Graduate Pathways

ECU and Harriot College Form Connections with FSU and UNC-Pembroke

Led by the East Carolina University Office for Equity and Diversity, the ECU Graduate School Pathways and Pipelines Program aims to develop mutually beneficial partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions and other schools that graduate high numbers of students from populations underrepresented in higher education.

In this effort, ECU has created partnerships with Fayetteville State University and UNC-Pembroke, with participation from various units at ECU, including many departments in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences. These units are creating early assurance agreements to offer accelerated, supportive pathways for undergraduates at FSU and UNCP into ECU graduate programs.

The goals of the programs include growing enrollment in graduate programs; increasing diversity in graduate outreach and admissions; preparing a more diverse pipeline of undergraduate students for graduate programs through participation in faculty-mentored research and other scholarly activities; fostering a sense of belonging for prospective and current graduate students; and improving recruitment by developing relationships with interinstitutional partners for research and educational exchanges.

Fayetteville State University

The Department of Biology has represented Harriot College, establishing the college’s first early assurance agreement with Fayetteville State University – designated as an Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

In the fall of 2021, FSU faculty visited ECU, and later, biology faculty from ECU visited FSU. This past spring, in April 2022, students from FSU visited ECU’s campus.

From these visits, Dr. Danielle Graham, interim chair of FSU’s Department of Biological and Forensic Sciences, and Dr. Ariane Peralta, ECU associate professor of biology, partnered on a National Science Foundation Research Opportunity Award. Advancing the goal of enhancing undergraduate research opportunities at both campuses, this work supported a collaborative summer research experience between the two labs and the co-mentoring of four FSU undergraduate students and one ECU undergraduate student this past June.

“The visit kicked off what will be a long-term collaboration, and it provided the opportunity for students to learn from each other at the bench and to facilitate near-peer mentoring of ECU graduate students and ECU and FSU undergraduates,” Peralta said. “It was fun and energizing getting together in person and exchanging ideas about current and future work and also sharing our research methods and experiences.”

Several other successes have resulted from the partnership between FSU and ECU, including an HBCU Excellence in Research proposal, with Graham and Peralta as principal investigators.

In addition, a partnership between FSU’s and ECU’s areas of biology, molecular biology and biotechnology, environmental health, health education and promotion, and public health has secured more than $1.3 million in grant funding from the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation. The funding will be used to address regional public health needs, while recruiting a diverse graduate student population from the state’s Minority Serving Institutions.

Students from FSU visited ECU’s campus in April and again most recently in November, and biology received its first application under the FSU early assurance agreement this fall.

Partnership with UNC-Pembroke

Joanne Hersey, associate dean of student success and curriculum in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC-Pembroke, left, with April Reed, ECU associate professor of management information systems, during ECU’s tour of the UNCP campus. Reed serves as the project manager for this inter-institutional initiative. (Contributed photo)

ECU’s partnership with UNC-Pembroke – an historically American Indian institution – has followed a similar trajectory but includes a wider range of Harriot College programs.

Prospective students, faculty and administrators from UNCP visited the ECU campus in September, meeting with various Harriot College departments and programs, including anthropology, biology, chemistry, criminal justice, history, psychology and Hispanic studies.

“The department chairs and graduate directors of these Harriot College programs did a great job planning immersive experiences for students who visited classrooms and lab spaces,” said Dr. Allison S. Danell, dean of Harriot College. “UNCP students met with faculty and students in our programs, and they learned more about internships and career opportunities available through ECU.”

In October, ECU faculty and administrators visited the UNCP campus.

“We toured the campus on a beautiful fall day and met with departmental colleagues at UNCP who were exceptionally welcoming and hospitable,” said Dr. Marianne Montgomery, Harriot College’s associate dean for faculty and student affairs. “It is clear that ECU and UNCP are building a strong partnership.”

To date, Harriot College departments working on early assurance agreements with UNCP include biology, chemistry, criminal justice, history, mathematics, psychology and sociology. The college hopes to develop pipelines between both FSU and UNCP and even more Harriot College programs in the coming years.

“Effective recruitment to our excellent graduate programs requires creativity and hard work. I appreciate the innovative and inclusive approaches our faculty and staff are taking, and I am proud of the enriching relationships we are building,” said Danell.

To read more about all the visits to date among ECU and FSU, or ECU and UNCP, click on the article links below.

Public Health Partnership: ECU, UNC-Pembroke officials sign public health partnership agreement 

ECU, UNCP team up to serve students

Grant for ECU-FSU partnership to support minority public health graduate students

Fayetteville State students visit ECU biology labECU, FSU establish student pipelines in key areasECU, Fayetteville State University advance partnership to benefit students, region

ECU faculty and administrators, many from Harriot College, visited the UNCP campus in October and met with their faculty and administrators. (Contributed photo)