June 10, 2016
Good morning,
Summer continues to be
an eventful time for me as I reach out to various partners of the College. I
had two very productive meetings with our partners at the Virginia Aquarium and
Marine Science Center and at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental
Center. Our collaborative efforts provide valuable experiences for our students
and faculty. We look forward to greater engagement in the future.
Our Master Planning
Committee met to continue its work. Professionals from Aramark Engineering
Solutions and Derck & Edson provided valuable information on our
facilities, their condition and other assessment findings. They have conducted
a space and a parking study and are beginning to design scenarios for campus
improvements. We hope to have more details to share with our community in the
fall.
I spent two productive
days in Washington, DC, this week, as the Boards of Directors of Academic
Search (AS), Inc., and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) held
their summer meetings there. I currently serve as chair of the AS, Inc., board
and Vice Chair of AALI. During my time there I was able to personally
reconnect with old friends like Jay Lemons, President of Susquehanna University
and President-Elect of Academic Search, Inc., and Tom Kepple, President of
American Academic Leadership Institute, at the new headquarters.
It was also nice to
visit with Susan Whealler Johnston and Joseph Johnston, Jr., during my visit to
Washington, DC. Joe is the son of Virginia Wesleyan College's first
president and is currently Director of Consulting Services at the Association
of Governing Boards (AGB). His wife, Susan, is Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer of AGB.
Virginia Wesleyan was
pleased to welcome Kenjiro Tsuji and Professor Kazunori Yamaguchi from Rikkyo
University in Tokyo, Japan, to campus this week. They met with members of our
faculty and staff to discuss a potential relationship between our institutions
for the future. Thanks to Dr. Steven Emmanuel, professor of philosophy, for connecting
them to VWC.
Finally, Annie and I
were excited to welcome our second granddaughter, Abigail Rose, on June 5 at
4:54 a.m.
I hope all of you are
having a wonderful summer!
