Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

April 19, 2021

Good morning,

Last week the Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a joint statement with the Food and Drug Administration calling for an immediate pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The decision to pause its use was made “out of an abundance of caution” in response to the reaction experienced by some recipients of the vaccine.

In response to this guidance, our partners at Virginia Beach Public Health notified the University of the necessity to postpone the student vaccination clinic scheduled on campus on April 30.

Alternatively, we are encouraging our students to utilize the VDH location at the Virginia Beach Convention Center (1000 19th St, Virginia Beach, VA 23451), the FEMA location at Military Circle Mall (880 N Military Hwy, Norfolk, VA 23502) or to make arrangements with their primary care provider or a participating pharmacy.

Congratulations to Karissa Cumberbatch, who will take over as the new Head Volleyball Coach at the end of this current season, following the promotion of Andrea Hoover-Erbig to Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. Karissa has been an assistant with the program since 2019.

The Greeley, Colorado, native came to Virginia Wesleyan with a plethora of volleyball knowledge having played at both the NCAA Division I and II levels and having coached at the club and high school levels for 11 years. Since 2010, Karissa has been the 18 National Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for Coastal Hampton Roads VBC. She has helped over 100 high school student athletes achieve their dream of playing at the next level while helping them prepare mentally and physically for the challenge of playing collegiate volleyball. She is also the Assistant Director/Volleyball Coordinator of the Coastal Hampton Roads Sportsplex helping grow the game of volleyball on the peninsula.

Prior to joining the Marlins Volleyball coaching staff, Karissa was the Grafton High School Head Girls Volleyball Coach from 2013-2019. Her guidance helped lead the squad to the Final Four in five straight years and the state finals in 2017 and 2018. Over that span, she was also crowned Regional Champions twice, Regional Coach of the Year three times, and District Coach of the Year three times. She was a member of the VHSL Coaches Advisory Committee and holds a personal/group training certification from the Athletic and Fitness Association of America.

Karissa attended Northridge High School where she was a four year starter, captain, and current record holder. Her club team, Five Star Volleyball Club (of Brighton, Colorado), qualified for the Junior Olympics twice and finished in the top 15 in the open division. Karissa continued her playing career at the University of South Florida before transferring to Western State College of Colorado where she earned her degree in Sports and Fitness Management.

She currently lives in Ocean View with her husband Christan and daughter Khloey.

ET CETERA

Virginia Wesleyan University Peer Group

Over the past six years, I have been asked for my perspective on competitors and peer institutions. Because of the outstanding work of many, Virginia Wesleyan has grown in reputation regionally and nationally. This is reflected in our positive ranking in a number of national ratings.

Mainstream higher education has recognized The Carnegie Classification™, as the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for nearly five decades. Derived from empirical data on colleges and universities, the Carnegie Classification was originally published in 1973, and subsequently updated approximately every five years to reflect changes among colleges and universities. In 2014, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching transferred responsibility for the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education to Indiana University Bloomington's Center for Postsecondary Research.

I place a strong emphasis in data-driven decision making. When I arrived here in 2015, I asked three independent researchers to give us a better understanding of our peers and to look at 10 years of data for Virginia Wesleyan in determining our peer and aspirational peers. They not only reviewed data, but looked at mission and church affiliation. Following that, the VWU Office of Institutional Research did some additional research and refinement and also presented the results.

The institutions listed below were chosen through extensive analysis of schools with similar educational mission, resources, and a series of 25 "matching fit" characteristics. The goal was to build a benchmarking group of institutions comparable to Virginia Wesleyan in most aspects of the educational experience.

Peer Group

Albright College - Reading, PA

Allegheny College - Meadville, PA

Austin College - Sherman, TX

Birmingham‐Southern College - Birmingham, AL

Bridgewater College - Bridgewater, VA

Elizabethtown College - Elizabethtown, PA

Hartwick College - Oneonta, NY

Hood College - Frederick, MD

Illinois College - Jacksonville, IL

Juniata College - Huntingdon, PA

Lebanon Valley College - Annville, PA

Lycoming College - Williamsport, PA

University of Lynchburg - Lynchburg, VA

Millsaps College - Jackson, MS

Moravian University - Bethlehem, PA

Muskingum University - New Concord, OH

Oglethorpe University - Atlanta, GA

Presbyterian College - Clinton, SC

Randolph‐Macon College - Ashland, VA

Roanoke College - Salem, VA

Susquehanna University - Selinsgrove, PA

West Virginia Wesleyan College - Buckhannon, WV

I hope you find this information helpful as we continue to affirm our leadership and standing among top liberal arts colleges.

Student Government Association Elects New Officers for 2021-22

Congratulations to the following Marlins on their election to Student Government Association positions for 2021-22.

SGA Executive Board

President: Joey Mueller, Woodbridge, VA - Political Science and Theatre

Vice President: Jack Palmer, Gainesville, VA - Undeclared

Secretary: Ashlee Bobzin, Virginia Beach, VA - Business

Treasurer: Valery Caraballo, Virginia Beach, VA - Criminal Justice

Special Events Coordinator: Melina Cabral, Seekonk, MA - Business

Senior Class

President: Landry Moffo, Stafford, VA - Sport and Recreation Management

Vice President: Grant Morgan, Norfolk, VA - History

Junior Class

President: Faith Osuji, Hagerstown, MD - Political Science

Vice President: Amruta Karkare, Seminole, FL - Biology

Finance Officer: Alex Bertrand, Stafford, VA - Business

Special Events Coordinator: Breanna Wimbush, Virginia Beach, VA - Biology

Sophomore Class

President: Kiera Doyle, Davidsonville, MD - Undeclared

Vice President: Matthew Taylor, Chester, VA - Undeclared

Finance Officer: Edward McDonald, Chesapeake, VA - Sustainability Management and Political Science

Special Events Coordinator: Ashleigh Lockard, Vienna, VA - Undeclared

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

VWU Students: Last Chance to Take the NACCC Survey!

Students need to complete the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates (NACCC) survey by tomorrow, April 20. I sincerely encourage every student to take the completely confidential survey to be an active participant in improving the racial climate on campus and the experiences of all students. Please email Jason Seward (jseward@vwu.edu) with questions.

Higher Education Institutions Urge the Biden Administration to Support a Strong 2030 U.S. Climate Target

Virginia Wesleyan University is one of 75 colleges and universities across the United States that are calling on the Biden-Harris administration to adopt a target of at least 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 through a letter to the White House sent on April 8. The 75 institutions span 29 different states, in all regions of the United States, and represent a wide diversity of institution types including large research universities, community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), tribal colleges, regional comprehensive universities and liberal arts colleges and universities. This effort was organized thanks to our friends at Second Nature.

An Earth Day Special

Mayanni McCourty '19 will present in a virtual seminar for Earth Day discussing her role at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality monitoring air pollution. She will be sharing how she works to improve air quality in Virginia on Thursday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. For more information about joining this virtual presentation, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm, Professor of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, at emalcolm@vwu.edu.

April is National Volunteer Month

Students at Virginia Wesleyan are no strangers to volunteerism. The campus community has long been engaged in service to others as part of the Wesleyan tradition. During April, VWU celebrates volunteerism and the valuable impact volunteers make in the lives of others. Read more.

VWU Day of Giving is Friday

On Friday, Virginia Wesleyan University carries on the philanthropic tradition of VWU Day of Giving, calling upon our members of the community to give back to what they love most about VWU. Looking to build momentum from the previous, record breaking year – which generated more than $22,000 in donations, and over 170 donors – the focus of this year’s campaign seeks to raise funds for all areas of need on campus, including emergency funds, student scholarships, athletics, and library resources. Make a splash at VWU!

Marlins new No. 1 in NFCA Division III National Ranking

Virginia Wesleyan kept rolling to take over the top spot in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Marlins scored a pair of one-run victories over Bridgewater (Va.) to reclaim the No. 1 ranking they last held on May 8, 2019. At the time of the announcement, the squad had won eight of its last nine contests. All three of the Marlins' losses — and their tie — have come against ranked teams.

Parents Council Meets Virtually

We had a great virtual meeting with the VWU Parents Council last week. Members heard campus news, updates from the University's Emergency Response Team, and a special presentation from Dr. Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson, Dean of VWU Global Campus and Associate Professor of Biology. I thank this group for their special commitment to VWU and congratulate the parents of the Class of 2021 on their student’s forthcoming graduation.

President to President: Chapter 10

The tenth and final chapter of the 2020-2021 President to President thought leadership series, “Fostering a Culture of Innovation,” is now available online. In “Making Connections: How Strategic Education Reform Can Ignite Innovation and Build a Better Community,” Connecticut College President Katherine Bergeron, Ph.D., describes the unique interdisciplinary program her institution developed as part of a strategic reform that revitalized the College’s sense of purpose.

As Executive Editors, Dr. Marylouise Fennell and I are already exploring ideas for next year’s President to President series, which will focus on the creativity and resiliency that will be fundamental to higher education in a post-pandemic world. We are excited to continue this groundbreaking series written by university presidents for university presidents, and we look forward to bringing you a collection of fresh perspectives again next year.

STAY CURRENT ON VWU NEWS AND FEATURES

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REFLECTIONS

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

University Business