Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

January 9, 2023

Good morning,

Happy New Year, Marlins! It’s wonderful to have students, faculty and staff back on campus for January Term.

With pride, I share the Fall 2022 President's List and Dean’s List. Congratulations to the 103 students on the President’s List who achieved a 4.0 grade point average and to the 250 students on the Dean’s List who achieved a 3.5-3.99 grade point average for the fall semester. Well done!

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’re so proud of them. Congratulations to all!

For the past 32 years, I have opened the new year by attending the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Presidents Institute. The largest meeting of its kind in the country, it is the premier annual meeting of college and university presidents. Although my schedule is routinely filled with a variety of meetings and events on and off campus, I always find this CIC gathering of 350 private college presidents to be a time of personal reflection and restoration.

Based in Washington, D.C., CIC works to raise the quality of education and strengthen resources at some 770 independent colleges, universities and higher education organizations.

This year's trip was very productive, including:

A meeting with Academic Search, Inc., Board of Directors, a group I chair;
A meeting with the American Academic Leadership Institute Board of Directors (I serve as vice chair);
A meeting of the New American Colleges and Universities (NACU) Board of Directors;
A meeting of the Higher Education Research and Development Institute (HERDI) Board of Directors (pictured below, far left);
A meeting with the Council of Independent Colleges Online Course Sharing Consortium, a collaborative Virginia Wesleyan joined in 2019;
A meeting with Ferrilli, a technology consulting firm for a variety of VWU projects (pictured below, center left);
A meeting with Sodexo, the sponsor of the President to President series (I serve as its executive editor) (pictured below, center);
A meeting with Derck & Edson, the firm that facilitated VWU’s 10-year Campus Master Planning efforts (pictured below, center right);
A meeting with Lori White, President of DePauw University and Chair of the Liberal College Racial Equity Leadership Alliance (LACRELA), a prestigious coalition of 60 colleges (including VWU) across the country examining race and equity on college campuses (pictured below, far right);
A strategic planning session with John Dysart, Principal of The Dysart Group — our enrollment management counsel.

Although there are many recent developments and trends that bring uncertainty and demand vigilance—for VWU and other institutions—I am confident that with persistent effort on campus and through strong connections to colleagues in the higher education community and beyond, we will continue to find success.

ET CETERA

We are happy to share the addition of men's volleyball as an NCAA intercollegiate sport with its first season of varsity competition in the spring of 2024. Men's volleyball will bring the number of sports sponsored by VWU to 23 along with a co-educational esports team.

Current VWU women's volleyball coach Karissa Cumberbatch assumed the role of director of men's and women's volleyball beginning January 1. Last season, the women finished first in the ODAC regular season standings (20-8, 11-1 in the ODAC) for the first time in program history.

Men's volleyball will join a roster of successful Marlins teams that have collected five national championships, several national runner-up finishes in both individual and team sports, including a run to the Final Four by the women's soccer team this fall.

Recruitment for the 2023-2024 Academic Year will begin immediately.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

Urban League of Hampton Roads Honors VWU Friends George Birdsong and Others

George Birdsong H’16, the University’s steadfast friend, supporter, and Trustee Emeritus, will be honored by the Urban League of Hampton Roads during the virtual 39th Annual Martin Luther King Community Leaders Awards on Monday, January 16. Since 1984, the MLK Community Leaders Awards have honored individuals and groups who exemplify service, demonstrate the values modeled by Dr. King, and make significant contributions to the Hampton Roads community. Among the honorees are additional VWU friends: U.S. Representative Bobby Scott; Shawn Avery, President and CEO of the Hampton Roads Workforce Council; and Virginia State Senate Representative Louise Lucas. Registration for this virtual event is free and open to the public.

VWU Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemoration: January 16

Our annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration will take place next week on Monday, January 16. We will begin with a Day of Service, hosted by Wesleyan Engaged, in the Jane P. Batten Student Center. We will be joined by Virginia Beach City Councilman Aaron Rouse for a special luncheon, hosted by VWU Athletics. The program will include the presentation of the Mavis McKenley ’11 Award to a student who embodies the ideals of Dr. King. The day will culminate with a Peace Walk from VWU to Haygood United Methodist Church. Classes will not be held on MLK Day, so we hope many Marlins make plans to participate in one or more of our campus events.

Passing of VFIC Honorary Life Trustee Preston Caruthers

We mourn the passing of Preston Caruthers, a great friend and advocate of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, who passed away on January 1 at the age of 95. Preston served as a VFIC Trustee from 1971-1996 and was the VFIC chair from 1978-80. Because of his many years of dedicated service, Preston was elected as Honorary Life Trustee in 1996. A brief article celebrating Preston’s life can be found here.

VWU Softball First Pitch Dinner: February 3

Virginia Wesleyan Softball is proud to host its 2nd Annual First Pitch Dinner on Friday, February 3. The dinner will feature a keynote address from legendary University of Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. Tickets and event information can be found at www.vwu.edu/firstpitch.

VWU Joins CommonApp

CommonApp allows students to apply to multiple colleges at once. By joining CommonApp, we will further enhance our goal of access when it comes to prospective students applying to VWU. The CommonApp will streamline the process for many students and will increase the pool of prospective students. Prospective students can apply to VWU via the CommonApp at no cost.

Reception for the Marlin Family Campaign for Faculty and Staff

We’re delighted to invite all of the faculty and staff members who participated in the Marlin Family Campaign for Faculty and Staff to a special reception on Thursday, February 16 at 12:00 p.m. in Brock Commons. Please watch for an email invitation.

Enrollment Manager: Planning for the Future

Many of you know that I regularly contributed to the quarterly publication Enrollment Manager with my longtime writing partner, Dr. Marylouise “Weezie” Fennell. Before Weezie passed away in October, she personally tapped Dr. Katelyn “Katie” Sanders, Director of Admissions and Alumni Affairs at the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University, as her replacement in this project. Please enjoy the first article on creating an effective enrollment strategy from Katie and me, written in loving memory of our friend Weezie.

VCIC Impact Report 2022

For the second year in a row, the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities team facilitated over 1,000 programs in FY22, directly engaging over 25,000 Virginians. Read more about the meaningful impact VCIC has on our community and beyond. We are proud to have their local office located on our campus.

The Hive: January Newsletter

Our friends at The Hive in Virginia Beach Town Center deliver updates and news for our region’s business in the latest edition of their newsletter. VWU and Tidewater Community College-Virginia Beach are the educational partners at The Hive.

A New Fire Chief for Virginia Beach

Kenneth A. "KP" Pravetz was sworn in as the new Fire Chief for the City of Virginia Beach last week. Attending the ceremony were Tina Clark Milligan '88, VWU Director of Parent and Alumni Engagement, and current VWU junior Anna Milligan. We look forward to working with Chief Pravetz and thank him for his service to our community.

Military Circle Developer Chosen Behind Closed Doors

According to The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk City Council deviated from its own guidelines by choosing Wellness Circle development team, which includes musicians Pharrell Williams and Pusha T, to reimage the 75-acre site.

I-64 Widening between Williamsburg and Richmond

The next phase of the I-64 widening project is finally moving ahead. Learn more.

LSSU’s 2023 Banished Words List

Lake Superior State University’s annual irreverent list of phrases ranks “GOAT,” the acronym for Greatest of All Time, as the best of the worst. Other words and phrases on this year’s list include “quiet quitting” and “inflection point.”

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