What a wonderful turnout we had for the celebration in honor of Dr. Timothy O'Rourke, Provost and Vice President, who retires this summer as Virginia Wesleyan's Chief Academic Officer. I was proud to announce that the foyer of Clarke Hall, the academic administration building, has been named in Tim's honor as the "Timothy G. O'Rourke Foyer." We also honored him by announcing his status as Vice President Emeritus and his receipt of a traditional Virginia Wesleyan commemorative chair. We are grateful for his dedicated service and wish him the best in this well-deserved milestone! I invite you to view the photo gallery and read my tribute to Tim.
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Virginia Wesleyan University's pursuit of a third consecutive NCAA National Championship came to an end as the Marlins dropped the title game of the NCAA Virginia Beach Regional yesterday.
VWU finished the season with a stellar 42-6 record. Special kudos to head coach Brandon Elliott and his staff for their amazing leadership. The Marlins represent the University well on the field, in the classroom, on campus and in the community. They represent the best of college sports.
VWU finished the season with a stellar 42-6 record. Special kudos to head coach Brandon Elliott and his staff for their amazing leadership. The Marlins represent the University well on the field, in the classroom, on campus and in the community. They represent the best of college sports.
ET CETERA
I am pleased to announce our third cohort of the Batten Honors College of Virginia Wesleyan University. This distinguished and highly-accomplished group of 22 Batten Fellows and 23 Shumadine Scholars has been selected after intense competition beginning with a pool of over 30,000 prospective students. With an average SAT of 1352, ACT of 29, and GPA of 4.16, the academic profile of these top students is extremely strong. Students hail from across the country--representing Virginia, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, New York, and Wisconsin--as well as internationally with both China and the United Kingdom represented. Congratulations to our newest class of the prestigious and highly-selective Batten Honors College!
Batten Fellows:
| Brooke Anderson | Ethan Labelle |
| Bianca Atkinson | Celine Maharaj |
| Kayla Bissette | Jack Mowatt |
| Joseph Chatman | Joseph Mueller |
| Alexander Cole | Garrett Page |
| Sierra Curney | Elaine Robbins |
| Lauren Faulkner | Grace Spell |
| Erin Foreman | Charlotte Weinstein |
| Shaun Guernsey | Henry West |
| Emily Imhof | Logan Woolcock |
| Amruta Karkare | She Ze |
Shumadine Scholars:
| Ryan Abraham | Brian Hostetter |
| Samantha Baysinger | Reilly Hughes |
| Alexander Bertrand |
Brandon Kwon
|
| David Browne | Erin Madson |
| Devin Calpo | Brooke Morris |
| Anna Dobrenen | Eric O'Dea |
| William Eckard | Abigail Peterson |
| Elijah Eley | Divinity Richardson |
| Jessica Garvie | Grace Rietscha |
| Connor Hall | Criofan Shaw |
| Lindsey Hicks | Breanna Wimbush |
| Stephanie Hoke |
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Congratulations to the newly elected officers of the Student Government Association (SGA) for the 2019-2020 Academic Year! They should be very proud of this accomplishment and the confidence placed in them to serve as a voice for their fellow students. We thank them for taking on this very important task and for playing such a valuable role in the leadership of our campus.
SGA Executive Officers
- President: Taylor Major
- Vice President: Nick Peterson
- Special Events Coordinator: Maya Davis
- Secretary: Isaac Guzman
- President: Danielle Davis
- Vice President: Tiara Cuffee
- Fundraising: Azania Inman
- President: Eric Fisher
- Vice President: Dazjae Johnson
- Finance Officer: Jordan Wiggins
- President: Landry Moffo
- Vice President: Grant Morgan
- Fundraising: Adela Huezo
- Finance Officer: Elijah Brown
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Recently, I met with senior administrators from the Pennsylvania Higher Education System. Discussing trends impacted by external issues, they shared with me this "Did You Know?" video on YouTube. Startling statistics about our digital and automated world, such as half of what first-year students will learn will be outdated by their third year of study, have enormous implications for higher education. We are challenged to consider how students process information, how we teach them, and how we prepare them now for careers that in many cases have yet to exist. I urge you to watch this fascinating glimpse into the future that is years, days, even hours away.
AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS
Congratulations again to our Spring Honors Convocation awardees! Check out the list of the recipients and view the full photo gallery here.
Grateful for these longtime faculty members -- Dr. Bob Albertson, Professor of Management, Business, and Economics (40 years of service); Mr. Dave Garraty, Professor of Management, Business, and Economics (40 years of service); and Dr. Mavel Velasco, Professor of Hispanic Studies (32 years of service) -- who were honored at our traditional tree-planting ceremony for retiring faculty members recently. We are proud to award Professors Albertson, Garraty, and Velasco the status of Professor Emeritus and thank them for decades of dedicated service! View the photo gallery here.
In case you missed it, we held our annual "Feathers in Your Cap" event recently which recognizes faculty and staff achievements. It was a pleasure for me to display my own publications along with the stellar works by Virginia Wesleyan's many accomplished members of the campus community. Read more and view the photo gallery here.
Last week, Dr. Paul Ewell and I had an enjoyable lunchtime discussion on entrepreneurship and the Ferguson Innovation Challenge with Blake Luse of Ferguson Ventures. Paul is a longtime Professor of Management, Business, and Economics, and the new Dean of University College at Virginia Wesleyan University.
Recently we hosted "Sonatas & Stories" presented by WHRO and featuring many talented artists from the community at the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center. Thanks to good friend and colleague Bert Schmidt, CEO of WHRO, and his colleagues for a wonderful event.
It was an honor to present the Norfolk Sports Club Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete Award to women's basketball standout Jayla Harris. A three-time, first team, All-ODAC selection and 2019 ODAC Player of the Year, Jayla finished her college career as VWU's all-time leading women's scorer (1,931 points) and is a Dean's List student. Congratulations, Jayla!
A legislative social held in Norfolk's Waterside District was hosted by the Hampton Roads Chamber for city leaders. It was nice to visit with friends including Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer, Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander, Norfolk Councilwoman Courtney Doyle, Virginia Beach Councilman Michael Berlucchi, Virginia Delegate Jason Miyares, and Chris Stuart, Vice President of Top Guard Security, Inc.
I had a great time last Thursday serving Late Night Breakfast to kick off Finals Week!
Commencement is this weekend! Be sure to visit our website for all pertinent information.
STAY CURRENT ON VWU NEWS AND FEATURES
REFLECTIONS
I hope you find these links useful to my recent columns and publications:
PRESIDENTIAL EVENTS
I invite you to stay updated on these activities here.
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Have a great week!
