ECSU
THE »MPASS
ELIZABETH CITY STATC UNIVERSITY
Elevate Higher. Emerge Stronger.
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November 2010, Issue 1
New leader emerges among UNC system
By Jamel Downing
In This Issue...
Homecoming
proves to be
eventful week, 3A
Popular fashion
trends, 7E
Facebool( vs.
grades, 8F
Spotliglit on
sports, 4B
Ask Derrell,
campus advice
for the average
student, 8F
Balancing worit
and school, 2A
A new era will begin for
the University of North Carolina
system when Thomas W. Ross,
former President of Davidson
College, replaces Erskine Bowles
as president in January 2011.
Bowles, who served as president
for four years, will retire Decem
ber 2010. According to the UNC
Board of Governors, Ross is a
passionate North Carolinian who
is a good pick for the position.
What does this mean for
the 17-campuses of the system
and specifically Historically Black
College Universities? Elizabeth
City State University Chancellor,
Willie J. Gilchrist, feels confident
that Ross will bring dedication
and compassion during his tenure.
“Fm looking forward for him to
take command. He is bringing
appreciation from a citizenship
aspect, and has spent significant
time in North Carolina,” said Gil
christ. Gilchrist said he feels that
Ross will thrive as president of
the UNC system. “Ross is bring
ing in experience he knows
the system,” Gilchrist said.
Ross, a native of North
Carolina, graduated with honors
from the University Of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill School
Of Law, and taught at the uni
versity’s School of Government.
During his time at Davidson, the
highly selective college graduated
23 Rhodes Scholars. In addition,
the school established The David
son Trust, which replaced loans
with grants in all financial aid
packages—giving students the
opportunity to graduate debt-free.
Hannah D. Gage, Chair
man of the UNC Board of Gov
ernors, has high expectations for
Ross. “Tom Ross’s thoughtful
leadership, his proven integrity,
his deep understanding of North
Carolina, and his lifelong com
mitment to improving the lives
of people in every comer of our
state make him the perfect choice
to lead the University in the years
ahead,” said Gage.
Gilchrist says that when
students are given an opportunity,
they will excel. Ross is in charge
of all policies, recommendations,
and requests to the NC General
Assembly and the governor. He is
charged with nominating chancel
lors for each of the UNC system’s
campuses and recommending tu
ition increases to the board based
on campus proposals.
Britney Jenkins, senior at
ECSU, would like to see more
funds for out-of-state students.
She hopes Ross will improve
the System’s financial operation.
“There should be more grants and
scholarships awarded to out of
state students so that they’re able
to complete all four years of en
rollment without financial prob
lems,” said Jenkins. If Ross cre
ates programs equivalent to the
Davidson Trust during his term
as president, students will benefit.
Cont. on 6D
w
New HOME FOR Pharmacy Program OPENED Sept. 2010
By Yolanda Clark
The new $28 million, 52,000
square foot Pharmacy Complex rib
bon cutting ceremony was held
on September 17, 2010. Elizabeth
City State University partners with
the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill's Eshelman School of
Pharmacy to correct the shortage of
pharmacists in northeastern North
Carolina. The goal of the program is
to produce pharmacists who reflect
the area’s diverse African-American
and Latino populations. Through
out the program students are virtu
ally instructed by professors from
the UNC Eshelman School whose
lectures are transmitted in real-time
through interactive video conferenc
ing to classrooms in the new phar
macy complex.
Students complete three
years of classroom instruction, then
a yearlong series of four to five-week
clerkships under the supervision of
established and licensed pharma
cists. The clerkship rotations are
done in a variety of settings: Hospi
tals, clinics and agencies. The goal
is to give students a broad practical
experience in pharmacy. Students
who graduate from the program eam
a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from
UNC Eshelman School of Pharma
cy. Dr. Latasha Weeks, director of
the pharmacy complex, said there is
a special designation that it is done
in partnership with ECSU. 23 stu
dents have graduated from the pro
gram— 13 in 2009 and ten in 2010.
The three story building is
made of steel and glass; it houses
classrooms, laboratories, and of
fices. The first floor is occupied by
the university’s Drug Information
Center and undergraduate labs. The
second and third floors are primar
ily used for classrooms, intravenous
simulation, compounding labs and
faculty research labs. The capacity
of this building will allow the enroll
ment to almost triple at the ECSU
branch of the pharmacy program.
There are currently 41 students en
rolled in the four-year. Doctor of
Pharmacy program.
The Pharmacy Complex
is an asset to our campus, commu
nity and UNC system. It provides
students with the essentials needed
to become pharmacists that may
change and save lives.
Is there a “cleared” path to financial aid?
By Stephanie Reynolds
It’s no secret that a college
degree is one of the most expensive
things many people pay for.
However, some students at ECSU
have come to dread returning to
school in the fall, not because they
aren’t eager to leam, but because
of financial obligations to the
university or to federal or
private lenders.
For college students, going
back to school isn’t just about
getting new clothes and trying
to find the right dorm furniture.
It’s about submitting paperwork,
meeting deadlines and following
up with all the right people to
make sure that their education
is getting paid for. At ECSU, the
first few days of school are all
about getting “cleared,” getting
one stamp on a piece of paper
that says classes are paid for, or
that you have made arrangements
to pay at a later date. If students
aren’t cleared, they cannot receive
textbooks for their classes, and
they are eventually dropped from
the attendance rosters and have
to re-register in order to continue
with the semester.
One senior at ECSU had a
particularly drawn out experience
with the Financial Aid office.
She said that after filing her Free
Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) in January, she began
calling the office of Financial Aid
over the summer to make sure
that she -would be cleared when
she arrived in August. She said
that she jleft dozens of messages
and that^he ne^r recfeived a call
back. Wifen she arrived in August,
she found that there was a lot of
paperwork that had to be corrected,
submitted, verified, resubmitted,
and processed. The office of
Financial Aid and Scholarships
was contacted for a response or
interview, with no reply.
The office of Financial
Aid and Scholarships is the last
place many students want to find
themselves during the first week
or so of school, mainly because
it’s usually an all-day event. The
process of signing in, and then
waiting hours and hours for their
names to be called to speak with
an advisor, is tiring and frustrating.
For this reason, many students go
several weeks into the semester
without getting cleared simply
because there isn’t enough time to
meet the needs o^all the students.
There isn’t much that
iinair>ci
Graphic by D.A. Baker
students can do about the
staffing situation in the Financial
Aid office; however, there are
some steps that can be taken to
make the Financial Aid advisors’
jobs a little easier. There are close
to 4,000 students at ECSU, and not
nearly as many people to handle
all the work that comes along with
them.