Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

Last Monday, we commemorated military service and sacrifice at our annual Veterans Day Ceremony on campus. I was honored to be invited to speak. Marissa Philips '19 offered beautiful renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful," and The Rev. Greg West, University Chaplain, gave the Invocation and Prayer of Thanksgiving. Many thanks to Amy Rush, Deputy Director of the Lighthouse: Center for Exploration and Discovery; Kate Couch, Director of Student Activities; and Melanie Monk, Assistant Director of Financial Aid, for their efforts in planning a dignified and meaningful event. Read more and view the photo gallery here.

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Our highly selective Batten Honors College continues to receive national attention. From an initial list of nearly 40,000 prospective students, we have narrowed the pool of eligible candidates to approximately 80 students who will compete for 40 scholarships in this year's cohort. We hosted 38 prospective scholars to campus on November 8-10 for the first Batten Honors College Competition of the 2018-19 academic year. The competition for a place in this distinctive and unique program began with a welcome reception at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and continued with interviews, campus tours, class visits, and panel discussions over the next two days. Participating students and their parents also attended a reception the evening of November 9 at Slover Library in downtown Norfolk. The second part of the competition, which will follow the same format, will occur February 7-9. View the photo gallery here.

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History was made last weekend as we watched the cupola placed atop The Beacon at Monumental Chapel, a milestone in the restoration of a historic campus icon. The cross, a symbol of our Methodist heritage, faces east which has religious significance.

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We also had a great turnout last weekend for the Marlins Day Open House where we welcomed prospective students and families to campus. Read more about the day and view the photo gallery here.

ET CETERA

At the invitation of Jonathan Alger, President of James Madison University, I attended a meeting of cross-sector presidents (private, state and community colleges in Virginia) in conjunction with a conference JMU hosted entitled "Engagement for the Public Good." Dr. Alger has taken a leadership role in this important topic in Virginia and has invited me to assist him in organizing the Virginia presidents. We discussed connecting learning to community and civic engagement. It was great to share my strong interest in civic engagement and service with so many other leaders in higher education. As a former Chair of West Virginia Campus Compact, I will join the Board of Virginia Campus Compact this year.

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I enjoy serving on the Board of Virginia Beach Vision. This month's topic was Regionalism and Business led by

Louis "Lou" Haddad, President and Chief Executive Officer of Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. Lou's wife, Mary Haddad, serves as a Virginia Wesleyan University Trustee whom we are pleased to have on our Board.

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Last week I participated in a fascinating program entitled "Free Speech at Colleges and Universities: Perspectives and Recommendations" hosted by four colleagues from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Grant Cornwell, President of Rollins College; Frederick Lawrence, CEO of Phi Beta Kappa Society, and President-emeritus of Brandeis University; Sandy Ungar, Director of The Free Speech Project at Georgetown University, Visiting Lecturer at Harvard College, and President-emeritus of Goucher College; and Cerri Banks, Dean of Skidmore College, did a masterful job of framing an important topic for all of American higher education. Special thanks to AAC&U for taking an active leadership role in this important topic.

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Most of you are aware that I Chair the Climate Leadership Network (formerly American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment). The 2019 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit comes at an opportune time to gather as climate action leaders in higher education. I've provided a link to the speakers and registration information here.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

Such a privilege to recognize our incredible Physical Plant staff last week who earned Virginia Wesleyan University a Merit Award from the Professional Grounds Management Society's Green Star Awards competition for exceptional grounds maintenance. I'm grateful for their hard work in keeping VWU's native forests, large expanses of turf, ornamental and native trees, numerous ponds, athletic fields, and flower beds beautiful. Our partners from the Norfolk Botanical Garden who assist with our living landscapes joined us for the event. Read more here.

Annie and I enjoyed lunch with some wonderful friends of Virginia Wesleyan University last week including Alice Clarke (wife of former President Lambuth Clarke), Judith Brown (a faculty member in the 1970s), Martha Jo Wilson (wife of former Academic Dean, William "Bill" Wilson). We shared so many great Virginia Wesleyan stories.

We welcomed to campus LTC Rhana Kurdi, Professor of Military Science and Director of the Army ROTC Monarchs. Virginia Wesleyan has an active Army ROTC program in cooperation with ODU. This program has grown significantly over the last two years and we will soon be announcing designated office space on our campus.

Jason Seward, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, poses here with the new VWU logo that will be placed on the hill at Mt. Crushmore (beyond the left field fence at Perry Field). The logo will be lit at night and surrounded by landscaping. It was funded by the graduating Class of 2018.

Congratulations to student-athlete Skyler Lattuca of the Virginia Wesleyan University men's cross country team who earned All-Region honors! Read more here.

It was great to Chat 'n Chew with friends from Student Affairs recently.

I had a wonderful evening last Tuesday with the young professionals of tHRive, a program of the Hampton Roads Chamber that empowers young professionals to actively take part in shaping the future of our region. I was proud to participate in their "Table for 10" program. Read more here.

Last week I attended the 2018 Darden Awards, sponsored by the CIVIC Leadership Institute, and enjoyed being a guest of long-time Virginia Wesleyan University Trustee and friend George Birdsong at the Birdsong Peanuts table at the Peter Decker Half Moone Cruise Center at Waterside in Norfolk. George was last year's recipient of the Darden Award, presented annually for outstanding civic leadership in Coastal Virginia. I had the opportunity to catch up with Henry Light, friend and supporter of Virginia Wesleyan University and a member of the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV). Congratulations to Harvey Lindsay, Jr., and Ferguson Enterprises--recipients of the 2018 Darden Awards.

It was such a pleasure to recognize our friends from TowneBank at the Roundball Insiders Luncheon. The TowneBank Tip-Off Tournament was held over the weekend.

I'm proud to share that four-time Grammy winner Steve Buckingham will be teaching a course at Virginia Wesleyan University this spring. He gave a special presentation last Thursday on the course topic: "Rhythm and Blues Tore Down the Walls of Segregation." Read more here.

I'd like to conclude with an especially meaningful statement on the importance of service and social commitment by Clayton Singleton '94: "There are some people who equate service with sacrifice, but service is an investment. It's an investment in the future, in each other, and in what bonds us together." Clayton shared this in his acceptance speech when receiving the 2018 Alumni Service Award from VWU during our Founders Day celebration in September and it has stayed with me. Clayton is an award-winning artist and educator in the Norfolk Public Schools who gave a special artist talk last Thursday at the opening of his show "Future, Love, Paradise" on display at the Neil Britton Art Gallery through January 17.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY WEEKEND READING

"Conflicted Views of Technology: A Survey of Faculty Attitudes." Read more here.
"College students are more engaged in interest groups than in political parties." Read more here.
Read about how colleges are incorporating blockchain to verify academic credentials here.
"Life Is Complicated: Distance Learning Helps." Read more in The New York Times.
"America is Divided by Education," reports The Atlantic.
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education's Daily Briefing, the midterm elections generated record early-voter turnout, and exit polls broke down which voting blocs played crucial roles in who was elected. Here are some takeaways: