Nota Bene: Promoting Private Colleges at the General Assembly

Last week, on January 17, I had the opportunity to travel to Richmond to visit members of the General Assembly and make the case for private college initiatives. My trip was planned in coordination with the Council of Independent Colleges of Virginia (CICV), a group which, among its many areas of support, serves as the voice of Virginia’s independent higher education community before state agencies and legislators.

 

Throughout the day I visited with various representatives, many of whom had personal connections to the College (view photos). These meetings included:

 

• State Senator Richard Stuart, a 1989 VWC graduate
• Delegate Margaret Ransone, a former VWC student who now represents the Virginia House of Delegates 99th District
• Delegate Glenn R. Davis Jr., representative for the Virginia House of Delegates 84th District and a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, and his Legislative Assistant Andrew Petrey, VWC Class of 2015
• Delegate Joseph C. Lindsey, representative for the Virginia House of Delegates 90th District, which encompasses Virginia Wesleyan
• Delegate Barry Knight, who represents the 81st District in the Virginia House of Delegates, serving Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, and traces friendships with Virginia Wesleyan back to the College's founding

I was able to thank each representative and encourage continued support of private college and university initiatives across the Commonwealth. This includes support for Virginia’s Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG), a program from which more than 23,000 Virginia families will benefit this year. At Virginia Wesleyan, 840 students received over $1,341,000 in TAG support for the fall term. By spring, we’ll have received a projected $2,682,720 from the Virginia TAG program. That's a significant percentage of our students, and an essential investment in their future.

 

Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Jason Seward showed further support for TAG on Monday of this week by visiting the General Assembly with VWC juniors Justin Smith, Gwendolyn Malone, and Alana Peters (view photo). I thank them for helping to make Virginia Wesleyan’s voice heard on this valued component of students' financial-aid opportunities.

 

During my trip to Richmond, I also had the chance to discuss Virginia Wesleyan’s exciting progress and forward momentum on the Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association’s award-winning program Cable Reports. The show, hosted by Woody Evans, highlights key issues impacting Virginia and helps build a better understanding of state government. It is filmed in the Virginia General Assembly Building. You can watch the full interview (and others) on my President's Videos webpage at: http://www.vwc.edu/about-us/president-and-leadership/video-message.php

 

Visits like these are extremely important in our efforts to bring increased funding to programs assisting our students, leverage collaborative opportunities with like-minded individuals and organizations, and highlight the contributions of the private colleges to the Commonwealth of Virginia.