(upbeat music) - [Speaker] This is "Carolina Business Review."

Major support provided by Colonial Life, providing benefits to employees to help them protect their families, their finances, and their futures.

High Point University, the Premier Life Skills University, focused on preparing students for the world as it is going to be.

Sunoco, a global manufacturer of consumer and industrial packaging products and services, with more than 300 operations in 35 countries.

- Hi, I'm Chris William, and welcome to the most widely watched and the longest running program on Carolina business policy and public affairs.

Seen every week across North and South Carolina on our PBS partners.

Thank you for supporting this broadcast.

We will unpack what is going on in the Carolinas, but in case you're wondering where am I or what I'm doing, I'm at a place called the Community Matters Cafe.

It's at the Charlotte Rescue Mission in Charlotte, and we are on location along with our virtual panelists and guests.

Later on this program, we welcome back the chancellor of one of 20 HBCUs in the Carolinas, Dr. Karrie Dixon from Elizabeth City State University, but right now we start the dialogue.

- [Speaker] Major funding also by Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

And Martin Marietta, a leading provider of natural resource-based building materials, providing the foundation on which our communities improve and grow.

On this edition of "Carolina Business Review," Sandy H. Davis, of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation.

Kevin J.

Price, from the National Institute of Minority Economic Development, and special guest, Dr. Karrie G. Dixon, Chancellor of Elizabeth City State University.

(upbeat music) - Welcome again to our program.

In case you wonder, "Well wait, that's not the studio.

Where are you?"

We thought since everyone else was virtual, that we would be virtual.

I am actually standing in a restaurant called Community Matters Cafe, and it's part of the Charlotte Rescue Mission.

And it's just a place that does well and does good, and we thought we'd wanna be part of that as part of this program.

We'd like to welcome Sandy and Kevin.

Kevin, welcome back to the program.

Sandy, welcome to the program for the first time.

And for better or for worse, Sandy, you get the first question.

We always love our friends on the Grand Strand and you are squarely down in Myrtle Beach, Sandy, and I've gotta ask you this question.

Normally you don't associate business technology, big announcements with the Grand Strand in Horry County, but there's a thing called the subsea cable.

Meta and Google are behind this.

And this is actually a node for fiber optics coming in from Spain and South America to the Grand Strand.

Why is that important?

And how big of an announcement is this?

- For the Grand Strand area, it's huge.

We are always known as a tourism, hospitality area, and we work hard to try to diversify.

So the new $90 million total capital investment for the DC Blox cable so far that will travel from Myrtle Beach to Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and Bermuda, have been very instrumental to our technology part that has been vacant for a long time, which was the former Air Force base.

So it is huge for us, South Carolina, Myrtle Beach just seemed to be sitting in the right area, logistically located between New York and Florida.

So it seemed to be a perfect area that they had not covered yet.

Typically New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Florida had already been covered.

So we are really excited to have that in our area.

And also Google's location in Moncks Corner did play a big role in that as well.

- Yeah, Sandy, the obvious and the easy question is, and I don't mean to diminish this announcement.

The easy question is this, "Is this a one-off?"

So once Meta, Facebook, Google get their connection, then it's about maintaining it, or is there some larger hope and in fact some real evidence that this could build a core or a cluster, if you will, of tech communications, and technology could be that technology, down there on the old Air Force base?

- Yes, definitely.

That is our first goal.

Would be to create a tech hub in the ITAP Park.

And we have seen it in Virginia Beach, you see it in New York and Jersey, also in Texas.

So we have seen a lot of interest of companies wanting to locate closer to the technology interstate, if you will, is how we've kind of been explaining it to people.

Because not only will it help us because it frees up some of the Internet traffic we're currently having, larger companies that are seeking to use those areas would not have to be on our local Internet, but would be able to be on the subsea cable.

It is important to anyone who would like to reach those areas.

It can be anything from banks, insurance companies, Hulu, Netflix, Roku, anyone who uses streaming, typically would like that uninterruptible service.

- Kevin, let's bring you into this.

Does technology, does AI, does the advancement of technology in places like Horry County and the Grand Strand, does this flatten the world out?

Does this bring communities closer together?

Does it widen the gap?

How do you see this?

- Well, I think just listening to Sandy, I'm excited to hear how we're going from local to global.

And part of what the institute has been focused on the last few months is, particularly in North Carolina, working on the digital equity plan for the state.

And every state has to have a digital equity plan.

We were fortunate enough to write the one for North Carolina.

And part of what we saw happening was there are these pockets that are still deserts around Internet.

And so one of the ways of addressing those areas is putting more resources into those communities.

So here we have the governor focused about 160 million, 165 million on technology and access across the state as an example of what's happening with governors across the country to close that gap around education, around just having the right devices that you can use, understanding how to use devices.

When I was at Novant Health, we had 90-year-olds who were coming on to use technology for the first time to communicate with their physicians.

But there's still these pockets that we're noticing because they don't have access to the Internet.

And so I'm excited about what Sandy's doing in South Carolina.

I think that provides more of an opportunity for connection, but people are still afraid of AI and what that means.

So there's a lot of education that has to go along with it.

- Sandy, back to you on this, and I don't want to spend our our whole time together here on this, but this is important.

Does South Carolina have, as Kevin called, a digital equity policy?

Or does there need to be a policy besides this pure unadulterated growth around what the announcement for Horry County is?

- I do believe that we have a group that's working on the technology.

I don't know if we have a policy like Kevin has, that has been committed to our area as of yet.

But we have been working with several other people that have asked us information and learning about the subsea cable.

Because I mean, it's very new to our area.

And when we first spoke about it and we started talking to commerce people, as well as myself when I took the call, we're like, "Is this the hoax?"

'Cause people just scam you so much and tell you all these things they're gonna design that we did not realize how many of them were already out there.

So this is something new to us and Department of Commerce really incentivized this project and it's very much behind it.

So I would say we do have some great things coming.

I just think this was the, I guess step one in our area that actually made them consider it.

- Jack, coming back to you - - For clarity, I would say - - Go ahead.

- It's not necessarily a policy, but each state has to have a plan of how they're making access available to all of the citizens of that state.

- [Chris] Okay.

- Okay.

And we do have a plan.

Actually, ours came about during COVID.

And I'm not gonna say it's for the entire state because I'm just gonna speak about Horry County and Myrtle Beach area.

We do have connectivity to everyone and I will say that that mostly came from HTC because we do have some very rural areas.

Green Sea Floyds, Aynor, Conway, Loris, all have some rural areas outside of Myrtle Beach.

And in order for our students to be able to access their computer and do their schoolwork during COVID, HTC, our local telephone co-op provider, was able to go out and do that all for our rural communities.

So I will say they did have a plan for that in Horry County.

- Kevin, let me ask you a question about, there was a push a year and a half or two years ago.

Actually at the beginning of COVID, to find the money to supercharge the idea of last mile, of getting fiber to the communities, to the homes.

Are you satisfied now four years past that, or close to four years past that, that we are going to get that done in a manner that needs to get done?

- I think I'll feel a lot better in three or four years.

Because it's gonna take that much time.

We're still playing catch up in terms of materials alone.

I mean, if you talk to some of the providers, just finding fiber optic cable has been a challenge.

And so I think once supply chain catches up and we can get those products out in the community so we can connect everyone, I'll feel a lot better, and that's gonna take a few more years.

- Sandy, in about 30 seconds, same question.

Do you feel like South Carolina's gonna finish that?

It's not about timing now, it's just about time and getting it done.

- I do.

I feel the same way as Kevin.

I feel like material has been a hardship for a lot of the smaller areas.

As far as Horry County, I would say that because of HTC, we were ahead of the curve on this one a little bit and a lot of our areas due to the growth in Myrtle Beach, we were already starting to reach those.

But some of our neighboring counties are really struggling and HTC has moved, which was typically called Horry Telephone Cooperative, is now just called HTC because they are growing it to help Marion County and Georgetown County.

So yes, I see that it is a big need, and I do think that they're working on it, but I'm with Kevin.

I think some of the areas are just so rural and so far out there that it requires a lot of fiber to reach to their locations.

- And that's the benefit, Chris, of this being a statewide initiative, and not left to the counties.

Because for counties that are struggling economically, it'll be very difficult for them to catch up and keep pace with some of the larger growing counties.

- So, just to mention again, I am at a place in Charlotte called the Charlotte Rescue Mission, Community Matters Cafe, in the background.

We thought all of our panelists were virtual, why not us too?

But now, the country has one of the highest concentrations of historically Black colleges and universities in the Carolinas, about 20 actually.

And one of those 20 is called Elizabeth City State University.

And we are honored to have, again, back on this program, the Chancellor of Elizabeth City State University, Dr. Karrie Dixon.

Chancellor, welcome again to our program, thank you.

- Thank you, thank you.

Glad to be a part.

- You had your highest enrollment in almost a decade, last year in 2023.

Was that due to the North Carolina Promise pricing?

Was that due to some strategies?

How would you unpack that, ma'am?

- Well, with our enrollment growth, I attribute that to a couple of things.

First, NC Promise, the legislature was very gracious to Elizabeth City State University to offer such a program that would reduce tuition costs for North Carolinians.

And so what we see now is a tuition price point of $500 per semester for in-state students and $2,500 per semester for out-of-state students.

So I think that is a big contribution to why we see the enrollment growth that we've seen.

And in my tenure here at ECSU, over the last five years, we have grown every single year.

Even during the pandemic, we grew 13%.

And so I think North Carolinians are seeing this opportunity for quality education at an affordable price.

And I definitely thank the North Carolina legislature for putting this model in place because it was a little risky on the front end, but it turned out to be a great benefit for the institution and the institutions that are participating.

Another area I would say is we are doing more to recruit across North Carolina.

We have an initiative that we've called Viking Blueprint.

So we are going to key cities across North Carolina.

We started in Charlotte, we just wrapped up our visit to Raleigh.

And in March, on March 16th, we'll be in Winston-Salem.

And so this is our way of taking ECSU across North Carolina and introducing the things that we are doing, the quality programs we're offering, NC Promise.

And so all of this coming together is really more so around being intentional around strategy for enrollment and also pushing adult learners.

We want adults to come back to college.

If you did not get your credential when you graduated from high school, it's never too late.

NC Promise does not have a maximum or minimum age.

Anyone can be an NC Promise student at our institution.

So we wanna make sure we're pushing adult learners to come back and gain that credential as well.

- Chancellor, I don't want to drill down too far into NC Promise, 'cause we have so much to unpack, but just after five years or so of NC Promise now being deployed and actually the practice of it, is there any data that's emerged from that that surprised you, or worth mentioning?

- Yes, well, we have a lot of data.

ECSU was one of the first of the three campuses chosen by the legislature.

It was us, UNC Pembroke and Western Carolina.

And just over the last past year, Fayetteville State joined the NC Promise group.

And what we've seen is just enrollment growth, significant growth.

And at ECSU, where in 2014, 16, we were looking at an enrollment decline of about 60%.

We've grown past that 60% and so we are exactly where we need to be, as far as showing trajectory of growth across the institution.

And definitely NC Promise allowing students to come to ECSU at an affordable price has definitely proved to be very positive for our enrollment growth.

- Kevin, question?

- Well, I'm excited about what you're doing, Dr. Dixon.

- [Karrie] Thank you.

- I have an affection for Elizabeth City State.

I have some relatives who attended your institution.

- Oh great!

- As well as a few leaders of my organization and founders who are graduates.

So I'm just curious what you're seeing in terms of aviation.

I know you do a lot in that space.

And where you think more opportunities may be for students in that space?

- Well thank you for that question, Kevin.

'Cause we're really excited about our aviation science program.

It is our signature program here at Elizabeth City State University.

I went public with that when I started as chancellor here, because I wanted everyone to know that ECSU was the only university in North Carolina with an aviation science degree, a four-year degree in aviation science.

So we have been very thankful for the growth that we've seen in that program as well.

When I started at ECSU, we had about 52 students.

We have exceeded over 250 as of last year.

And as of today we have already accepted 170 and we still have many months to go until Fall enrollment.

So we are seeing an upward trajectory of enrollment for aviation science.

And so being that this has been our signature program, or is our signature program, we're excited that we have students coming from all over North Carolina, all over the country who want to be aviators, and to be the only university offering this opportunity has just been wonderful.

And I'll have to say Kevin, also, I'm very excited about the fact that we have partnerships with major airlines, commercial airlines, because our students can either choose to be private pilots or they can choose to go into commercial pilot opportunities.

And we've signed recently with United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Republic Airlines.

We've also signed with JetBlue and we're having other conversations with airlines.

And so we are just really excited to see the growth in the program.

We have the highest level of accreditation, the AABI accreditation.

We are one of 43 in the world with this accreditation.

And when ECSU earned this accreditation, the phone started ringing off the hook with the airlines saying, "We know you have a quality program.

We want your pilots."

Because they're dealing with that influx of retirements of pilots and they have to be replaced.

And so it's great to see that excitement from the airlines.

They see the quality of the students we're producing here at ECSU and they wanna be a part of it.

So I'm really excited.

- Sandy, question?

- I just wanna say from an economic development standpoint, congratulations, first of all.

All ages attending programs.

That really gets me excited, because it's never too late to change.

And when we're constantly recruiting and looking for skills type programs such as yours is what makes that happen.

- [Karrie] Yes.

- And so since I'm a neighboring state, I look forward to the aviation program.

We have 460 acres we have in a aviation park.

So I know the need.

And it has been since COVID, actually, it has been a search to find pilots.

So I know that that will benefit that industry and we look forward to seeing what your students have to offer.

- Yes, thank you.

And I would love for you to come visit.

We have a fleet of airplanes now.

When I started, we owned two aircraft.

We now own 14.

And it's with the investment from our state legislature.

Our general assembly believes in what we're doing here.

And that means a lot because that's really taken our program to the next level so that we can have partnerships with your organization and others.

So I look forward to your visit.

- Dr., Hold on one second, Kevin.

Dr. Dixon, let's go back to something I know you're familiar with.

Oh, at myFutureNC.

- Yes.

- I don't know why I had a cramp there for a second.

But myFutureNC has identified in North Carolina, some educational outcomes on lower ed, K through 12.

With all the strain over the last few years for educational attainment, are you seeing, do you feel good?

Is there concern for the students coming in, first year students and young students coming into places like ECU?

How do you articulate that?

- Well, I'm not concerned from the standpoint of what our K-12, the superintendents.

I had all of them in our region on campus a week ago.

And just hearing some of the great things that are happening at the K-12 level, what that does is help us because it creates a pipeline and we want those students as early as we can get them, even as early as third grade to be exposed to STEM, aviation, a lot of our different academic programs.

And so those partnerships with superintendents have been very important to me and very beneficial to the university for exposing our students.

We have students coming to campus all the time, visiting the planetarium, visiting our dining hall, just getting that exposure.

And I think, when they see it and they are a part of it, it becomes a reality.

And so that helps with the education attainment goals that have been set by the state.

Just that exposure, 'cause not all students get that.

And to be a part of a campus community really helps 'em to understand all the opportunities they have before them.

- Kevin, sorry to barge in front of you.

Please go ahead.

Thank you.

- No worries.

I just had a follow-up question.

I'm curious, Dr. Dixon, in terms of from an economic development perspective, we're seeing actually the population growth of East and North Carolina in particular, start to dwindle a little bit as people move, or gravitate toward the middle of the state.

And I'm just curious from your perspective, as you engage more in aviation, are you seeing other areas where you can bring in more corporations closer to your campus and engage with the students around other areas beyond just being a pilot in aviation?

- Yes.

Yes.

Thank you for that question, Kevin.

So to your point, the 18 to 24-year-old population is definitely predicted to see a major decline in the northeastern region of the state.

And so we are already preparing for that from the standpoint of recruiting more adult learners, recruiting transfer students, recruiting military, all of those pipelines will help us to continue to grow.

But we also have to expand our visibility across the state of North Carolina, which is why I started the ECSU Blueprint tour.

And that's because we have to get out there and tell our story, what we offer here at ECSU, the quality education you'll receive at an affordable price due to NC Promise.

And so when I talk to businesses, and when I talk to other organizations across the state, I want them to know that we are ready to be partners because that's what's gonna help us to continue to move forward.

And at ECSU, we are one of three economic engines in this region.

With us, the Coast Guard and Sentara Hospital.

So we have a responsibility to continue to contribute to the economic development of this region.

And we're in the process of doing an economic study of our impact in this area, in partnership with UNC Chapel Hill, conducting that study for us.

And so I'm excited to see the results of that because I know that we are contributing a lot to small businesses and their success and other things when we have events and we bring people here.

So all of that is really important for us.

And those partnerships with business and industry are critical to our success and economic development of this region.

- Sandy, we literally have two minutes left.

Do you have a quick question for Dr. Dixon?

- I would just like to know, what are some of the other programs that you offer there for economic development?

Like certain skills, do you have advanced manufacturing, any of the robotics programs?

Just for help whenever I'm recruiting things that I know that may reach out to you, boat building, marine.

- So one thing that I'll mention, Sandy, is in Fall of 2019, we started the unmanned aircraft systems degree program, also known as Drones.

And we started that program and we remain the only university in North Carolina right now with a four-year degree program, well, degree program in drones.

And what I've seen is that there has been a lot of interest around drone usage in the future.

And even presently, we see it used even more, from the standpoint of law enforcement, agriculture, insurance, all those different opportunities and jobs that are here in this area that are needed.

We can do it much faster with drone training and drone usage.

And so we are in that space.

We also have a strong business program, where we're promoting small business entrepreneurship.

So that has been a major area as well.

And another one of our popular programs is criminal justice.

We are very close in partnership with law enforcement, the drone coupled with that.

And we have a drone pavilion now, the only, well, one of three on the east coast.

And so we are happy to have that pavilion here for training and certificates.

So there's a lot that we can do in that area as we prepare our graduates for the future, and as we think about the economic impact entrepreneurship and how we are working together with small businesses in this region, - Dr. Dixon, we literally have 30 seconds left.

But you seem to not be afraid of being creative around putting programs like the drone out there.

Is that a secret sauce?

In 30 seconds.

- Well, no secret sauce.

I'm just thinking about the future.

I'm thinking about what we need as a state, what we need as a country, and I want our graduates to be prepared to take on those jobs and those opportunities that are gonna be out there in the future.

So I'm excited about the direction that we're going and the innovation in action.

That's what we're doing at Elizabeth City State University.

- Chancellor, you're a hard woman to keep down, and I think they're very lucky to have you in Pasquotank County, and of course the harbor of hospitality up there.

Thank you for being a guest.

Please come back.

I hope you will.

- Thank you.

I sure will.

Thank you.

- Sandy, thank you.

Welcome from Myrtle Beach.

Good luck with the cable and of course Kevin, always nice to see you from Durham.

Thank you all for joining us.

Thank you for watching this program.

Until next week, I'm Chris William.

Goodnight.

(upbeat music)