Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

January 31, 2022

Good morning,

Hope you all had a great first week of the Spring Semester, although the snow made it look like winter rather than spring.

I know every student starts each new semester with the best of intentions, making resolutions regarding class attendance, study habits, stress management, school-life balance, and the like. I remind our students to use your campus resources to help you keep these promises to yourself. The Learning Center, Counseling Services, Student Activities, The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration and Discovery, and more are all available to you as you navigate your way through classes, coursework, and extracurricular activities.

For some of you, this is your last semester as a Marlin student. I urge you to make the most of your time here on campus. While I have no doubt that you will graduate and pursue meaningful personal and professional goals, there’s nothing quite like this time in your life when you are surrounded by friends, teachers, and mentors all rooting for you and your success.

Best wishes this semester, Marlins!

ET CETERA

The Winter 2022 Special Edition of the Virginia Wesleyan University Magazine is now available online. Our cover story is the University's record fundraising and endowment growth over the last six years. The magazine also features in-depth looks at the dedication of Susan T. Beverly Hall, 2021 Homecoming & Family Weekend and serves as the University’s annual report. Enjoy!

A special welcome to our international students who arrived on campus recently for the start of the Spring Semester. These students join the Marlin family from Finland, Germany, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and from our collaborative campus in Tokyo, Japan.

Learn more about opportunities for study-away and global engagement at The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration & Discovery.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

VWU Selected as a 2022 Best Online Program

Virginia Wesleyan University Online is again attracting attention in national rankings. The University has been selected for inclusion among U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Online Programs. VWU’s online undergraduate business program is recognized in the discipline-specific category—ranking 125th. In addition, Virginia Wesleyan received an overall ranking of 210th for online bachelor’s programs. Learn more.

Save the Date: Spring Alumni Weekend

We hope our alumni and friends will save the date for our 2022 Spring Alumni Weekend to be held April 8-9. After having to cancel the event the last two years due to the pandemic, we are hopeful that we can continue with this year’s celebration as planned. Stay tuned to VWU Alumni Events for event information and updates.

New Truist Signage in Clarke Hall and Allen Commons

Some of you have asked about the new signage in Clarke Hall and Allen Commons. You’ll remember a few years ago BB&T Bank and SunTrust provided funding to implement The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration and Discovery and for some technology upgrades in Allen Commons. After the merger of BB&T and SunTrust was completed over a year ago, new officers of the combined organization – Truist – reached out to provide additional funding to upgrade their brand through their earlier contribution.

Senate Passes Anti-Hazing Bill for Virginia Colleges and Universities

Following the tragic death of a first-year student at a state institution last year, the Virginia Senate has unanimously passed a bill, known as Adam’s Law, to help prevent hazing on college campuses throughout the Commonwealth. Learn more.

Title IX Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Title IX was an essential part of the Education Amendments of 1972 and states, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Title IX opened the door for educational programming and athletics for women across the country. Learn more about Title IX and Title IX resources at VWU.

New American Colleges and Universities Welcomes a New Member

The New American Colleges and Universities (NACU) announced last week that Hood College in Frederick, MD, has joined its consortium of private, comprehensive colleges and universities across the nation. Virginia Wesleyan joined the NACU network in 2021 and welcomes Hood College into the fold.

Construction Updates

The Business & Technology Hub in Clarke Hall was ready for our Marlins for the first day of the Spring Semester. After many supply chain delays as a result of the pandemic, The Hub now boasts a variety of technology for instruction focused on cybersecurity. Individual computer-based workstations, personal encrypted networks, and a global map showing cyber attacks occurring in real time, transforms this space into a state of the art facility. Its completion finalizes the first stage of a broader upgrade of Clarke Hall.

Completion of Brock Commons is expected within the next five weeks. Weather permitting, work on the outside dining and patio area will start this week. Brock Commons is the final part of a multi-year upgrade of campus dining facilities including the Boyd Dining Center, Harbor Grill and Coastal Market, and the Board of Trustees Suite including Founders Foyer.

Slowed by supply chain issues, the occupancy and use of DeFord Manor is now delayed until March. The dedication for DeFord Manor was planned for next week; however, out of an abundance of caution, it has been rescheduled for May. We hope to have events in DeFord Manor starting in March, but this is contingent on its final completion and the University’s current COVID mitigation policies on social gatherings. We remain grateful to Bob and Nancy DeFord for their support of this project.

STAY CURRENT ON VWU NEWS AND FEATURES

Virginia Wesleyan University Magazine

The Pharos

REFLECTIONS

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

University Business