Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

For the past 29 years, I have opened the new year by attending the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Presidents Institute. The largest in the country, it is the premier annual meeting of college and university presidents. Although my schedule is routinely filled with a variety of meetings and events on campus and around the country, I always find this CIC gathering of 360 private college presidents to be a time of personal reflection and restoration.

Based in Washington, D.C., CIC works to raise the quality of education and strengthen resources at some 770 independent colleges, universities and higher education organizations. CIC's 2020 Presidents Institute explored the theme of "Healthy Institutions, Strong Leaders" and other important issues of presidential leadership. It drew on the lessons learned by experienced campus CEO's and the perspectives of other distinguished speakers. This year's trip was very productive:

As the President of National Association of Schools and Colleges of The United Methodist Church (NASCUMC), I had meetings with the NASCUMC Executive Committee, and the Board of Directors, and led the General Business Meeting. I will share more updates from these meetings in next week's Nota Bene;
Serving with Annie, my better half, on a "Working with President's Staff" panel, we discussed during the joint presidents' meeting how presidential couples develop and sustain strong individual relationships with each member of the president's staff. We also discussed the importance of ensuring that the office functions well as a cohesive whole to implement the president's agenda. Annie and I, as well as another Presidential Couple--Lynn Brandsma (Presidential Spouse) and Dr. James Herbert (President of the University of New England)--offered strategies for working with staff members to maintain healthy communication and strong relations. Thanks to Dr. Burton J. Webb, President of the University of Pikesville, for serving as Panel Chair.

In addition, there were the following meetings:

A meeting with Academic Search, Inc., Board of Directors, a group I chair;
A meeting with the American Academic Leadership Institute Board of Directors (I serve as vice chair);
A meeting with the Council of Independent Colleges Online Course Sharing Consortium, a collaborative we recently joined;
A meeting with Wiley Education Services, our partner in developing VWU Online;
A meeting of the 25 private college leaders nationwide who were selected to meet with Mexican university rectors in Guadalajara, Mexico;
A meeting with Ellucian, our partners on campus technology;
A meeting with Stephen Sprouls, Principal, Derck & Edson of Lititz, PA, the firm that facilitated our 10-year Campus Master Planning efforts.

Throughout the week, as I visited with my colleagues in these meetings, it became clear that in the turbulent, often uncertain, world of higher education, many realities remain constant. These include the need to build and maintain healthy enrollments and endowments, to teach well, and to give our efforts an honest and thorough assessment. We need to recruit the best students, faculty, and administrative staff that we can. A mainstay of Virginia Wesleyan's history is the devotion of all members of the campus community to academic, career, and life success for students. Our beautiful campus needs constant care, too, and the challenges of security and resource development in every area of the University are ongoing.

Although there are many recent developments and trends that bring uncertainty and demand vigilance--for VWU and other institutions--I am confident that with persistent effort on campus and through strong connections to colleagues in the higher education community and beyond, we will continue to find success.

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Through private support, some of the much-needed upgrades to Monumental Chapel have been completed during holiday break to expand the facility's use as a Recital Hall.

Improvements include conversion of the upper level into a choral music library and storage for other instruments, and addition of sound-diffusing panels to the interior of the main space to improve its acoustics. Finally, the replacement of the old piano with a new, handmade Steinway B piano will make the space ideal for a variety of events and performances.

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As the safety of our campus community is always paramount in my mind, allow me to share a reminder of Virginia Wesleyan's emergency procedures and the ways in which we communicate important updates to our students, faculty, and staff in the event of extreme weather or other emergencies. Please take a moment to review the following methods of contact utilized during situations such as these:

Emergency Information
Emergency Website: https://vwu.edu/emergency
Inclement Weather Hotline: 757.455.5711
LiveSafe Mobile App: https://vwu.edu/campus-security/live-safe.php
VWU Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Emergency Contacts
Campus Security: https://vwu.edu/campus-security
Emergency Number: 757.233.8888
Non-emergency Number: 757.455.3349 (day) / 757.455.3289 (evening)
DeFord Gate House: 757.455.3289
LiveSafe Mobile App: https://vwu.edu/campus-security/live-safe.php

Please stay safe and exercise caution when traveling around campus and throughout the surrounding area.

ET CETERA

Virginia Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

Congratulations to these Marlin standouts! Tori Higginbotham-Abbey '14 (softball), Jessica Edelman Gosnell '13 (soccer), Nancy Mattox Moore '00 (basketball and softball), and Chris Yeager '94 (soccer) will be recognized at the annual luncheon February 1. Benefactors Jane P. Batten and George Y. and Sue Birdsong/Birdsong Foundation will also be honored. Read more in The Virginian-Pilot.

VWU Alumnus Publishes First Book

Congratulations to Brian Cornell, VWU Class of 2014, who recently published his first book: "Divided: A Walk on the Continental Divide Trail." On Friday, a book signing was held for Brian's book at Darbytown Art Studio in Fredericksburg. Read more about it here.

Congratulations to VWU's Coach Hoover-Erbig

We are proud of Virginia Wesleyan's Coach Andrea Hoover-Erbig on being named the Women's Volleyball Coach of the Year by Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID)! Read more here.

Condolences to Gale Carter and Lori Harris '94

It is with sorrow and a heavy heart that I share the passing of two members of the Virginia Wesleyan Family.
Terry Lee Carter, husband of Gale Carter, passed away on December 29, 2019. Mr. Carter was a longtime VWU spouse; Gale has dedicated over 30 years of service to Virginia Wesleyan and currently serves as Work Center Coordinator in the Department of Facilities Management. I extend my sincere condolences to her, their daughter Katherine, and Mr. Carter's sisters Denise Midgett (John) and Celeste Stredler. Please join me in sending thoughts and prayers. Arrangements are private and in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his memory to a charity of one's choice. Mr. Carter's obituary can be viewed here.

Samuel "Sam" Veasey Simpers, Jr., father of Lori Harris '94, passed away on January 3. Mr. Simpers was a proud VWU parent; Lori currently serves as Assistant Vice President for Advancement and Executive Director of Alumni Relations. My thoughts and prayers are with Lori, her mother and Mr. Simpers's wife of 56 years Dotty, his sons Bryan and Marc, and their entire family during this difficult time. There will be a graveside service to celebrate his life at Rosewood Memorial Park tomorrow at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, prayers for the family are welcome. Mr. Simpers's obituary can be found here.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

In case you missed it, I invite you to read about our new esports program, a new dining experience coming to campus, our third consecutive tuition freeze, and our 2018-2019 Annual Report in this special winter edition of VWU Magazine!

January Term, the first session of the calendar year, launched today. This is a special three-week academic term during which our students have the opportunity to concentrate on their studies through one intensive course. These opportunities, which include study-away courses, offer affordable tuition rates which continue to allow flexibility for our students and provide opportunities to accelerate their academic careers. Learn more here.

University College continues to attract positive attention for credit and non-credit programs designed specifically for non-traditional students. For those interested in enrolling in a VWU Online, Evening and Weekend, or Lifelong Learning program in 2020, you can learn more here. We look forward to seeing our strong enrollment in these programs continue to grow to serve our community.

Improvements to the Commuter Lounge in the Jane P. Batten Student Center began over the holiday break. There are many exciting updates happening now and in the future.

Coastal 61 at Oxford Village--our public-private partnership with The Franklin Johnston Group--continues to progress. I share with you two photos taken recently of the clubhouse and one of the residential buildings. Coastal 61 will consist of 244-luxury apartments featuring one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans ranging from 833-1395 square feet. There will be eight separate three and four-story residential buildings with an additional two-story luxurious clubhouse and resort-class swimming pool. Learn more about the complex at Coastal61.com.

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REFLECTIONS

I hope you find these links useful to my recent columns and publications:

The Virginian-Pilot

University Business

Daily Press

Enrollment Manager