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First Monday AN UPDATE FROM THE PROVOST | April 2023

COGER'S CORNER

Robin N. Coger, PhD

Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Welcome to our April issue of First Monday. I want to begin by thanking our team members from across East Carolina University for all the ways you collaborate together to achieve great results. Together you are making great things happen every day and every week. For instance, last week - with our IPAR team leading the way and our ECU faculty, staff, administrators and students engaging in the multi-phased review process - the SACSCOC team visited Greenville for our reaccreditation site visit including a review of ECU’s QEP proposal. Congratulations to everyone for a job well done, with a special thanks to Cynthia Bellacero, Ying Zhou and our QEP team leads. Then this past weekend, ECU hosted an event that brought teams of competitors aged 14 - 18 from across North Carolina to Minges Coliseum for a robotics championship. Not surprisingly, producing the two day event required a great deal of planning and coordination. I thank Bryan Jenkins and Allen Guidry, along with the many Pirates from Academic Affairs, Athletics and other parts of ECU and beyond who worked with them to make the event a success. There are many more examples that you and I can name; I mention these two events as reminders that reaching successful outcomes often requires the team of collaborators to navigate paths littered with multiple challenges, a reality demonstrated visually by this @successpictures graphic.

Collaborating well to produce novel and innovative results inherently requires a diversity of ideas, perspectives and approaches to be considered by the team. Yet collaborations can be trying and may require the members of the team to set operational ground rules for working well together, depending on the situation and the persons who comprise the team. I had a recent reminder of the importance of prioritizing this level-setting when working with new partners. This weekend I also had the pleasure of listening to an interesting TED talk by Julia Dhar (Managing Director & Partner at Boston Consulting Group), How to Disagree Productively and Find Common Ground. Among other things, her talk mentioned the importance of engaging with “the best, clearest, least personal version of the idea” when making an argument, rather than attacking the identity of the person presenting the contrasting idea. She also referenced “intellectual humility,” overviewed by Professor Mark Leary of Duke University as a cognitive phenomena that focuses on “... the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs and attitudes might be wrong.” His article goes on to explain that while we each may sometimes rigidly defend our positions, people tend to show a certain degree of consistency in displaying intellectual humility ("IH") across different situations. As I thought about the many challenging things our University community is tackling now and will tackle in the future, we each face multiple opportunities to grow our IH abilities and practice synergizing ideas to produce innovative results. That, combined with the passion that the people of the Pirate Nation contribute to our University, will enable ECU’s successes to continue to grow in number and in stature. Thank you for every time you choose to positively add to your unit, the University, to North Carolina, and to the world.

Please enjoy this April issue. I hope you will also join me in thanking all the contributors to this issue of First Monday, since they are the ones who made this publication possible and worth reading. Finally, I wish the Pirate Nation a wonderful and productive month as the Spring 2023 semester rapidly approaches its conclusion.

Regards,

Robin Coger

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BY THE NUMBERS

See more about this year's Pirates Aboard! event HERE.

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AROUND ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

ONLINE LEARNING, ACADEMIC OUTREACH & ACADEMIC INNOVATION

ECU Online was a proud sponsor of the Southern College Health Association’s Annual meeting hosted by East Carolina University on March 8 - 10, 2023 at the Greenville Hilton. Millicent Thomas, Student Services Counselor for ECU Online, managed an expo booth at the event. It was a great opportunity to promote the university’s online program offerings to participants, which represented several colleges in the region, as well as to ECU staff members that were in attendance. Several attendees engaged in conversation about the many online program opportunities that are available and also took materials to their schools to share with their students.

PIRATE ACADEMIC SUCCESS CENTER

Sharing best practices in summer melt programming and research, Dr. Elizabeth Coghill (PASC director, right) and Mrs. Amber Arnold (PASC assistant director, left) presented Access, Belonging, and Success through Proactive Peer Enrollment Coaching at the March 2023 convening of the National Organization for Student Success (NOSS) in Nashville, TN. For more information about the project, please visit the "Our Mission" page on the Pirate Academic Success Center website. The National Organization for Student Success is a community of educators from two-year and four-year public and private institutions from across the United States and in several countries. NOSS is committed to helping educational professionals make a positive difference in the lives of their students and supports the mission of student success.

OFFICE OF GLOBAL AFFAIRS

On March 22, Global Affairs participated in Pirate Nation Gives, ECU’s annual day of giving, for the first time. We raised over $9,000 to support study abroad scholarships and scholarships for students from countries in crisis. A special shout out goes to the International Enrollment and Engagement team who collected four Plush PeeDees from around campus, contributing $4,000 toward international student scholarships. Way to go, team! Even though PNG has wrapped up for the year, you can still support global affairs causes.

Global Affairs welcomes the return of 58 students from spring break study abroad programs this year. Dr. Jeff McKinnon led a Biology program to Costa Rica. Drs. Kathryn Carroll & Joy Karriker co-led a College of Business program to Italy, while Drs. Marjorie Ringler and Heidi Puckett (Educational Leadership) and Drs. Sherri Winslow and Tricia Carter (Hearing and Speech Science) led programs to Spain and Belize, respectively. Twenty-five programs with nearly 400 students are scheduled to run throughout the summer.

In March, twelve ECU international students and scholars from six colleges visited Washington DC on a cultural program sponsored by the Office of Global Affairs. This two-day excursion is part of our wider effort to assist our international population in acclimating to US culture and better understanding US history. Previous excursions this academic year have included visits to Raleigh and the Outer Banks.

On March 30 and 31, ECU hosted the North Carolina Association of International Educators (NCAIE) annual conference. Over 150 faculty and international education professionals from the state’s public and private universities and colleges attended the event, the first ever hosted by ECU. ECU presenters include: Sambuddha Banerjee (Chemistry), Katie Erickson (Office of Global Affairs), Lily Johnson (student), Cathy Knudson (OGA), Magali Krosl (Foreign Languages and Literatures), Laura Levi-Altstaedter (FLL), Rose Malone (OGA), Melanie Robbins (OGA), and Erin Taylor (OGA), and Sydney Wilson (student).

Upcoming Events:

  • International Scholar and Student Symposium: April 4, 2:30-5:00PM, Black Box Theater
  • International Student and Scholar Egg Dying and Egg Hunt: April 4, 3:00-5:00PM, International House
  • 4th Annual Iftar Dinner: April 18, 7:00-9:00PM, Brody School of Medicine 2W-40 & 50
  • Proposing a Faculty-led Study Abroad Program: April 21, 11:00AM-12:00PM, Joyner Library 1415
  • International Women’s Conversation Hour: Mondays, 11:00AM-12:00PM, Ledonia Wright Cultural Center

OFFICE FOR EQUITY & DIVERSITY

This year, the Office for Equity and Diversity recognized the significant achievements in diversity, inclusion, and leadership for four notable recipients of the 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Award. These annual awards recognize winners in four categories - full-time faculty (teaching EHRA), full-time staff (SHRA, non-teaching EHRA and CSS), full-time undergraduate or graduate students, and an academic unit, administrative unit, university organization or university committee - and are celebrated during the Chancellor’s Service Awards. More information about these awards may be found on the Office for Equity and Diversity’s Diversity and Inclusion Awards website.

The 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Award recipients are:

  • Dr. Bhibha Das, Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, College of Health and Human Performance. Dr. Das has designed a research agenda that focuses on physical activity promotion for quality of life, focusing primarily on employee and underserved populations. She has published 39 manuscripts, many of which focus on DEI issues, for example, The Invisible Employee, which focused on Black housekeepers at a college campus. Most notably, she is the current Co-Chair of the Student Access & Success Subcommittee for the Chancellor’s Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, where she works extensively with campus community members to understand barriers to student access and success through a DEI lens.
  • Deborah Robinson, Human Resources Business Officer, College of Allied Health Sciences. Deborah contributes to diversity and inclusion through her work that demonstrates advocacy as well as development and enhancement of an inclusive campus. Deborah plays a key role in the college and at ECU by contributing to exemplary leadership, recruitment, outreach, and retention efforts for employees. She goes above and beyond to promote positive interaction among everyone within the College of Allied Health Sciences and ECU.
  • Darius Wingfield, II, first-year graduate student. Darius exemplifies the student leader that is prepared to take the necessary steps both academically and socially to impact change. Darius has demonstrated his commitment to enriching the work of diversity and inclusion here at ECU through a variety of organizations, programs, and initiatives. He has served on various committees, such as ECU's Student Safety Committee with the ECU Chief of Police and Student Government Association and the Equity and Intercultural Engagement Committee for the Student Government Association. Most notably was his most recent contributions as the Logistics Chair for the inaugural Black Student Success Summit – which brought together faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the greater community for a day filled with professional development, networking, and fellowship.
  • Access, Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ABIDE) Committee in the College of Fine Arts and Communication. Since its inception, this Committee sought to be an advocacy resource for members of the College through the development of its mission statement and through a college website, which was created as a place for members to find resources, provide information on upcoming events, and to serve as a point of connection regarding issues and topics related to equity, belonging, and inclusion. The committee has been committed to this work by hosting events such as forums, book clubs, and professional learning opportunities; by participating in diversity events across campus like the MLK National Day for Racial Healing; as well as by sponsoring initiatives such as the PostStories, an online collection of postcards that share voices and stories from our community.

OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS

On Saturday, March 25, a group of Access scholars traveled to New Bern, NC for our second annual Bate Service Day. The scholars volunteered with Habitat for Humanity doing finish work on a home that should be ready for occupancy in June 2023. On Sunday, March 26, the freshmen Access scholars completed their annual service project benefiting the ECU Community School. They worked together to make treat bags for the students as the elementary students prepare to take end of grade tests. Treat bags were also made for the teachers, and all bags included a motivational note encouraging the students to do their best or thanking the teachers for their hard work in “fueling the future.” Lastly, the freshmen also wrote nearly 100 thank you notes to all of the individuals that made donations to the Access scholarship program during Pirate Nation Gives - a very successful fundraising day for this scholarship program!

OFFICE FOR FACULTY EXCELLENCE

Thank you to over 100 faculty and staff across campus who pitched in and provided faculty support during this Academic Year. Pictured here are just some of the people who volunteered to support their peers through contributions ranging from brief workshops to in-depth mentoring and professional development. When compiled, this forms an extraordinary network of expertise, perspectives, experiences, and opportunities. To the mentors, sponsors, advocates, and encouragers who are all around us, thank you for taking the time to put yourselves out there and inspire colleagues to plug in as we continue to grow our culture of mentoring at ECU.

OFFICE OF RESEARCH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & ENGAGEMENT

The annual Research & Scholarship Awards recognize excellence among artists, scholars, researchers and inventors at East Carolina University. Our faculty’s research and creative activities impact their field, their students, the region, and the world. This year, we will honor the following award recipients on April 5 during a ceremony at Harvey Hall:

  • Lifetime Research Achievement Award: Dr. Yu “Frank” Yang, Professor, Department of Chemistry
  • Five-Year Research & Creative Activity: Dr. William P. Banks, Professor, Department of English and Dr. Mamadi Corra, Professor, Department of Sociology
  • Scholarship of Engagement: Dr. Rachel Gittman, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology

Winners of the new Trend Setter awards will be announced during the ceremony. We will also recognize this past year’s EOSA Cohort and Inventors.

If you have not yet received an invitation and would like to attend, please email our office.

Research and Creative Achievement Week (RCAW) is an annual event to highlight student research and creativity at ECU. There will be podium talks and poster sessions in diverse areas: biomedical sciences, business, creative and performing arts, humanities, life sciences, social sciences, technology and computer science, and more. You will also find performances including music, art, and dancing along with poetry and literary contributions.

This year, the Capture 180 Research Challenge will take place Tuesday, April 4, at 2PM in Room 249 of the Main Campus Student Center. In this friendly challenge, students will present their research or creative projects within 3 minutes using one static slide or prop. Judges will assess presentations on comprehension, content, engagement and communication. Prominent judges from the community and ECU will be there to score the talks for a Grand Prize winner. To mix things up, there will also be a People’s Choice winner by popular vote from the audience!

We hope you will join us this week for RCAW and help support our presenters. Find the schedule and more HERE.

While many stayed home or traveled to warmer climates during spring break, a group of East Carolina University faculty, students and staff embarked on a tour throughout eastern North Carolina’s rural and remote areas. The purpose: to engage with community partners and to explore ways to connect ECU’s knowledge and skills with the needs of industries and organizations. The hope: that collaborations and ideas lead to long-term benefits felt throughout eastern North Carolina. Read more HERE.

Since 2018, the Purple and Gold Bus Tour has taken us to 43 stops across 19 eastern NC counties, bringing together 155 faculty, staff, and administrators and around 40 College of Nursing students for networking, community engagement, and research discussions with community partners throughout rural eastern NC. We are inviting those who have participated in a Purple and Gold Bus Tour to a reunion on Thursday, April 27, 1-4PM in the Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building.

This event will be filled with opportunities to reconnect with community partners and previous bus tour participants. Select community partners will talk about exciting initiatives in partnership with ECU faculty and staff with time reserved to consider new funding opportunities and possibilities to expand community engaged scholarship. There will also be refreshments.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP by April 14. If you have a partnership, funding opportunity, or something exciting that has come from the bus tour, let us know! We would like to highlight that information during our reunion. We look forward to seeing everyone on the 27th!

ECU's Engaged and Outreach Scholars Academy (EOSA) is celebrating 15 years of success! We are inviting EOSA scholars, community partners, and special guests to join us for an EOSA reunion on Friday, April 14, 1:00 to 4:00PM at the Health Sciences Student Center. There will be refreshments, presentations, and time to catch up with past and present EOSA faculty, students, and community partners. Together we are aiming to create new collaboratives and celebrate successes in campus-community partnerships. RSVP today to let us know if we can make plans for your attendance. Contact our office with any questions.

Funding Biomedical and Healthcare Innovations Workshop, April 13

The NC Biotechnology Center and the Office of Licensing & Commercialization is hosting the "Funding Biomedical and Healthcare Innovations" workshop on Thursday, April 13 at 11:30AM in the Health Sciences Student Center, Room 202. The workshop will provide an overview of NC Biotechnology Center funding opportunities and share keys to success in translating early discoveries into the commercialization realm. Food will be provided. Click HERE to register.

SBTDC@ECU to Host Business of Innovation Workshop on May 12

The SBTDC at ECU is hosting “The Business of Innovation” workshop on campus on Friday, May 12 in the Willis Building Auditorium. Researchers and faculty face a complex set of foundational challenges as they seek to spin-out their work into commercial ventures. Attendees will learn from experts in the areas of dilutive and non-dilutive funding, legal & intellectual property, business development, grant accounting, financial management and university tech transfer. It will be an opportunity to network with successful innovation-oriented entrepreneurs. Register or learn more HERE.

FACULTY SENATE

2022 - 2023 Faculty Senate meeting dates are as follows:

  • April 25, 2023
  • May 2, 2023 (Organizational Meeting for 2023-2024)

For more about ECU Faculty Senate, click HERE.

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COLLEGE UPDATES

ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES

The Department of Physician Assistant Studies announced that every graduate in the Class of 2022 passed the PA National Certification Examination (PANCE) on their first administration. This year's national, first-time pass rate is 92%. While all Pirate PAs pass by their second attempt, no cohort since the Class of 2018 accomplished a 100% first-time pass rate.

Dr. Young Joo Kim, Associate Professor in Occupational Therapy, is collaborating with colleagues in Computer Science, Family Medicine, and Nursing on a project to help remote care givers better monitor patients through the use of home technology. Titled "Intelligent Homecare Provisioning for Older Adults," the team started by installing sensors in OT's Lab for the Skills of Living Apartment that will contribute to the early alert system. Researchers plan to partner with Cypress Glen Retirement Community and seek funding in the near future. Read more HERE.

Prof. Sherri Winslow recently facilitated the LSVT LOUD Training and Certification Course for students in Communication Sciences and Disorders. LSVT LOUD is evidence-based speech therapy used to help patients experiencing Parkinson's and other neurological conditions.

Faculty and students attended the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Combined Sections Meeting in San Diego, California. Members of the Department of Physical Therapy shared their research through 13 poster and oral presentations.

Students enrolled in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Science's introductory course visited the lab for a Blood Bank activity.

ARTS & SCIENCES

Rebecca Asch, assistant professor of biology, and Andrew McMains, a graduate student in the interdisciplinary doctoral program in biology, biomedicine, and chemistry, presented results to an inter-agency commission of state and federal scientists and policymakers charged with providing recommendations for regulating ship-channel dredging in North Carolina waters. Their report provided important insight into how a change in the timing of dredging (from winter to summer) to maintain shipping channels impacts aquatic wildlife. Their reports were based upon research funded by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, North Carolina Sea Grant and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

Rachel Gittman, assistant professor of biology and research associate with the Coastal Studies Institute, and Frank Lopez (NC Sea Grant) have received funding from NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program and the U.S. Coastal Research Program. In collaboration with the North Carolina Sea Grant and Carteret Community College, Gittman, Siddharth Narayan (assistant professor in the Department of Coastal Studies), Nadine Heck (assistant professor in the Department of Coastal Studies) and Hannah Sirianni (assistant professor in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment), will develop a framework for coastal protection design and siting, as well as living shoreline training courses and a certification program. View the NC Sea Grant press release for more information.

Chad Jordan, teaching instructor in the Department of Criminal Justice, has been elected a board member of the North Carolina Criminal Justice Association.

left to right: Gonzalez-Fuentes, Lorenzo, Klindworth

Nieves González-Fuentes, teaching assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and Javier Lorenzo, associate professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, along with Rich Klindworth, staff writer and videographer for ECU News Services, and doctoral student in the College of Education, are working on translating ECU admissions materials from English to Spanish to reach and recruit a broader Hispanic community to ECU.

Jennifer McKinnon, professor of history and maritime archaeologist in the Department of History, has been elected Chair of the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology, which is an international body in the field, and she has been awarded $350,000 by the Henry M. Jackson Foundation to conduct further archaeological work in Saipan.

Austin S. Matthews, assistant professor of political science, was selected from a competitive pool of highly qualified candidates in the U.S. and abroad to participate in Bridging the Gap’s 2023 International Policy Summer Institute in Washington D.C. This four-day workshop, which will be held in June, trains academics on developing tools and building networks to produce and disseminate policy-relevant academic research. Matthews will receive support for his ongoing project on the hiring and firing of military and state security elites in dictatorships.

Two political science alumni from Harriot College recently received awards from the North Carolina Public Administration Alliance. Duane Holder, who earned his Master of Public Administration from the Department of Political Science in 2006, is the recipient of the alliance’s Public Servant of the Year Award. Allysa Rouse, who earned her Master of Public Administration in 2019, is a recipient of the Early Career Public Servant of the Year Award. Read more about Holder and Rouse’s accomplishments HERE.

Aimee W. Smith, assistant professor of psychology, was awarded a grant for more than $170,000 to research health disparities, health outcomes and patient experiences in eastern North Carolina youth with chronic illnesses and insured by Medicaid. The one-year grant was awarded by the Kate B. Reynold’s Charitable Trust, which aims to improve health and quality of life in North Carolina.

BRODY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Match Day

In a ceremony laced with excitement, anticipation and tradition, fourth-year medical students in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University learned where they will spend the next three to seven years completing residency training.

The March 17 event marked a milestone for the Class of 2023, whose medical school journey included the historic events of learning through the COVID-19 pandemic and the integration of Brody and then-Vidant Health, which became ECU Health in 2022.

Michael Waldrum, dean of the Brody School of Medicine and CEO of ECU Health, said that wherever the students are matched, they already have a reputation of being health care providers who put the individual patient at the center of their practice. “Brody students come out of medical school knowing how to do hard work and take care of humans. It’s a very hands-on practical education. They learn how to take care of people which is what becoming a doctor is all about, and the experience they get here sets them apart,” Waldrum said.

The students were presented to the audience of family, friends and members of the Brody community with collages of photos along with music that each selected. At noon, they opened their envelopes together, revealing their next destinations.

Brody student Andrés Gil matched in emergency medicine at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. “An opportunity to give someone grace, to restore their dignity, is so important to me,” he said. “It makes all the scary things about emergency medicine go away. That moment gives you an impetus to work harder to restore this person, so when they leave, they can go back to their life and complete their narrative.”

Schweitzer Fellows establish birthing support program

Two students from the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine have established a flourishing volunteer program to bring doula-like services to a region of North Carolina starved for birthing support.

The birthing companion program was started in October 2022 by Uma Gaddamanugu and Shantell McLaggan, both second-year Brody students and Schweitzer fellows. The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship supports graduate health professionals drawn from across the state who learn and work to address unmet health care needs in North Carolina.

Gaddamanugu’s and McLaggan’s fellowship project is focused on improving birth experiences of high-risk pregnant mothers in eastern North Carolina through the free birth support program to add an extra layer of support for women in the birthing process.

Patient populations in rural parts of eastern North Carolina simply need more help, Winston-Salem native Gaddamanugu said, from prenatal care through the laboring process, and certified doulas are an expensive out-of-pocket resource for which most North Carolinians must pay out of pocket because health insurance often doesn’t cover the cost.

“We are the only hospital with a high-risk labor and delivery unit in North Carolina east of I-95. You think about how far some of these people have to travel, which makes it way harder for their support people to come with them,” Gaddamanugu said.

ECU hosts reproductive biology experts

ECU hosted nearly 100 participants from a variety of institutions Feb. 25 for the 31st annual Triangle Consortium for Reproductive Biology (TCRB) meeting. The event was chaired by Chris Geyer, associate professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Brody School of Medicine.

The conference was held at the East Carolina Heart Institute, and attendees represented the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), ECU, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, Randolph-Macon College, the College of William & Mary, and N.C. State University. Participants had the opportunity to share their work and hear from other experts in the field of reproductive biology.

“It was a great event and a really big deal to have 90 people from the bigger research institutions come to us for a meeting,” Geyer said. The Triangle Consortium moved to ECU last year amid lingering COVID-19 restrictions at NIEHS facilities, where the event has been held in the past.

“It went so well that everybody said, ‘Let’s do it there again this year,’” said Geyer, who has chaired or co-chaired the event for five years. “We’re really passionate about the subject matter and the consortium and want it to do well.”

BUSINESS

The College of Business (COB) and the Department of Accounting hosted their fifth annual Accounting Research Roundtable Gathering (ARRG) March 24. The event invites Ph.D. candidates from around the country to share research from their accounting research dissertations and receive feedback from faculty. It also allows the COB to make new connections with the candidates, giving them new perspectives and showing them ECU’s campus. Dr. Amanda Peterson says ARRG not only helps stimulate research among faculty, but is a great way to recruit possible candidates that might not have otherwise seen our campus.

The Miller School of Entrepreneurship announced that Dr. Emily Yeager, assistant professor in ECU’s Department of Recreation Sciences, will serve as the interim director of the Crisp Small Business Resource Center. Yeager’s work focuses on rural community development, rural tourism, and small-town entrepreneurship. Since joining ECU in 2018 after completing her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, she has built programs, attracted external funding, and engaged with regional community leaders. A couple of her current initiatives fit well within the scope of the Crisp Center, including the Tar-Pamlico Blue Economy Corridor, Building Rural Community Resilience, an investigation of tourism and recreation business owners in Pitt County, and a feasibility study of the Beaufort County Nature-Based Water Trail.

COB and the Thomas D. Arthur Graduate School of Business have announced the inaugural recipients of the Thomas Arthur Graduate Business Military Scholarship. Devon York, C/Capt., AFROTC, pictured above, plans to graduate with a degree in management in May 2023, shortly after he receives his official commission as an Air Force officer May 6. William “Joe” Spurlin, U.S. Navy E-5, also plans to graduate in May 2023 with his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in supply chain management.

Funded by United Health Group and using virtual reality, the ECU Center for Telepsychiatry and e-Behavioral Health (the N.C. Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP) program) and COB’s Center for Healthcare Management Systems (CHMS) will create a 3-D community house on the Roblox platform called “NC Rural Kids Get Well.” This community house will serve three main purposes: education, peer support, and surveillance. We want to (1) disseminate mental health basic knowledge and resources to children, (2) encourage them to talk out about their mental health problems, and (3) motivate them to actively seek help when needed. To inspire and engage North Carolina children and adolescents aged 5-18 in this meaningful project, we are hosting an award competition to encourage them to submit their own community house designs. Designs can be submitted individually or as a team. Each design should have a maximum of three authors. Please submit your design by uploading a description file (PDF, Word, or TXT type) and a drawing file (JPG, PNG, or GIF type) to the online submission system, which can be accessed HERE, or by scanning the code pictured above before the due date.

An independent review of 8,000 cybersecurity articles published in information systems and computer science journals over the past 25 years found Dr. Lucky Xue to be in the top 12 of the most cited authors. Congratulations, Dr. Xue!

Don’t turn around, but Dr. Thanh Ngo has published another quality peer-reviewed journal article! In her career, she has 97 articles in print and 3 articles accepted and forthcoming. Did we just say 100 articles? YES, we did! "We in Finance and Insurance are so proud of Dr. Ngo and her research accomplishments. One hundred peer-reviewed journal articles is truly a career milestone to be celebrated,” said Dr. Brenda Wells, the chairperson of the Department of Finance and Insurance.

Recently, Josh Tripp and Jordan Pierce of Hyster Yale visited an accounting class to talk about industry experience with the students. On the same day, representatives from the NC State Board of CPA examiners – David Nance, executive director, and Lynne Sanders, deputy director – visited accounting students to talk about the process of preparing and taking the CPA exam.

DENTAL MEDICINE

Students, residents, faculty and staff volunteered at Ross Hall on Saturday, March 25 during the school’s third annual Sonríe Clinic. They provided oral health care at no cost for pre-screened migrant farmworkers from the region. The event is sponsored by the school’s chapter of the Hispanic Student Dental Association and community partners.

Students, residents, faculty, staff and administrators worked hard to prepare for the official site visit from representatives of the Council on Dental Accreditation (CODA) in March, following a two-year preparation period that involved contributions from all areas of the school. Dr. Margaret Wilson, vice dean, led the CODA Steering Committee. “This was truly a two-year effort and I want to thank each of you for your role in this important periodic validation of our educational program,” said Dean Dr. Greg Chadwick.

The School of Dental Medicine observed World Oral Health Day on March 20. The annual event aims to share information broadly about the ways oral diseases affect individuals, health systems and economies worldwide and is an initiative of FDI World Dental Federation, the principal representative body of more than one million dentists across the world. As part of World Oral Health Day, Dean Dr. Greg Chadwick, president-elect of FDI World Dental Federation, joined the American Dental Association President Dr. George Shepley for a webinar, “One Bite at a Time: Oral Health and Nutrition.” The webinar educated oral health professionals on the relationship between dietary patterns and oral health.

Earlier this semester, students, faculty and staff provided care for pediatric patients during the annual Give Kids a Smile event — including at the school’s community service learning center in Spruce Pine. Thirty-seven area children received free dental care throughout the day, drawing local media coverage to this national tradition among the dental community.

Dental school partners with Laupus Library for VR project

The School of Dental Medicine is integrating virtual reality into its curriculum across all four years to build confidence in future dentists — and ease dental anxiety in their patients.

The dental school partnered with ECU’s Laupus Health Sciences Library for the project, which provides the school with the library’s virtual reality equipment, software programs and expertise. Faculty members work with students across the curriculum to build knowledge of head and neck anatomy and how it applies in providing high-quality oral health care.

“Most dental schools are implementing this kind of augmented reality just in D1 (first year of dental school) or just in the early stages of curriculum. But what we are doing here, which is unique, is that we will use it in every year of dental school,” said Hanan Elgendy, clinical assistant professor and VR project lead in the dental school.

The program uses Laupus Library’s Oculus headsets with Medicalholodeck, a platform for medical collaboration in virtual reality. The software allows users to visualize, edit, discuss and teach medical imaging, human dissections and 3D human anatomy models in a fully immersive digital environment.

Dental students are enthusiastic about the dual possibilities of VR through all the years of dental education.

“There are two huge benefits about using VR in dental medicine. One, it will greatly enhance the students’ perspective, but also it will greatly help patients as well,” said first-year dental student Luke Fogarty of Greenville. “When it comes to students, we’re able to see anatomy from a different viewpoint where we can situate ourselves, for instance, within the oral cavity, and see the lingual sides of teeth which are very difficult to see from the external perspective that we would normally have.”

EDUCATION

The College of Education is excited to welcome Dr. Janeé Avent Harris as the first assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion. Dr. Avent Harris is a native of eastern NC and a faculty member in the counselor education program.

ECU employees Dr. Monisha Atkinson and Dr. Nicole Moore and former employee Dr. Julia Lynch were highlighted in an article on EdNC for their educational journey and the paths they took together to receive their doctoral degrees in education. The three women worked together in the College of Education’s Office of Clinical Experiences.

Dr. Emily Knox from the University of Illinois visited the College of Education for a diversity speaker series focusing on “Teaching in the Age of Book Bans.” She was joined by ECU College of Education faculty.

Educational Leadership students went on a study abroad trip with LEED department chair Dr. Marjorie Ringler to Spain over spring break. They explored the study of politics and its influence on educational systems and were able to meet with faculty from the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha.

Adult Education’s Dr. Kathy Lohr is one of the featured faculty on the Office Faculty Excellence’s website as a fixed-term faculty spotlight. In the interview, she discusses her experiences and accomplishments while at ECU.

Earlier in the semester, visitors from the Office of U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, NC East Alliance, Innovation Early College High School and ECU’s University Advancement and Office of National Security and Industry Initiatives visited the COE’s Neurocognition Science Laboratory. While there, they were able to look at the technology the lab works with and heard from Dr. Richard Lamb about the possibilities of augmented and virtual reality technology and neurocognitive tools. They also heard from Dr. Tosha Owens on how these tools can help neurodiverse learners.

During Black History Month, retired College of Education tenured faculty member Dr. Lilla Holsey was honored by her hometown with a profile in her local newspaper.

ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

Roughly 100 community college administrators and leaders attended East Carolina University’s Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology (BSIT) and Technology Systems Transfer Day, learning about the program and the important roles they play in leading to student success. The BSIT degree program can be ideal for students and adult learners with a technical or industrial related Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree who are looking to boost their careers with a four-year degree. Read more HERE.

The human brain is like a complex group of highways, and despite a good road map, traffic jams may develop. Dr. Sunghan Kim, an associate professor in East Carolina University’s Department of Engineering, hopes that a better method of understanding how these brain highways connect and affect one another could help diagnose cognitive brain issues. Read more HERE.

Current student Darrell Roberts has been so impressed with the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology (BSIT) program that he decided to donate through Pirate Nation Gives to create the first scholarship designated for a BSIT student. Read more HERE.

About three dozen students in a variety of majors participated in the Association for Computing Machinery student chapter Spark competition in the Science and Technology Building. Teams of students were tasked with using technical skills to solve a problem in areas of health, finance or education. They developed everything from fitness, meal prep and budget applications as part of the event, with judges awarding prizes to the winning teams.

The College of Engineering and Technology hosted Hyster-Yale Group Day on March 20. Company representatives visited classrooms to offer career and internship advice, and set up tables in the Science and Technology Building where they talked with students about the company and job opportunities.

FINE ARTS & COMMUNICATION

The School of Art and Design, the regional affiliate for the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, hosted the 2023 Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards led by Professor Daniel Kariko. Over 1,200 entries were received from 630 students. Work included film, painting, photography, ceramics, digital art, illustration, mixed media, sculpture, printmaking and more. Of those, 268 pieces by 198 students received awards. 165 pieces that earned the top Gold or Silver Key awards are on display in Gray Gallery. On the day of the award ceremony, students were invited to take hands-on workshops by the SoAD faculty and graduate students, and high school teachers participated in CEU workshops.

A School of Communication alumna, Anna Ray is a Wilmington-based independent filmmaker. Hailing from Laurinburg, she has a deep-rooted passion for the art of storytelling and the North Carolina film industry. Fostering this passion she attended East Carolina University where she obtained dual degrees in Journalism with a Film Studies minor and Hispanic Studies. After graduation, she spent two years in Spain as a North American Culture and Language Assistant. While there, she produced two short films in Madrid, one of which, “Chueca,” a story documenting the life of trans sex workers, went on to have a successful international film festival run. She returned to her home state and graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with her Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Producing. Anna is a founding member and serves as the Growth and Outreach Director for North Carolina Black Creatives.

The School of Music undergraduate student, Sheleise Melendez, won the Student Research Poster Awards at the 2023 Southeastern Regional Conference of the American Music Therapy Association with her research, The Effect of Rehearsal Environment on the Hearing Health of Musicians. ECU's win is the second year in a row for this highly competitive award. This conference is a meeting for all states in the Southeastern region and includes 19 academic programs.

The School of Theatre and Dance had a wonderful week in March, hosting 70 local dance students and their teachers from surrounding schools for Pitt County Day of Dance on Tuesday March 7, 70 local theatre students and their teachers from surrounding schools for Pitt County Day of Theatre on Thursday March 9, and 600+ NC Thespians with 100 of their teachers and other NC Theatre faculty on Friday March 10 to host the NC Thespian Festival. So many students have asked how they can apply and audition for ECU’s SoTD programs because they love the campus, facilities, and working with the faculty at ECU.

HEALTH & HUMAN PERFORMANCE

Public Health student Jackson Cheek was joined by faculty members Drs. Lori Ann Eldridge and Kate Egan in delivering an opioid overdose education training they developed to about 50 members of Greek life during a safe spring break event. The training was developed with an Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity award to Cheek in spring 2022 and will be sustained by Campus Wellness.

HHP enjoyed a record-breaking Pirate Nation Gives this year, including earning $5,000 in bonus money for the most student support and $4,000 for the farthest away gift from Betty Thomas in City Beach, Western Australia, to Interior Design and Merchandising. In all, HHP raised more than $55,000, had the third-most donors and received more than 75 donations supporting the HHP Student Professional Development Assistance Fund.

Thanks to overall quality, affordability and commitment to student success, ECU earned a No. 1 ranking from OnlineMastersDegrees.org for the best online master’s programs in health education. Interdisciplinary work, an emphasis on flexibility and being an attractive option for working professionals have helped ECU’s program thrive.

Kinesiology faculty Drs. Christine Habeeb and Stacy Warner traveled to Uzbekistan to participate in a youth leadership through sport exchange, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Their experience included visiting the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent and quality conversations about U.S. sport.

Alum Sophie Villani and Drs. Kate Egan and Eric Soule in the Department of Health Education and Promotion had an article — Absence of age verification for online purchases of CBD and Delta-8: Implications for youth access — published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. The article is available online and can be accessed HERE.

Students in associate professor Erin Parrish’s apparel product development course recently visited Cotton Incorporated in Cary as part of a cotton in the curriculum grant. This grant and visit helped students expand their knowledge about cotton as they prepare for careers in the textile industry.

HONORS

The Honors College is celebrating Calli Jon Massengill, Ono Abhulimen, Matt Blount, Teresa Hupp, and Wrenn Whitfield for being the 2023 recipients of the Robert H. Wright Leadership Award. All five of these honors students have been extraordinary leaders while at ECU and beyond.

The Honors College, in partnership with faculty from the College of Education, took several students to the Outer Banks during spring break as part of their honors seminar on climate change and how it’s impacting coastal communities like the OBX. They were able to visit the Roanoke Aquarium, wildlife refuges, the Hatteras lighthouse, take a tour of Ocracoke Island and speak to residents, and take tours of the pony pens and Portsmouth Island.

Honors hosted its first alumni social on March 16 as a way to reconnect with local alumni.

Two Honors College students, Javier Limon (right) and Matt Blount (left), were elected as next year’s Student Government Association president and vice president, respectively.

Rachana Charla was featured in the ECU News writeup about the new volunteer doula program at ECU Health.

EC Scholar alumna Linda Quick was named the first assistant dean of the Thomas D. Arthur Graduate School of Business. Linda continues to be active in the Honors College and Scholars program by serving as a faculty mentor, chair of the faculty advisory committee, interview chair for Selection Sunday, and more.

EC Scholar Tierney Reardon is spending the semester in London where she is expanding her global understanding through study abroad and an internship with the UK Parliament.

INTEGRATED COASTAL PROGRAMS

A new paper was published in the Journal of Fish Biology (DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15351) describing an effective method to attach satellite tags to relatively small fish. Andrew McMains (IDPBBC student, Dept. of Biology) and Dr. Jim Morley (Asst. Professor, Dept. of Biology; Asst. Scientist, Coastal Studies Institute) were contributing authors on the paper, with colleagues from UNC-CH and NCSU. These tags will be used to track the movements of sheepshead (shown in picture) to better understand the location of their spawning grounds.

(A) Map shows the percentage benefit value of wetlands cover from 2008, calculated as the ratio of the difference in damages: (2008 No wetlands-2008 Baseline)*100/2008 Baseline. Inset panels (B) and (C) show detailed examples of positive and negative percentage benefit values, respectively, along H. Ike’s track for Houston Metropolitan and Galveston Island coastlines. (Al-Attabi et al 2023)

Intertidal wetlands proved to be a powerful line of defense against the destructive force of Hurricane Ike in 2008, preventing nearly $934 million worth of damage. A recent study titled “The impacts of tidal wetland loss and coastal development on storm surge damages to people and property: a Hurricane Ike case-study,” published in the prestigious Scientific Reports journal, sheds new light on the vital role of these wetlands in mitigating the dangers of coastal storms. The study was led by Dr. Zaid Al-Attabi, along with co-authors Yicheng Xu and Georgette Tso, ICS Ph.D. students in the Coastal Engineering and Adaptation Lab under the direction of Dr. Siddharth Narayan. The objective of this study is to examine the joint impact of coastal development and wetland change on hurricane-induced flood impacts by integrating various analyses such as storm surge flooding, economic damages, and wetland losses. The study investigates the interplay between nature (wetlands) and human activities (coastal development) in shaping flood impacts caused by hurricanes, and it emphasizes the role of coastal development in exacerbating the dangers related to storm surges. It further highlights the significant economic value of preserving wetlands as an essential and cost-effective strategy for reducing disaster risks in urban coastal areas vulnerable to hurricanes.

Integrated Coastal Programs and the Coastal Studies Institute are celebrating and hosting a 10th Anniversary Open House from 11:00AM – 3:00pm on April 22, 2023, at the ECU Outer Banks Campus. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend this free event. Attendees will be able to tour the campus, grounds, and facilities, learn about current research and education programs, take part in family-friendly activities, and interact with faculty and staff from ECU, CSI and our partners. Food trucks will be on site serving lunch throughout the event.

ICP announces student scholar awards for 2023-2024

The Anja Sjostrom Memorial Scholarship in Coastal Studies was established in January 2022 after the untimely death of ICS PhD student Anja Sjostrom. The purpose of the fund is to provide scholarship support to students enrolled in a PhD program at ECU with research focused in coastal science fields, with a preference given to students interested in spending time at ECU’s Outer Banks Campus.

  • Allyson Ropp is the 2023-2024 recipient. Allyson is a second-year Ph.D. candidate in the Integrated Coastal Science Program. Trained as an archaeologist, Allyson chose this program because of its interdisciplinary coursework and integrated dissertation requirement to support her career aspirations to be a holistic and integrated-research-driven resource manager for coastal and submerged natural and cultural resources. The flexibility in the program provides the opportunity to learn about the different disciplines through a coastal lens and to pursue methodological and theoretical coursework on management. Allyson’s doctoral research project seeks to use a novel integrated methodology to construct and evaluate the relationship between in situ wooden shipwreck stability and the surrounding environment. Her project uses approaches and methods from archaeology, history, microbial ecology, hydrology, and geography to quantify the rate of change on spatiotemporal scales to pinpoint when the wreck’s structural integrity will be altered. Allyson’s project will use an “archetypal” wooden shipwreck in the Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary (MPNMS) in Nanjemoy, Maryland, to measure changes in wood density, microbial community composition, and water quality to construct and evaluate these relationships.

The Mary Ferebee Howard Scholarship in Marine Studies is awarded to a full-time ECU graduate student focused on coastal and marine sciences. Recipients must show potential in the marine science field, involvement in extracurricular activities, evidence of good citizenship, and community involvement. The 2023-2024 recipients are:

Left to right: Allyson Ropp, Daniel Schaefer, Jillian Eller
  • Allyson Ropp: Allyson also received the Mary Ferebee Howard Scholarship in Marine Studies in addition to the Anja Sjostrom Memorial Scholarship in Coastal Studies. The Ferebee scholarship will also aid Allyson in her work at Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary (MPNMS) in Nanjemoy, Maryland, as detailed above.
  • Daniel Schaefer: Daniel is studying in the Maritime Studies and Underwater Archaeology MA program through ECU’s history department. Daniel also currently works as a student-historian with The University of Wisconsin Missing in Action (MIA) Recovery and Identification Project. The project works to identify and recover MIA service members from WWII and to honor their sacrifice and memory. Daniel served as an infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division from 2012-2017, so has a personal connection to his work. His thesis studies the effectiveness of Japanese radar against US aircraft during the Battle of Saipan. Multiple underwater US aircraft were shot down during the battle by these Japanese radar systems. This research is working to show the relation between the two, and create predictive modeling of where additional US aircraft can be found in the waters around Saipan through ArcGIS. This will be accomplished by showing the highest overlapping fields of fire of Japanese anti-aircraft emplacements and radar detection range overlap being the most concentrated areas of Japanese defense and therefore likely locations of downed US aircraft.
  • Jillian Eller: Jillian (they/them) is a 1st year student of the Integrated Coastal Sciences Ph.D. working with Drs. Linda D'Anna and Lindsay Dubbs on stakeholder engagement for the Atlantic Marine Energy Center project. Their research and academic goals are tied to the praxis of implementation of marine energy, specifically the renewable energy available from wave and tidal action. Drawing from interdisciplinary frameworks, Jillian’s interest in pursuing this degree is connected to marine energy’s environmentally and socially sustainable advancement. From their previous experience in community organizing for renewable energy, they are conscious of the gravity that research and development of nascent industries, like marine energy, have in societal integration. Because of the dynamic nature of coastal geographies, considerations for human and environmental well-being related to marine energy are onerous compared to applications of matured renewable energy like wind or solar. As a geoscience-based academic, Jillian’s research questions seek to understand the spatial connection between human dimensions and ecological needs in relation to the future use of marine energy.

An interview with Dr. Mike Muglia was featured in the March 2023 edition of the publication Hydro Leader. The article covers the Blue Economy and grid-scale ocean power and can be found on page 37.

Dr. Sean Charles, postdoctoral scholar at the Coastal Studies Institute, and Robbie Fearn, Director of the Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary, spoke at CSI’s Science on the Sound lecture in March. Together they presented ongoing research into wetland damage and innovative restoration projects both locally in Currituck Sound and in the Florida Everglades.

Dr. Al Plueddemann, Project Scientist for the Ocean Observatories Initiative’s Coastal and Global Scale Nodes group at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), will be the next featured Science on the Sound speaker at the Coastal Studies Institute. On April 20 at 6PM, he will discuss the Pioneer Array infrastructure, instrumentation, and what is planned for its upcoming move off the North Carolina coast. The event is free and open to the public. For those unable to attend, the program will be live-streamed, as well as archived for later viewing, on the CSI YouTube Channel.

JOYNER LIBRARY

ECU Libraries are committed to encouraging open access publishing. The Open Access Publishing Support Fund (OAPSF) is open to all campus departments and colleges to assist researchers who want to publish in an open access or hybrid journal not currently covered by a preexisting library agreement. The 2022-23 fund is open until April 15. Learn more about open access and open science, HERE.

Academic Library Services staff members Mark Sanders and Michael Reece authored an article — What do six questions and 14 years reveal about librarians? An analysis of ACRL’s Members of the Week — in College & Research Libraries News, the official newsmagazine and publication of record of the Association of College and Research Libraries. At the ACRL Conference held in March, Sanders presented a poster with analysis of ACRL Member of the Week demographics and interests. Also, Sanders and Charlene Loope, head of the Teaching Resources Center, presented a poster with insight about creating a sensory room to support neurodiversity.

Presenters during ECU’s Data Retreat virtual event held March 14-16 included library staff members Jeanne Hoover, David Hisle and Amy Bright. Retreat sessions were devoted to the following topics: Data Literacy 101 (creating a culture of data literacy, data governance, and data ethics); Data Collection & Management; and Data Reporting & Presentation. PowerPoint slides and recordings are available and posted on ECU’s Data Governance website.

The University Writing Center, located on the first floor of the main campus library, is celebrating its 10th anniversary the week of April 10-14. Events include a celebration reception April 11 from 12-2PM, and a therapy dog April 13 from 3-4PM. Stop by the Writing Center and check out @ecuwc on Instagram for a full schedule.

LAUPUS HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY

Jamie Bloss, Kerry Sewell, and Amanda Haberstroh published a peer-reviewed article called “Health Sciences and Medical Librarians Conducting Research and Their Experiences Asking for Co-authorship” in the most recent issue of the Journal of Medical Librarianship. The article explores the context and negotiation of authorship with colleagues and the research community.

The Diversity Committee at Laupus Library will be hosting the Annual Spring Fling from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m on April 4. The event will be held outside on the green space between the Allied Health Sciences section of the Health Sciences Building and the Health Sciences Campus Student Center. Spring Fling is a Health Sciences Diversity Information Fair and Social. It is a chance to learn about how to get involved with campus groups. The event will serve as a break from the day with fun activities and prizes, an informational fair and a means for faculty, staff and students to meet and greet away from their desks and classrooms. There will be giveaways, diversity group reps and librarians to answer questions, hands-on activities and light refreshments served.

Laupus Library lent its expertise to the School of Dental Medicine through a collaborative effort to integrate virtual reality technology into the school’s curriculum. Jamie Bloss, liaison librarian to allied health sciences and dental medicine, and Courtney Horns, business officer for Laupus Library, were instrumental in getting the partnership up and running. “Laupus is a really innovative library; we have done some really exceptional work in our space over the last several years,” said Beth Ketterman, director of Laupus Library. “When we found out that Dr. Elgendy was interested in applying that for the benefit of her students, it just seemed like a great partnership, allowing Laupus to leverage our expertise, our skills, our equipment to benefit the student learners in dental medicine.”

NURSING

Dr. Thompson Forbes began his appointment to the Pitt County Board of Health by the Pitt County Board of Commissioners. He will extend his nursing leadership and spirit of service from the East Carolina University Health Sciences Campus to the citizens of Pitt County.

Dr. Michael Jones started his tenure as the inaugural associate dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on March 15. Jones will work with the leadership, faculty and staff to build a more inclusive CON community, including working with faculty during curriculum revision, supporting faculty, staff and student recruitment and positively impacting student support programs. Jones will help the CON achieve a more equitable, and representative, nursing future.

Eastern AHEC sponsored Collaborative Nurse Research Day March 17 at the East Carolina Heart Institute as nurses from East Carolina University and ECU Health shared their research on topics from LGBTQ+ patient care and facilitating care for HIV+ patients in the South to support for new grad nurse practitioners. College of Nursing professor Dr. Linda Bolin moderated a discussion with Dean Bim Akintade and ECU Health nurse executive Dr. Daphne Brewington.

Gaming health education

In June of 2022, Josh Peery, a game designer and instructional technology consultant for East Carolina University’s College of Nursing, was asked to speak at the Serious Play conference in Orlando. “I keep getting invited to speak at conferences because in the health care sector, we are one of the few colleges that are developing serious games in house and using them at the same time,” Peery said.

Serious games, Peery said, are those that don’t have entertainment as the primary goal, but rather education, training or awareness. The U.S. Department of Defense was an early adopter of serious games to simulate battlefield scenarios without the cost of physically reenacting battlefield conditions. The government continues to be a prominent developer and consumer of serious games, with a large presence in North Carolina.

Peery is not a game developer by training, at least not the coding side of game development, but his graduate education in English and film gave him entre into the gaming world because he understood how to develop a story and manage complex projects.

The transition to the development of the Virtual Clinic — the College of Nursing’s home-grown serious game — was an easy fit for Peery. His academic research focuses on the gamification of non-gaming spaces, like online shopping and user experience. Serious games are best suited for the space between a person having no knowledge about a subject and being at a point of mastery of that subject — a broad continuum of experience — and different for every learner.

In the Virtual Clinic gaming space, a nursing or medical student can repeat a simulated office visit as many times as is necessary. Need to ask a patient, for the seventh time, how they are feeling and when their fever started? No problem, just restart the game. Not picking up on the subtle cues that would lead to the diagnosis of a serious medical condition? Hit the replay button.

The serious game framework allows health sciences students the opportunity to use their most valuable healing tool — their minds — as many times as necessary and no one is required multiple, needless needle sticks.

“You could have someone come in with a broken arm and you could give them a colonoscopy — wildly inappropriate and not even necessary — but the commercially available games would allow you to do that,” Peery said. “A serious game is going to limit those choices, so the learning is guided rather than just throwing the kitchen sink at you.”

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