October 2019
Find Your Way Home
|
Homecoming and Family Weekend is only days away, and Marlin pride on campus is evident everywhere. It is sure to only get stronger as the week goes on, with an exciting array of events planned.
Launching the festivities this Friday, October 4, is Marlin Spirit Day. To those near and far, I hope you will join me in sporting your favorite Virginia Wesleyan gear. Don't forget to snap and share a photo using the hashtag #MarlinSpiritDay. Friday evening is the annual Marlin Alumni Social at ShoreBreak in Virginia Beach, followed by a Homecoming Dance on campus.
All are invited to Saturday's Homecoming FinFest from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on VWU's Marlin Way.
We will
celebrate Homecoming and Family Weekend with fun and food trucks, and alumni will have the opportunity to mingle with some of their favorite faculty members. Children can enjoy the inflatable bounce house, and Astro DJ will keep the party going with great music. At noon, the 3rd Annual Chili Cook Off will commence. In the evening, an Arts Showcase will take place at the Goode Center. There's so much for the Marlin community to enjoy all day long. Throughout the weekend, various athletic competitions and Alumni Games will be held all across campus.
Visit vwu.edu/homecoming for more details and the full schedule of Homecoming and Family Weekend events. Safe travels to many alumni and friends as they make their way home to Virginia Wesleyan for this very special tradition.
Highlights from the past month include:
Virginia Wesleyan & Cape Henry Collegiate
Launch
Dual-Enrollment Partnership
We proudly launched a new dual-enrollment partnership with Cape Henry Collegiate (CHC). The VWU/CHC program gives seniors from the Virginia Beach private school the opportunity to earn college credit for their journeys abroad. In a collaboration that reflects a traditional college travel course, students have dual-enrollment status with VWU and receive academic credit for their short-term travel with the Nexus Global Studies program. I'm proud of this partnership and am a strong supporter of dual-enrollment programs. This is an excellent example of meaningful collaboration, and the impact is significant. Read more
here.
We Welcome New Board Members
We welcome the election of two new members of the Virginia Wesleyan University Board of Trustees--Mavis McKenley '11, Vice President and Trust Officer at AMG National Trust Bank, and Doug Wilson '86, Executive Vice President of LifeNet Health. They both bring enthusiasm to serve, support of our mission, and a desire to continue to contribute to the work of the University. Please join me in welcoming Mavis and Doug to the Virginia Wesleyan University Board of Trustees. We are fortunate to have a strong Board that provides exceptional stewardship for our institution. I thank them for their commitment to VWU. Read more
here.
2020 Baccalaureate Speaker
Dr. James "Jim" Noseworthy has accepted our invitation to deliver the 2020 Baccalaureate Address in May. Jim is recognized as a national leader and scholar in the United Methodist Church and has been a positive force in the higher education world. He is currently a consultant and previously served as the Assistant General Secretary for Higher Education of the United Methodist Church and President of Hiwassee College, among many other vital roles he has played. Dr. Noseworthy earned a master of divinity from Duke University and went on to earn his doctorate in Theology of Campus Ministry (D.Min) from University of Dubuque. He also holds degrees from Simpson College and Vandberbilt University. His wife, the Rev. Karla Kincannon 76, H '18, was our first Baccalaureate Speaker after transitioning to University status. We look forward to honoring Dr. Noseworthy with the distinction of Doctor of Divinity,
honoris causa, in May.
My Beacon
We've named our University portal "MyBeacon." The name and icon, which now appear at the top of the VWU homepage, reflect both our institutional branding and the portal's ability to guide our community toward important campus resources. The MyBeacon landing page provides one convenient location for frequently used campus applications. All resources formerly contained within "Quicklinks" now appear there, including WebAdvisor, Marsis, Atomic Learning, the Marlin Directory, and more. Students may continue to login to MyBeacon for a secure, single sign-on experience with Blackboard and VWU email, as well as course registration, self-service financial aid and bill payment, student account information, and more.
eSports at VWU
During the State of the University, I announced the formation of a VWU eSports program, and I am proud to report that it is off to a great start. The University is now a member of the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE). As part of this organization, we are able to connect with other collegiate eSports programs in Virginia and nationwide to arrange scrimmages and competitive matches as well as potentially participate in invitational and championship tournaments. Recruiting for our team is in progress with plans to compete next semester. Our Marlin eSports Arena is nearing completion in the Jane P. Batten Student Center. The space will house 17 top-end gaming computers from global eSports leader iBuyPower, allowing the team to compete in up to four games. Currently, the University is eyeing League of Legends, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and Rocket League as its starting point. An open house will be held once the Marlin eSports Arena is up and running.
We are excited about this addition to the University and look forward to its many benefits.
Technology Upgrades
The past three years have brought tremendous changes in technology at Virginia Wesleyan University. Fundamental to our progress has been increasing student satisfaction by bringing greater access and efficiencies, including those made possible by self-help applications. This includes My Beacon, eSports, Blackboard upgrades, telecommunications transitioning to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to accommodate our rapidly growing online presence, upgraded telephones and tripled Internet bandwidth, new contracts with Cox Communications and Ellucian, modernized and cloud-host the Colleague environment, and more. All of this has been made possible by three donors who believe in the bright future of the University. We thank them for their foresight and support!
Batten Honors College Recognition Ceremony
We celebrated the third cohort of Batten Fellows and Shumadine Scholars at the
Batten Honors College Recognition Ceremony and luncheon.
A ceremonial pinning of each student represents their completion of orientation and formal induction into the Batten Honors College of Virginia Wesleyan University. View the photo gallery here.
We are so glad to have the best and brightest joining us in the elite and selective Batten Honors College.
Virginia Wesleyan Commemorates 18th Anniversary of 9/11
The Virginia Wesleyan community held its annual 9/11 Remembrance Service in the Peace Garden between Godwin and Clarke Halls. Commemorating the 18th anniversary of the attacks, Dr. Susan Larkin, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, shared a reflection, sophomores Cora Wilson '20 and Selena Chambers '20 offered powerful quotes and prayer, and Dr. Bryson Mortensen, Aleigha Johnson '21, Jennifer Vega '21, and Lindsay White '22 led the community in a performance of "America the Beautiful." University Chaplain Greg West closed the ceremony with remarks and prayer. Please enjoy
photos from this meaningful event.
Constitution Day
We proudly recognized Constitution Day to honor the signing of the U.S. Constitution on the seventeenth of September in 1787. To commemorate the occasion, an engaging exhibit--complete with miniature Founding Fathers--was available at the Virginia Wesleyan University Hofheimer Library throughout the month of September. Also to celebrate Constitution Day, we encouraged our campus community to test their knowledge by taking a 10-question quiz at constitutionfacts.com.
President's List Reception
We recognized Virginia Wesleyan students who were named to the President's List for the spring 2019 semester at a reception in the Greer Environmental Sciences Center. These impressive students earned a grade point average of 4.0 while matriculating as full-time students, and we congratulate them! View
photos from the event and the
President's List.
Special Presentation at VWU by Grammy Winner
Four-time Grammy winner Steve Buckingham gave a special presentation on campus. He discussed how music--particularly blues, jazz and soul music--shaped our country in the 1950's and 1960's, and impacted segregation. Steve teaches a course at Virginia Wesleyan entitled "Rhythm and Blues Tore Down the Walls of Segregation," in which he explores through archival films and photos, interviews, and extensive use of music. Read more in
The Virginian-Pilot.
Kudos to VWU's Dr. Modupe Oshikoya
Congratulations to Dr. Modupe Oshikoya, Assistant Professor of Political Science, on being honored recently with two distinctions for her dissertation. Dr. Oshikoya received the Lynne Rienner Award for Best Dissertation in African Politics from the American Political Science Association and earned Honorable Mention (first runner-up) for Best Dissertation Award for the Peace and Justice Studies Association's (PJSA) 2019 Student Awards. I continue to be grateful for our truly outstanding faculty.
Reflections of Cokie Roberts
The recent passing of journalist Cokie Roberts prompted reflection of her visit to Virginia Wesleyan University many years ago. The National Public Radio correspondent spoke during Fall Convocation in Cunningham Gymnasium on September 20, 1984. Her topic was "On the Elections." Geraldine Ferraro was Walter Mondale's running mate on that year's Democratic party ticket. Roberts had received the 1983 Women at Work Broadcast Award from the National Commission on Working Women. She later wrote to the Special Events Committee that "the day at Virginia Wesleyan was delightful." Her recent passing reminds the University community of the loss of a powerful voice for career women and freedom of the press.
Active Threat Citizen Defense Workshop
Special thanks to David Nieves, Master Police Officer, for leading a dynamic and informative campus-wide
Active Threat Citizen Defense Workshop at Virginia Wesleyan. David has facilitated 300 workshops during his 24 years with the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Reforestation
In 2015, we began a large period of construction, and set out with a plan of reforestation. Through our careful tracking, we currently have planted 136 more trees than we have removed.
VWU Featured in U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings for 2020
Virginia Wesleyan University has again been recognized by
U.S. News & World Report in its annual
Best Colleges rankings. The University is featured among the publication's "Best National Liberal Arts Colleges" for 2020 and also ranked 23rd in "Ethnic Diversity" among National Liberal Arts Colleges. New this year, U.S. News has recognized Virginia Wesleyan as a "Top Performer on Social Mobility." The University is ranked among the top 25 percent of National Liberal Arts Colleges in this category, which measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants relative to the rest of the student body. We are proud to be recognized for these designations, as they represent our prominent academic reputation and our diverse, global community. We take pride in fostering the kinds of values and traditions that make our students proud to have chosen us for their career and life success. Read more about this latest
U.S. News designation as well as other
points of pride for the University.
First Broadcast Recording from the Goode Center
The
first broadcast recording from the Goode Center, "Sonatas and Stories," aired on WHRO-FM and WHRV-FM. The event, hosted by WHRO and WHRV at the Goode Center, features VWU Performing Artist faculty and applied instructors Billye Brown Youmans (soprano), Lawrence Clemens (trumpet), Kirsty Barnett Green (violin), Elizabeth Richards (cello), Todd Holcomb (guitar), and Rachel Ordaz (flute), and also Professor Vivian Teter and VWU student Jayla Cross '20, each reading their own original poetry. In addition, there are several other musical performers and writers from the community.
Understanding Religious Freedom
There are amazing things happening at VWU's Center for the Study of Religious Freedom this fall. Check out the offerings in the fall issue of the CSRF newsletter "
Understanding Religious Freedom."
Virginia Wesleyan University Magazine
It has been a big year for Virginia Wesleyan. You can read all about it in the latest edition of the
VWU Magazine which hit mailboxes and inboxes recently. Read it here:
vwu.edu/magazine.
# # #
As a reminder, the effects of Hurricane Dorian resulted in the rescheduling of Founders Day activities--originally planned for September 5--to coincide with Homecoming and Family Weekend.
Founders Day Convocation will now be held on Friday, October 4, at 2:00 p.m. in the Joan and Macon Brock Theatre of the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center--all of our campus community, special guests, and friends are encouraged to attend. Convocation will feature keynote speaker VWU Trustee and alumnus Eric Nyman '94, President of Hasbro North America, and will honor Virginia Beach Police Chief James "Jim" Cervera with The Wesley Award.
The 2019 Alumni Awards have been incorporated into "Good Morning at the Goode" on Saturday, October 5, in the Eleanor and Henry Watts Grand Lobby and Gallery of the Goode Center. Invited guests will enjoy a program that includes the 2019 Alumni Awards, Scholar-Athlete Recognition, and a special presentation and dedication in honor of Robert T. Williams '75. More information can be found here.
I look forward to seeing many of you in just a few days for the festivities that are sure to create special and lasting memories.
Sincerely,
|
|
|
|
|
