Exciting New Technology Initiatives
We have many new and exciting Information Technology (IT) plans in motion under the new leadership of Dr. Chris Davis, Chief Information Officer. Chris officially joined the Marlin Family last month and hit the ground running. We recently signed a contract with Ellucian to modernize and cloud-host the Colleague environment. The new contract also provides an extensive on-demand training library available to all employees of the University. More details on the training will follow from the IT Department. Additionally, we are moving forward with an aggressive datacenter refresh project which will bring our internally hosted servers and infrastructure to an upgraded, stable, and secure state.
Critical to the long-term success and viability of the University, these investments in our technology infrastructure will pay dividends now and for many years to come. Stay tuned for more information; if you have any questions about either of these projects, please contact Dr. Davis via email.
The Colleague modernization projects are vital to the University for three primary reasons. First, they replace our outdated and under-resourced servers with modern and high-performing servers that will increase performance of the system, and provide a sustainable and stable environment for many years to come. They also put our Colleague system in the cloud which provides us with instant disaster recovery should a catastrophic event occur on campus. Finally, members of our IT staff will be free to focus on more user-based activities rather than the daily maintenance of Colleague.
The datacenter refresh project is also a hugely important undertaking for the University. All of the internally hosted systems housed in the VWU datacenter will receive a new server and storage environment. This change will replace our aging hardware with limited life expectancy. These updates will also allow Virginia Wesleyan to pursue several projects in IT that have been on hold due to the aging datacenter, including a migration to Windows 10, better computer imaging, improved Help Desk ticketing system functionality, and more.
Critical to the long-term success and viability of the University, these investments in our technology infrastructure will pay dividends now and for many years to come. Stay tuned for more information; if you have any questions about either of these projects, please contact Dr. Davis via email.
ET CETERA
As you can see, our Marlin Family is growing. I am pleased to share a bit about our newest members to join Virginia Wesleyan's top-notch faculty and staff.
Brandon Bassham is the new Village Coordinator for Residence Life. He worked as a Graduate Assistant for Greek Life in the Office of Student Activities at Virginia Wesleyan while completing his M.S. in Educational Leadership in Higher Education at Old Dominion University.
Frank Futyma will be Visiting Instructor of Management, Business, and Economics starting this fall. Frank earned his Master of Science in Management from Lesley University in 1996. He has previously taught at Tidewater Community College and the University of Phoenix, and served as an adjunct at VWU. In a 24-year career in the Air Force, Mr. Futyma's assignments included Missile Launch Officer and Chief of Contingency Operations.
Kevin Gilbert began last week as User Support Manager in the IT Department. Kevin is a Certified Help Desk Director with decades of experience as a Help Desk Manager. He most recently served as a Service Desk and Incident Management Consultant. He holds a M.S. in Software Systems Engineering from George Mason University.
Amber Gruszeczka recently began working at Hofheimer Library in her role as Research Librarian (Librarian I). She previously served as a Reference and Training Specialist in the library at Old Dominion University. Amber holds a Master of Library and Information Science from Valdosta State University.
As previously shared, Liz Hudy joins Virginia Wesleyan as the new Head Women's Basketball Coach. Learn more about Coach Hudy here.
Felipe Hugueño begins this fall as Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies. A specialist in Chilean poetry and politics, Felipe is presently an Instructor of Spanish at St. John's University in Queens, New York. He will defend his dissertation in July with an anticipated completion of his Ph.D. from State University of New York at Buffalo in Spanish Language and Literature.
Paige Kimmel joined the team this spring as an Enrollment Counselor. Paige earned her B.S. in Sociology from James Madison University.
Courtney Knudsen began last week as First-Year Advisor and Events Coordinator in the Learning Center. Most recently she served as Military Academic Advisor at Regent University. Courtney previously interned in VWU's Learning Center as part of her master's level work, earning her M.Ed. in Student Affairs from Regent University.
Dr. Loren Loving Marquez will assume the full-time administrative position of Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs this month. Loren was most recently Director of the Rhetoric Studio, Center for Rhetoric and Communication, at Hampden-Sydney College and previously was Associate Professor of English at Salisbury University. She holds a Ph.D. from Texas Christian University in English Rhetoric and Composition.
Dr. Marielle Postava-Davignon arrives this fall as Assistant Professor of Biology. A scholar whose field work focuses on termites, she previously held faculty positions at Southern Vermont College and Husson University (Maine). Marielle holds a Ph.D. in Biology from Northeastern University.
Gregory Snyder began last month in his position of Technical Services Librarian (Librarian III) in Hofheimer Library. He has held comparable positions at Tidewater Community College, San Jacinto College (Pasadena, Texas), and the Houston Public Library. Gregory holds a M.S. in Library Science from the University of North Texas.
Julius Speller joined Campus Security this summer as a Security Officer. He previously attended Norfolk State University.
Eric Venezia joined Athletics last month as the Assistant Men's Soccer Coach. Most recently he served as a graduate assistant coach at Clarkson, has coached several years at the club level and was a four-year Division I player at the University of Vermont. He holds an MBA from Clarkson University.
Please join me in welcoming these colleagues!
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Through my service on the boards of the Greater Norfolk Corporation (GNC) and Virginia Beach Vision (VBV), I am a member of the Joint GNC-VBV Broadband Task Force. At an engaging and informative meeting, I had the opportunity to enjoy an update regarding the Regional Connectivity Ring in Hampton Roads from the City of Norfolk's Chief Information Officer Steven DeBerry. Following his update, President and CEO of America's Public Television Stations (APTS) Patrick Butler briefed us on the advantages of ATSC 3.0 Technology. I invite you to learn more here.
AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS
We're very proud to share news of achievements by two of our scholar-athletes. Congratulations to Hanna Hullof the softball team and Jayla Harris of the women's basketball team. Hanna was named a Google Cloud First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Jayla has earned the Marjorie Berkley Scholar-Athlete Award which is given by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) to the most Outstanding Female Student-Athlete in the conference. Read more on Jayla and Hanna.
Upgrades to Bray Village are nearing completion. With work in Eggleston Hall scheduled to wrap up in late June, all four residential buildings will be complete. Each floor will have new restroom and shower facilities, complete with rain-style shower heads and other attractive fixtures. Utilities, including ventilation and HVAC units, are also being upgraded. The buildings of Bray Village are some of the institution's oldest and have served the University well over the years. The four buildings house 240 residential students on eight floors. The Village is also the location of several classrooms, faculty offices, and the Office of Campus Security. Incoming first-year students, arriving in late August, will be among the first to enjoy the enhanced spaces.
Virginia Wesleyan has again been honored among the national Colleges of Distinction, with specialized recognition for our programs in Business, Education, and Career Development! Read more here.
At the Town Center City Club, I was part of a discussion about the Higher Education Reauthorization Act withU.S. Senator Tim Kaine. Senator Kaine has been a good friend to Virginia Wesleyan and higher education.
It was nice to meet with Ben Unkle, President and CEO of Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay. Our organizations have been partners on the acclaimed Westminster/Wesleyan Lifelong Learning Institute during the past two years.
The Greer Environmental Sciences Center has been added to the International Living Future Institute's Biophilic Design map--one of only two Virginia projects to be featured. The initiative connects people and places around the world that are regenerating life. Learn more here.
Recently I visited a new educational institution in Norfolk--The Hague School (THS). Jennifer (Reid) Warren, THS Executive Director, is a 1996 graduate of Virginia Wesleyan. Opening this fall, The Hague School will be an independent secondary school dedicated to the development of character and academic achievement through a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum grounded in collaborative discourse.
The following day, I enjoyed visiting with 1997 graduate of Virginia Wesleyan, Greg Freedland, on campus. Greg is the Assistant Vice President for University Communications and Marketing at Millersville University in Pennsylvania.
Mark your calendars for upcoming events and programs, and read up on the latest in the arts at Virginia Wesleyan.
There is still time to enroll in Summer Session courses. Let VWU help you get ahead or catch up. For more information, visit the Summer Session website.
STAY CURRENT ON VWU NEWS AND FEATURES
REFLECTIONS
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PRESIDENTIAL EVENTS
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Our thoughts remain with the victims, their families, and all who have been affected by the horrifying tragedy in Virginia Beach on May 31. For information on how you can help, visit loveforvb.com.
