Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

June 14, 2021

Good morning,

At the beginning of each academic year, we celebrate the special tradition of Founders Day. Our formal convocation ceremony and presentation of our annual Alumni Awards will be held on Thursday, September 9 at 11:00 a.m. in the Joan and Macon Brock Theatre of the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center. We look forward to once again paying tribute to our roots, recognizing key individuals that helped to shape our history, and celebrating the institution's bright future.

I am pleased to announce that our Founders Day keynote speaker will be Gary D. Bonnewell ’79, H’16. Gary has been a member of the VWU Board of Trustees for many years and is the only alumnus, thus far, to serve as Board Chair. He is a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at Morgan Stanley and has achieved the firm’s highly coveted Family Wealth Director Designation. Gary was named to the Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors for 2019, 2020 and 2021. As a 1979 graduate of Virginia Wesleyan University, he received his B.A. in communications and holds a Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning and is a Certified Financial Planner Professional™.

Gary has remained active at his alma mater, and in addition to Board Chair, is a past president of the Alumni Council and the Blue Marlin Athletic Club. Additionally he was the first recipient of the Alumni Community Service Award and is a member of Sigma Beta Delta and Omicron Delta Kappa. In 2016, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Virginia Wesleyan University. As a student at Virginia Wesleyan, Gary served as vice president of the Student Government Association, athletic trainer, founder of the Monogram Club, and radio host of the college station WVAW.

Gary has also been active in the Coastal Virginia community. He has served as president of the Norfolk Jaycees, president of the D’Art Center, chairman of NATOFest (formerly the International Azalea Festival), and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Norfolk Collegiate School. Currently Gary is president of Norfolk Sister Cities Association, president of Pack Training Team, Lay Leader of Ghent United Methodist, and a board member of The Virginia United Methodist Foundation and the General Douglas MacArthur Foundation. He and his wife Deborah live in Norfolk and have two adult children, David and Grace.

With his rich history rooted in Virginia Wesleyan, we are excited to welcome Gary back to campus as our keynote speaker for Founders Day.

I am also delighted to share our 2021 Alumni Awards recipients, an honor the VWU Alumni Council bestows upon graduates in recognition of outstanding professional and personal accomplishments. Congratulations to the following alumni on this well-deserved distinction that recognizes their many accomplishments since graduation:

Distinguished Alumnus Award: William Shelhorse ’70

William “Bill” S. Shelhorse is the co-founder and president of Chesapeake Bay Contractors (CBC) and a member of the inaugural graduating class of Virginia Wesleyan (Class of 1970). A native of Tappahannock, Virginia, Shelhorse founded Chesapeake Bay Contractors in 1978 with his father, a company specializing in underground utility and site development service. CBC’s most visible work includes the enormous 120-inch storm drains at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront boardwalk, which were installed in the late 1990s. Bill faithfully served as a member of the VWU Board of Trustees for many years and now enjoys the role of Trustee Emeritus. His generosity to his alma mater has made many campus projects possible, including Virginia Wesleyan’s 400-meter track and field complex Betty S. Rogers Track & Field Center, named in memory of Bill’s sister.

Alumni Service Award: Vanessa Thaxton-Ward ’83, Ph.D.

Vanessa Thaxton-Ward is the curator of collections and director of Hampton University’s museum and archives. Prior to this position, Vanessa served as the curator of the Penn Center in South Carolina and a museum assistant at the War Memorial Museum in Newport News, Virginia. A native of Hampton, Vanessa graduated from Virginia Wesleyan in 1983 with a degree in English. She went on to receive her Master of Arts in Museum and Archival Studies from Hampton University and a doctorate in American Studies/Material Culture from The College of William and Mary. She is a published author, engaging lecturer and educator, and proficient fundraiser who is very involved in promoting and modernizing the narrative of the national arts scene.

Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award: Tiffany Boyle ’14

With a background in the public and private sector as both an employee and entrepreneur, Tiffany Boyle currently serves as Commissioner of the Revenue for the city of Newport News, Virginia. As Commissioner, Tiffany oversees a budget exceeding $2.5 million along with over 40 professionals, providing numerous functions such as assessment of taxes, correction of assessments, defending the assessment, as well as discovery. Tiffany graduated from Thomas Nelson Community College with an associate’s degree and then received her bachelor's degree in business administration from VWU in 2014. She also holds a master’s degree in management from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She participates in several boards and professional organizations, often in leadership roles, including Access Virginia, Virginia Peninsula Foodbank, Virginia Commissioner of the Revenue Political Action Committee (Treasurer), Hampton Roads Commissioner of the Revenue Association (Chair), and the VWU President’s Leadership Council.

Congratulations to these outstanding alumni! We look forward to celebrating them in person during our Founders Day celebration on September 9.

ET CETERA

New No-Cost Courses Available Online to Local Residents This Summer

Because of COVID-19's economic impact on our communities, Virginia Wesleyan University—in partnership with the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development—is offering online professional development courses at no cost to Hampton Roads residents.

I invite the VWU friends and families to register today to access these self-paced training courses to improve professional skills—perfect for job seekers, business owners, students, recent graduates, and volunteers. Courses are offered through VWU Global Campus and include Personal Finance, Creating Webpages, Purchasing Fundamentals, Manufacturing Fundamentals, Administrative Assistant Fundamentals, Intro to Excel/Office 365, and Six Sigma: Total Quality Applications.

See our website or the story on WAVY News10 for more information.

Final Meeting as Chair of the VFIC Council of Presidents

Last week I attended my final meeting as Chair of the Council of Presidents for the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC). As Chair, it is my duty and privilege to give a report of the year, as well as a reflection, at the VFIC’s annual meeting. In my comments I spoke about what a difficult and strange year it has been for college students and presidents alike everywhere. Despite the challenges, private higher education in Virginia has fared better than some thanks to the strong leadership and support of the VFIC and its Council of Presidents. Enrollment is strong at 60 percent of our member institutions (including VWU). I sincerely thank the VFIC and the Council of Presidents for their unwavering support and look forward to moving ahead under more normal circumstances this fall.

BSN/MENP Update

Last year, we announced our partnership with the Sentara College of Health Sciences and creation of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program. Through this program, students take coursework at both institutions. We have had a strong interest in this new program and have our first full cohort of students enrolling this fall. Our first students will begin coursework at Sentara in January 2022.

We also have an articulation agreement that guarantees students admission into Sentara’s Master’s Entry into Nursing Practice (MENP) program. Congratulations to Marie Bazile ‘21 and Tionna Gibson ‘21 who will begin this program at Sentara this fall.

Akademos Launches for Fall Semester

Starting in the Fall 2021 Semester, we will be using Akademos as our textbook and course materials provider. Akademos is an online, full-service course materials platform that allows students to easily access and order new, used, and rental materials for their courses. Akademos offers students multiple options and, because of their large inventory, opportunities to buy books at lower cost. The Akademos platform is easy to access, provides students with a list of all materials needed for each course, and ships directly to home or campus. This partnership will provide our students with a more convenient and cost effective means to acquire all of the materials they need to be successful in their classes.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

Clarke Hall Modernization Coming Soon

Preparation work has been completed and a late summer start date is being finalized for the modernization of Clarke Hall. Funded through a grant collaboratively developed with our partners at Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development, the upgrades to Clarke Hall include new classroom space to accommodate VWU’s growing business department and workforce development courses. Mock-ups of the new spaces are below. We look forward to getting started soon.

David Kaufman Visits the Center for Enrollment

It was a pleasure to show David Kaufman the new Center for Enrollment, which bears his name, during his campus visit last week.

David has been a longtime member of the VWU Board of Trustees and previously served as Chair. We thank him for his tremendous support of the University throughout the years.

VWU Students Included in One of the Nation’s Largest Extreme Heat Studies

VWU students will participate in the largest scale heat-mapping campaign in U.S. history this summer. Read more about the study, organized by the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, in The Virginian-Pilot. To volunteer as a driver collecting data on the campaign day, please fill out this interest form or contact Elizabeth Malcolm (emalcolm@vwu.edu) or Brian Kurisky (bkurisky@vwu.edu).

Celebrating the 2021 National Softball Championship

The celebration continues for our 2021 National Softball Championship team. A special thank you to Jessie Andersen of Adams Outdoor Advertising for providing 20+ digital billboards in Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Norfolk which promote and celebrate the championship team.

Thanks to all who attended our in-person celebration at Wild Wing Cafe in Chesapeake last week. I look forward to sharing more ways in which these special Marlins will be honored and recognized in the weeks to come.

Opus Resumes This Summer

VWU's Opus summer program, a Work & Learn initiative, is back after a summer away due to COVID-19. Now in its fourth year, the Opus program is designed to assist students with outstanding financial obligations to the University and has helped more than 130 Marlins continue their educational pursuits. Participating students work alongside the University's Facilities Management team on corrective and preventative maintenance, as well as beautification projects throughout campus. Projects include residence hall preparation and maintenance for summer camps and conferences, parking lot painting, and work with the grounds team, among others. Thanks to the generosity of Trustee David Kaufman H’19 and The Landmark Foundation, Opus continues to assist eligible students in making their education affordable.

Congratulations to the TCA Class of 2021

Tidewater Collegiate Academy (TCA) held its graduation ceremony for the Class of 2021 at the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center. I thank the VWU faculty and staff who were involved in helping to make the ceremony a success, and offer my congratulations to these graduates. We wish you a lifetime of personal and professional success. TCA is located in the Frank Blocker, Jr. Youth Center on campus. Learn more at vwu.edu/tca.

Virginia Beach Branching into Tech, Offshore Wind

According to a Virginia Business article, Virginia Beach seeks to attract more high-tech industries by focusing on technology and renewable energy. Projects like the offshore wind turbine and a trio of the world’s fastest subsea cables that come ashore at the Virginia Beach Development Authority’s Corporate Landing Business Park offer incredible opportunities for VWU students and alumni. Learn more.

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