The Formative Years: 1909-1945
The beginning of the 20th century along with a new statewide focus on public education shined light on the desperate need for professionally trained educators across North Carolina. Even with this new attention being placed on public education, existing state normal schools ultimately failed when it came to professionally training sufficient educators. In an effort to combat this issue and help meet the promises made by popular North Carolina Governor Charles Aycock, prominent North Carolina citizens undertook an effort to establish a new state normal school in the eastern part of the state. After an extensive period of political debate, the East Carolina Teachers Training School was officially chartered by the state government on March 8, 1907. Classes at the new institution began roughly 2 years later with 123 students enrolling in courses taught by 11 faculty members.
The 1920s saw major changes affect East Carolina’s campus and curriculum. In 1921, the state legislative body approved the name change of East Carolina Teachers Training School to East Carolina Teachers College. One year later, ECTC conferred the first Bachelor of Arts degrees to Gertrude Chamberlain and Virginia Pigford. ECTC would continue to evolve as an institution throughout the 1930s and 1940s as it constructed new buildings, created new athletic teams, and adopted the famed pirate as the campus mascot. Campus also celebrated the first homecoming in 1941 and formed the first Student Government Association in 1943. Perhaps most importantly was the constant improvement of the campus curriculum as the institution moved towards the second half of the 20th century, as seen best by the awarding of the first Master of Arts degree to Deanie Boone Haskett in 1933.