Talton Elected Chair of ECU Board

Jim Talton of Raleigh, a noted civic leader and longtime supporter of East Carolina University, was elected chair of the ECU Board of Trustees on July 30.

Talton, who was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Gov. Mike Easley last month, has been a board member since 1997 and served two one-year terms as vice chair.

Other officers elected were Vice Chair Steve Showfety of Greensboro, who is president of Koury Corp., and Treasurer Dan Kinlaw, a Fayetteville businessman. Showfety had been treasurer of the board and Kinlaw had chaired the Athletics Committee.

All three officers are ECU alumni.

In addition, four new board members were sworn in at Wednesday's meeting: David Brody, a Kinston businessman and philanthropist; Robert J. Greczyn Jr. of Durham, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina; former state Rep. David Redwine of Brunswick County, and William H. Bodenhamer Jr., a Florida entrepreneur. In other actions, the board:

• Chose Joel Gray, a vice president at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, to serve a one-year term as chair of the ECU Board of Visitors. The Board of Visitors is an advocacy organization that assists the trustees in enhancing support for the university at all levels. Other officers selected were Vice Chair Doug Byrd of Raleigh and Treasurer Tod Thorne of Charlotte.
• Approved the design of the new baseball stadium, which will be built at the site of the current stadium. Construction will begin at the close of the 2004 season and the new facility is expected to be complete for the 2005 season.
• Approved a site on Charles Boulevard for a new facility to house the Pirate Club and an athletics ticket office.
• Approved an annual raise of $3,200 for Baseball Coach Randy Mazey, which brings his salary to $83,200. Mazey's contract was extended one year to June 30, 2006.
• Approved salary increases for Provost William Swart and Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences Michael Lewis. Swart received a $25,000 raise, bringing his salary to $200,000, and Lewis received a raise of $20,000, bringing his salary to $305,000.

Chancellor William V. Muse told the board that he will appoint interim leadership for the Division of Administration to replace retiring Vice Chancellor Richard Brown. Muse said he hopes to name a permanent replacement be Jan. 1, 2004. Muse said decisions are likely to be made in the next few weeks about athletic conference realignments. "We hope ECU will benefit from these changes," he said.

The chancellor reported that he has asked Bill Shelton, vice chancellor for university advancement, to assume oversight of the university's intercollegiate athletics program. "The integration of athletics into advancement makes sense, and the university and I can benefit from Dr. Shelton's involvement," Muse said. He noted that in Shelton's previous position as president of Eastern Michigan University, he served as a member of the NCAA President's Commission and as president of the Mid-American Conference.

 

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