I heard somewhere that maybe one or two people doubted the capacity of East Carolina University to achieve that great status. It's hard for me to believe that anyone would have doubted us, but I think the record speaks for itself.

The quality of what we're doing is national, but we try to focus on North Carolina, especially the people living east of (Interstate) 95.

All of Eastern North Carolina is in a state of transition. We're adapting to changes in industry and needs. It will probably take a generation or two before we get there.

We serve students who can't come to the campus and take 18 hours of courses. But we do everything to ensure that our online courses match the quality in the classroom. They are taught by the same faculty with a lower teacher to student ratio.

It's a very similar process to a university or hospital being accredited. It's a thorough process and normally a department spends about two or three years doing self-assessment making sure it meets the rigorous standards required by CALEA.

In consultation with the University Committee, we decided that people should not serve as chair of the Athletic Board for inordinately long periods of time. Many departments on campus change chairs every two years or three years. It seemed like a good thing to do.