As its 100th anniversary approached, ECU once again experienced turbulence in leadership with four chief executive officers in a three-year period, 2001-2004. Finally, in 2004, following a national search and with the recommendation of UNC System President Molly C. Broad, the Board of Governors elected Dr. Steven C. Ballard (1948- ), former provost of the University of Missouri in Kansas City, ECU’s twelfth chief executive officer and seventh chancellor (including interims). Ballard served until his retirement in 2016. His 12-year tenure as chief executive officer stands as East Carolina’s fourth longest (tied with John D. Messick, 1947-1959) — following Robert H. Wright (25 years), Leo W. Jenkins (18 years), and Richard R. Eakin (14 years). Ballard’s dozen years in office provided much needed stability in leadership and helped to restore confidence where there had been “confusion and conflict.”
Founders Week, University Day, and a 98th Anniversary
A year after he assumed duties, Ballard was installed on March 31, 2005. As with Muse’s installation in 2002 (and John D. Messick’s before that, in 1948), Ballard’s was prominently linked to the celebration of the school’s founding in 1907. An undergraduate history major, Ballard anticipated with pride and confidence ECU’s advance towards its centennial and the promise of a new century ahead.
Unlike Messick’s installation, held the day after ECTC’s Founders Day Celebration, on March 6, 1948, and Muse’s, on Founders Day, March 8, 2002, Ballard’s was several weeks after the 2005 Founders Day celebration. Nevertheless, it was billed as “the centerpiece” of the “Founders Week celebration which included the relatively modest March 8 Founders Day event, a low-key memorial service for former Gov. Thomas J. Jarvis, East Carolina’s founding father, at Greenville’s historic Cherry Hill Cemetery.
Founders Week, the school’s “‘birthday’ celebration,” spanned March 28, with the Chancellor’s Forum on the Arts, through April 2, “Alumni/Patrons Day.” Faculty recitals, student shows, and campus exhibitions were planned in abundance, making Ballard’s inauguration program one of the most eventful in ECU history, recalling that of Leo W. Jenkins in 1960. Installation day had a special billing, that of University Day, and the installation gathering, a special name, “Founders Week Convocation.”
The Installation Ceremony
UNC President Molly Broad presided, as she had three years earlier at Muse’s installation. Following the academic procession into Wright Auditorium, Taffye Benson Clayton, special assistant to the chancellor and director of the Office of Institutional Equity, led those assembled in a moment of meditation. Unlike previous installations which featured an invocation and benediction offered by select clergy with personal ties to the new chancellor or from prominent congregations in the Greenville area, Ballard’s installation included neither an invocation nor a benediction.
Following precedents set in Jenkins’ installation in 1960 and reaffirmed in Muse’s in 2002, the ECU ROTC Color Guard presented the colors. With Ballard’s installation, this was followed by “America the Beautiful,” as led by the ECU Chamber Singers. A video presentation entitled “Anthem” followed. The contents of this video remain unclear, and if the installation ceremony was videotaped, a copy is not in the ECU University Archives.
Greetings
Greetings were offered by dignitaries representing higher education, the UNC Board of Governors, the ECU Trustees, and the UNC Faculty Assembly. Dr. Catherine Rigsby, chair of the ECU faculty, noted that the university needed a great leader, and added that in her view, it now had one. Rigsby observed that in the 10 months she had worked with Ballard, he appeared to be “the right person with the right skills at the right time to charter ECU’s course toward promise.”
Shannon O’Donnell, SGA president, greeted the new chancellor by calling attention to the unity in diversity among students, noting that “our student body is 22,767 … strong coming from all counties of North Carolina, 47 states outside North Carolina and 60 countries other than the United States…. Though we students are diverse in backgrounds and beliefs and hometowns, we have one common thread. We all chose ECU as our home.”
Emphasizing the close ties between ECU and Greenville, Mayor Don Parrott, an ECU grad., stated, “The city of Greenville and the university are not just joined at the hip, but they are also joined at the heart.”
UNC System President Molly Broad, speaking to all those assembled, emphasized that “Chancellor Ballard needs your support for the long haul, because this compact is one that links ECU to the men and women across the centuries who have loved learning, who have created and nourished it, and who have applied it wisely and humanely and who have defended it well.”
Franklin Freeman, representing Gov. Mike Easley and speaking on behalf of the state, noted “[East Carolina is] the fastest growing university in the state and is constantly raising the bar.” He added “On behalf of the governor … we welcome you and look forward to your results.” Earlier, Gov. Easley had been unable to attend Muse’s installation in 2002, but on that occasion offered videotaped remarks.
Former Gov. James B. Hunt, speaking on behalf of the citizens of eastern North Carolina, congratulated Ballard but also emphasized that “we expect great things from you and we will help you and be behind you every step of the way.”
Oath of Office, the Robert Wright Bible, and Emblems of Authority
As with the Muse’s installation in 2002, N. C. Supreme Court Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake, Jr., administered the oath of office, and the “Robert Wright Bible” was used once more. When first introduced in Muse’s installation, Pres. Broad stated that the same Bible, which belonged to East Carolina’s first president, Robert H. Wright, had been used in his installation in 1909. However, the program for Ballard’s installation only noted that the Bible, which indeed belonged to Wright, was used during his chapel talks held six days a week in the auditorium of the Administration and Classroom Building, the main building of the original ECTTS campus, later known as Old Austin. Following Wright’s passing in 1934, it remained with the Wright family. Pres. Wright’s grandson, William R. Wright, presented the Bible to the university in 1984. It was restored in 2001 and a purple box with a gold ECU logo on its front, made specifically for it.
Following the oath, Ballard received the emblem of his position, the Chancellor’s Medallion, conferred by Pres. Broad and James R. Talton, Jr., ‘65, chair of the ECU Board of Trustees. The medallion, three inches in diameter, cast in bronze, and plated with 24-karat gold, features an engraving of the archways of the Wright Building and its fountain in front, along with the words, “East Carolina University” and “Chancellor.” First presented to Chancellor Richard R. Eakin in 1988 during his installation, its conferral has since become a high moment in installation ceremonies at ECU.
Punctuated by a symphonic flourish, Ballard next received the University Mace from mace bearer, Dr. James Bearden. Created by ECU art faculty, John Satterfield, specifically for Chancellor Thomas Brewer’s installation in 1978, the mace soon merged with traditions informing subsequent installations. Upon receiving the mace, Ballard, 56, lifted it high, an iconic moment, captured by a photographer, symbolizing the strength and energy of his administration.
Inaugural Remarks: A New Beginning’s 10-Year Vision
The new chancellor opened his remarks with a humorous, telling anecdote. Ballard recounted hearing from a “local resident whose blood is purple,” the following:
ECU reminds me of a story about a plane ride. An hour into the flight, the pilot speaks to the passengers, ‘Folks, we are cruising at 35,000 feet and going 700 knots. There is good news and bad news. The bad news is that we’re lost. The good news is that we’re making excellent time.”
Ballard followed that quickly, stating: “My message today is simple. ECU is not lost; we have not been lost. We have a great foundation based on service, spirit, leadership, and character. We are part of a public university system that is the envy of the higher education community. We have great opportunities, and these opportunities overwhelm our problems….”
Along more emphatically positive lines, Ballard added three points, “First, ECU has always focused, for 98 years now, on our social responsibilities. We are not ‘infected by the ivory tower syndrome,’ to use Professor Henry Ferrell’s words. Second, we are a national quality university with a state focus. And third, we have a special affection and eye toward eastern North Carolina.”
Weaving these into one, Ballard reasoned that “North Carolina cannot be a great state without a thriving eastern region,” and “for the east to prosper, ECU must prosper.” He then declared, “It is clearly a time for a new beginning for eastern North Carolina, with ECU as a leader, a catalyst, and a partner.”
Projecting his 10-year vision for ECU, Ballard noted, “In 2015, our leadership programs for students will be recognized as essential elements for successful undergraduate experiences. Our goal is that no ECU student would graduate without demonstrated competencies in both technical fields and in leadership readiness. Employers will rate ECU graduates as their very best in leadership potential and readiness for success.”
Explaining ECU’s current slogan, “Tomorrow starts here,” Ballard offered what would be the defining mantra of his administration, that of ECU as the leadership university, and challenged the ECU community to own this vision, find their place in it, and make it a reality. Emphasizing continuity in ECU’s academic mission, Ballard affirmed the gist of the agenda outlined by Muse in his installation address: teacher education, human health, the fine and performing arts, and regional economic development.
As had earlier installation addresses, Ballard emphasized that ECU’s motto is “To Serve.” However, he merged this with his vision of ECU in 2015 as the university that would redefine the notion of public service, “making it among the highest honors of the university. Service will no longer be seen as a secondary element of our mission; rather, it will be essential to how we use our intellectual resources, view our contribution to economic development, and collaborate with other institutions.”
Along high-minded lines, Ballard added, “Just imagine a university that admits students based on their desire for learning, their classroom performance, and their fit with ECU programs. By 2015, we intend to be known for ending the tyranny of admissions processes by income and race and to be the first in the nation in minority graduation rates.”
Turning to economic impact, Ballard continued his 2015 scenario by remarking, “imagine ECU in 2015 as a national leader in the innovation and application of medical technology. Just imagine ECU as the first medical school to not only cure diabetes through bariatric surgery but the place where the molecular trigger for diabetes is identified and inhibited — so that diabetes is a completely controllable disease. Our researchers are approaching that path-breaking discovery.”
Ballard concluded by adding “Our aspirations for ECU are bold and significant, and more importantly, they are all built on existing foundations. Through the quality of our work and our willpower, we can transform our region. We will do the right thing for our university and our state…. It is time for a new beginning.”
Alma Mater and Recessional
Following Ballard’s remarks, the ECU Chamber Singers led the audience in singing the ECU Alma Mater. Next, the Combined ROTC Guard retired the colors and led the academic procession out, to the accompaniment of “Candide Overture” by Leonard Bernstein. As noted earlier, there was no benediction.
Chancellor’s Installation Forum and Other Events
Following a precedent set by Howell’s installation in 1983 coinciding with that year’s Phi Kappa Phi symposium on the new millennium, and then continued with Eakin’s in 1988 and its “Inaugural Symposium” on “Leadership and Ethics,” Ballard’s featured by a similar academic event, the “Chancellor’s Installation Forum” on “The Future of the Public University: Serving Our Society.” The forum’s focus was on the ever changing meaning of service, and its future relationship to the academy, especially in the decade ahead, 2005-2015ft. Former Gov. James B. Hunt moderated the forum, held in Mendenhall Student Center, and panelists included Pres. Molly Broad, Pres. Charles Middleton, Roosevelt University, and Chancellor James L. Oblinger, N.C. State University.
Ballard’s installation was immediately followed, as with Muse’s, by a “Lunch on the Mall” and then later, an Open House Exhibition of Art by ECU faculty, held at the Chancellor’s Residence on Fifth Street. Other events that day included a faculty recital, “A Program of American Song and Broadway Music,” in A. J. Fletcher Recital Hall, and a presentation of faculty documentaries and film exposition in Speight Auditorium, Jenkins Fine Arts Center. The following evening, April 1, the Installation Gala, held at the Rock Springs Center, concluded the inaugural festivities.
Return to Stability and Leadership
Ballard’s inaugural events, encompassing Founders Day and then several weeks later, Founders Week, was innovative even while continuing trends from years prior. And his installation address was one of the most positive in East Carolina’s history, as it needed to be. As his opening anecdote indicated, Ballard was aware of what was being said about ECU’s turmoil in leadership. His 10-year vision was imaginative and moving, inviting his audience to move beyond the present to a better reality, one built on ECU’s longstanding foundations as developed over nearly a century in educational service. More than the many festivities surrounding it, Ballard’s address helped lift ECU out of the doldrums and into a positive future emerging from the school’s commitment to service in its many dimensions.
Sources
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“Ballard Imagines Bright Future for East Carolina.” News and Observer. April 4, 2005. P. 3B.
Day, Kristin. “Ballard Installed as ECU Chancellor.” East Carolinian. April 5, 2005. Pp. 1, 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/59321
McLeod, Michelle. ““Search Candidates Identities Revealed, Candidate, Roderick McDavis: Roderick McDavis Seeks Top Seat.” East Carolinian. March 9, 2004. Pp. 1, 2.
O’Neal, Holly. “Search Candidates Identities Revealed, Candidate: Steve Ballard, Missouri Provost, Researcher Aims for Chancellor Position.” East Carolinian. March 9, 2004. Pp. 1, 2.
Records of the Chancellor: Records of Steven Ballard, 2004-2016. University Archives # UA02-12. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/UA02-12
Rickert, Erin. “Ballard to Assume Chancellor Position.” PirateMedia1. March 2, 2004, updated March 10, 2020. https://www.piratemedia1.com/archives/article_3d40b0f0-3cf9-5f76-b247-67fa845552e7.html
Rickert, Erin. “Finalist Withdraws from Chancellor Search: Ballard, McDavis Still Being Considered.” East Carolinian. March 9, 2004. Pp. 1, 2.
Additional Related Material
Citation Information
Title: Steven Curtis Ballard’s Installation
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 4/12/2024