July 22, 2016
I’m pleased to share appointments to my
Presidential Councils for the 2016-17 academic year:
President’s Leadership Council
President’s Council on Inclusive Community
President’s Environmental Issues Council
I thank those who are willing to serve
on these Councils and look forward to working with them this year.
Last week, I enjoyed visiting with high
school educators who were on our campus for the National Association of Biology
Teachers/Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (NABT/BSCS) Biology Teacher
Academy, presented in partnership with HHMI BioInteractive and supported by the
Virginia Department of Education. I had the pleasure of speaking to them when
they visited the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. I have no doubt
that they walked away from this professional development experience, which
several of our talented faculty helped to facilitate, with new perspectives on
teaching biology and many new ideas for their classrooms. It was a pleasure to
share our fine facilities and state-of-the-art equipment with these educators.
This week I continued to have discussions with the preferred contractor for the development of the land across from campus. We hope to have plans to share with our community in the near future.
I also had the pleasure of presenting our outgoing
chair of the VWC Alumni Council, Amy Mallett Rickard ‘98, with a plaque
commending her for her service on our Board of Trustees and for her service as
chair of the Alumni Council. Special thanks to Amy for dedicating her time and
talents to her alma mater. We appreciate all she has done for the College.
Recently appointed Executive Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations
Lori McCarel '94 joined us for the presentation.
Next week, the VWC Center for Sacred Music, along with the Robert F. Boyd Institute, will host the College’s 2016 Sacred Music Summer Conference, a non-denominational Worship & Music Conference that offers continuing education opportunities for church musicians, worship leaders, music teachers, and all who are interested in the sacred arts. The week opens at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, July 25, with “A Service of Christian Prayer” in the Monumental Chapel on campus, and concludes on Saturday, July 30, with a “Finale: Sing to the Lord with Cheerful Voice” at Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Norfolk. Learn more about the Sacred Music Summer Conference and the events of this special week on our website. Thanks to Director of the Center for Sacred Music, Dr. Sandra Billy, for coordinating this wonderful annual event.
Finally, Marylouise Fennell, Senior Counsel at the Council of Independent Colleges, and I have served for a decade as executive editors of the internationally distributed higher education leadership series “Presidential Perspectives.” The print version of the 2015-16 "Presidential Perspectives" series, titled "Innovative Concepts to Achieve Campus Transformation," was recently published by Philadelphia-based Aramark Higher Education and is the 10th anniversary edition. Dr. Muriel Howard, President of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), and Dr. Richard Ekman, President of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), authored a special 10-year foreword. Chapters in the series are authored by notable presidents whose institutions are in the forefront of innovative practices in these areas. Individual chapters and annual editions of "Presidential Perspectives" can be found at presidentialperspectives.
