August 5, 2016
With just three weeks left before the start of the
fall semester, we are busy with preparations for the 2016-17 academic year. From
readying student residence halls and classrooms to planning for events,
programs and curriculum, it has been “all hands on deck” this month. We look
forward to greeting returning students and the newest members of our community,
the Class of 2020.
I am also looking forward to delivering my second
State of the College address on August 23, when I will share several major
announcements with faculty, staff and members of our Board of Trustees. This
event will be webcast, and we will forward information on how to view it soon.
Stay tuned.
Last week, I met with the new officers of the VWC
Alumni Council. We welcomed the Council’s new president, Mavis McKenley ’11. I
have every confidence that Mavis and the Alumni Council, along with our new
Executive Director for Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, Lori McCarel ’94,
and our new Coordinator for Annual Giving, Kristin Williams, will grow alumni
events and activities and alumni participation in The Excellence Fund.
We are happy to welcome groups to our campus each
summer. For decades, we have hosted the Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ (VBCPS)
Annual Student Leadership Workshops on our campus during the summer. For the
last two weeks, more than 200 middle and high school student leaders were here
to experience leadership training that fosters the development of 21st
century learning skills. Teamwork, group dynamics, decision-making and more
were on their agenda as students cheered and chanted across our campus. And
this week,150 VBCPS student activities advisers from elementary, middle, and
high schools in Virginia Beach were in Boyd Dining Hall for a day of training
and planning.
I’m happy
to report that it was another outstanding year for the VWC Center for Sacred
Music’s Summer Worship and Music Conference. Kudos to the Center’s Director, Sandi
Billy, for coordinating a successful event each year.
Last
week’s Private College Week was a huge success. We had seventy
students from across Virginia and from New Jersey, New York, Maryland,
Massachusetts and North Carolina visit our campus to experience what it would
be like to become a Marlin. The large majority is entering the senior year of
high school and will be making decisions on college attendance in the near
future.
This week John Dysart, our consultant on enrollment,
visited campus to meet with me and members of the Enrollment Planning
Committee. Many thanks to Vice President for Enrollment David Waggoner and
Associate Dean for Enrollment Beth Clarke for their leadership in this area. Because
of their commitment and hard work, Virginia Wesleyan’s enrollment outlook is
bright.
I also had lunch with the new leadership for Heritage
United Methodist Church this week. I was happy to connect with Rev. Michelle
Louk to discuss ways to strengthen our partnership. The College has had a long
and productive relationship with Heritage UMC, and we want to continue to build
on our meaningful partnership.
I’m pleased to share that our
partnership with Westminster Canterbury has received a 2016 Excellence
in Research and Education National Award for the Birdsong project. The Birdsong
Initiative at Westminster-Canterbury shows the positive impact of bedside
computers among dementia patients. Students from Virginia Wesleyan have
contributed to the success of this important project, and we are very proud of
their participation and impact.
Our campus outreach continues as nine rising
seniors from Chesapeake Public Schools' Science and Medicine Academy recently participated
in a VWC Biology 190 class that included an opportunity to go out on the vessel
we share with the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, The Ocean Explorer, to collect and
categorize marine specimens and to analyze and document water quality in the
ocean and in Owl's Creek. Students collected a variety of marine life,
including rays, jellies, fish (flounder, spot, croaker, and a puffer fish),
crabs, mud snails, and more.
Special thanks to the Chesapeake Bay
Trust for making this experience possible and to Virginia Wesleyan College
faculty members Vic Townsend and Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson for their excellence
in teaching, and to Hilve Firek for coordinating this tremendous experience.
Finally, I had a delightful lunch with
our new director for study away this week. Mandy Reinig brings tremendous skill
and experience to our international studies program, and I have every
confidence that, under her leadership, our study-away program will flourish.
