Since my arrival as president nearly two years ago, I have consistently
heard complimentary, admiring, and respectful comments about Virginia
Wesleyan Trustee Vince Mastracco and his wife, Suzanne.
In their
honor and in appreciation for their many contributions not only to the
College but also to the Hampton Roads/Coastal Virginia region, we
dedicated on Wednesday a residential facility in Honors Village as
Mastracco Hall.
A member of the Board of Trustees for more than
20 years, and now serving as chair of our Advancement Committee, Vince
is known throughout Coastal Virginia as a man of integrity, duty, and
loyalty. He has been extraordinarily helpful in providing counsel for
various initiatives we have undertaken, notably the Campus Master Plan.
He has been working, quietly but diligently, to make it possible for us
to move forward on the residential development planned for the area
across Wesleyan Drive—to be known as Oxford Village—and he has been
enormously helpful to our senior administrative team, and me personally,
in matters of fundraising, community engagement, marketing and
rebranding, and other areas that have enhanced our visibility,
leadership, and effectiveness as Coastal Virginia’s premier institution
of the liberal arts and sciences.
His community service has
included active participation on the Greater Norfolk Corporation and the
Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Not surprisingly, a profile of him
last year in Inside Business opened with the statement, “If you want something done in Hampton Roads, you call Vincent Mastracco, Jr.”
We
thank Mr. Mastracco for his service to Virginia Wesleyan, his
willingness and readiness to offer professional assistance whenever it
is needed, and his wider role as an influential, conscientious, and
gracious citizen in our community.
We are grateful, as well, for
Suzanne Mastracco’s contributions to our region. Her commitment to the
arts in Hampton Roads and in the Commonwealth has enriched all of our
lives. Her service on the board of trustees of the Chrysler Museum of
Art, as well as her many contributions to the Virginia Arts Festival,
the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, the Virginia Commission for the
Arts, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, all speak to her devotion
to a world of beauty, inspiration, and creativity.
No list of the
region’s most important leaders throughout its history would be
complete without both Vince and Suzanne’s names. It is fitting to
remember that in 2007, Volunteer Hampton Roads honored both of them with
its Lenora Mathews Lifetime Achievement Award as exemplary volunteers
and caring citizens, and they received the 2012 Darden Award for
Regional Leadership.
I hope that in some meaningful way,
Mastracco Hall will remind our current and future students of their
obligations as community servants and stewards of this soon-to-be
University and our society.
May they follow the Mastraccos’ humble example for the benefit of our campus, our state, and nation for generations to come.
