The winter meeting of the
Virginia Wesleyan College Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday,
February 15. It was wonderful to welcome 22 Board members to campus,
including new Trustees Mary C. Haddad, Lee T. Stevenson ’85, and Michael
J. White ’81.
I am pleased to share that following careful
review, the Board adopted the Campus Master Plan, which includes a
space-utilization study, parking study, facilities-condition assessment
plan, and a Campus Master Plan for the next 10 years. From here, the
final product will be taken to the City of Virginia Beach Planning
Department.
Among the progress reports given were strategies and
outlook for increasing enrollment, including the addition of two
master’s programs, online degree-completion programs at the
undergraduate level, and early- and dual-enrollment initiatives;
continued development of the Batten Honors College; VWC’s new
relationship with Tidewater Community (Collegiate) Academy; ongoing
upgrades to campus technology; plans and progress on our current capital
campaign, VWC 2020: Pathway to Prominence; the College's 10-year
reaffirmation of its affiliation with the United Methodist Church
following the University Senate's "perfect" visit in November;
construction of the Greer Environmental Sciences Center and the Frank
Blocker Youth Center at YMCA Camp Red Feather (previously referred to as
the VWC/YMCA Partnership Facility); and plans for the Susan S. Goode
Fine and Performing Arts Center, the Oxford Village housing development
across Wesleyan Drive, and a new track and field complex.
The
Board heard reports and approved actions from the Committee on
Trusteeship as well as the Committees of Academic Affairs,
Administration and Finance, Advancement, Audit, Enrollment, and Student
Affairs. Approval was given for advancement from assistant to associate
professor and conferral of tenure for Dr. Kellie Holzer (English) and
advancement from associate to full professor for Dr. John Rudel (Art),
effective with the start of the 2017-18 academic year. Seven faculty
sabbaticals have also been authorized for the 2017-18 academic year for
Dr. Thomas Brown (Criminal Justice/Sociology), Dr. Maury Howard
(Chemistry), Dr. Craig Jackson (Psychology), Dr. Audrey Malagon
(Mathematics), Dr. Gabriela Martorell (Psychology), Dr. Philip Rock
(Biology), and Dr. Cathal Woods (Philosophy).
During the meeting,
Board Chair David Kaufman and I had the honor of dedicating two Board
of Trustees plaques, made possible by Board member Tassos Paphites ’79
and his wife, Dolores. The plaques are located in the Boyd Dining
Center/Shafer Room lobby and in the Jane P. Batten Student Center near
the entrance to the Convocation Center. They bear the names of our
current Trustees and serve as visual reminders of the Board's historic
and valuable role in the College's progress.
The Board also heard
a presentation during lunch about the history and mission of Virginia
Wesleyan's Center for the Study of Religious Freedom, which celebrates
its 20th anniversary this academic year. Thank you to Dr. Craig Wansink,
the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Center for the
Study of Religious Freedom, and Kelly Jackson, Associate Director of the
CSRF, for joining us for this special occasion.
We are so
grateful for our Trustees' time and talents—their dedication is a
critical asset to the success of our College, its students and alumni.
The Board's spring meeting is scheduled for May.
