Elizabeth City State University was founded on March 3, 1891, when House Bill 383 was enacted 
by the North Carolina General Assembly, establishing a normal school for the specific purpose of 
“teaching and training teachers of the colored race to teach in the common schools of North 
Carolina.”  The bill was sponsored by Hugh Cale, an African American representative from 
Pasquotank County.

Between 1891 and 1928, curricula and resources were expanded under the leadership of Peter 
Wedderick Moore.  Enrollment increased from 23 to 355 and the faculty from 2 to 15 members 
by the time Dr. Moore retired as President-Emeritus on July 1, 1928.

Under the leadership of John Henry Bias, the second president, who served from July 1, 1928 until 
his death on July 15, 1939, the institution was elevated from a two-year normal school to a 
four-year teachers college in 1937.  The institution’s name was officially changed to Elizabeth 
City State Teachers College on March 30, 1939, and the mission was expanded to include “the
training of elementary school principals for rural and city schools.”  The first bachelor of science 
degrees (in Elementary Education) were awarded in May 1939.

A vocational-technical program was organized in 1957.  Curricular offerings were expanded between 
1959 and 1963 from a single elementary education major to 12 additional academic majors. 
Currently, ECSU offers 36 baccalaureate degree programs in the basic arts and sciences, and 
selected professional and pre-professional areas, and selected master’s degree programs 
through four schools--the School of Arts and Humanities; the School of Business and Economics; 
the School of Education and Psychology; and the School of Mathematics, Science and 
Technology.

The college was granted full membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 
December 1961.  Its accreditation has since been reaffirmed.  The name changed from Elizabeth 
City State Teachers College to Elizabeth City State College by the General Assembly in 1963.  
Effective July 1, 1969, the college became Elizabeth City State University.  In 1971, the General 
Assembly redefined The University of North Carolina system with all sixteen public senior 
institutions, including ECSU, becoming constituents of The University of North Carolina, effective 
July 1972.

When ECSU first began operation on January 4, 1892, with 23 students, it did so in rented 
quarters with a budget of $900.  In the fall 2005, the university made history with its highest 
enrollment ever of 2,664 students. Today, the faculty and student body are increasingly 
multicultural.  The library contains over 193,880 books, 488,665 microforms, and 77 databases.  
There are 862 acres of land, of which 200 represent the campus proper.  As of May 2006, 15,663 
students have been conferred with undergraduate and graduate degrees.

As ECSU’s history continues to evolve, highlights include: a doctor of pharmacy degree in 
collaboration with UNC-Chapel Hill (August 2005); master’s degree programs in Elementary 
Education (January 2000), Biology (August 2003), and Mathematics (August 2004); six 
baccalaureate degree programs—Marine Environmental Science and Social Work (August 2000), 
Communications Studies and Aviation Science (August 2002), Pharmaceutical Science 
(August 2003), Graphic Design (September 2004); two endowed professorships--the E. V. Wilkins 
Endowed Professorship in Education and the Marshall A. Rauch Endowed Professorship in Biology; 
U.S. News and World Report ranking ECSU in the category of “Top Public Comprehensive Colleges” 
in the south as number one in 2004 and number three in 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2005; The 
Education Trust  national report recognizing ECSU in 2004 and 2005 for its high performance 
graduation rate; NCAA Foundation and USA Today ranking ECSU in the top 10 of Division II 
colleges for the graduation rate of its student-athletes (2001 and 2002); and capital improvements 
including the completion of the Fine Arts Complex (1999), the Information Technology Center 
(2000), and the Wellness Center (2000).  In 2000, ECSU began design of additional capital projects 
using the $46.3 million secured from the statewide Higher Education Bond Referendum completing 
the Physical Education/Field House (2003), University Suites, a new residence hall (2004), and a 
Student Center (2005).  Also, Viking Village—student housing adjacent to campus resulting from a 
university-private partnership—was completed in September 2004. In July 2004, the NC General 
Assembly passed legislation for ECSU to receive $28 million to construct facilities for 
a pharmacy program.

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

DATE: SUNDAY, June 12, 1994                    TAG: 9406120115 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940612                                 LENGTH: ELIZABETH CITY 

MARKER WILL HONOR ECSU'S FOUNDER 
{LEAD} When Roosevelt R. Wright Sr. was a boy in the 1930s, he picked up extra money shining 
shoes downtown. 
Back then, he told City Council members this week, the county courthouse was about the only 
place a black boy could find a public restroom. He and his friends used to stop by the historic 
building, reading the names of the 1882 Pasquotank County commissioners etched carefully 
into the floor. 

{REST} They could read all but one - a name that had been chiseled out, rumor had it, by racists 
who discovered the commissioner had been a black man. 

Hugh Cale. 

``It sort of bothered me,'' said Wright, who first learned of Cale through a friend's father. ``And I 
began to wonder about that thing.'' 

Wright's curiosity turned into admiration for Cale, whom many place among the county's grandest 
historic figures. And last month state officials granted Wright's request for a historical marker near 
Cale's gravesite. 

The marker, the 11th to be placed in Pasquotank County since the state program began in 1936, 
will be dedicated in September at the corner of Road Street and the thoroughfare bearing Cale's 
name. 

The striking cast-aluminum sign will introduce to some and reaffirm for others the life of a man 
whose contributions have started thousands of other lives on the right track. 

Cale, a county commissioner, Republican state legislator, and founder of present-day Elizabeth 
City State University, is recognized as a pioneer in opening education to blacks in northeastern 
North Carolina. 

His 1891 bill establishing the Elizabeth City State Colored Normal School to train black teachers 
has earned him a modern-day credit as founding father of ECSU, now one of 16 schools in the 
University of North Carolina system. 

Cale's name flashes prominently across numerous signposts in the southeastern part of the city, 
on a street, on a former public school, a community center, a scholarship fund and a college 
dormitory. 

He is remembered every year at ECSU's Founders Day ceremony, when university officials visit 
Oak Grove Cemetery to lay wreaths at the graves of Cale and two early college presidents. 

But Wright said the annual service ``just wasn't enough.'' 

``We have lost a lot of our history by nobody ever recording anything,'' Wright said, lamenting how 
little he knows of his father, who died just before Wright was born in 1919. 

``It's not for people now. It's for people in generations to come. It's for the future.'' 

Wright's concern for preserving history is evident in the decor and content of his aging three-story 
home on South Road Street. 

``You ever seen such a mess?'' he said recently, rooting through a pile of photo albums and 
envelopes for just the right artifact to match his thoughts. 

His living room is lined with photos of family members: grandparents, mother, son, daughter, 
grandchildren. Some pictures are a few years old. Some decades. Some rest on a 65-year-old
stand-up radio that still plays. 

A side room is cluttered with mementoes and old movie equipment Wright has collected in years 
as an audio-visual expert. 

Born and raised in Elizabeth City, Wright earned an associate's degree in industrial arts from 
Temple University in Philadelphia in 1941. 

He served as a civilian testing Navy ships during World War II, worked for the Carolina Amusement 
Co. and managed the Gaiety movie theater, and spent nearly 20 years in audio-visual work for 
Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County Public Schools before retiring in 1984. 

Other feathers in Wright's cap include service as a volunteer firefighterand membership on the 
Museum of the Albemarle's Board of Trustees. 

Wright currently coordinates public relations for the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in 
northeastern North Carolina. His home church, Mount Lebanon A.M.E. Zion, was also Cale's. 

Hugh Cale's life has captured the imagination of more than just Wright. Much of the application 
work for the state marker was done by ECSU Archivist Leonard R. Ballou, who is still tinkering 
with a 500-page manuscript about Cale that he started years ago. 

``I was really impressed with this gentleman's track record,'' said Ballou, who came to ECSU as 
a music teacher in 1962. 

``I think he accomplished a great deal for his time and place. 

``I'm glad Mr. Wright thought of the idea and did something about it, rolled up his sleeves and 
really worked.'' 

Wright was congratulated this week by the Elizabeth City Council and other local residents, who 
said it was about time Cale received wider recognition. 

``I think it's way past due,'' said Shirley Simpson, who directs the Hugh Cale Community Center. 

``We're really proud to have that done.'' 

Located in the historic Albemarle region of northeastern North Carolina , Elizabeth City State 
University was originally a university that only accepted African-American students. But over the 
years, this institution which is a part of The University of North Carolina, has become an 
increasingly multicultural establishment perfectly suitable for students of all races who have a 
strong desire and will in them to pursue academic excellence. Along with baccalaureate programs 
in arts, sciences and select professional and pre-professional areas, the University also offers 
master's degrees in a number of disciplines. 

Elizabeth City State University was founded on the 3rd of March 1891, when the North Carolina 
General Assembly enacted the House Bill 383 sponsored by Hugh Cale, an African American 
representative from Pasquotank County. The primary purpose of starting this institution was to 
teach and train teachers of the colored race so that they could further teach in the schools of North 
Carolina. In March 1939, the institution?s name was officially changed to Elizabeth City State 
Teachers College and its goals expanded to include training of elementary school principals. The 
same year, the college awarded its first Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. In 
1963, the name was further changed to Elizabeth City State College and on July 1, 1969, the 
college became the Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). 

ECSU first started operation with 23 students on January 4, 1892. At that time the college was in 
rented quarters and had a budget of $900. More than a century later, in the fall of 2005, the 
university had its highest enrollment ever of 2,664 students. The University is spread over a 
sprawling 862 acres of land, out of which 200 acres are part of the proper campus. As of the last 
academic year, more than 15,000 students have been conferred with undergraduate and graduate 
degrees by ECSU. The current Chancellor of ECSU is Dr. Willie J. Gilchrist, a renowned 
educationist. 

Being in Elizabeth City, the University has a very scenic and beautiful location. It is a waterfront 
community located on the narrows of the Pasquotank River near the world-renowned Outer Banks 
beaches. The U.S. Highways 17 and 158 make the university easily accessible and the nearest 
airport - Norfolk International Airport (VA) is only a short drive away. The climate is pleasant for 
most parts of the year and the exotic beaches of the Atlantic Ocean are less than an hours drive 
from the campus. ECSU has a very rich heritage and is an ideal place to study in. 

 
New students at ECSU start at The Department of General Studies which is the lower division of 
the University. The purpose of the department is to provide students with a core curriculum for 
their first two years and prepare them for admission to a degree-granting program. After 
completing their two years in this department, students can then choose a field to pursue their 
graduation in. The School of Arts and Humanities offers programs in Music ; History; Political 
Science; Social Sciences; and Language, Literature and Communication. In the Davis School of 
Business and Economics can either choose to do a B.S. in Accounting or a B.S. in Business 
Administration with a specialization in one of the following ? Banking and Finance, Economics, 
Management, Management Information Systems and Marketing. 

The School of Education and Psychology offers courses in Teaching and Psychology. The School 
of Mathematics provides undergraduate B.S. degree programs in Aviation Science, Biology, 
Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Mathematics, Marine Environmental Science, Industrial 
Technology, Pharmaceutical Science and Physics. It also offers graduate programs which further 
lead to a M.S. degree in either Applied Mathematics or Biology. The slightly more adventurous 
students can chose to enroll themselves in the Department of Military Science. 

Apart from these graduation programs, the University also offers post-graduate programs in 
Elementary Education, School Administration, Mathematics Teaching, Applied Mathematics, 
Remote Sensing, Microbiology, Cell Biology, Plant and Animal Molecular Biology, and 
Biotechnology. As for those students who can not attend regular classes on campus, ECSU 
also has a number of distance education programs. 

Freshmen applying to the University must meet the Minimum Course Requirements stipulated 
by the University of North Carolina. They must have completed 4 units of English, 4 units of 
Mathematics (Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry and an advanced math), 3 units of Science 
(Biological, Physical and Laboratory Course), 2 units of Social Studies and 2 units of Foreign 
Language. They need to apply with their high school transcript and their SAT or ACT scores. 

Students looking for transfers from other universities need to get their transcripts evaluated to see 
if they meet the requirements for the specific academic program for which they are applying. 
Courses which are graded less than "C" are not accepted for transfer credit. Those applicants 
who are mature and/or do not meet admissions requirements but have a satisfactory record of 
experience and education are also admitted to ECSU. The University also considers applicants 
who are regularly enrolled students at other institutions but have been authorized by their 
institution to attend classes at ECSU. These students need to get their course work approved in 
advance by their institution and at the end of one term of work, must either transfer to ECSU or 
withdraw. 

The estimated total tuition fees, room and board expenses per semester for resident undergraduate 
students is currently $8,522.50 while for non-residents it is $17,403.50. For resident graduate 
students it is $8,275.50 and for non-resident graduate students it is $17,320.50. Students who 
can not afford these fees need not be disappointed as ECSU offers a number of scholarships and 
loans for the needy. 

Apart from an excellent academic faculty, ECSU also offers its students superb educational, 
recreational and residential facilities. The University has ten different residences so as to suit the 
needs of all the students including co-ed residences and residences only for girls. The G.R. Little 
Library is one of the major attractions of ECSU. The library contains nearly 200,000 books and 
500,000 microforms. It also houses various films, video tapes, and sound and disc recordings. 
The Horizon online system provides access to all the General, Juvenile and Reference collection 
books. ECSU also has a large number of clubs and societies to cater to the varied interests of 
all the students. Some of the more interesting ones include The Music Industry Studies Club, 
the New Generation Campus Ministries and the Vike Nu Fashion Troop. 

Perhaps the most exciting features of ECSU are WRVS-FM and W18BB-TV. WRVS-FM is a non 
commercial radio station which is a public service of ECSU. The station provides listeners with 
NPR news, local cultural programs, jazz, gospel, R& ;B and other special programs. WRVS-FM 
89.9 will soon become the first radio station in Elizabeth City. W18BB-TV is ECSU?s low power 
television station broadcasting on closed-circuit Channel 15, Adelphia Cable Channel 22 and 
MediaCom Channel 49. It provides quality programming designed to entertain, educate and inform 
not only the ECSU community but also the people Elizabeth City.

Alumni
Reggie Langhorne, former NFL wide receiver.Reginald "Reggie" Devan Langhorne (born April 7, 
1963 in Suffolk, Virginia), is a former American professional football player. He played in the 
National Football League for 9 seasons, playing for the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts 
during that time.Langhorne played collegiate football for four years at Elizabeth City State 
University, an NCAA Division II school. Reggie Langhorne pledeged the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity 
at ECSU through the Lambda Gamma Chapter. 

Jethro Pugh, former NFL defensive tackle. Jethro Pugh (born July 3, 1944 in Windsor, North 
Carolina) is a former National Football League defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys. He 
played with Dallas for his entire career, from 1965 through 1978. Pugh's achievements as a 
professional athlete were largely overshadowed for most of his career by Hall-of-Famer Bob 
Lilly who played defensive tackle on the other side.Pugh attended Elizabeth City State 
University in North Carolina, where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate 
Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans. 

Mike Gale, former professional basketball player in both the ABA and the NBA.

Back to Pasquotank African American Research pages
Back to Pasquotank County Page
© 2005-2011  
Diane Siniard