Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

March 20, 2023

Good morning,

Welcome back! We hope everyone had a fun and relaxing Spring Break.

With miles of coastline and waterways, state parks, a national wildlife refuge, rural agricultural communities, and a diverse population of marine wildlife, the health of our environment is crucial to our daily life in this coastal city. With organizations like the Research and Conservation Division at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, Lynnhaven River Now, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, as well programs like Virginia Green, conservation opportunities abound in Virginia Beach. With advanced environmental studies programs at Virginia Beach City Public Schools, the Brock Environmental Center, and Virginia Wesleyan University’s Batten Honors College and Joan P. Brock School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Virginia Beach has become a premier education center where students at all levels engage in deep learning about environmental sustainability.

Virginia Wesleyan University, in partnership with the City of Virginia Beach and The Gunn Group, are delighted to elevate and promote our region’s distinctiveness through an annual program that brings environmental authors and activists to the city for an Earth Week celebration that will be held April 17-21.

Earth Week will kickoff with the spring Marlin Business Conference, “A Greener Tomorrow.” This student led conference will underscore environmentally-friendly career opportunities and how businesses can operate sustainably. Events include guest lectures from the Port of Virginia, The Elizabeth River Project, All Good Cafe, and more.

The hallmark Earth Week event, “Generations Uniting to Address Climate Change” panel, will be held on Friday, April 21, at 1:00 p.m. in the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center. A panel of experts from science, policy, and communication backgrounds will discuss the climate crisis’ evolution, impacts and solutions. A career and volunteer fair featuring local environmental organizations is being held in the lobby before and after the symposium. The symposium is free and open to anyone looking to be inspired by changemakers from across the generations.

Additional Earth Week presentations include “Protein Wars” by Dr. Sid Dobrin, Virginia Wesleyan Class of 1989, and “Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future” by Greg Melville, presented by the VWU Robert Nusbaum Center. The art exhibit “Rising Tides, Rising Tensions” by Renee Calway is open to the public from now until May 5 in the Barclay Sheaks Gallery of Hofheimer Library.

I hope our Marlins and friends are marking their calendars for these wonderful opportunities to understand and address climate change in our region and around the world.

Stay tuned to our Earth Week website for updates as additional events are added to the celebration.

ET CETERA

Virginia Wesleyan was honored with 2022 Tree Campus Higher Education recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management.

The Arbor Day Foundation is the world’s largest membership nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees. Its Tree Campus Higher Education program began in 2008 to encourage colleges and universities to plant trees on their campuses.

The Tree Campus Higher Education program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and engaging staff and students in conservation goals. VWU achieved the distinction by meeting Tree Campus Higher Education’s five standards, including maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and student service-learning project. Currently, there are 411 campuses across the United States with this recognition. We are delighted to be among them.

My thanks to Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm, Professor of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and Director of Sustainability, for her leadership in fostering this program on our campus. A formal recognition of this honor will be held during our Earth Week celebration in April.

Virginia Beach city leaders are making plans to honor victims, survivors and first responders of the tragedy at the municipal center on May 31, 2019. The City is committed to ensuring the memorial process is transparent and providing multiple opportunities for families, survivors and the community to provide input.

Following a national call for proposals and committee evaluation, the Virginia Beach 5/31 Memorial Committee has narrowed down to two final proposals for community consideration. The finalists are concepts from Dills Architects with SWA and from RHI with Larry Kirkland Studio. The community is invited to share feedback on the two designs for 5/31 Memorial at www.speakupvb.com through midnight on March 23. Once the survey closes, results will be shared both at SpeakUpVB.com and on LoveForVB.com .

Our hearts continue to reach out to the victims and survivors and their families of this horrific event that devastated our city. The Robert T. Williams ‘75 Trail of Wesleyan Woods remains a meaningful space on campus to reflect and remember those we lost.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

Passing of Trustee Emerita Susan T. Beverly ’72, H’21

I shared the sad news last week of the passing of Susan Torma Beverly, Ed.D., Trustee Emerita and alumna of the Class of 1972. She was an incredible friend and supporter of Virginia Wesleyan, and she will be truly missed. Learn more about her life and legacy.

Celebrating Women’s History Month

During the month of March, a special series of speakers and events have been organized by a variety of campus offices in celebration of Women’s History Month. Learn more and make plans to attend upcoming campus events.

Confirm your Commencement Participation by Thursday

We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2023 on Saturday, May 13 at 10:00 a.m. in TowneBank Arena of the Jane P. Batten Student Center. Students who wish to participate in the May 2023 Commencement Ceremony must submit their Commencement Fee (which includes the cost of the cap and gown) by Thursday, March 23. For more information about our 2023 Commencement Exercises, please visit our website and read the FAQs.

Marlins Take the Stage at Carnegie Hall

Last Saturday, Virginia Wesleyan Camerata traveled to New York City to perform under the baton of Dr. Bryson Mortensen as part of a festival chorus made up of choirs from Virginia, Maryland, and Minnesota. After six hours of rehearsal spread over two days, the choir took the stage at Carnegie Hall to perform Ola Gjeilo's Sunrise Mass for a sold out house of over 2000 attendees. On April 6, the choir will present an encore performance in the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center. They will be joined by the Visual and Performing Arts Academy Choirs at Salem High School (who performed with them in Carnegie Hall).

Celebrating ODAC Champs at DeFord Manor

We celebrated three track and field athletes who earned individual titles at the ODAC Indoor Track and Field Championships with a dinner at DeFord Manor last week. Pictured (from left): Ryan Purrington (assistant coach), Cameia Alexander (head coach), Terrian Smith (ODAC Champ, high jump), Geni Roberts (7-time All-American & ODAC long and triple jump champ), Ja’Marri Henderson (ODAC Champ in 60m hurdles), Andrea Hoover (AD), and Annie. A highlight of the evening was a variety of songs played on the DeFord Manor Steinway piano by Terrian Smith.

Virginia African American Cultural Center’s New Leader

It was nice to meet Tamar Smithers, the new Executive Director of the Virginia African American Cultural Center (pictured center), last week. We were happy to host her on campus with Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond, founder and chair of the Center. We look forward to the wonderful educational partnership opportunities that the Center will bring as it develops and grows.

President’s Council Spring Meeting

We had a great spring meeting of the President's Council at DeFord Manor last week. We were pleased to welcome new members to the Council including Alex Askew (pictured top right), Community Relations Coordinator at Sentara, and Chris Taylor '06 (pictured bottom right), Virginia Beach City Councilmember. A program highlight was a presentation by senior Caitlin Myers (pictured left) on her internship experience at The Groves.

No-Cost Professional Development Courses: Spring 2023

Registration for Virginia Wesleyan University's spring session of no-cost, online professional development courses is now open. In partnership with the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development, Virginia Wesleyan launched a continued series of fully online courses through VWU Global Campus in 2020 as a way to offset the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These classes join other comprehensive non-degree courses designed to provide advanced skills valued by employers.

The Pharos: March 2023 Edition

The latest edition of The Pharos is available now. We hope you enjoy learning more about our talented faculty and staff members who continue to make important contributions to their respective fields through publications, presentations, and more.

Hourigan Promotes CAO to Construction President

VWU construction and development partner Hourigan Group has promoted Bryan Jones to head its construction division. Hourigan has completed 21 projects on the VWU campus since 2015.

STAY CURRENT ON VWU NEWS AND FEATURES

Virginia Wesleyan University Magazine

The Pharos

REFLECTIONS

I hope you find these links useful to my recent columns and publications:

University Business