This collection contains materials created or collected by Donald Leggett during his work as an employee of East Carolina.
Donald Yates Leggett was born October 31, 1935 in Windsor, North Carolina to Turner Carter (T.C.) Leggett, Sr and Ruby Harden Leggett. He was raised in a small rural farming family in Bertie County until the loss of his father when he was 12 years old. His mother, Don, and his younger brother, Carroll then moved to Harnett County in the community of Buies Creek near Campbell University. Don's older brother, Turner, had married by this time and remained in the Martin County area. Graduating 1 of 13 from high school, he had a desire to play basketball in college. This led him to investigate Campbell University, but they did not offer him a scholarship, only a walk-on invitation. An aunt and uncle, both graduates of East Carolina and residing in Greenville, helped foster an interest in Don to attend East Carolina. At the time the college was transitioning from East Carolina Teachers College to East Carolina College (c.1951). He enrolled in the fall of 1954 and graduated in the spring of 1958 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and a minor in Social Studies (History). During his time as an undergraduate Don found himself to busy to play basketball since it was necessary for him to work in the cafeteria, which he did during all 12 academic quarters. He was also a member of the Physical Education Club and enrolled in ROTC for 2 years. After receiving his BS, he returned to Harnett County to work, and in the meantime attended graduate classes at ECU on weekends and in the summers, earning his Masters of Secondary Education with a focus on Principalship in 1962. The desire to coach and teach in his hometown never left Don, so after completing his Masters he went back home to coach basketball and baseball as well as take positions including Assistant Principal and Guidance Counselor at the high school in Buies Creek. Don held a variety of positions in the Harnett County and Raleigh City school systems through the years. Most notably, he was the Assistant Basketball and Assistant Track coach at Needham B. Broughton High School in Raleigh. He spent two years coaching and two years as Assistant Principal. This was at the time "Pistol" Pete Maravich was a senior and played on the high school basketball team (c.1965). Don returned to East Carolina University around 1970 when he was hired as Director of Alumni Affairs. The ECU Alumni Association, Inc. had been established in 1967, and this is where Don dedicated his time and service to East Carolina. Soon after the ECU Foundation was created, Dr. Leo Jenkins assigned Don to oversee both establishments. After some time there was a re-organization that resulted in Don being named Director of Alumni Relations, and he was no longer in charge of the ECU Foundation. He later attained the title of Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations and retired in 1997 with that title after having spent 27 years in alumni and fundraising positions. During his retirement, Don has continued working part-time for the university within the areas of development, fundraising, and planned giving. Some of these roles included Director of the Regional Development Institute, Development Specialist in the College of Health and Human Performance, and Special Assistant to Interim Chancellor Bill Shelton. In the time he has dedicated to ECU, Don has made an impact on campus through his many achievements. He was asked to be a Centennial Leader in the College of Health and Human Performance during ECU's centennial celebration in 2007. He was appointed to the committee assembled to name the streets on campus (c. 1992). It was his proposal to name the streets after people who contributed to the growth of ECU that was implemented. Don was instrumental in launching and nurturing the Alumni program and its growth since 1970 and was involved in the establishment of the medical campus. The fundraising that he has been a part of has led to some of the biggest gifts to the university. In honor of Don, for the anniversary of his 40th year working for ECU, an October Glory Maple Tree was dedicated to him. The tree sits in the route he used to walk as a student, between the Old Cafeteria Building and the Cupola. He was also inducted into the East Carolina University Educators Hall of Fame in 2000.
The Donald Yates Leggett Papers include alumni biographies, correspondence, award and commencement programs, event invitations, university development proposals and projects, photographs, reports, pamphlets, and articles created or collected by Mr. Leggett during his time as an employee of East Carolina University. The bulk of this collection is the alumni biographies as well as the Alumni Association events and awards. These series encapsulate the growth, progress, and celebration of East Carolina University. The Correspondence series is an electronic arrangement of Donald Leggett's emails dating from 2000-2019. The Alumni Biographical Information series is arranged alphabetical by the alumnus and contains snippets of their lives from newspapers and magazine articles. Some biographical information includes death and funeral announcements. These files were used by Mr. Leggett in his work. The Events and Commencement series contains programs and invitations to campus events, especially graduations, Founders events, and Alumni Awards Ceremonies. The commencement programs span from 2003-2012 and are arranged chronologically. The invitations provide a snapshot of events hosted throughout the campus including exhibits and other recognitions of campus life. The ECU Centennial Celebration took place in 2007 and this series contains the planning insights from the committee. A collection of award programs showcase the regular Alumni Association Award celebrations and others including scholarship awards. There is also a group of ECU pamphlets and brochures. The ECU Foundation, Inc. series includes the foundation's articles of incorporation, mission statement, bylaws, goal reports, and board member directories. These items date back to the establishment of the East Carolina University Foundation in late 1978. The Greenville and Regional Development series includes grant proposals, bonds, a revitalization plan from the early 2000s, and other regional development. The Campus Development series contains plans and announcements for ECU's campus expansion and growth. There is an extensive report on the Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium expansion from January 1997. Two other major projects included with extensive planning insights are the street naming project (c. 1992) and the dedication of the Chief Williams parking lot. The General Reports and Statistics series includes a collection of reports such as the University Committee on Fiscal Sustainability draft report from spring 2014. The Photographs series is primarily photos of ECU Alumni Association events and personnel. A few photos of the East Carolina baseball team are present with names handwritten on the back. A worn photograph of the Christenbury building is included as is a school spirit photo with two alumni that is labeled to be from the 1970s. The Programming series has items related to the Alumni Center and other academic programs. The Alumni Center folder contains information regarding scholarships offered and other items like newsletters. There are pamphlets, brochures, and flyers regarding other programs and societies on campus. The Chancellor and Prominent Figures series contains past articles, news clippings, and announcements regarding ECU Chancellors including Eakin, Muse, Ballard, and Staton. There is also note of Senator Mitch McConnell's visit to the campus on October 25, 2003. The collection also contains a draft copy of Donald Leggett's proposed revisions and inclusions to James W. Batten's "In Retrospect."
Printed university publications were removed from this collection during processing.
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This collection is a part of Alumni Papers.
This series contains the email of Donald Yates Leggett during his tenure at East Carolina University. He held several positions in Advancement, including Associate Vice Chancellor For Alumni Relations, and the Chancellor's Office. His email contains information on bond referrendums, space dedications, events, interactions with the state legislature, recognitions, and miscellaneous items.
One item is a digital file.