The ECU Student Activities Board has posted its free summer movie schedule, as seen above.

Movies include “The Vow,” at 7 p.m. May 14 and 16; Wanderlust” at 7 p.m. May 21 and 23; and Safe House, May 30 at 7 p.m., all at 244 Mendenhall. Also in May, Aqua Theatre will feature movies, free popcorn and drinks with a 9 p.m. showings of “Safe House” May 29 at the Student Recreation Center outdoor pool.

In June, “The Lorax” will be shown on 7 p.m. June 4 and 6; “Project X” in Hendrix Theatre at 9:30 p.m. June 11 and 13; “21 Jump Street,” in Hendrix Theatre at 9:30 p.m. June 18 and 20; and “The Cabin in the Woods,” in Hendrix Theatre at 9:30 pm. June 25 and June 27. Also in June, Aqua Theatre will feature movies by the pool with free drinks, popcorn and a 9 p.m. showing of “Project X,” at the Student Recreation Center outdoor pool.

On July 2, 9 and 11, “American Reunion” will be shown in Hendrix Theatre.

For additional information, e-mail SABFilms@ecu.edu or call (252) 737-1808.

The program will include presentations and working sessions focused on tracking and measuring community engagement practices. Dr. Barbara Holland, an international expert, will discuss monitoring and measuring design and data tracking strategies.

The symposium is sponsored by the new Office of Public Service and Community Relations.

To register, go to https://ecu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0jL9FeMk7y0gMWE.  For additional information, contact Beth Velde at veldeb@ecu.edu or call 252-737-1377.

Both inductees graduated from ECU with a bachelor’s in health and physical education in the College of Health and Human Performance.

McGee ’65 is the president of Wingate University and a native of Rockingham.  He enjoyed officiating college football games for 36 years, working over 400 games, including three national championship games.

Trevathan ’55 is a retired football coach who led Wilson Fike High School to three consecutive 4-A state football championships.  He also coached on the staff of East Carolina University and NSCU football teams.

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McGee

Bill Read (Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center, will keynote the third annual North Carolina Hurricane Workshop at East Carolina University May 23.

The conference will run from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the Murphy Center on campus.

The event will focus on communication and emergency management, featuring explorations of the topic through interactive sessions with expert panels in social media and emergency communications, communications with maps and graphics, news media interactions with the emergency management community and lessons learned from Hurricane Irene.

Featured also will be displays of research project results by East Carolina University researchers in natural and coastal hazards and sustainable tourism.

The workshop is hosted by North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, East Carolina University’s Center for Natural Hazards Research and the Renaissance Computing Institute’s Engagement Center at ECU. It is co-sponsored by North Carolina Sea Grant.

Registration is open through May 18. The workshop is free, but registration is requested because lunch is provided. For registration and more information, visit http://www.ecu.edu/renci/HurricaneWorkshop .

For additional information, contact Donna Kain at 252-328-6023, kaind@ecu.edu, or Michelle Covi at 252-737-1772, covim@ecu.edu.

ECU College of Business professors, left to right, Bill Pratt, Len Rhodes and Mark Weitzel taught students about saving money during a personal finance class at East Carolina University. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)

Three personal finance instructors in the East Carolina University College of Business challenged their students to save $50,000 this past semester by taking tips and ideas from class to change their spending behaviors. Together the 500 students saved more than $130,000.

“We were hoping to help our students save up to $50,000 for the year, averaging to $100 per student,” said Bill Pratt, one of the instructors. “I couldn’t help but smile as I tallied the amount of savings.”

The challenge was simple: students were asked to submit any changes in their behavior that resulted in spending less and saving more  ̶  even securing a paid internship or part-time job counted. The submission did not count as part of their course grade; instead student names were entered into a drawing for several $50 gift cards.

“We begin the semester by discussing jobs, careers and the importance of internships. From there we move into basic financial topics such as how to create a college budget, how to pay for college, how to save on the cost of a car, how to buy insurance and many other personal finance topics,” said Mark Weitzel, who created the course more than 10 years ago.

“We wanted a fun way to demonstrate to our students that making good financial decisions as a result of what they learn in class is easy and will make a real difference in their lives.”

The savings ranged from reducing the number of times students dine out or buy gourmet coffee to saving thousands of dollars on the purchase of a car. One student saved an average of $100 per month by riding his bike to school. Another student stopped buying a snack before her first class and saved more than $50 each month.

One couple kept heating and cooling costs to a minimum by turning the thermostat low in the winter and high in the summer, bundling up when it was cold and taking advantage of cool mornings in the summer by opening windows. Some students even earned a paid internship or asked for and received a pay raise at their job. One student in particular applied to be a resident advisor on campus and was offered the position, which covers room and board and provides a monthly stipend.

“Our goal is to teach students enough about money so they know the right questions to ask and where to find the answers they need. We want our students to know enough so that no one can take advantage of their financial inexperience,” said Len Rhodes, one of the instructors.

The personal finance class at ECU is a three credit hour elective course that fills to its 500 student capacity each semester. The instructors authored the textbook for the class and all net proceeds from the sale of the book go to financial literacy initiatives on ECU’s campus.

The instructors also recently penned a book called “How to Keep Your Kid from Moving Back Home after College,” which gives parents the tools and knowledge they need to help their children develop good personal financial habits.

For more information about ECU’s financial literacy initiatives or the personal finance course, contact teaching instructor Mark Weitzel at weitzelm@ecu.edu.