 Our strategic plan that we have titled Forging Our Future is a plan for the University's outlook as we build a map of where we want to go for the future. One focus is growth and then also building our regional development from an economic standpoint and then we want to look at ways in which we can enhance our capital. You know how do we attract people here to want to work to want to live in this area of Northeastern North Carolina which is Elizabeth City State University. We are very grateful to the North Carolina Legislature for choosing us to be an NC Promise campus where we're able to offer in-state North Carolinians $500 tuition per semester and out-of-state students $2,500 tuition per semester. And so we realize that you know sometimes education can be a burden for students but here at ECSU with the NC Promise we are an affordable option. What makes ECSU extra special and particularly in relation to other HBCUs is definitely our class size. We are small enough to be agile to make sure that we know every student's name. At ECSU you are not just a number each individual student is treated as an individual and allowed to grow. The university is small but it's a family and so the professors really care about you. There's a family environment and everyone's succeed. We have an opportunity to really be hands-on when it comes to that growth and development and and helping our students to prepare as they think about their career and next steps but that transformative opportunity is impactful and it's significant and I think as higher education leaders and institutions we have that responsibility to help our students develop in that way. You know if you've been called a leader your whole life you want to go somewhere that's going to mold and shape you as a leader. I definitely feel here I found what I'm passionate about and I want to go into the world and show them the same thing. I was looking at a number of different schools and and once I saw emergency management and how it related to the Coast Guard law enforcement first responders and all these organizations that's what initially drew me in and what when I spoke with the head of the program Dr. Kupiec he was very excited and that initial contact with him and him telling me how applicable this was to my career sparked my interest and then that has just been proven over this last semester how what I am learning I'm also learning in the Coast Guard. I think this is sort of the perfect degree for with me going into the Coast Guard this is especially applicable and something that I really enjoyed doing. When you think about the simulated aircraft the fleet of airplanes the drones we are really embarking in a big opportunity here to promote STEM innovation technology all in one major and so having that as our signature program has really been a big draw for students who are interested in going into those areas. I find that science very interesting because it can change the world there's so many area and field that you can research and for me it's about drugs and what it can do to people. I'm a first generation college student I didn't know a lot about college to pick one so ECSU has the program that I was interested when I applied I applied here I did a lot of research that I want to go into either pharmacy or some something about medicine. It wasn't until the last minute I found ECSU had a a bachelor degree in pharmaceutical science and there's not a lot of school that was close to home in New Bern so I was like okay I'm gonna go here it's not too close too far from home but also like I can go home for the weekend if I needed to. We're very welcoming to transfer students and you know transfer students can be either traditional age or non-traditional age just depending on when they started so we're working on articulation agreements with local community colleges across the entire state but more specifically in our service area to make it easy easy for students a seamless transition for students to navigate that process to transfer to ECSU to complete their bachelor's degree. I needed to transfer to a four-year institution since honestly with the program that I am in I could go to any school in the country because the Coast Guard will will fund that however choosing ECSU over other institutions one of them was the emergency management program another is the proximity to the Coast Guard Air Station and the strong partnership that Elizabeth City State University has with them. I'm very proud of our students and where they've come from and where they are now and they never forget their past but it becomes part of their story part of their journey and it becomes part of their narrative that they are even more anxious and excited to share and talk about. We always say we want our students to come here to discover their passions but leave to conquer their dreams and here I think they will definitely get that opportunity to do exactly that and that's what we really really really focus on as we think about our development of our students. Good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us for this very special occasion. Recently the Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees accepted my recommendation to confer an honorary doctorate degree to Dr. William L. Roper a leader who has served the University of North Carolina system as interim president through unprecedented times and who has dedicated many years to the medical profession. Thank you to the Board of Governors Chair Randy Ramsey who could not be with us this afternoon who placed the nomination for this most worthy candidate. Joining me today is the Secretary of the Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees Dr. Stephanie Johnson who will bring greetings. Trustee Johnson. Thank you Chancellor Dixon. Good afternoon I am Stephanie Dr. Stephanie D. Johnson a member of the Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees and a proud 1970 graduate. It is my distinct pleasure to join you today to bring greetings on behalf of Jan King Robinson Chair of the Board of Trustees and my fellow board members. Dr. Roper thank you for your leadership as interim president of the UNC system. Elizabeth City State University appreciates your untiring efforts towards supporting all of the students in this great system. The Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees is proud to join Chancellor Kerry Dixon today to honor and pay tribute to you for your outstanding service to Elizabeth City State University and to North Carolina. Congratulations Dr. Roper continue to stay well. Thank you Trustee Johnson at this time we will confer the degree. I now call upon Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Farrah Ward Provost Ward. Chancellor Dixon it is my privilege to report to you that the candidate Dr. William L. Roper has qualified in all aspects for the honorary doctorate degree Doctor of Science. Dr. Roper's work has helped expand the UNC system's impact in underrepresented communities which has influenced one of their most significant pillars to strengthen and promote excellent and diverse institutions. Prior to his service as interim president of the UNC system Dr. Roper had an outstanding medical career which included serving as director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, President of the Prudential Center for Healthcare Research, Senior Vice President, Prudential Healthcare, Professor of Social Medicine, Dean School of Medicine, Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs and CEO UNC Healthcare System at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Roper is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association. Other professional activities include member of the National Academy of Medicine, Board of Directors UNC Healthcare System, Board of Directors Davida Incorporated and Board of Directors Cigna Corporation. His professional training includes resident in pediatrics at the University of Colorado Medical Center and Community Fellow, Department of Health and Hospitals City and County of Denver, Colorado. Dr. Roper has made a positive impact in the medical field and we are honored to recognize all of his notable accomplishments. Chancellor Dixon, upon the nomination by UNC Board of Governors Chair Randy Ramsey, vetting by the ECSU honorary degree committee and approval by the ECSU Board of Trustees, it is my distinct pleasure that I present to you Dr. William L. Roper for the conferral of the honorary doctorate degree Doctor of Science. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and the Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees I do hereby confer upon William L. Roper the honorary doctorate degree Doctor of Science for which you have qualified with all the honors privileges and responsibilities there on to appertaining. Since we are in remote locations I now ask Dr. Mary Ann Roper to present the degree to Dr. William Roper. Congratulations Dr. Roper. Dr. Roper it would be our pleasure to have you present remarks at this time. Thank you ma'am thank you all and I begin by saying Chancellor Dixon I really appreciate this honor and I say to the Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees all of you thank you for this and I especially thank UNC Board of Governors Chair Randy Ramsey and those who joined with him in his nomination Wesley Birx, Harold Martin and Pete Runstetter for putting my name forward for this great honor. I'm humbled to accept it and I recognize that I now need to live up to it. Let me say Chancellor Dixon I congratulate you on the superb job you're doing leading this fine university especially in this challenging time and you ask if I'd make some remarks and yes I would like to make a few reflections briefly. In thinking about this honor and this day my wife and I've been talking about this whole year and how to put it into perspective to learn and to use it as a springboard for our future until last December 2020 meant getting my eyes checked it meant that I hope that even with the help of glasses my eyes could see clearly and now this whole calendar year is a real 2020. We've wondered if this whole year might be a time that we ourselves needed to look for a better vision and a better focus to figure out or figure out again what is really important and to focus on that. For us the year began in January with funerals, 10 funerals. My sister, my wife's cousin, friends, colleagues, colleagues, family members and as much as I enjoy reading about politics we almost didn't notice that there was a presidential impeachment blooming then largely because it was pushed so far into the background pushed there about things much more important and then came March and COVID. At one level it felt unbelievable this might happen in China or in a third world country far away but how could it happen here? I think we are now every day learning more not just about the disease but about how what are the right answers to those questions. Because of COVID I worked from home for a while and my dog loved it. He even started to voice his opinions by getting his squeaky toys to play with during our Zoom meetings. He felt important and he was important. We took long walks together each morning to help clear my thinking and he listens very well. And then in May there was the killing of George Floyd and the other horrible events not only in Minneapolis and a refocusing on black lives and they mattered. I hope that Congressman John Lewis's post-mortem letter in July will be taken to heart by everyone asking that a spirit of peace and love overcome the hate. And now it's August with COVID still blooming, fear and hate and division still around us and an election before us in four more months of 2020 yet to happen. And I ask myself what additional events need yet to happen for me to really get the message, the message of focusing on paying attention to what really is important. I for one am praying for that 2020 for focus and for courage. I for one am praying. Lastly when someone like me receives such an honor it's an acknowledgement not only of my work but of the work of many many colleagues. I want sincerely to thank those colleagues especially most recently the leadership team at the UNC system office, the chancellors and the leadership team at UNC healthcare. And I want to thank my dear wife our son and my big brother for always helping to keep me focused. Thank you all very much. Congratulations again Dr. Roper. Thank you ma'am. We will now be favored with the Amamata as previously recorded by the Elizabeth City State University Choir under the direction of Dr. Walter Swan. ECSU honors Dr. William L. Roper. Thank you Dr. Roper. Thank you for those inspiring words that you present presented to us. And you have contributed so much to ECSU to North Carolina and beyond. And for that we are truly excited to celebrate you. This concludes our program. Thank you all for joining us and we appreciate it. Have a wonderfully blessed rest of the day. Thank you.