, faculty and staff during the month of October around the harm of cultural appropriation.

ECU has acknowledged the contributions of Indigenous people and established a designated outdoor space located at the ECU Main Campus Student Center.

ECU Dining Services began a new oil recycling relationship with Filta-Fry that substantially lowered the risk of contamination at ECU. The oil retrieved and recycled remains in North Carolina, where it is turned into biofuel.

The ECU Financial Wellness Hub partnered with iGrad, an award-winning financial literacy platform, that is available to ECU faculty, staff and students. iGrad allows users to create a personalized profile and recommends content based on the individual’s needs by providing financial literacy education through courses, articles, videos and tools. iGrad covers a variety of topics including budgeting, saving, credit and student loans.

The Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center worked with artist Rae Senarighi to bring the You Are Loved billboard campaign to eastern North Carolina.

COLLABORATIONS and SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY

LOOKING AHEAD — NEW INITIATIVES

During the year, Student Affairs staff generated 46 in-person scholarly presentations and publications with external professional organizations. This activity was performed at the state, regional, national and international levels.

Pirate Media 1 collaborated with the ECU School of Communication to present a Media Literacy Workshop for Citizen U. The purpose of Citizen U is to educate students about how to be responsible, engaged citizens and to inspire them to be involved

in their communities and our democracy as change agents.

The Dean of Students Office hosted multiple sessions of the HOiST (Helping Our Students Thrive) program in partnership with the Office for Faculty Excellence and the University Writing Center. This series provided specific outreach to faculty members and highlighted specific resources and services within Student Affairs.

ECU Dining is exploring a new concept in food service on college campuses that utilizes food-delivery robots.

Student Affairs Assessment, Research and Planning and the Dean of Students Office collaborated to create the First-Year CARES Initiative, using data from the First-Year Assessment survey to identify students who may have additional needs connecting them to resources due to perceived stress, mental health and loneliness. This process resulted in 675 students receiving a personalized email welcoming them to ECU and explaining how the transition from high school to college can be difficult. Almost one-half of the students who received this email contacted the Dean of Students Office, with more than 88% being referred to specific campus partners.

The #YouMatterECU campaign was developed to include Safe Spring Break programming and other mental health/well-being events that support promotion of services and resources to students.

In fall 2022, Campus Living welcomed Global Fellows, a new living learning community, with support from the Office of Global Affairs. This special cohort of students who received a study abroad scholarship will have access to special programming during their time at ECU.

The Health and Well-Being unit was created as a comprehensive, integrative behavioral health approach to address student care and well-being. Effective July 1, Campus Recreation and Wellness, the Center for Counseling and Student Development, and Student Health Services were reorganized to join this unit.

DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

• Assessment, Research and Planning

• Campus Living (Housing Operations/Residence Life)

• Campus Recreation and Wellness

• Career Services

• Center for Counseling and Student Development

• Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement

• Central Reservations Office

• Collegiate Recovery Community

• Dean of Students Office

• Dining Services

• Disability Support Services

• Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center

• ECU Transit

• Financial Wellness Hub

• First Year Programs

• Fraternity and Sorority Life

• Health and Well-Being

• Intercultural Affairs

• Ledonia Wright Cultural Center

• Military & Veterans Resource Center

• Off-Campus Student Services

• Office of the Vice Chancellor

• Parent and Family Programs

• Pirate Media 1 (formerly Student Media)

• Student Affairs Business Administration

• Student Affairs Communications

• Student Affairs Development

• Student Centers

• Student Engagement

• Student Government Association

• Student Health Services

• Student Involvement and Leadership

• Student Rights and Responsibilities

• Student Transitions

• Technology Services

• Victim Advocate Services

• Women and Gender Office

• Youth Programs and Camps Office

Learn more about East Carolina University’s Division of Student Affairs at studentaffairs.ecu.edu online.

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