Kevin Wade, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs & Chief Student Affairs Officer, Elizabeth City State University (ECSU)

In an interview with Invest:, Kevin Wade, vice chancellor for Student Affairs and chief student affairs officer at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), discussed student belonging, first-year support, Vikings Prep, and ECSU’s approach to student persistence and development. “There is a space for you, and we want our students to know and feel that,” Wade said.

How is the academic profile of incoming students changing?

One of the rewarding things we have seen over the last year or two is a shift in students’ academic preparation. After COVID, there was a period when the UNC System did not require standardized test scores, although GPA requirements remained. The system then began moving back toward requiring students to submit a test score, and this year certain scores had to accompany the GPA and other admissions factors. We have definitely seen an increase in the GPAs of our overall incoming class, upward of 3.2 and above. The profile is shifting, and high achievers are coming to ECSU.

We also participated in two UNC System pilot programs about a year ago, NC Connect and the Admission Redirect Program, where students who were not admitted to UNC-Chapel Hill could choose from six or seven other UNC System schools, including ECSU, and we saw an influx of applications. Some students who had been looking at Chapel Hill might not have heard of Elizabeth City State or know where we are. What we are presenting to them is the student experience at ECSU, along with our stellar aviation program. That experience has become more attractive as the academic preparation of our students has shifted.

How do Student Affairs programs help students see that they belong?

Within our strategic plan, Student Affairs has added the tagline “with a personal touch.” We recognize our responsibility to students and take a holistic approach through wraparound services. We oversee Viking Voyage orientation, with programs designed for new students, transfer students, adult learners, and military students. We try to reach every student population so they can see themselves here and understand how they belong at ECSU.

From recruitment and orientation to move-in day and beyond, we collaborate closely with the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership and the Office of Student Success and Retention in Academic Affairs. Student Affairs leads first-year experience programming and initiatives, while Academic Affairs handles the first-year seminar, tutorial services, and academic advising. We also hold freshman assemblies, a new-student pinning and transfer ceremony, programs such as Major Fusion, and several resource fairs during orientation. No matter where the work is being developed, coordinated, and implemented, we recognize that the student need is at the center of all that we do.

Students can choose from more than 90 clubs and organizations. If they cannot find something that fits, they can create an organization within university guidelines. There is a space for you, and we want our students to know and feel that.

How do campus resources help students remain connected and persist?

Our Student Affairs resources include counseling, health services, housing and residence life, our care team, Title IX, student accessibility and testing services, career and professional development, and campus recreation and wellness. We hold another resource fair during Welcome Week to remind students what is available. On any given day, Student Affairs team members are in the cafeteria and student union, and we provide considerable residence-hall programming to keep students connected to campus.

Over the last three or four years, we have also collaborated well with library services. Our librarians invite students into the traditional library space through activities such as library karaoke, pizza and movie nights, and enhanced study sessions. We want students to remember the physical library while also exploring its digital options. Thus, providing them with various ways to get and remain engaged on campus.

How does your own experience at ECSU shape the way you support students?

Higher education is very close to me, and Elizabeth City State is especially important because I am a graduate. I arrived in 1998 after participating in an Upward Bound TRIO program, so I already had a taste of college life. As a freshman, I shied away from clubs and organizations, but I grew during my sophomore year.

I entered college planning to become an elementary education teacher. Then I began to understand that student affairs was a profession grounded in theory and practice, not simply event planning. By my sophomore year, I knew I wanted to work in higher education. I said that one day I would return to ECSU to become vice chancellor for Student Affairs and, hopefully, eventually a chancellor or college president.

After graduating, I worked here for a few years, left to work elsewhere in higher education, including community colleges and private and public institutions, and returned in 2018 as associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs. I then worked my way up to vice chancellor. My grandmother taught us that life is about paying it forward. Because I am now more than 20 years removed from this generation of students, I am careful not to insist that things should be done as they were when I was a student. I frame the conversation through tradition and the responsibilities of being a college student.

We put alumni in front of first-year students and connect them with the National Alumni Association so they can see themselves beyond their three or four years here. I want our work to be invested, engaged, genuine, intentional, and focused on impact. College should be fun and exploratory, but the data also tells a story.

If we host an ice cream social or talent show, for example, we ask how many students attended and whether we learned about their challenges, so that we can look at our progress and make changes as needed. We collect both quantitative and qualitative information through those services to ensure that we are meeting their needs and staying relevant with today’s college student at ECSU.

How was Vikings Prep created?

When Chancellor Hargrove arrived last year, he asked the interim provost and me at the time to create a summer bridge program and find the funding. At the time, I was serving as vice chancellor for Student Affairs, interim vice chancellor for University Advancement, and executive director of the foundation. My team submitted a proposal to the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust and received $500,000 to support Vikings Prep.

We then worked across Academic Affairs, Business and Finance, Housing and Residence Life, and other areas to build the curriculum. We welcomed 70 Bridge Scholars during summer 2026 and had a successful program, so much so that 100% of our Bridge Scholars returned to ECSU this fall. That’s huge! It proves that we are doing something right and students enjoyed their summer experience. Our guiding question was what the program would do for students in the long term, beyond college credit or simply having a college experience.

How does Vikings Prep help students and families prepare for the transition to college?

We began with an online orientation for students and parents and covered everything we could anticipate. The follow-up questions showed us how important continued communication was. Families asked whether students had to move out after the program, whether they could leave belongings in the residence hall, how financial aid worked, and whether the program was truly free. Even after orientation and written documentation, we needed to answer questions repeatedly so families would be prepared for the next step.

The program also introduced students from our rural area to experiences beyond the classroom. Bridge Scholars had an opportunity to learn more about the Elizabeth City community and various areas within our bordering state, Virginia. We took them to Busch Gardens as their culminating engagement excursion, and they also completed community service projects, which will continue as we work with these scholars over the next four years. We wanted them to see that college includes academic work as well as opportunities to explore and learn in other settings.

How will you support and measure the first cohort’s progress?

Seventy students participated, and all re-enrolled for the fall. Retention, graduation, persistence, and wraparound support are central goals. We will continue mentoring and academic support through cohort groups, supplemental instruction leaders, tutorial services, and Student Affairs student leaders who serve much like peer mentors. The groups meet every other week, and peer leaders share updates that students may be more comfortable giving to them. We will monitor midterm grades, retention, and GPA outcomes over the next four years. We do not yet know whether we will receive funding for a second cohort, but we will continue supporting and assessing this group as we seek additional funding opportunities, because we know this works!

What makes this work rewarding for you?

It is exciting to wake up every morning knowing I am in a place where I can help transform lives. My background, my mother seeing how I have grown, and the dynamic team around me all matter. Through the challenges, ups and downs, students remain at the center. My cabinet colleagues and I may disagree or bring different perspectives, but we leave the room knowing that what we are about to do is for the benefit of our students and this university.

My North Star is helping students recognize their worth, show up as their best selves, and think about how they can change the world while they are in college and after they graduate. I am truly invested in this work.

What should students gain from the full Viking experience?

We want students to leave with more than a degree. The full Viking experience includes intellectual, social, and professional development. 

The Viking Experience represents the premier opportunities and transformative experiences every ECSU student should have access to throughout their collegiate journey, both inside and outside of the classroom. It is our commitment to developing the whole student and ensuring that every Viking graduates prepared to succeed, lead, serve, and compete in an ever-changing global society.

From study abroad and global experiences to securing a first or second internship, The Viking Experience connects students with meaningful opportunities in student engagement and leadership, career and professional development, athletics and recreation, experiential learning and micro-credentials, undergraduate research and innovation, holistic health and wellness, civic and community engagement, and mentorship and networking.

Through these experiences, students will build knowledge, confidence, leadership skills, professional networks, and real-world competencies that complement their academic preparation and position them for success beyond ECSU.