Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

March 14, 2022

Good morning,

I hope our students and faculty are enjoying a wonderful spring break!

Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has named 173 student civic leaders who will make up the organization’s 2022-2023 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. Batten Honors College scholar Henry Handley will join students from 38 states, Washington, D.C., and Mexico to form the cohort.

The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes students who stand out for their commitment to creating positive change in communities locally and around the world. The fellowship is named for the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who was a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. In the spirit of Dr. Newman’s leadership, fellows are nominated by Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors, who are invited to select one outstanding student from their campus each year.

Since arriving at VWU, Henry has been extremely involved on and off campus, perhaps most noticeably with Marlin Ministries, helping to lead a middle school youth group at Haygood United Methodist Church. Additionally, Henry is the drummer for the Marlin Ministries worship band, a member of the Batten Honors College Activities Council, president of the campus chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the current chaplain of the Iota-Beta Chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity. He has completed over 100 hours of community engagement this academic year alone by volunteering with Jacob's Chance and TOP Soccer (both organizations provide athletic opportunities for children with special needs), Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve, and campus clean-ups and local church block parties, among others. Learn more about Henry here.

Through the fellowship, Campus Compact will provide Henry and his cohort with a year of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional, and civic growth. Each year, fellows participate in numerous virtual training and networking opportunities to help provide them with the skills and connections they need to create large-scale positive change. The cornerstone of the fellowship is the Annual Convening of Fellows, which offers intensive skill-building and networking over the course of two days. The fellowship also provides fellows with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

Congratulations, Henry!

The student-led Marlin Business Conference is just around the corner. This semester’s theme is “Commerce Reimagined” and will take place from April 11-14. Conference presentations include Jon Pruden, VWU Trustee and Co-Owner/Chief Executive Officer of Taste; Priscilla Monti, Senior Vice President of Programs and Communications for the Hampton Roads Chamber; Linda Peck, Executive Director of the Greater Norfolk Corporation; and others. We are proud and excited to have such high caliber speakers participating in the Marlin Business Conference this semester. The conference schedule will be released soon, and we hope students, faculty and staff will make a special effort to join conference events.

ET CETERA

This month, Boston-based environmental advocacy organization Second Nature celebrates 15 years of impactful leadership. This is a group that I have been actively involved with from the start, and Virginia Wesleyan has benefited from our engagement through student education, leadership opportunities and resources.

The Climate Leadership Network began in late 2006 when 12 college and university presidents initiated the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), supported by Second Nature, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and EcoAmerica. The 12 founding presidents, motivated by their conviction that higher education had the capacity and responsibility to lead on climate action and sustainability for the sake of their students and society, invited their peers to join the climate commitment. In early 2007, I was among the first 50 presidents to meet in Washington, DC to become a charter signatory on the climate commitment. (Pictured right. I’m in the back right corner, circled in yellow.)

By the end of 2007, more than 350 campuses joined as Charter Signatories. Over the years, ACUPCC was shortened to be the Climate Leadership Network, an organization that I chaired from 2018 to 2020. I have served on the Second Nature Board of Directors since 2018.

Over the course of the next 15 years, millions of students were educated at campuses within the Climate Leadership Network. These campuses, with commitments to carbon neutrality and/or resilience, educated students in the classroom, significantly modernized operations to become “greener,” and engaged in partnership with their communities to foster resilience. Since the launch of the Commitments, the Network has reported nearly 4,000 greenhouse gas inventories and 600 Climate Action Plans, publicly sharing their progress, reduction targets, and strategies to meet the commitments.

The founders of Second Nature also established the Intentional Endowments Network, a non-profit, peer-learning network advancing intentionally designed endowments – those that seek to enhance financial performance by making investments that advance an equitable, low carbon, and regenerative economy. VWU is one of approximately 60 colleges and universities with IEN involvement. Early this year, all $123 million of the University’s endowment was invested in an environmentally friendly way utilizing the IEN standards. I am proud to have represented Virginia Wesleyan across the country this year while discussing our involvement in IEN.

As Second Nature and IEN prepare to launch the 2022 Higher Education Leadership Summit in April, I thank both organizations for their ongoing impact at Virginia Wesleyan University and at higher education institutions around the nation.

I am pleased to share that Dr. Keith Moore, VWU Vice President for Campus Life and Operational Management, has been selected from a highly elite group of candidates nationally to participate in the Executive Leadership Academy. ELA is a year-long program co-sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI) to prepare experienced provosts and vice presidents to move to positions of greater responsibility. Participants will acquire knowledge, skills, and experiences germane to the responsibilities and activities central to the work of a president or other senior-level leader.

Now in his 23rd year at VWU, Dr. Moore has served as a vice president of the University since late 2015. In this capacity, he oversees the areas of Residence Life, Student Activities, Health Services, Student Center, University Chaplain, Counseling Services, Campus Security, Wesleyan Engaged, Health Services, IT, Dining Services, and Facilities Management. Prior to assuming his current role, he served in several capacities as a member of the Campus Life staff to include Director of Residence Life, Director of Intramural Activities, and Dean of Students. Dr. Moore received his B.A. in politics and history from Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, his M.Ed. in Educational Policy, Research, and Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Congratulations, Dr. Moore!

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

Celebrating Women’s History Month

Our special series of speakers and events continue on campus throughout the month of March. Learn more about our upcoming Women’s History Month events.

Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson Honored with 2022 Women Inspiring Success & Excellence Award

Congratulations to Dr. Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson, Professor of Biology and Dean of VWU Global Campus, for being honored with the 2022 Alumna Legacy Award during the 2022 Women Inspiring Success & Excellence (WISE) Award Ceremony last week at her alma mater, Florida Institute of Technology.

Dr. Gonsalves-Jackson received her Ph.D. from the Florida Institute of Technology. As a predoctoral fellow studying Panama mollusks, she worked at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she attended as an undergraduate. At Virginia Wesleyan, she teaches courses and labs in biology, oceanography and invertebrate zoology and is the Dean of VWU Global Campus.

Elizabeth Malcolm to Lead Panel at 2022 Higher Education Leadership Summit

On April 7 at 4:00 p.m., Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm, Professor of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and VWU Director of Sustainability, will lead a panel discussion along with two colleagues from the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges entitled, “Virginia Heat Watch: Heat Mapping to Assess Vulnerability and Address Inequity in Virginia Communities.” The panel is a part of the 2022 Higher Education Leadership Summit, hosted by Second Nature and the Intentional Endowments Network, and will focus on how institutions are using the data to develop equitable community-based climate initiatives. Learn more.

Another Top International Partner for the Batten Honors College

The Batten Honors College has recently entered into an agreement with the International College of Innovation of the National Cheng Chi University, Taiwan, R.O.C. NCCU is one of the top research institutions in Taiwan and ranks in the Top 100 of Asia Institutions, including Top 150 in University World Rankings. NCCU has more than 16,000 students in undergraduate, master's, and doctoral-level programs and is home-away-from-home for more than 780 international students and 900 students in Chinese language studies. The agreement allows for the exchange of students to study at each campus, faculty development, and mutual research opportunities.

Norfolk Academy Headmaster Retiring in 2023

The Norfolk Academy Headmaster Dennis Manning announced his retirement last week, effective at the end of the 2022-23 academic year. Dennis has been leading Norfolk Academy since 2001. We wish him the best and thank him for being a good neighbor during a period of significant transformation at both of our institutions and in our surrounding community.

Brock Commons Update

Brock Commons has entered the final stages of completion. Landscaping and seeding, outdoor seating, sidewalk pouring, and final adjustments to technology were installed and completed last week.

Brock Commons will provide a community gathering space for speakers, presentations, special events, and other campus traditions. The final phase of renovations and expansion to the University dining facility, Brock Commons will complete VWU's quad, connecting the four main buildings that contribute the Marlin experience: Brock Commons, Greer Environmental Sciences Center, Jane P. Batten Student Center, and Hofheimer Library.

Brock Commons would not have been possible without the generosity of longtime Virginia Wesleyan University benefactor and Trustee Emerita Joan Brock. We thank Joan and her late husband Macon, for their unwavering support of Virginia Wesleyan for many years.