APLU Names East Carolina University 2024 C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award Winner

Orlando, FL – In recognition of extraordinary community outreach, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) today named East Carolina University (ECU) the winner of the 2024 C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award during a ceremony at the group’s annual meeting in Orlando.

“Congratulations to East Carolina University on winning the 2024 C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award,” said APLU President Mark Becker. “ECU’s multifaceted approach to improving mental health in underserved communities in North Carolina illustrates the reach and vital importance of public universities to their states wellbeing.”

Aiming to address the mental health crisis facing people in rural areas of North Carolina, East Carolina University (ECU) launched a partnership with Contentnea Health in 2006 that increases access to critical primary health care and behavioral health services for underserved populations.

Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among those ages 10-65 in North Carolina, with higher rates in rural areas and significant unmet mental health needs stemming from economic stressors, geographical isolation, family dynamics, and health challenges. The university and its external partners have worked to deliver integrated behavioral health services within primary care visits for rural, underrepresented, and underinsured or uninsured patients and families in eastern North Carolina while providing 154 doctoral and master’s students with foundational clinical and research training with lasting impressions on standards of care that frame their careers.

The partnership has supported more than 126,000 integrated behavioral health care encounters with patients through primary care clinics, dental clinics, on farms, and in school settings since its inception over 18 years ago. The effort provides behavioral health services on average to 7,000 people each year.