ECSU Magazine 2.1.pmd - Elizabeth City State University

ECSU partners withCollege of The AlbemarlePartners in teacher education preparationIn a historic signing ceremony held in June(2003), ECSU and the College of the Albemarle(COA), the community college with campuses inElizabeth City-Pasquotank County, DareCounty and Chowan County (NC), officiallybecame partners in teacher educationpreparation.This partnership is one of several ECSU has or isdeveloping with community colleges in the sevencounties near the university. The goal is to helpeducation students move smoothly from thecommunity college where they earn an associate’sdegree to ECSU where they earn a bachelor’s degreeand can become certified teachers. The state of NorthCarolina is experiencing a shortage of qualifiedteachers and projections for the next ten years call foraggressive preparatory measures. The newagreement between ECSU and COA applies to theelementary education program.ECSU Chancellor Mickey L. Burnim and COAPresident Lynne M. Bunch met and signed thedocuments at a recent Articulation AgreementSigning ceremony. Both agree the partnership is inthe best interest of northeastern North Carolina.“Education remains very important to ourmission 112 years after ECSU was founded as acollege for teachers. We hope this agreement willserve as a model to replicate throughout the region,”Burnim said.Bunch agreed local citizens will benefit from theagreement and said COA remains committed tomaking education accessible.“We hope to make this a smooth transition forstudents. We’re offering quality programs andservices for them.”Also attending the meeting were Dr. ClaudieMackey, ECSU Interim Dean of the School ofEducation and Psychology; Dr. Paula Viltz, ECSUDirector of Teacher Education; ECSU Provost andVice Chancellor of Academic Affairs CarolynMahoney; Mrs. LuAnn Riddick, ECSU TeacherPreparation Partnership Liaison; Mrs. AltheaRiddick, COA Vice President for Instruction; and Mr.Bobby Adams, COA Chair of Arts and ScienceDivision.ECSU MAGAZINE FALL 2003 31