Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

March 7, 2022

Good morning,

This morning I write to you from the American Council on Education annual meeting where I was invited to talk to academic leaders from around the country about the success of our Batten Honors College and the environmentally friendly investment of our $123 million endowment. Special thanks to TIAA for sponsoring this opportunity to share about this nationally distinctive program.

The Batten Honors College is a highly selective residential program enrolling 160 of the top scholars in the country. What makes the Batten Honors College so special is our unique vision to prepare academically advanced and socially engaged students to lead society’s progressions and institutions with innovative approaches and ethical values that steward an environment threatened by global degradation and climate change. Of the 147 honors colleges in the country, we believe that we are one of the only ones to pursue this urgent and incredibly important global priority.

Last Thursday and Friday, we held the final competition for the incoming fall 2022 cohort of the Batten Honors College. Once again, I thank Travis Malone, Dean of the Batten Honors College, and Brooke Novkovic, Director of Enrollment for the Batten Honors College, for leading these competitions over the last few months. I look forward to sharing the names of the 20 Batten Fellows and 20 Shumadine Scholars later this spring.

ET CETERA

As the endemic nears, I wish to offer special thanks to April Christman, Director of Student Health, and all of the staff with VWU Counseling Services for their meritorious work during the pandemic. Their ongoing care has been instrumental to our campus’s ability to navigate and mitigate the pandemic’s far-reaching effects over the last two years.

While our nation is far from out of the woods regarding COVID-19, the counseling staff has served all of us well, providing much needed support and timely service. Kudos to this incredible team!

The VWU Emergency Response Team announced last week that the University has moved to a mask-optional status for all individuals who are fully vaccinated with the booster.

This decision is based on the decreased level of transmissibility in Virginia Beach, the fact that the University had very few new cases on campus over the last three weeks, and the high level of University community members who are fully vaccinated with the booster.

Instructional faculty reserve the right to require that all students enrolled in their courses wear masks and to dismiss those who fail to comply or wear them incorrectly. Professors may also request that students refrain from eating and drinking during class time.

Please note that the University is prepared to reinstitute mitigation measures should conditions or guidance change.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

March is Women’s History Month

During the month of March, in celebration of Women's History Month and International Women's Day tomorrow (March 8), a special series of speakers and events have been organized by Virginia Wesleyan's Office of Gender and Sexuality Equity, Wesleyan Engaged, Robert Nusbaum Center, Africana Studies, History, and Women's and Gender Studies. The 2022 theme from the National Women’s History Alliance is "Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope." Learn more about our upcoming campus events.

Lighthouse Awarded Grant from IIE American Passport Project

Congratulations to Mandy Reinig, Director of Global Engagement, and The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration & Discovery on being selected to receive a 2022 Institute of International Education (IIE) American Passport Project grant. This grant provides funding to enable 25 first-year, Pell-eligible VWU students to obtain a U.S. passport, which is the first step in a student’s journey to realize their study abroad goals.

VWU to Host SCHEV Meeting in May

Delayed for two years, we’re proud to finally host the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) meeting on campus in May. (These meetings have been taking place virtually during the pandemic.) This meeting also serves as SCHEV’s annual meeting with the Private College Advisory Board (PCAB). We look forward to hosting Peter Blake, Director of SCHEV, and his colleagues for two days while showing off our beautiful campus and our wonderful programs.

2023 VFIC Ethics Bowl Coming to VWU

Virginia Wesleyan University will host the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges’ 23rd annual statewide collegiate Wells Fargo Ethics Bowl on January 29-31, 2023. The University last hosted this event in 2017, and we look forward to showing off all the terrific updates and additions to our campus since then.

Controversy Continues in the United Methodist Church

The Church is now determining if it should continue with the General Conference, currently planned for August 29-September 6 in Minneapolis, or if it should delay the conference for the third time. Various stakeholder groups are divided regarding the issue. The further delay of the General Conference continues to postpone and affect the major decisions facing the Church, including LGBTQA+ rights and the split of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. As a Methodist-affiliated institution, we will continue to monitor and advocate for progress in these areas with interest.

VWU Trustees are Virginia’s Heavy Hitters

Congratulations to Trustees Bob Aston, Executive Chairman of the Board at TowneBank, and Howard Kern, retiring President & Chief Executive Officer of Sentara Healthcare, on being named to Heavy Hitters: Virginia’s 50 Most Influential People list.

Hampton Roads Chamber VB Division Board Meeting

I always enjoy attending the Virginia Beach Division Board meeting of the Hampton Roads Chamber. This month’s meeting focused on the Dominion Energy coastal wind project, presented by John Larson, Directory of Public Policy & Economic Development, and Tonya Byrd, Director of Community Engagement & Local Affairs, both at Dominion Energy. To learn more about this exciting project, visit coastalvawind.com.

President to President: Change on Campus Isn’t All About Technology

The eighth chapter of the 2021-2022 President to President thought leadership series is now available online. In “Post-Pandemic: It’s Not All About Technology,” Illinois Wesleyan University president S. Georgia Nugent, Ph.D., explores some of the lasting and far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. She shares her perspective on how issues such as access to technology and other resources, social inequity, and the need to prioritize students’ mental health will continue shaping higher education today and well into the future.

This year's President to President series, titled “The Vitality and Power of Higher Education,” showcases insights from renowned college and university presidents. As executive editors of this series, Dr. Marylouise Fennell and I hope you enjoy reading a thought-provoking new chapter each month and look forward to continuing to share fresh perspectives and creative ideas with you.

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REFLECTIONS

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

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