Favorite Professors
Memories shared by alumni in celebration of ECU's Centennial 2007. Share your memories with us too.
Leon Schaffer, class of 1978 writes:When I arrived at ECU in the fall of 1974 I had no idea what I really
wanted to do with my life. Shortly thereafter, I met three men whose influence would prove to have a great impact on my life. Jim Campbell,
Gus Moeller, and Bill Formby were on the faculty of the newly organized program in what was then called Correctional Services. At that time
the major was under the Department of Social Work in the School of Allied Health and Social Professions. As a new curriculum with courses still in development, Corrections majors were required to take a significant amount of Social Work core courses. This was a major sore spot with the bunch of kids who wanted to be cops. Jim, Gus, and Bill helped us keep that all in perspective and were the encouraging factor in what would become some significant contributions to the field by ECU graduates. Bill Formby left after a few years but Jim and Gus drove on. Many years after graduation, and although he had since retired
from the faculty, Gus Moeller was a major factor in my selection as a Special Agent with the FBI. I maintained my contact with the faculty
over the years and was a honored to be ask to serve as an Instructor in the Department during their 1995-96 search for a full time faculty
member.
Vickie Letchworth Biagni, class of 1983 remembers:One of the best times in my life was while I was a student at ECU. Faculty that I remember who were a huge influence in my life were George Williams, Dr. Grimsley, Gary Overton, Hal Baird, and Rod Compton, David White, and Rick Barnes. I was a student athletic trainer and my fondest memory was working ECU baseball with Hal Baird and Gary Overton.
Class of 1986 member Paula Quinn Flanagan added: ECU will be forever embellished into my memory. The professors I had were mostly all outstanding. I remember specifically Dr. Phillips (ART) who always took up time with my daughter when I had to take her to class with me. Dr. Lester Laminack, whom was always so soul enriching when it came to teaching. Dr. Long who was always so kind and understanding, Dr. Patricia Anderson who taught us how to teach
Language Arts. I couldn't have done it without her. Dr. Vivian Martin who always worked us to the bone in science lab from 3-6 every
Wednesday. That was a killer. And last but not least, Dr. Terrell who taught us how to pronouce words without the southern drawl and Mrs.
Gale Sanderson who supervised my student teaching. I will always remember all of these professors. They were the greatest. They made
me a teacher. I don't think no one anywhere could even hold a candle.
Harry Warren, class of 1988 gives the following account:East Carolina University gave me a chance to attend graduate school. The school also offered courses in public history and museum work, one of the few schools in the state, indeed the country,to do so in 1980. Here I found academic and moral support from my first advisor, the late Dr. Herbert Paschal. Dr. Tilly guided me through the rigors of thesis writing that eventually resulted in my thesis being completed in 1988.Today many colleges contain museum courses in their curriculum but ECU led the way. The history professors provided great encouragement for students with little confidence that they would ever actually find a job in the museum world.
Currently I am director of the North Carolina Museum of Forestry, a branch of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and have been in the museum profession since 1979. I know many ECU graduates that also work in museums,historic sites and other related non-profit institutions. There is a saying in the North Carolina Museum world that goes like this "you can go to UNC Chapel Hill and get a PHD or you can go to East Carolina and get a job." Thank you ECU for giving this poor boy from southeastern North Carolina a chance and a job.
Laura Mitchell, class of 2000 wrote:
I chose to leave my home in New Jersey and come to East Carolina,
specifically for their Child Life program. ECU is one of only a handful of colleges that offers Child Life as a major. I was dedicated to becoming a Child Life Specialist and wanted to choose a degree program that was committed to the profession. I was not disappointed.
Dr. Charles Snow was the heart and soul of the Child Life department during his tenure at ECU. He treated each of his students like members of his own family, guiding and nurturing us so that we could be successful Child Life professionals.
Donald Turner, class of 1978 says:
One of my first memories of ECU was visiting the History Dept. during orientation. Dr. Richard Todd was standing in the halls of Brewster Bldg. waving people into his classroom like the gatekeeper of the Emerald City of Oz,"Come on in!!" I knew right then that college life was going to be a life that would be filled with with many colorful and exciting people and experiences. And true to form, Dr. Todd added so much to the lives he touched that HIS fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, of which I was honored to be a member, dedicated a flagpole in his honor in front of old Joyner Library. Students at ECU who dine at Todd Dining Hall can little realize what kind of a giant Dr. Todd was in the educational process at ECU. I can only hope they come to find their own inspiration at ECU--one as worthy as Dr. Todd.
Jim Hogsett, '68 ~ My greatest memory of ECU is when Dr. Donald Rocke, Professor of
Marketing planted a seed which would change my life forever. While conferring with him in his office, he said, "Jim, you would make an
excellent teacher". I immediately dismissed that possibility because, since the age of nine, my dream was to work in radio broadcasting. In fact, I was working at one of the local Greenville radio stations to finance my education. However, Dr. Rocke's comment began to stir within me and I found it impossible to dismiss that possibility. After all, the professor who made this statement was a role model teacher who not only taught marketing but showed me the picture of a professional educator and how such an individual could impact the life of a young student. As a result, I later changed my major from business administration to business education and, upon graduation, worked in
public education for four years. I was then offered an opportunity to become a Training Director for Burlington Industries and joined that
major corporation in 1971. I became Corporate Training Director and was able to teach and train thousands of employees over a period of 32 years before leaving the corporation in 2003.
Alec French, class of 1973 remembers: [After reading] the article on Lorrayne Graff in The Pirates Chantey, I remember participating in her movement class and thinking, "Why didn't I have a Physical Education teacher who used these methods when I was in elementary school?" The teaching methods she taught motivated me to become an elementary Physical Educator. I was surprised when I started teaching to find that very few Physical Educators with degrees from other schools knew how to utilize the movement methods she taught. I owe much to Ms. Graff as well as Jimmie Grimsley, George Williams, Ray Martinez, and many other professors of Physical Education at East Carolina. They helped mold me into becoming a Physical Educator.
Erin Finnegan Shirley MA, classes of 1985, 1998 remembers: George Williams, my supervising teacher, provided me with a fabulous student teaching experience (PE at Rose High) that
guided me into a career that I have loved for 22 years. Hal Baird and Gary Overton shared a love for and understanding of baseball that has lead me to be an avid member of Red Sox nation (also for which my
husband is grateful) and Rod Compton, Liz White and Craig Baker gave me the skills to be a caring, dedicated athletic trainer. Current graduate professors Jim Decker and Matt Mahar inspired me to continue learning and reach out to children with disabilities and participate in research for the improvement of sports medicine care of athletes.
