Dialogue: Nota Bene: Weekly Update

May 22, 2023

Good morning,

Congratulations to VWU Softball! Virginia Wesleyan was proud to host the NCAA Softball Regionals over the weekend where the Marlins advanced to the NCAA Softball Super Regionals after Caitlin Myers '23 hit a 3-run homer in the final inning of Game 7.

The Regional All-Tournament team included VWU's Sarah Prosser, Julia Piotrowski, and Lauren Bible, while Caitlin Myers was named the regional tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

The Marlins will face cross-bay rival Christopher Newport University in the Super Regionals. Game information to follow.

Let's go, Marlins!

The Batten Honors College is a national niche program of Virginia Wesleyan University. It is one of just 147 honors colleges in the United States.

Congratulations to the following new Marlins who will be joining this elite program in the fall:

Kendall Abercrombie - Yorktown, VA

Luke Arters - Garner, NC

Hannah Aufderheide - Fairport, NY

Gabrielle Barnett - Virginia Beach, VA

Avery Belisle - Chesterfield, VA

Sammy Blythe - Virginia Beach, VA

Ashlyn Boykin Boykin - Carlisle, PA

Coy Camiscioli - Williamstown, NJ

Stephanie Clark - Chesapeake, VA

Juliette Coffey - Suffolk, England

Aiden Croghan - Louisville, KY

Haley Cummins - Milton, DE

Theresa Dill - Fayetteville, NC

Sophie Engelberts - Dordrect, Netherlands

Tuva Flink - Stockholm, Sweden

Bryce Folmar - Chambersburg, PA

Elliot Fylstra - Bridgeton, NJ

Ava Gerstemeier - Eagleville, PA

Lucas Gordon - Virginia Beach, VA

Devon Haneline - Reston, VA

Grace Harriman - High Point, NC

Haley Haydon - Warsaw, VA

Kara Hopkins Hopkins - Roanoke, VA

McKenna Howenstine - La Grange, CA

Laila Jones - Farmville, VA

Avery Lewis - Norfolk, VA

Morgan Lieske - Townsend, DE

Janessa Lowe - Virginia Beach, VA

Calee Lukowski - Minerva, OH

MJ Matthews - Imperial Beach, CA

Mason Medina - Norfolk, VA

Madi Mellon - Virginia Beach, VA

Adriana Paci - Perkasie, PA

Abigail Rose - Glen Allen, VA

Josh Ryan - Latham, NY

Milo Schuehle - Virginia Beach, VA

Chloe Scott - Mebane, NC

Mia Skaggs - Fredericksburg, VA

Matt Smith - North Wales, PA

Clarissa Thurston - Montpelier, VA

Tudor Vlad - Sibiu, Romania

To catch up on the current happenings of the Batten Honors College, the Spring 2023 edition of Excelsis, a publication of the BHC, is now available online.

ET CETERA

As Chair of Virginia Private Colleges (VPC), I was in Richmond last week for the Spring Meeting of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) with the 31-member Private College Advisory Board (PCAB). This year’s meeting was hosted by Virginia Union University.

During the meeting’s events, I spent time with Bryan Slater, Virginia Secretary of Labor; Aimee Guidera, Virginia Secretary of Education (both pictured left); Peter Blake, Executive Director of SCHEV; and Chris Peace, President of VPC (both pictured center).

I also enjoyed reconnecting with William Harvey, now retired after 44 years as president of Hampton University, and Dietra Trent, former Virginia Secretary of Education and now the White House Executive Director for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiatives (both pictured right).

These meetings are a great opportunity for the private college community to engage with state lawmakers about issues facing private and higher education.

AROUND TOWN AND ACROSS CAMPUS

Girls on the Run 5K at VWU

It's always exciting to look out the windows of DeFord Manor and see thousands of Girls of the Run runners and supporters enjoying their spring 5K, held annually at VWU.

The University is proud to house the offices of Girls on the Run Hampton Roads on our campus. GOTR-HR inspires all girls to build confidence and kindness while learning valuable life skills that connect the importance between physical and emotional health.

56th Virginia Beach Citizens’ Police Academy Graduation

It was a special privilege to speak to graduates of the 56th session of the Virginia Beach Citizens’ Police Academy last week. The Academy is supported by the CPA Alumni Association of Virginia Beach and the Virginia Beach Police Department. My thanks to Chief Paul W. Neudigate and MPO Dionne Paniza for the invitation. I’m so proud of our partnership with the VBPD, and extra proud that Dionne is a member of the VWU Class of 2000.

Inside Business Power List

I was honored to be included in Inside Business’s 2023 Power List along with VWU Trustees Taylor Franklin ‘04 (The Franklin Johnston Group) and Sharon Goodwyn (Hunton Andrews Kurth). Included in the Power List’s emeritus listing were VWU trustees G. Robert Aston Jr., executive chairman, TowneBank; Susan S. Goode H’22, community leader; John F. Malbon H’22, retired chairman and CEO of Papco; and Vincent J. Mastracco Jr., partner, Kaufman & Canoles, P.C. Also included were VWU trustees emeriti Jane P. Batten H’06, philanthropist; and George Y. Birdsong H’16, chief executive officer and general counsel, Birdsong Corporation. We are honored and grateful that such distinguished leaders are dedicated to serving our University.

Alumnus Chosen as 2023 Artist for Norfolk Harborfest

Ryan Jones ’06 was recently chosen by the 47th Annual Norfolk Harborfest to be this year’s artist. Jones received his bachelor’s in art from Virginia Wesleyan. Since then, he has become the co-owner of Jones Art Gallery located in Town Center Virginia Beach. Congratulations, Ryan!

VWU in The Advocate

The Advocate featured our 2023 Commencement Ceremonies where Virginia United Methodist Church Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson was our keynote speaker at Baccalaureate and was awarded an Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) at Commencement the following day.

SCHEV Director to Step Down

Peter Blake, the long-serving director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), announced his retirement at the SCHEV meeting in Richmond last week. He has been a good friend of Virginia Wesleyan, and I thank him for his exemplary leadership and true care of all institutions of higher education in Virginia.

Suffolk State of the City

I had an enjoyable visit with business colleagues and friends at the Suffolk State of the City luncheon at the Riverfront Hotel and Conference Center. Top picture: George Birdsong (CEO, Birdsong Peanuts), Nancy Grden (CEO, Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable), and Bernie Niemeier (President & Publisher, Virginia Business). Bottom picture: Leroy Bennett (Suffolk city council member and former vice mayor) and Joel Rubin, President of The Rubin Communications Group (author of WINDSdays).

Virginia Beach Launches New Initiative to Support Entrepreneurs

The City of Virginia Beach announced a new program that offers access to workspace and various business resources at no cost to existing Virginia Beach startups, home-based businesses, and military spouse entrepreneurs. Thrive @ The HIVE is a city-funded initiative that aims to bolster the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and stimulate economic growth by offering essential resources to individuals who qualify for the program.

Virginia Wesleyan is delighted to be a partner at The Hive, along with Tidewater Community College, for our workforce and talent development programs.

UMC News

The human rights controversy in the United Methodist Church continues with the voluntary separation period ending in December. By a UM News count, annual conferences have approved more than 3,000 church disaffiliations under the church law. That translates to roughly 10% of U.S. congregations withdrawing since Paragraph 2553 went into effect. More departures are expected before the church law expires at the end of the year.

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