Board of Trustees honors Womack, acknowledges student achievements

Board of Trustees honors Womack, acknowledges student achievements

The East Carolina University Board of Trustees honored Vern Davenport and David Womack with the Trustees Award for Distinction during its first meeting of 2026.

The Trustees Award for Distinction recognizes individuals who have provided extraordinary leadership to the university.

A successful business leader and community advocate, Womack has dedicated decades to building partnerships, investing in people and advancing organizations that align with ECU's mission. His service to ECU includes as a board member and president of the ECU Foundation, where his strategic guidance helped strengthen the university's philanthropic efforts. Womack has helped cultivate future leaders and promote excellence in organizational and personal growth through his service with the Truist Center for Leadership.

Womack is involved in the greater Greenville community, serving on boards such as the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastal Plain and the North Carolina Land and Water Fund. He was an early supporter of the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, which has brought world-renowned musicians to Greenville and Raleigh for over 25 years.

"David has dedicated decades to building partnerships, investing in people and advancing organizations that align with ECU's mission," said Board of Trustees Chair Cassie Burt. "David has worked diligently with the ECU Foundation and the Truist Leadership Center, and has supported the arts, health and youth development. David embodies ECU's motto, Servire - to serve. And his enduring commitment to Pirate Nation continues to expand ECU's impact and he leaves a legacy of opportunity for future generations of Pirates."

Davenport, a former trustees chair, was not present Friday and will be honored at a future date.

Davenport and Womack join previous honorees Bob Greczyn and Bill and Francis Cain, along with Bill Clark and Dr. Jim Westmoreland, who were honored as the first award recipients in 2023.

Following the awards presentation, Chancellor Philip Rogers updated the board on student success initiatives, which is one of three priorities for this year, along with fiscal health and innovation.

Among the progress Rogers cited to the board was the development of dashboards at the department level to enhance awareness of retention efforts. Rogers also discussed the expansion of transfer pipeline partnerships, with 13 new transfer pathways created this fall and 17 scheduled to be finalized this semester.

"The responsibility for student success at our institution does not rest with a single individual or department, nor is it confined to one specific initiative - it is a comprehensive institutional commitment," he said.

In his remarks to the board, Student Government Association President Daniel Walker shared information about upcoming Sips and Solutions events in March. Walker also hopes to have sharps containers installed in the restrooms of the Main Campus Student Center, Todd Dining Hall and West End Dining Hall to provide a place for students, faculty and staff who need to have injections around meals a safe place to dispose of needles.

The board approved a three-year contract extension for Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert and a restructured contract for head football coach Blake Harrell.

As part of the consent agenda, the board also:

• Approved the naming of the Rudy Alexander Green Room and Alford Rehearsal Room in Fletcher Music Center.
• Approved the naming of Beacham Commons in the Military & Veterans Resource Center.
• Approved the installation of digital HVAC controls in Jenkins Fine Arts Center.
• Approved façade changes to the north and east sides of the Brody School of Medicine to prevent water and air infiltration.
• Approved an updated drug and alcohol-free workplace policy.

In Other Business

Student achievements were highlighted during committee meetings on Thursday.

The University Affairs Committee heard from senior Logan Miller, a computer science major, who shared what he has learned by participating in undergraduate research. Miller is from Gates County and transferred from the College of the Albemarle to ECU's College of Engineering and Technology. His research on a classified Department of War project allowed him to present in Madison, Wisconsin, and at Fort Bragg, with the former marking his first time on a plane.

"Research has broadened my horizons," said Miller, who will take those experiences, concepts and data system skills that he is learning at ECU into the workforce.

Sharon Paynter, chief innovation and engagement officer and interim chief research officer, said ECU provides intentionally structured and faculty-mentored research opportunities for undergraduates in a variety of ways that include the annual Research and Creative Achievement Week coming in April and the summer undergraduate research symposium, among others.

Provost Chris Buddo presented enrollment, persistence and retention data as the committee continued discussion on ECU's enrollment position. This spring's, 25,512 students mark the highest enrollment since spring 2022. ECU's Flight Path online program has grown significantly with 782 students enrolled.

At the Committee on Strategy and Innovation meeting Thursday morning, three groups of students told how they are putting what they learn in class to work.

Nursing students Kelly Lizama and Landon Sweet described the 21 days they spent practicing nursing in Guatemala. "The experience reminded me that nursing is about caring for a person as a whole - the person, their family and their experiences," Lizama said.

Major issues in the Mayan region are childhood malnutrition, a lack of clean water and women's health concerns, she said.

"Nursing extends far beyond the hospital into the community," Sweet said. They were among the 12 students on the annual study-abroad trip. The local nonprofit hospital, Hospitalito Atitlán, started a nursing school there last year.

Josh Nash, Caleb Gay, Heath Faircloth and Alex Lozano of the College of Engineering and Technology were members of the ECU robotics team that recently won the Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering student robotics competition with their robot, Carrrgo Hold.

They said the experience of building a working robot makes a difference when they interview for internships and jobs.

"We have an opportunity to develop a product," Gay said. "That's what matters."

In the College of Business, 18 students are members of the Blacksail Fund, a $1 million donor-funded asset management organization. It's allowed students to use the same technology professional traders and asset managers use to learn how to research corporations and investment vehicles and then put the money where it will do the most work.

"I was the one who would buy the high and sell the low," Cole Villagomez, managing director of Team 2 in the fund, said of his early forays into the market. But in Blacksail, "investing in stocks quit being a guessing game and became an informed decision."

"It's no longer a job, no longer a task," said Garrison Miller, managing director of Team 1. "It's pure enjoyment, and we love to do it."

Other Blacksail students who spoke were Katelyn Haley and Gavin DeGregorio.

During the Athletics and Advancement Committee meeting, Vice Chancellor for Advancement Christopher Dyba highlighted the philanthropic connection to student success. He reported balanced fundraising success across all areas of campus - ECU main campus, ECU Health and ECU Athletics.

"I'm going to continue a theme today of hearing from our students and celebrating student success," Dyba said. "When you hear about students going to Guatemala, the study abroad experience is often funded by a donor."

Dyba said student programs like the Blacksail Fund, where students learn about financial investing, stock markets and portfolio management; or the ECU Robotics team, which recently won a national student robot competition, are experiences made possible through donor support.

Current scholarship students Sofia Bick-Martinez, Darshan Patel, Preston Carr, and Preston Watkins shared their reasons for attending ECU and told board members about their experiences.

Watkins, a Chancellor's Scholarrecipient from Fuquay-Varina, said the scholarship program has put a good group of people around him. "I think really the main reason why I chose to come here - besides my family being involved with (ECU) - was definitely the Chancellor's Scholarship," he said. "I've met some people that I definitely wouldn't have met if I wasn't [in this] program. I think it's done a good job of, you know, letting me find the people that I can really connect with."

Patel, a Brinkley-Lane Scholarfrom Rocky Mount, plans to attend dental school after completing his degree in exercise physiology.

"The main reason I chose ECU was because I shadowed an Honors College student and I really liked the community that ECU provided," he said. "Going into undergraduate [school] with no cost of attendance attached to it is really appealing and a huge motivator for me to come."

Bick-Martinez is an Access Scholar from Greenville. She plans to attend physician assistant school. Carr, a student-athlete from Roxboro majoring in business, transferred to ECU from the Naval Academy.

Gilbert lauded the success of student-athletes, reporting that for the first time, all of ECU's athletic teams averaged a 3.0 or higher GPA.

"This is a staggering stat, but 79% of our student-athletes had a 3.0 or better last semester," Gilbert said. "We are certainly doing well and excelling in the classroom."

Gilbert also shared updates on construction at the Isley Indoor Performance Center, the Dick and Sarah Bennett Baseball Facility, and the golf clubhouse at Ironwood Country Club.

Budget, Finance and Infrastructure Committee members heard a campus safety report from ECU Chief of Police Jason Sugg. He reported that drug and alcohol law violations are down 68% since 2019, and that violent crime reports are down 18% in the same time frame.

Stephanie Coleman, vice chancellor for administration and finance, presented a comprehensive financial statement that showed the university in a positive net position financially. She said the university's composite financial index number was within the target range.

During the Audit, Risk Management, Compliance and Ethics committee, trustees were updated by Associate Provost for Learner Operations Allen Guidry about changes to standardize the academic advising experience for students. Guidry explained the new Pirate360 system to committee members and shared that feedback from a soft launch in the fall had been positive.

The ECU Board of Trustees will hold its next meeting April 23-24.

More Stories