Leaving A Legacy | Eastern NC Now

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


The ECU College of Nursing’s Information Technology suite was dedicated in honor of Charles Nikos “Chuck” Baldwin on Aug. 27. Donations raised to name the suite in his honor will go toward Nursing Beacon Scholarships. (Photos by Jeremy Smith)

    Charles Baldwin - "Chuck" as he was known to family, friends and colleagues at East Carolina University - loved to learn.

    As the son of two educators, Baldwin believed in the value of a formal education. He also took the opportunity throughout his 20 years as an information technology professional with ECU to learn from the gifted faculty, staff and students that he worked with every day.

    Although Baldwin passed away in a tragic motorcycle accident on April 18, 2020, Baldwin's loved ones have ensured that his legacy will help students pursue their own passion for learning by raising scholarship funds and dedicating the College of Nursing's IT suite in his name.

    After spending 14 years as a technician in the College of Health and Human Performance and completing a certificate program, Baldwin sought an opportunity to build his skillset and found it with the College of Nursing's IT team in 2016.

    "When he was able to get around like-minded individuals and really build his skillset, you could just see the enjoyment. You could see that he really enjoyed what he was doing," said Baldwin's wife, Melanie Sartore-Baldwin, who works at ECU as an associate professor in Department of Kinesiology. "He really looked forward to learning. Every individual he worked with he learned from. He was just a constant sponge of knowledge - at HHP and the College of Nursing. He would come home and just talk about these really cool things that he had learned, and he was really excited that kids were learning those sorts of things and that they could apply that to their profession."

    The money raised to dedicate the suite in Baldwin's memory will provide scholarships for nursing students through the Beacon Scholars program so that they too can focus on their love of learning.

    "The College of Nursing - what they do for eastern North Carolina is really incredible, and if we can help with that scholarship process at all, I know Chuck would be very pleased with that," Sartore-Baldwin said. "I wanted something that would be lasting for him, and I wanted a way to give back to the College of Nursing for providing a place for Chuck to be happy and enjoy every minute he was at work."

    The College of Nursing hosted a ceremony for the dedication of the suite on Aug. 27. Beyond his love of learning, Baldwin is remembered as kind, caring, quick-witted and dedicated to his work.

    "He genuinely enjoyed each day," said Karl Faser, the college's former IT director who spoke at the suite's dedication. "He made the tech team better, he made the College of Nursing better, he made me better. ... Chuck exemplified the dedication of excellence, of service and civility, to the love of light and good, to the teamwork not only of the tech group, but also of the college and to its mission."

    "In respect to the work he did, he always did his very best," said Conley Evans, IT Director for the college and a former colleague of Baldwin's. "He was so eager to learn more. Do more. New things interested him. They never scared him away, he always saw new activities or paths as a challenge, or opportunity. That is where he excelled."

    "It was never too late for Chuck. It was always the right time to start. It was always the right time to live."