It just takes one...

...to make a difference in a student’s life.

Each of us owns this responsibility.

Did You Know?Graduating seniors are asked to identify a “person at ECU who made the most significant positive contribution to his/her education”? Seniors graduating in Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 semesters acknowledged 4,026 ECU personnel who made such an impact. Faculty and staff recognized in this survey will soon receive thank-you postcards identifying the appreciative students. The postcards will be a nice reminder to all of you who work so hard for the benefit of our students.

Chuck Rich (Institutional Research and Planning) for providing results from the Graduating Senior Survey and to Debra Mercer, Vivian Merritt, Evelyn Edwards, and Gail Wallace (Academic Advising and Support Center) for processing the postcards which have been routed today via campus mail.

Jayne Geissler, PhDExecutive Director, Retention Programs and Enrollment Services

One Instructor...

A Special Thank You To:

Cynthia Miller, Left, Evelyn Edwards, RightWorking via the internet with ECU student

Danny Morton Being a Team Member

Being identified by a student as having the single most significant positive contribution to his/her education is remarkable. Many ECU faculty/staff were identified by multiple students as that “one” person. Three individuals, Ms. Cynthia Miller, Mr. Danny Morton, and Dr. Peggy Yates, were standouts having been collectively identified by over 170 students as the “One.” I asked them to share their personal philosophies for working with students. Please read about these remarkable people below:

Ms. Cynthia Miller is a Teaching Instructor and Undergraduate Advisor in Business Information and Technology Education. In this position, Ms. Miller works with many Distance Education students. Ms. Miller notes that, “Working with non-traditional students requires attention. I am enthusiastic in my role as advisor, mentor, coach, teacher, and friend to all students. Older learners are NOT digital natives but rather working people with family obligations. They are focused on

their studies and because of their ages, have an urgency to succeed. Ms. Miller forged this philosophy from her personal journey. “After 30 years of taking college classes toward one degree or another, I decided to get it done and with the help of the good people in the BITE department reached my goals at age 50. It takes a lot of nerve to return to college. I understand as I have been on both sides of the desktop!”

Mr. Danny Morton is an Instructor in Construction Management. He says his recipe for being the “One” is to always have an open door to his office and to be available to students in the office, via email, or by phone. “I teach teamwork because it is vital in the construction industry. And, the way I teach teamwork is by modeling it to my students. If they are working on a project, I am essentially a ‘team member’ since I am almost always available for consulting...except after 9pm,” he says with a smile!

Dr. Peggy Yates is an Assistant Professor in Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Yates believes that “…teaching is not only a matter of reaching the minds of our students, but also the hearts of our students.” She believes that ”connecting with students makes all the difference and can change a student’s direction in your class.” She actively involves students in the content they are learning, encourages students to “think and share out loud,” and feels that students deserve immediate feedback. She makes an intentional part of each day to answer emails, provide weekly updates on Blackboard, grade assignments in a timely fashion, and communicate with students before, during and after class about individual concerns.

Peggy YatesReaching theHearts of Students