Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

It's hard to believe that the fall semester is finally here. One of the many impacts of COVID was to cause us to lose some of our sense of time. Spring and summer blended together as our lives had to adapt to the limits of COVID. Now, as we are a week away from the start of the fall semester, we are ready to reclaim some aspects of our lives and come back to the campus and community that we love.

We are excited to welcome everyone back to campus, and particularly to welcome our new Marlins into the VWU community. Campus has been far too quiet for too long, and we are looking forward to a new academic year with special enthusiasm. With this enthusiasm, however, comes caution. For many, this is a first step out of homes and sheltering in place with a small core group. So while we are excited to come back together, we need to do so with care and thoughtfulness.

This semester is not going to be like any other. We have been working all summer to ensure that we can return to campus and to the classroom as safely as possible. There are going to be some different policies and procedures in place this fall to protect faculty, staff, and students. We are going to need to come together as a community and change some habits and some of our typical activities to take the needs and safety of those around us into consideration.

Begin by reading our Returning to Campus Fall 2020 COVID-19 Guide. You don't need to memorize this, but

you should be familiar with how campus is going to be functioning this fall. Students, your first priority, if you haven't already done so, is to submit a negative COVID-19 test to covidsafe@vwu.edu. You can't return to campus without a negative test result. Please remember, you should be quarantining at home for 14 days prior to returning to campus (or from the time the test is taken) and remain vigilant in social distancing, use of face coverings, and frequent hand washing.

Once you are back on campus, you will need to wear a face covering. Everyone on campus is required to wear a face covering. Research has shown that this is the most important thing that we can do to maintain a safe community. You should bring several masks with you so that you always have one. We are also going to practice social distancing. We all need to get into the habit of keeping at least six feet between each other. Classrooms and other campus spaces have been reorganized to allow for social distancing. Pay attention to signs and other directions and leave furniture where it has been positioned.

Classes are also going to be a bit different from usual and will take a variety of forms. While a few classes, because of their content and the needs of some students and faculty, will be taught remotely, the overwhelming majority will be face to face. Face-to-face classes will embrace some hybrid strategies and will have a combination of virtual activities and assignments and in-person meetings. Pay particular attention to Blackboard, your VWU email, and course syllabi. Your varied classes are likely going to approach the semester differently, so pay attention to the particulars and contact your professors if you have questions.

Campus events will be impacted, as we must adhere to Governor Northam's executive order for our area that currently limits public and private gatherings to no more than 50 individuals. Some traditional campus events will occur virtually, or not at all this semester.

We also need to do some small things. Washing our hands frequently, and thoroughly, can make a big difference. We need to monitor our own health. Each day, we need to self-assess to help protect ourselves and others. We are using our LiveSafe app to help with this. Everyone should log into the app each morning and complete the self-assessment.

We will all need to be particularly thoughtful and conscientious. As a campus community, once we come together, and even now, as we prepare to start the semester, everything we do impacts everyone else on campus. If you go to a party or bar, or other situation that is high risk, you are bringing all of your professors, roommates, classmates, and anyone else you see on campus with you. Your decisions determine whether or not other people stay healthy. That's a heavy responsibility for all of us. This is going to test our bond as a community as never before. I have confidence, however, that we will come together, take care of each other, and weather this storm.

And in weathering this storm, we are going to have experiences that may not be typical for a fall semester, but that will be meaningful and memorable. We are going to learn, work, and have fun. If we all come together, this semester can be one that becomes one of the great stories of our lives, because adversity always offers opportunity.

Again, we look forward to welcoming you back to campus in the coming days. Together, we will meet the challenges of the fall and have a productive semester.

ET CETERA

VWU Environmental Institute: Summer Scholars Nationally Recognized

On Saturday, the Virginia Wesleyan Environmental institute: Summer Scholars program received the 2020 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education. The Inspiring Programs in STEM Award honors colleges and universities from across the nation that encourage and assist students from underrepresented groups to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Virginia Wesleyan will be featured, along with 49 other recipients, in the September 2020 issue of the publication.

Award winners were selected based on efforts to inspire and encourage a new generation of young people to consider careers in STEM through mentoring, teaching, research, and successful programs and initiatives.

Virginia Wesleyan Environmental Institute: Summer Scholars is a week-long residential environmental science program designed for top-performing, rising ninth-grade girls. Participants take part in authentic environmental science, technology, engineering, and math (E-STEM) experiences alongside environmental science professionals in academia, industry, business, government, and non-profit organizations in order to better understand the vast amount of opportunities for women in E-STEM fields to make a positive difference in the world.

Special thanks to Dr. Bill McConnell, Associate Professor of Education and Director of the Teacher Education Program, for his exceptional leadership, and to Dr. Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of Nursing and Allied Health, and Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm, Professor of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and Director of Campus Sustainability, for their collaborative effort in leading this impactful program.

This award is a tribute to people and programs that encourage and inspire a new generation of young people to consider STEM careers. Our award-winning program continues to make a significant difference through mentoring and teaching, research, and other efforts worthy of this national recognition.

VWU Education Department Partners on NOAA-Funded Project

In further good news, I am pleased to announce that the VWU Education Department has partnered with Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in Gloucester on their capacity building NOAA-funded project, "VA TIDES: Virginia Teachers Innovating and Designing Experiential Science." This project is a collaborative endeavor of several Virginia organizations and institutions (VIMS, Virginia Wesleyan, William and Mary, James Madison University, and Old Dominion University) to provide aspiring educators with the knowledge and skills to engage K-12 students in meaningful watershed educational experiences. VWU students who complete the project will receive a stipend and present their work to a state-wide audience of educators. Having established successful environmental education events on our campus like the Downstream Collaborative Project, the Virginia Wesleyan Environmental Institute, and our partnership with YMCA Camp Red Feather has positioned Virginia Wesleyan as a leader on this project. Dr. Bill McConnell reports that his team is excited to begin Zooming with this group in September.

Greg Skinner Joins VWU as New Chief Information Officer

I am pleased to announce that Greg Skinner will join Virginia Wesleyan in October as our new Chief Information Officer. An information technology and higher education veteran, Greg has served in multiple roles at York College, Lehigh University, and Ursinus College, all in Pennsylvania, most recently served as Director of Enterprise Information & Chief Privacy Officer. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from York College and a Master of Science in Information Systems: System Design and Programming from Capella University. Additionally, he completed the EDUCAUSE Institute Management Program and CLIR/EDUCAUSE Leading Change Institute. Please join me in welcoming Greg to the VWU Family and to Coastal Virginia this fall.

VFIC Receives National Award for Community Partnership

The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC)--of which Virginia Wesleyan is one of
15 member institutions--has been chosen by the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) as the Gear Up Community Partner of the Year. The VFIC was honored for being quick to engage in a unique collaboration, with the Virginia Latino Higher Education Network (VALHEN) and GEAR UP Virginia, to bring Latinx students from across the state to higher education institutions and provide a view of the college experience that is culturally sensitive to this student population in Virginia. Congratulations to our partners on this well-deserved distinction. We are proud to belong to the VFIC and to work together toward a shared mission. Read more here.

Sentara Healthcare, Cone Health Join Forces to Transform Healthcare

Our partners at Sentara Healthcare have signed a letter of intent with Cone Health, headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, to combine organizations. Sentara Healthcare and Cone Health are both regional,

community-based health systems with similar missions, cultures, strategies and visions for transforming the future of healthcare. Their joint commitment is simple: to bring together two strong industry leaders into a unified, transformative and value-driven organization at the forefront of change that will be a model for the rest of the nation's healthcare systems. We are proud of Sentara for their tireless innovation and we congratulate CEO Howard Kern, a VWU Trustee, for his strong leadership. Read more in this press release.

Virginia Wesleyan Athletics Launches New Website With SIDEARM Sports

Last week, VWU athletics unveiled a completely redesigned website through a partnership with SIDEARM Sports. SIDEARM is one of the most

well-known and reputable brands in college athletics, partnering with colleges and universities across all three NCAA divisions as well as NAIA and the NJCAA.

The new design is fully responsive, allowing users to easily access the website on multiple platforms (mobile, desktop, tablet). It also features new looks to the team roster and statistical pages, larger images on story pages, and easy navigation to specific areas for fans and prospective student-athletes. It still provides the comprehensive coverage of Virginia Wesleyan's 22 athletic teams.

Virginia Wesleyan is the sixth ODAC school to switch to SIDEARM with a seventh ODAC institution making the move later this summer. Washington & Lee, Sweet Briar, Shenandoah, Randolph, and Hollins are the other five ODAC schools that utilize SIDEARM Sports for their athletics websites. Visit vwuathletics.com to check out the new look.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

We will welcome our fourth class of the Batten Honors College at the annual Matriculation Ceremony this Thursday at 4 p.m. On Friday at 1 p.m., I will deliver my annual State of the University address, sharing highlights from the past year and goals for the future. Both programs will be webcast and archived on theVWU Digital Broadcasting Network and the VWU Facebook page. I hope you'll tune in.

In a recent WTKR News 3 story, Virginia Wesleyan University's Paul Ewell, Dean of VWU Global Campus, weighed in on back-to-school trends during COVID-19. Watch here.

Virginia Wesleyan's Homecoming & Family Weekend is going virtual this year. We look forward to celebrating with Marlins across the nation October 2-4. View the full schedule of events here.

A recent edition of Virginia Wesleyan Athletics' "Inside Splash" segment features an interview with Head Baseball Coach Chris Francis by VWU Sports Information intern Cody Schneider. Read it here.

Tidewater Collegiate Academy at Virginia Wesleyan University is offering a new program to provide meaningful, personal, and affordable educational options for students during COVID. Project Amplify is an online, pre-college program designed to equip college-bound students for success in the transition to college through authentic, thought-demanding, hands-on, community-based learning experiences. TCA at VWU is now accepting applications from rising 11th graders who will join a two-year cohort. Students will engage in a series of coursework based on the TCA innovative learning model and take dual enrollment classes at VWU concurrently. This will include one VWU class their first fall semester, and then two courses the next three semesters. Students will graduate with an Advanced High School Diploma and potentially 28 college credits. For more information, please contact Dr. Wendy Scott, Founder and Director of TCA.

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REFLECTIONS

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

The Virginian-Pilot