Homecoming and Family Weekend photos are now available, including images of the Homecoming Parade, FinFest, THE EDGE 5k Fun Run, State Farm Scholar Athlete Awards, dedication of a tree in memory of Nancy Kelly, alumni and varsity athletic games, and much more. The photo gallery can be viewed here and you can read a recap of the weekend here.
ET CETERA It has been my annual practice to share data gathered for an Employment by Diversity Report with the campus community. The report can be accessed here. Please note that through the support of private donors the student work program, Opus, grew again this year. Currently, 338 students are working campus-based jobs-a 15 percent increase over 2017-18.
AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS
Improvements to our softball complex, Broyles Field at TowneBank, continue with prescription sod for the outfield and the new step-down, walk-in dugouts. Brick work grows closer to completion on The Beacon. More progress is made as the concrete for the floor was poured last week in the Eleanor and Henry Watts Gallery in the new Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center.
I enjoyed a productive visit with executives of the Virginia Port Authority at the World Trade Center in Norfolk last week. VWU and The Port have had a strong relationship in recent years.
VWU Athletics Director Tina Hill and I visited with Wood Selig, Director of Athletics at Old Dominion University, last week at The Main in Norfolk. It was an opportunity to introduce Wood to Tina who joined our campus community this summer. We discussed topics of current importance to both our universities' athletic programs.
We are pleased to have renewed the partnership agreement between Virginia Wesleyan University and Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay. With Ben Unkle, President and CEO of Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay, we formalized the Westminster/Wesleyan Lifelong Learning Institute a year ago. The program has proved to be very popular with their members. Learn more about the program here.
National Energy Efficiency Day was last Friday, October 5. I was proud to sign a proclamation pledging Virginia Wesleyan's continued commitment to cut energy waste. VWU is the first institution in the Commonwealth and second in the nation to formally make this proclamation. Read more here.
On Tuesday of last week, I was part of a group that met with Bishop Sharma Lewis and Betty Forbes, Chair of the UMC Council on Finance and Administration, in Ashland. We had important discussions about the Education Fund and the Church/College connection as well as The Way Forward movement. I served as Chair of the Presidents Council the past two years and was succeeded this year by Dr. David Johns, President of Ferrum College.
Last week, I enjoyed visiting with new College of William and Mary President Katherine Rowe and welcoming her to Coastal Virginia. William and Mary and Virginia Wesleyan have been partners on a number of collaborative projects in recent years, and we discussed higher education topics and issues of mutual interest.
I had a nice visit with Gov. Ralph Northam last weekend at Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler's social in Virginia Beach. The Governor is a good friend and supporter of Kelly, a 2003 graduate of Virginia Wesleyan, and of the University.
We recently enjoyed a visit from our colleagues at The Nature Conservancy to discuss partnership opportunities and to tour VWU's award-winning Greer Environmental Sciences Center.
It was great to visit with Vivian Oden of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation at Virginia Wesleyan's Fine Arts Building. Travis Malone, Dean of the Susan S. Goode School of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Theatre, joined us for the tour.
Recently, we hosted leaders from Virginia Beach Friends School on campus for an enjoyable discussion on a number of collaboration opportunities.
We welcomed three new full-time faculty members to Virginia Wesleyan this fall-Dr. Robert Ariel, Dr. Nadia Nafar, and Dr. Modupe Oshikoya. Read more about these distinguished professionals here.
So glad to host community partners for a meet and greet with Virginia Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff. It was a great opportunity for our campus community to connect with non-profits from the area and create meaningful partnership opportunities that can be used to aid our community. We were happy to welcome Mary (Douglas) Crosby '05, Donor Relations Manager with ForKids, Inc., back to campus for the workshop. Special thanks to Brian Kurisky, Director of Wesleyan Engaged: Center for Civic Leadership and Service Learning, for organizing the event.
I enjoyed the kickoff breakfast for the Campaign Ambassadors for the 2018 Faculty and Staff Campaign: Your Gift is Your Voice. A special thank you to all of our Campaign Ambassadors: Elaine Aird '96, Heather Campbell '04, Kelly Cordova, Joyce Easter, Matt Littleton, Randy Lott, Audrey Malagon, Bryson Mortensen, Maynard Schaus, Jason Seward '05, Jayne Sullivan, and Craig Wansink.
STAY CURRENT ON VWU NEWS AND FEATURES
HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY WEEKEND READING
- "Google's IT certification heads for college curriculum. "Read the Education Dive article here.
- Inside Higher Ed reports: "More than 25 community colleges and Northeastern University will offer credit for the five-course online program." Read the article here.
- "Colleges address cybersecurity training gap with degrees, partnerships." Read the Education Divearticle here.
- With more than 3 million open cybersecurity positions predicted in 2021, colleges are turning their attention toward skills development in that field. Read the article here.
REFLECTIONS
I hope you find these links useful to my recent columns and publications:
PRESIDENTIAL EVENTS
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Have a great week!
