About Us

The ECU / NC State Collaborative is a partnership between two of the state’s leading academic players. Its purpose is to bring much-needed university resources to eastern North Carolina, and empower the local community with the tools needed to further their education.

• The N.C. Department of Commerce annually ranks the state’s 100 counties based on economic well-being and assigns each a Tier designation. The 40 most distressed counties are designated as Tier 1, the next 40 as Tier 2, and the 20 least distressed as Tier 3.
• Rocky Mount, NC – located 60 miles east of Raleigh/Durham – sits in one of many Tier 1 counties in the region.
• In May, 2004, Senate Bill 1239 was passed to “extend advanced educational opportunities to eastern NC through the Gateway Technology Center.”
• NC Wesleyan College, a local private college, donated land to the project.
• In 2006, this land became the home of the Gateway Technology Center, an amazing collaboration between local businesses, private and public universities, community colleges, and K-12 school systems.
• It was here that the ECU / NC State Collaborative was established.
• Annual Report Year Ending 2018