Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

Despite the chill in the air, our campus is bustling with January Term in full swing. In what is the largest winter term in Virginia Wesleyan history, students are accelerating their studies through unique courses, including study-away experiences to Costa Rica, Berlin, Israel, Mexico, and Hawaii.

The first mandatory January Term for first-year students has been a successful one. With our announcement last week of our participation in the new CIC Online Course Sharing Consortium, opportunities have grown considerably for student success in a cost-efficient and timely manner.

The expansion of January Term is one of the pillars of our commitment to accessibility and affordability. Additional efforts to make a VWU education more accessible include the Virginia Beach College Success Scholarship; freezing our tuition and fees at their current level for the second year in a row; establishing and growing the Opus student-work program; creating the endowed Batten Honors College; expanding our early- and dual-enrollment programs; and the Four-Year Graduation Guarantee. We also offer competitive financial aid packages and other scholarships.

ET CETERA

In addition to the hustle and bustle that comes along with January Term, our construction projects are also keeping campus quite lively. I'd like to share a few updates regarding the various projects in motion.

Last week, work began on the installation of a new roof on the S. Frank and Wilma Williamson Blocker Hall. The facility houses many of Virginia Wesleyan University's science programs. Block Roofing of Norfolk is completing the work, estimated at over $130,000. As much of the project as possible is being completed during concentrated January Term.

Work also began last week on a new Auxiliary Building for Birdsong Field. The facility will mirror those recently constructed at the Betty S. Rogers Track and Field Center and TowneBank Park / Broyles Field.

Artificial turf installation continues at VWU's TowneBank Park / Broyles Field. It is coming along nicely!

Landscapers from Winn Nursery began plantings at The Beacon. When the weather warms up this week, sod will be installed around the base.

Construction continues on the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center, scheduled for completion in March. This collage shows the exterior from multiple perspectives as well as two interior spaces: the Joan and Macon Brock Theatre and The Eleanor and Henry Watts Grand Lobby and Gallery.

The new Hammer Throw/Discuss facility at the Betty S. Rogers Track and Field Center is nearing completion. It is the finishing touch to our beautiful new track and field complex that will host the 2020 ODAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

In related news, our development partners, the Franklin Johnston Group, report that important aspects related to the start date of Oxford Village are delayed as a result of the federal government shutdown. Please stay tuned.

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As I shared with you in a special Nota Bene last week, the Board of Directors of the National Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities of the United Methodist Church (NASCUMC) met in Scottsdale, Arizona, recently to discuss the upcoming Called General Conference. A joint statement regarding issues coming before the Called General Conference in February was drafted by the NASCUMC Board of Directors presidents and unanimously approved by the NASCUMC Board of Directors and by all of those gathered for the winter meeting.

Following the release of this statement, Religion News Service published the article: "Methodist university presidents call on denomination to amend LGBTQ policies." The article has also been shared in Inside Higher Ed and The Chronicle of Higher Education's Daily Briefing. On Friday, I was interviewed by The Washington Post on the topic. I am proud to be a signatory on this important national issue and statement. And, proud to be a national spokesperson on the topic on behalf of the Methodist college/university presidents. Read more here.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

On February 9 we'll be inducting a talented class into the Virginia Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame. A large crowd is expected. If you have not yet RSVP'd, please secure your spot here.

It was great to visit with Chris Brandt and Mark Roy, both Vice Presidents of the Hourigan Group, last Friday. Hourigan has been a wonderful corporate partner, building many new facilities on Virginia Wesleyan's campus during the last four years. Mark and Chris delivered Hourigan's gift of $10,000 to The Excellence Fund. We are grateful for their continued support.

Special thanks to Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe for sharing this photo with our student volunteers at Calvary Baptist Church as part of Virginia Wesleyan's 2019 Winter Shelter experience. More than 70 VWU students are engaged in this important service-learning initiative this week at five shelters sites across Coastal Virginia! We are so proud of the work they're doing and grateful to our faculty members leading this effort.

There have been some beautiful sunsets on our campus lately and I've enjoyed seeing the photos our campus community has captured. I think the magnificent facilities are the best part, though: The Beacon at sunset taken by Jenna Wilson, dusk at the under-construction Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center from the light tower at Birdsong Field, and the sun setting behind the Betty S. Rogers Track and Field Center taken by Coach Littleton.

In case you missed it, Virginia Wesleyan University's online course offerings have grown through two new partnerships: the CIC Online Course Sharing Consortium, a collaboration which facilitates online course sharing among members of the Council for Independent Colleges, and ed2go, a national provider of career training and continued education courses. Read more here.

Great visit last week with Jaclyn Bailey Ruelle '03, Senior Vice President for MullenLowe U.S. in Boston, MA. Jaclyn was a communication major and enjoyed playing softball and field hockey for the Marlins.

Bryson Mortensen, Co-Chair of the Music Department and Director of Choral Music, and Tammy Dhority, Theatre Manager, are enjoying the new Steinway Concert Grand Piano which was delivered to campus last Monday. This is the first of two new Steinways to reside on VWU's campus, both made possible by a grant from the E.K. Sloane Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Our second Steinway will be delivered in early March to its home in the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY WEEKEND READING

"How colleges are preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet," by Gretchen Frazee of PBS News Hour. The article reports a predicted eight-five percent of the jobs students will have in 2030 that don't exist yet. "That might seem like a high number to reach in only 12 years. But think about the now-mainstream careers that did not exist just a handful of years ago: drone operator, social media manager, app developer and cloud computing engineer, among others," reports Frazee.
In "Reflecting on 2018, and (Tentatively) Projecting the Future," Mark Lieberman explores "A new online institution, a transforming textbook market, shifting landscapes for MOOCS and alternative credentials, increasing interest in mobile, and more. Experts make sense of a convoluted year." Read more in Inside Higher Ed.
Article in Forbes: "Will Half of All Colleges Really Close In The Next Decade?"
Why are we called Hampton Roads? A decision in 1983 by the U.S. Postal Service contributed to the popularization of the name "Hampton Roads" for the seven cities of southeast Virginia. Read more in the Daily Press.
Virginia Beach officials say the city is losing money with no convention center hotel. A new sports field house under construction nearby has sparked renewed interest in building one. Read more in The Virginian-Pilot.
"Older students often have different learning needs. Here are four, expert-recommended strategies for recruiting and retaining the," reports Education Dive. Read more in "Higher ed administrators can better serve adult learners--here's how."
"What's the blueprint for a 21st-century college campus?" by James Paterson in Education Dive. "With enrollments declining and technology advancing, colleges are breaking ground on spaces that give students and faculty new ways to engage," reports Paterson.
In "There is no true student-loan crisis," Chris Howard of Robert Morris University reports, "The crisis is that too few college students graduate so they cannot afford to repay their loans." Read more in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.