June 3, 2016
I’m pleased to share
that Virginia Wesleyan College has been awarded a grant of $5,000 from the Chesapeake
Bay Trust to support a summer biology course
for Chesapeake high school students.
The inquiry-based biology course will be offered this summer to rising
seniors from the Science and Medicine Academy at Deep Creek High School in
Chesapeake. Titled "Diversity of Life,” the course will take place on
campus July 25-August 5 and will feature a comprehensive
survey of the life of Earth—from bacteria and unicellular algae through fungi,
plants and animals. It is also scheduled to include hands-on sessions with the
College’s scanning electron microscope, a trip to the Virginia Zoological Park,
and excursions aboard the Ocean Explorer,
Virginia Wesleyan’s research vessel owned in partnership with the Virginia
Aquarium & Marine Science Center.
The course will be co-taught by VWC Professor of Biology Vic
Townsend, Associate Professor of Biology Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson, and Batten
Associate Professor of Education Hilve Firek.
I appreciate the efforts of Drs. Firek, Gonsalves-Jackson, and Townsend for their
outreach and connections to our greater community.
The Chesapeake Bay Trust is a nonprofit grant-making
organization dedicated to improving the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers through
environmental education, community outreach, and local watershed restoration.
Since its inception in 1985, the Trust has awarded $70 million in grants and
engaged hundreds of thousands of citizen stewards in projects that have a
measurable impact on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Read more about the Trust.
Also, this week, I attended the groundbreaking for the Norfolk
Premium Outlet Mall that will be located at the end of Wesleyan Drive, just
minutes from the College. This link
provides coverage of the groundbreaking: http://wavy.com/2016/06/02/
Finally, as we near the
conclusion of our fiscal year on June 30, our Advancement staff is
busily securing gifts for The Excellence Fund. I encourage you to visit our new
online giving page at www.vwc.edu/giveonline. This new giving feature is much
more convenient to use and offers a fast and secure way of contributing to
scholarships, academic innovation, and other programs and initiatives made
possible through The Excellence Fund. We appreciate your support.
