Cecil Pope Staton (1958- ) was installed as ECU’s eighth chancellor and East Carolina’s thirteenth chief executive officer (including interims)[1] on March 24, 2017, in ceremonies held in Wright Auditorium. Staton had assumed duties as chancellor on July 1, 2016, following the retirement of his predecessor, Dr. Steve Ballard. Staton’s tenure in office ended just two years after his installation, in March 2019, following conflicts with the UNC Board of Governors. The same year, the Governors prompted the resignations of UNC System Pres. Margaret Spellings (1957-) and UNC Chancellor Carol Folt (1951-). Upheaval in state higher education was the order of the day, and East Carolina was no exception.
A time of transitional leadership ensued: Staton’s successor, interim Chancellor Dan Gerlach, remained in office six months, followed by another interim, Dr. Ron Mitchelson, previously provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. Most thought that Mitchelson’s tenure, which began in October 2019 would be brief, but it lasted two years as he led ECU through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Toward the end of the pandemic’s second year, a national search was concluded resulting in the hire of a new chancellor, Dr. Philip G. Rogers (1983-), in December 2021.
Staton’s installation, the third in 15 years at ECU, attracted more modest media attention than previous ones, in part due to the retreat of leading North Carolina newspapers, the News and Observer and the Charlotte Observer, from regular coverage of eastern North Carolina. However, even local papers such as Greenville’s Daily Reflector and the ECU student newspaper, the East Carolinian, gave the event only basic attention. And, as the high-tech twenty-first century progressed, such traditional ceremonies perhaps seemed increasingly archaic to many.
Continuing a trend that began with Governor Mike Easley’s absence from the installations of Dr. Willian V. Muse in 2002 and Dr. Steve Ballard in 2005, Governor Roy Cooper, just three months into his first term, was unable to attend Staton’s installation. Instead, Cooper sent Lieutenant Governor Dan Forrest, like Staton, a Republican, to offer words of welcome on behalf of the state.
The Installation and Founders Day
Then provost and senior vice chancellor, Dr. Ron Mitchelson, who later became Staton’s second successor as interim chancellor, 2019-2021, chaired the committee of 20 that planned the inaugural events. Although held in March 2017, the month of East Carolina’s founding 110 years prior in 1907, little was said about the founding of the school, Founders Day (March 8), or the founders of the school. Earlier, the installations of Muse in 2002 and Ballard in 2005, staged as ECU approached its centennial, had been billed as climaxes of their respective Founders Week celebrations.
Following the December 2015 removal of former Governor Charles B. Aycock’s (1859-1912) name from an ECU dorm, the notion of honoring the school’s founders was problematic. New studies of Aycock, once known as the state’s “education governor,” had brought to light Aycock’s political career as an advocate of white supremacy who led in building North Carolina’s segregated public school system. At ECU, Aycock had been deemed a founder of the school, one who, in 1910, delivered East Carolina’s first commencement address. Along with the reexamination of Aycock’s legacy, historians noted that virtually all of East Carolina’s founding figures had explicitly or implicitly supported Aycock’s work and vision, making Founders Day events potentially controversial.
Instead, Mitchelson explained that Staton’s installation would focus on the ECU motto, “to serve.” He added, “The whole [inaugural] week is a manifestation of our desire to serve the students and the region – both the community and the private sector. Our emphasis on health, reflected again in the presentation of our new west campus Health Sciences Student Center, is part and parcel of that service mentality.”
The installation program did include, however, a page listing East Carolina’s presidents and chancellors, followed by a four-page spread presenting, in timeline fashion, an assortment of “historic highlights” from East Carolina’s past, with a page allotted to each of the school’s four stages of development: as East Carolina Teachers Training School (ECTTS, 1909-1921), East Carolina Teachers College (ECTC, 1921-1951), East Carolina College (ECC, 1951-1967), and East Carolina University (ECU, 1967-present). Even so, the program didn’t link Staton’s installation with Founders Day, nor did it mention the founding of East Carolina as such. Rather than devote substantial time to recalling the school’s past, Staton’s inaugural address emphasized the school’s new slogan, “capture your horizon” and his mantra, making ECU “America’s next great national university.”
Installation Week
Eclipsing his formal installation, at least in media coverage, Staton announced, two days before the installation ceremony, that he and his wife were pledging $100,000 to the newly established Cecil P. Staton and Catherine D. Staton Study Abroad fund. The pledge was made during Wednesday’s “Pirate Nation Gives Back,” a day of service, fundraising, and philanthropy otherwise billed as an integral part of Installation Week climaxing with the Friday, March 24 ceremony. Wednesday of Installation Week was capped off with a “Service Awards Reception” held in Harvey Hall, Murphy Center, on the ECU Athletic Campus, recognizing faculty, staff, and students across campus who had distinguished themselves through demonstrable dedication to the university’s motto.
Staton opened Installation Week on Monday, March 20, by hosting a reception for ECU’s international faculty, staff, and students in Gray Gallery, Jenkins Fine Arts Center, again highlighting his support for international education. On Tuesday, March 21, he shifted gears to join students in a “Pirates Rock the Mall: Celebrating Chancellor Staton” extravaganza on the main campus lawn.
On Thursday, Staton and a number of university dignitaries and state representatives participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, officially opening the new Health Sciences Student Center on the west campus. That evening, Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, delivered a lecture in Wright Auditorium, “Student Success in the 21st Century,” reflecting once more the student-focused nature of Installation Week.
Following the installation ceremony, a grand luncheon was held on the University Mall. That evening, a ticketed Gala celebrated Staton’s installation, with benefits going to student scholarships for international study.
The Musical Prelude
As the installation prelude, the ECU Wind Ensemble led by Dr. Scott Carter, director, performed “Who’s Who in Navy Blue” by John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), “El Relicario” by José Padilla (1889-1960), “America” arranged by Carmen Dragon (1914-1984), and “American Pageant” arranged by Thomas Knox (1937-2004). Following remarks by UNC Pres. Spellings, master of ceremonies for the occasion, and the ECU Joint ROTC Color Guard’s posting of the colors, the ECU Wind Ensemble performed Edward Elgar’s (1857-1934) “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1,” followed by “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Staton’s Address: ECU’s Destiny of Greatness
Departing from past protocol which positioned a new chancellor’s remarks after the oath of office, Staton’s installation address followed the musical prelude. He opened his remarks with an unorthodox approach, declaring, “Good morning! It’s a great day to be a Pirate! Let me make sure everyone is awake! PURPLE …. GOLD. PURPLE …. GOLD. PURPLE …. GOLD. Go Pirates!” He followed this by welcoming dignitaries and campus leaders to the ceremony, noting how he was honored to have them attend. A relative newcomer, Staton proceeded to showcase his mastery of “pirate speech,” adding how “undaunted” and “no quarter” plus other pirate imagery had become part of his life in Greenville.
After acknowledging that he might have overdone pirate talk in an effort to establish his bonafides, Staton explained, more seriously, that he had come to ECU because of his belief “in the power of higher education to change the world!” then added, “being a university chancellor is the best job in the world.”
Detailing his life’s journey, Staton recalled how he had been “essentially a first-generation college student” at Furman University, born into humble circumstances in a South Carolina mill village where his father worked as a shoe repairman and his mother as a seamstress. Staton’s mother, 81, attended the installation ceremony and was recognized by her son and the “Pirate nation” attending. Staton added, “My life is a testament to the power and value of higher education. It is still the American dream for parents who hope for a better future for their children, and for students who dream dreams and seek to change their lives, as well as the future of their families, their communities, and even the world.”
Staton emphasized that his life had been transformed by higher education, taking him ultimately to Oxford University where he earned a doctorate in religion, and then to ECU as chancellor. Staton stressed that in recounting his life’s details he did not mean to “brag about myself” but instead to “boast about ECU” because “higher education has never been more important to America’s future, and though 110 years old, East Carolina University has never been more important to our region’s and our state’s future.” In this observation, Staton made one of his few historically oriented observations.
Amplifying this point, Staton remarked, “At ECU, we are committed to the success of our students because we know their success leads to public impact and to personal and community transformation. That’s why I am here. It is the mission of ECU that draws me and bonds me with this special university.”
Staton next addressed ECU’s future and the branding mantras that, in his mind, should define it. He declared, “I believe this from the bottom of my heart, from the recesses of my mind, and in every fiber of my being: ECU is America’s next great national university! America’s next great national university is here — ECU. Today, I want to introduce a new phrase into our Pirate vocabulary and lore. Here it is: ‘Capture your Horizon!’”
More expansively, Staton stated, “Our commitment to student success prepares us to launch an armada of pirate ships, filled with graduates who will make their mark.” He then encouraged students, faculty, and alumni to pursue their ultimate goals, dreams, visions of how they might change the world, and not place limits or bounds on themselves in the process. The horizon Staton envisaged for all to capture was “not one of mediocrity” but instead “one of innovation, excellence, and greatness.”
Indicative of the ceremony’s distance from ECU’s Founders Day, Staton added in passing that “This month, ECU marked its 110th anniversary.” That was his speech’s only other reference to the founding of East Carolina on March 8, 1907.[2]
That aside, Staton proceeded to ask faculty “to increase dramatically research activity” over the next five years in order to promote better teaching, student success, and regional transformation. He also called on ECU to increase opportunities for international study, adding “ECU must become a gateway to the world!” In that vein, he recalled his efforts to raise funds supporting international education for students, including the pledge he and his wife made earlier in the week, plus the focus of the inaugural gala that evening on fundraising for scholarships for international study.
More grandly, Staton highlighted the start of a major comprehensive campaign aimed at raising $500 million, the largest ever in East Carolina’s history, emphasizing that the funds were meant to help build, along with public funds, a stronger university serving with excellence its students, faculty, and alumni, as well as the entire state.
Staton concluded by adding, “we can lead ECU to its destiny of greatness as America’s next great national university, with an international reach. There are plenty of seats on this pirate ship. I’ve got my tools. You bring yours. All hands on deck. Our horizon awaits! Let’s capture our horizon together. Go Pirates!”
Greetings to the Chancellor
Following Staton’s address, the ECU Chamber Singers, led by Dr. James Franklin, director, performed “My Soul’s Been Anchored,” arranged by Moses Hogan. Pres. Spellings then introduced Dr. James Pitts, university chaplain and professor emeritus of religion, Furman University, who delivered the invocation.
Spellings next recognized special guests offering their greetings, beginning with Lt. Gov. Dan Forest; Louis Bissette, chair of the UNC Board of Governors; Steve Jones, chair of the ECU Board of Trustees; Allen Thomas, mayor of Greenville; Beth Ward, Pitt County Commissioner; Dr. John Stiller, chair of the Faculty Senate; Kimrey Miko, chair of the Staff Senate; Ryan Beeson, president of the SGA; and Glenda Moultrie, chair of the East Carolina Alumni Association.
“The Thinker and the Seeker”
One of the most unique and tasteful moments followed: a musical selection, “The Thinker and the Seeker,” composed by sophomore music major, Christopher Short. Short’s composition won a competition, coordinated by the ECU School of Music with Staton’s input, meant to showcase, in the installation ceremony, one example of the impressive achievements of ECU students.
Staton had specified that submissions to the competition be based on a piece by John Edward Masefield (1878-1967), Britain’s poet laureate from 1930-1967. Masefield delivered the piece, a tribute to universities, in gratitude for the honorary degree conferred on him by the University of Sheffield, June 25, 1946, during the installation of the Sixth Earl of Harewood as the new chancellor of that university. Following their presentation in 1946, Masefield’s words came to be quoted widely in university celebratory events, especially in the U.S., as timeless statements of the truth and beauty embodied by universities.
Short’s composition cast an abbreviated version of Masefield’s words for musical presentation by the ECU Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. James Franklin. The text of Short’s “The Thinker and the Seeker,” selectively borrowed from Masefield, is below:
There are few earthly things more splendid than a university.
In these days of broken frontiers and collapsing values,
when every future looks somewhat grim and the dams are down and
the floods are making misery,
when every ancient foothold has become something of a quagmire,
wherever a university stands, it stands and shines;
wherever it exists, the free minds of men,
urged on to full and fair enquiry,
may still bring wisdom into human affairs.
There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university.
There are few things more enduring than a university.
and the thinker and the seeker will be bound together
in the undying cause of bringing thought into the world.
Oath of Office, Presentation of Symbols, and Recessional
Following remarks by Dr. William D. Underwood, president of Mercer University, where Staton served from 1991-2003 as an associate professor and associate provost, Pres. Spellings returned to the podium to preside over the oath of office, administered by the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, the Honorable Mark Martin.
Steve Jones, chair of the ECU Board of Trustees, next presented the emblems of the chancellorship and the authority vested thereby, the Chancellor’s Medallion and the University Mace, to Staton. The mace had been commissioned for presentation to Dr. Thomas B. Brewer at his installation in 1978, and the medallion was first presented to Dr. Richard R. Eakin at his installation in 1988. Since that time, they had served as revered symbols of the power and position conferred upon a new chancellor with his installation.
Following Pres. Spellings’ closing remarks, the ECU Chamber Singers, directed by Dr. James Franklin, performed ECU’s Alma Mater, “Hail to Thy Name So Fair.” The recessional, led by the mace bearer, Dr. James L. Smith and including Staton and delegates representing 60 institutions of higher education, proceeded to the accompaniment of Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1,” performed by ECU Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. Scott Carter.
Epilogue
Staton’s enthusiastic embrace of Pirate culture and his passion for seeing ECU advance to new levels of academic excellence and esteem at the national and international levels, however inspiring and optimistic in outlook, were soon eclipsed by ongoing conflicts with the UNC Board of Governors. In 2019, Staton resigned and shortly thereafter, upheaval in leadership ensued. While the second interim chancellor, Dr. Ronald Mitchelson, provided stability for the school, its integrity and that of higher education nationwide was shaken as the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shift away from traditional forms of learning to, for the better part of an academic year, nearly total reliance on online education. Along the way, Staton’s ambitious mantras, “Capture Your Horizon” and ECU as “the next great national university,” appear to have been lost in the shuffle as ECU sought to find a new path forward.
[1] East Carolina’s chief executive officers, counting presidents, chancellors, and interims, include (1) Robert H. Wright, (2) Leon R. Meadows, (3) Howard J. McGinnis [interim], (4) Dennis H. Cooke, (5) John D. Messick, (6) Leo W. Jenkins [served as ECU’s last president, 1960-1972, and as its first chancellor, 1972-1978], (7) Thomas B. Brewer, (8) John M. Howell, (9) Richard R. Eakin, (10) William V. Muse, (11) William E. Shelton [interim], (12) Steve Ballard, (13) Cecil P. Staton, (14) Daniel J. Gerlach [interim], (15) Ronald L. Mitchelson [interim], and (16) Philip G. Rogers.
ECU’s chancellors include, counting interims, (1) Leo W. Jenkins, (2) Thomas B. Brewer, (3) John M. Howell, (4) Richard R. Eakin, (5) William V. Muse, (6) William E. Shelton [interim], (7) Steve Ballard, (8) Cecil P. Staton, (9) Daniel J. Gerlach [interim], (10) Ronald L. Mitchelson [interim], and (11) Philip G. Rogers.
[2] One draft of his installation address states, “This April, ECU marked its 110th anniversary” seemingly unaware that March was founder’s month. Another draft states, “This week ECU marks its 110th anniversary, and then in the final draft of the speech, the text was revised to “This month ECU marked its 110th anniversary.”
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Citation Information
Title: Cecil Pope Staton’s Installation
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 5/6/2024