$1 million donation creates new ECU scholarships

East Carolina University seeks to significantly increase its general scholarship offerings for first-year students with the new Chancellor’s Scholars program. While ECU has long championed support for high achievers and those most in need, the new initiative aims to recruit a vast array of students who fall in the middle of this spectrum and might not otherwise receive financial aid.

“We understand the competitive nature of higher education and want to ensure that no hard-working students from middle-class families miss out on the chance at an ECU education,” Chancellor Cecil Staton said. “No qualified student should be denied the opportunity to be a Pirate.”

The Chancellor’s Scholars program launches this week with a $1 million gift from James and Connie Maynard and their daughter, Easter. James Maynard is a ’65 alumnus and founder of the restaurant chain Golden Corral. His wife, also an ECU graduate, completed her degree in 1962. The family has a long history of supporting ECU and sponsors other scholarships at the university.

Thanks to their gift, ECU will award more general new freshmen scholarships averaging $1,000 each beginning fall 2019. The university intends to build and sustain these scholarships long-term through continued support from alumni and friends as well as through endowments.

“We are extraordinarily grateful to the Maynard family for their generosity in funding the Chancellor’s Scholars inaugural year. I’m excited to continue building support to provide more scholarships for years to come,” Staton said.

Learn more about the Chancellor’s Scholars program here.