"I had been a history major in college and I always liked to read so I went down to the ship's library. All they had were naval history books so I started reading them."After the Navy his maritime studies continued in graduate school at the University of Alabama. He joined the ECU faculty in 1968.
"The basic reason I was attracted to East Carolina was because of its location. It is one of the few major universities in the South that is relatively close to the water and I think that is a great advantage," he said.
He said he was pleased that ECU was beginning to emphasize programs and projects concerning the coast and the water. One of the projects is the summer Underwater Archeological Research Field School which he has co-directed since 1978.
A somewhat more ambitious undertaking is the new two-year program in Maritime History and Underwater Archaeology. The program was approved recently to offer graduate degrees and when fully implemented will be one of only two in the United States.
"The potential is so great for this program. In the years to come there will be more and more emphasis on the water . . . and East Carolina University can be at the forefront for this kind of research," Still said.
In his spare time, which he says is limited because of the time required for developing the curriculum for the new graduate program, he spends researhcing the history of ships and shipbuilders. He has written numerous articles, several books and has plans for many more.
