Nota Bene: VWU Students Win Big

 

May 3, 2022 Good morning,

Virginia Wesleyan kicked off last weekend celebrating student accomplishments in academics, leadership and service during the Spring Honors Convocation on Friday, April 29 in TowneBank Arena of the Jane P. Batten Student Center. Learn more about our student awards and view the photo gallery.

The day got even better when we learned Friday evening that our Batten Honors College student team of Rowan Stuart, Jessica Wilson, Connor Merk, Kai Trehan, and Eddie McDonald (pictured from left) won the undergraduate division of the Intentional Endowments Network’s Student Corporate Engagement Competition. IEN’s Student Corporate Engagement Competition was a first-of-its-kind student investment competition which invited student teams to develop a pitch for an investment in a publicly traded company including a shareholder engagement strategy focused on addressing inequality and the climate crisis.

The VWU Batten Honors College team chose to study Ford Motor Company. The team noted that Ford's corporate commitment to electric vehicle production, changes to U.S.-based manufacturing, and commitment to reduce waste and emissions made it a worthy consideration for investment. The team also proposed a shareholder strategy that included the development of EV-lithium ion battery recycling program through Ford's factories and dealerships.  The judges in Friday's competition included investment professionals from TIAA and Federated-Hermes. They applauded our students’ professional presentation, the boldness of their company choice, and the strength of the proposal. Congratulations to the team and to Dr. Travis Malone, Dean of the Batten Honors College, on this incredible win.

Speaking of winning, congratulations to the Virginia Wesleyan women’s softball team, the 2022 Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament champions! The #3-seeded Marlins reached the finals by defeating #6-seeded Ferrum University and #2-seeded Randolph-Macon College on Friday and #4-seeded Roanoke College on Sunday in Salem, Virginia.  The Marlins faced Roanoke College once again for the finals on Monday afternoon in Salem. The Marlins dropped the first game to Roanoke, 3-5, but came back in Game 2 to win the conference tournament title, 1-0. The Marlins will now defend their national championship with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Go, Marlins!

Finally, my heartfelt congratulations to our Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges’ Undergraduate Research Fellowship Winners, Abigail Peterson and Spencer Hall! Abigail was awarded the William E. Betts, Jr. Memorial Undergraduate Science Research Fellowship Award for a project with Dr. Soraya Bartol, Professor of Marine Biology, and Spencer was awarded the 2022 Undergraduate Science Research Fellowship (General Program) for a project with Dr. Kevin Kittredge, Professor of Chemistry. Kudos to them!

VWU students have certainly excelled in all areas of campus life, and I am so proud of you. I know these last two years have been extremely tough, but it’s fantastic to see our Marlins persevere and be rewarded for their efforts. Congratulations to all! Sincerely,

-- Scott D. Miller, Ph.D. President Virginia Wesleyan University 5817 Wesleyan Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23455   Phone: 757.455.3215 Email: president@vwu.edu Web:  www.vwu.edu/president  Blog: prezscottmiller.blogspot.com