To See Tomorrow, William Muse's Inaugural Address

This inaugural address was delivered by William Muse upon his installation as the tenth chancellor of East Carolina University.In his speech, Dr. Muse outlines goals for the future of the university.

Citation for this speech: Muse, William. "To See Tomorrow,"March 8, 2002, CH1050, Series 2, Subseries 6, William Muse Speech File.

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President Broad, Board of Governors, Board of Trustees, Members of the ECU Community, Alumni, friends, and family:

I want to thank you for attending today's celebration of the 95th birthday of this institution and my installation as its tenth chief executive officer. I am indebted to you, President Broad, and to the members of the Board of Governors for your support of me for this position. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the Board of Trustees, the ECU Community, and citizens of Greenville and Pitt County and throughout the State of North Carolina for the marvelous welcome they have extended to Marlene and me since we arrived on August 1st. A special thank you also to members of the North Carolina General Assembly for your support of higher education, but particularly for your support of this University. And, I particularly want to thank the Founder's Day/Installation Committee, chaired by Dr. Austin Bunch, for its hard work in planning this festive weekend.

When Governor Thomas Jarvis arrived back in Greenville on the evening of March 8, 1907, he was met at the train station by a cheering crowd that included most of the citizens of this community. They were there to express their appreciation for his tireless work and effective leadership over a period of six years that resulted in action earlier that day by the General Assembly to establish the East Carolina Teachers Training School. The decision to locate that school in Greenville had not yet been made and a spirited battle between several communities would follow, but everyone recognized that the goal to establish the school could not have been accomplished without the influence and involvement of one of this state's most distinguished leaders.

At the time of this decision, Governor Jarvis was 71 years old.He had served as a state legislator, Speaker of the House, Lieutenant Governor, and Governor of North Carolina from 1879-1885.He later went on to serve as a U.S. Senator and as Ambassador to Brazil. But his career began as a teacher in Pasquotank County and he pushed so hard for public education during his term as Governor that one historian has dubbed him as the first "Education Governor" in the South.

For all of these reasons, Governor Jarvis is often called The Father of East Carolina University. As a father he can be very proud of what his creation has become. From those humble beginnings, East Carolina has overcome many obstacles to emerge as a university of national stature. The journey has not been easy but the results have been significant. Eastern North Carolina, this great state, our nation, and the world have benefited from those efforts.

It is with enormous pride and pleasure that I have assumed the leadership of this great institution. I am grateful to members of my family who have endured my work ethic that has allowed me to enjoy an interesting and productive career in higher education and to our many friends who have helped us along the way.

I was motivated to accept the responsibility to serve as Chancellor of ECU by the potential this university has for significant growth in size, quality, and stature and by the opportunity to serve a constituency whose needs are enormous.It is my hope and intention to lead East Carolina University to an even higher level of performance and recognition.

To achieve these ambitions, I believe that ECU needs to attain and maintain the following conditions:

1. A highly effective undergraduate educational program as measured by appropriate student outcomes such as job placement, entry into graduate school, and success on qualifying exams.This program should be composed of a sound foundation in the liberal arts and sciences and opportunities to obtain specialization in fields that are in high demand.

2. A growing graduate program, particularly at the doctoral level, in areas of faculty strength and where there is a demonstrated need for the graduates.

3. A research program that is focused on areas that are consistent with the university's strengths and directed toward the needs of the constituency we serve and the region where we are located. An emphasis should also be placed on projects for which external funding is available and where the opportunities for application of the results are high. A movement from research-intensive toward research-extensive status should be our direction.

4. A heightened emphasis on engagement with the external community, particularly eastern North Carolina, providing the opportunities and the structure for faculty, staff, and students to use their knowledge and skills to effect positive change in the region we serve.

5. The development of a "community of scholars" among our faculty that will allow individuals to focus their efforts on their strengths, consistent with unit priorities, and that will reward performance, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

6. A student life program that provides students with significant opportunities to develop the skills they will need to be successful, to become fully engaged in the life of the University, and to form life-long friendships in an environment that fosters and values diversity.

7. An athletic program that is a dominant force at the Conference USA level and reflects positively on the University in terms of both the on-field and off-the-field performances of those student-athletes and coaches involved.

8. A dedicated team of administrators and support staff that provides the facilities, finances, and services that are so essential to performance of the institution's academic mission.

9. A commitment to diversity and equal opportunity throughout our organization, developing programs and structures that nurture talent and reward performance.

10. A greater international presence in terms of student enrollment from other countries, student involvement in study abroad programs, and faculty and staff participation in programs of an international nature. We are part of a global community and must act and think as such.

East Carolina's academic mission will be carried out through numerous undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs that will be assessed in terms of firm foundations in both their qualitative and quantitative performances.With the under girding of our excellent programs in the humanities, I see the University's academic mission built around four basic thrusts or areas of emphasis:

1. Teacher Education

   The first area of emphasis is that of education, the preparation of teachers and other education professionals.ECU was founded as a teachers college and has maintained teacher education as a central focus throughout its existence. Today, the need for effective teachers is as great as it ever has been and we anticipate that need will continue in the future. We must help our leaders and the public understand that, without effective teachers, the current generation cannot develop the skills it needs to survive and prosper in the future, nor will we be able to pass on to it the lessons we have learned.ECU needs to position itself as one of the leading producers of outstanding teachers in the nation.

2. Human Health

   Through the efforts of several academic programs and units, ECU is responding to the need for health care professionals and having a significant impact on the quality and quantity of health care available in the region it serves. That is a thrust that must continue and, perhaps, broaden in the years ahead to include new disciplines such as dentistry and pharmacy.

   The Brody School of Medicine has risen to positions of national prominence in primary care and rural medicine in the short 25 years of its existence and it has been very innovative in the development of fields such as robotic surgery and telemedicine. But I believe there are opportunities for even greater advancements in teaching, clinical research, and in the delivery of medical services.

   The School of Nursing is responding to the scarcity of professionals in this field and preparing to offer a Ph.D. degree to meet the needs for faculty to teach the nurses that are being demanded.The School of Allied Health Sciences is supplying the health services industry with professionals in a variety of roles that are important to the delivery of health care. And when these units, along with the health sciences library, are combined with the School of Medicine on our rapidly expanding West Campus, I expect that the interfaces and interaction of all these health disciplines will produce even greater excitement and innovation.

   One should also not overlook the work of the School of Health and Human Performance and other units on the campus that help to support and supplement our focus on human health.

3. Fine and Performing Arts

   The third major thrust is in the areas of fine and performing arts.The arts are critical to the preservation and advancement of our culture and our humanity. ECU has been fortunate over the years to attract outstanding teachers and performers in music, art, theatre, and dance and has built programs that rival any on the east coast in size and quality. This is a strength on which East Carolina needs to capitalize.

4. Economic Development

   The fourth area of emphasis is economic development, involving all those disciplines that produce the technological and scientific talent that supports the creation and operation of economic enterprises and the managerial skills so necessary to run them. There are few things that are more important to the long-term viability of eastern North Carolina than economic development - economic growth that creates jobs which enable citizens to enjoy a higher standard of living.

   The Schools of Business, Industry and Technology, and Computer Science and Communication support this thrust, as do many individual programs, such as hospitality management in the School of Human Environmental Sciences that is critical to eastern North Carolina's rapidly expanding tourism industry.All programs must work together to produce the educated workforce on which future economic growth and development will depend.The development of a School of Engineering at ECU would be a significant contribution toward that objective.

One of the unique strengths of ECU arises from our geographic location near the Atlantic coast and our interest in coastal zone development. With the only Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in the nation in Coastal Resources Management and with strong programs in biology, geology, and maritime studies, we are in a pivotal position to assist in the preservation and appropriate development of one of our state's most important assets.

All of these areas must be supported by a strong program in the liberal arts and humanities. To be successful in their work and have a quality life, graduates in all fields must understand themselves and the world in which they live. East Carolina, even from its beginning as a teacher training school, has had a strong faculty and a central focus on the liberal arts and humanities and these conditions must continue.

To achieve our goals and to realize ECU's full potential will require innovative and aggressive leadership throughout the university. It will require significant financial support from the state and from the private sector. A major capital campaign to raise funds from our alumni and supporters will be an important factor in our future planning. ECU must continue to be on the cutting edge - as it currently is - in the use of information and instructional technology. We must integrate the most modern means to display and present information in the classroom and for students who are at a distance.We must maintain our aggressive movement into on-line education wherever appropriate.

As we grow from our current enrollment of 19,400 to approximately 27,000 by the end of this decade, we must focus on attracting to ECU bright students and insure that all incoming students are adequately prepared to handle the challenging academic programs we offer. And we must launch a more aggressive marketing program to help both prospective students and the general public better understand the qualities that ECU has.

But I am confident that East Carolina can attain these ambitious objectives.This institution has been blessed by many innovative leaders - individuals like Robert Wright, John Messick, Leo Jenkins, John Howell, Richard Eakin - to mention just a few.Each has made his mark.I believe that Dr. & Mrs. Howell, are with us today.I would like for them to stand.

Robert Wright, this institution's first president, and the individual who led it successfully through its first 25 years of existence, once remarked to the faculty:

"We want to become leaders in our lines of work.To do this means work, but it means growth; it means success; and more than both of these, it means being a real factor for progress in our civilization."

I believe that same philosophy is relevant today. To get to where we want to be will require hard work and a dedication to having a positive impact on our students and the region we serve.

This institution has always represented both a destination and a direction.East Carolina has always been in our name and in our hearts. This is a proud region that we serve and that we represent. And East is the direction in which we want people to look. East is the direction one has to face to see the rising sun - to see tomorrow.

For nearly a hundred years East Carolina has been a land of opportunity for thousands of students, helping them to see tomorrow and to prepare for it. And so shall it be in the future.

My best wishes and thanks for celebrating this occasion with us.