Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

June 6, 2022

Good morning,

Congratulations to Geni Roberts, the National Runner Up for the outdoor men’s triple jump! Geni set a new career personal best with a jump of 15.16M at the 2022 Outdoor Track & Field National Championship Meet in Geneva, Ohio, over Memorial Day weekend. Geni’s jump of 15.16M also sets a new school record, crushing his own previous school record of 14.73M.

Many will recall that Geni earned the National Runner Up honors in the men’s long jump at the 2022 Indoor Track & Field National Championship Meet back in March. His latest accolade caps an incredible junior year of indoor and outdoor seasons. Congratulations to him on another outstanding national performance!

With pride, I share the Spring 2022 President's List and Dean’s List. Congratulations to the 93 students on the President’s List who achieved a 4.0 grade point average and to the 213 students on the Dean’s List who achieved a 3.5-3.99 grade point average for the spring semester. To qualify for these honors, students must have full-time status and have taken at least nine semester hours of traditionally-graded courses. These individuals demonstrate a remarkable level of dedication to their academic pursuits, and we are so proud to have so many students recognized on these lists. Well done!

ET CETERA

Wondering why some of your colleagues seem out of breath after lunch? The Summer Sports Lunchtime League has 44 athletes representing departments across campus including Academic Affairs, Advancement, Athletics, Campus Life, Dining Services, Enrollment, Finance, IT, The Lighthouse, Marketing & Communications, Residence Life, Student Activities, and URec. The League is divided into two teams and meets almost every Tuesday and Thursday between 12-1 p.m. They rotate playing kickball, wiffleball, soccer, flag football, and sand volleyball.

Special thanks to Sarah Guzzo, Director of Student Activities, for putting this league together, which is a wonderful opportunity for interdepartmental collaboration combined with friendly competition. Have fun and stay hydrated, Marlins!

With the retirement of Bill Brown as Director of Counseling Services, we welcome Brandon Foster to the role of Therapist with Counseling Services. Brandon earned his Bachelor of Social Work from Virginia Wesleyan University and his Master of Social Work from Smith College. His office is located in the Student Health and Counseling Suite on the second floor of the Jane P. Batten Student Center.

We are excited to welcome Brandon back to VWU as a member of the professional staff. With his appointment, we continue our commitment to meet the mental health needs of our Marlin community.

Our partners at Girls on the Run hosted their annual 5K event on campus recently. Three thousand guests and hundreds of runners enjoyed our beautiful campus with its shaded trail system and iconic backdrops of Birdsong Field, the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center, the Beacon, the Greer Environmental Sciences Center, and more.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

Construction of “The Cove”

Construction will begin this month on The Cove, a multi-use outdoor dining and event space adjacent to Harbor Grill, just outside of the Jane P. Batten Student Center. The latest addition to VWU’s quad, The Cove will feature outdoor picnic and Adirondack style seating, café lighting, and a natural gas fire pit. The open-air community gathering space will be perfect for a snack in between classes, concerts and other VWU traditions, or catching up with friends around the fire. The Cove is expected to be completed and ready when Marlin Nation returns for the Fall 2022 Semester.

Blocker Foundation Provides Planning Grant

The Frank Blocker, Jr. Foundation has provided a planning grant to Virginia Wesleyan University for the construction of additional educational space at the Frank Blocker Youth Center. This addition will allow our partners at Tidewater Collegiate Academy and Camp Red Feather of the YMCA of South Hampton Roads to expand their enrollment and offerings to young learners in our community.

During his lifetime, Frank Blocker, Jr. was a longtime Trustee and benefactor of the University.

Brock School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Receives Instrumentation Gift

An anonymous donor has provided a $150,000 gift to the Joan P. Brock School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences to upgrade instrumentation for a human anatomy and physiology laboratory in Blocker Hall. Given our recent programmatic growth in the health sciences with our partnership with Sentara College for Health Sciences, our new major in Allied Health, and more, we are grateful to our donor for meeting student needs in these high-demand areas of study.

Kudos to Dr. Victor Townsend, Kenneth R. Perry Dean of the Joan P. Brock School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, who played a major role in facilitating the donation. Alumni often share with me the strength of the sciences at Virginia Wesleyan, and many refer to Vic as “the father of the sciences at VWU.”

Joan Brock Gives $34 million to Chrysler Museum of Art

The Chrysler Museum of Art recently announced that VWU Trustee Emerita Joan Brock has made a gift of $34 million, which includes 40 works of American art and two position endowments. The gift will also support the expansion of the Perry Glass Studio, which has had a longstanding relationship with the University and our fine arts department. Learn more.

Birdsong Peanuts Investing $25.1 Million in its Suffolk Facility

During Suffolk’s recent State of the City address, Mayor Mike Duman announced Birdsong Peanuts’ planned $25.1 million investment in its Suffolk peanut shelling facility. The Birdsong family has been a tremendous supporter of Virginia Wesleyan since its founding, and we’re delighted to hear about their ongoing commitment to our community. Learn more.

VWU Trustee Emeritus George Birdsong and I are pictured with Congressman Bobby Scott just prior to the announcement at the Suffolk State of the City a few weeks ago.

Inside Business Power List 2022

My thanks to Inside Business and to everyone who reached out with their kind words and congratulations regarding the Inside Business Power List 2022. I’m humbled to be among such incredible leaders and visionaries in our region.

New Rulings in the UMC

A recent ruling in the United Methodist Church will allow conferences to elect bishops “off their usual schedule,” although new terms cannot begin until September 1. Another ruling determined that conferences cannot vote to leave the United Methodist Church as a whole.

For updates and information on the new Global Methodist Church: https://globalmethodist.org/

STAY CURRENT ON VWU NEWS AND FEATURES

Virginia Wesleyan University Magazine

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REFLECTIONS

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