Fall Commencement 2020 | Eastern NC Now

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU News Services. The author of this post is Jules Norwood.


    Christopher Chung, chief executive officer of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, will deliver the keynote address for East Carolina University's virtual commencement ceremony to honor the approximately 2,000 students graduating this fall.

    The ceremony will be Friday, Dec. 4, at 10 a.m. and can be viewed HERE.

    Chung has more than 23 years of experience in economic development and has led EDPNC since 2015. The public-private partnership is responsible for a number of economic development functions on behalf of the state of North Carolina, including new business recruitment, existing business support, international trade and export assistance, small business start-up counseling, and tourism, sports and film promotion.

    Since Chung's arrival, the EDPNC has helped North Carolina win more than 780 corporate expansion projects, resulting in nearly 104,000 new jobs and $24 billion in investment across the state.

    "As Pirates, our missions of student success and regional transformation depend on the partnerships we develop with the private sector. As CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, Christopher Chung understands the importance of public-private partnerships, and I look forward to hearing the advice he has for our graduates," said Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson.

    Chung attended The Ohio State University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in Japanese and economics. Before joining EDPNC, he held executive and management positions at the Missouri Partnership and the Ohio Department of Development, now known as JobsOhio.

    "ECU is a major engine for economic development in our state, and that's never more true than when the university delivers each class of newly minted graduates into North Carolina's talented workforce," Chung said. "I'm incredibly honored to address these students as they graduate into such historic times as we're all living through now."

    For more information about ECU's fall commencement, visit the Commencement website. The site includes an #ECUGrad Celebration Kit with frames, graphics and stickers for social media, as well as printable signs.