GREENVILLE – In part because of the region East Carolina University serves, Chancellor Cecil Staton makes a bold claim.

“We have been bold at ECU to say that we are America’s next great national university,” Staton says in the accompanying video.  “We really want to become a national model in all the ways that we impact rural North Carolina.

“We’re uniquely in a region that has enormous needs,” Staton says.  “So really what we aspire to be is a national model in terms of addressing those health-care disparities and education disparities and economic-development disparities of our region.

“I believe ECU uniquely has all the resources across our 12 colleges and schools to really do that.  So we believe we are America’s next great national university.”