Good morning,

 

Spring has arrived in Coastal Virginia, and with it, the timeless blessings that accompany this season of hope and regeneration.  It is one of the busiest periods at Virginia Wesleyan College, capped by the Honors Convocation, a number of alumni gatherings on and off campus, Baccalaureate and Commencement.

 

Omicron Delta Kappa Celebrates 35 Years

Virginia Wesleyan's chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa--a national leadership honor society also known as The Circle and ΟΔΚ--was recently recognized on the 35th anniversary of its charter. In acknowledgement of the College's April 5, 1981 installation, I had the honor of presenting a congratulatory certificate on behalf of ΟΔΚ to Keith Moore, the College's Omicron Delta Kappa Faculty Advisor and Vice President for Student Affairs ( view photo). ΟΔΚ membership is regarded as one of the highest collegiate honors that can be awarded to an individual. In order to be selected, one must be in the top 35 percent of students on their respective campuses and hold a leadership role in one of the five areas of scholarship. Virginia Wesleyan's spring ΟΔΚ induction ceremony took place April 3 in Monumental Chapel, as 32 inductees joined an impressive list of current members made up of VWC Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and students ( view photo).

 

Student-led Business Conference

Virginia Wesleyan's student-led Business Conference (called The Marlin Prestige) took place on campus from April 18-22. Community members participated in various workshops, presentations and interactive panels that embraced the spring 2016 theme, "Life Prep: What You Weren't Taught in Class." This impressive conference is the culmination of months of hard work by students in the business course, "Principles of Management." Students coordinate all aspects of the event, exercising key management skills like product development, networking, and project and financial planning. Congratulations to our business faculty and students on the continued success of this engaging semi-annual conference.

 

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Virginia Wesleyan's 11th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium took place April 25-28, featuring four days of presentations that showcased students' research from a variety of disciplines. Undergraduate research speaks to the heart of Virginia Wesleyan's liberal arts tradition. By independently developing a research problem to investigate, studying scholarly literature, conducting a research study, and presenting findings, student-researchers develop critical, independent thinking skills and contribute to the body of knowledge in their fields. I'd like to recognize the faculty mentors who have carefully guided students all year long, The Lighthouse Crew, and the many individuals who have worked behind the scenes hosting workshops, selecting grant recipients, and organizing events.

 

Division III Week/Spring Athletics Alumni Weekends

The National Collegiate Athletics Association declared April 4-10 as NCAA Division III Week for 2016. The week was recognized nationally, providing a positive opportunity for individuals associated with Division III to observe and celebrate the impact of athletics and of student-athletes on our campuses and in our surrounding community. Also in early April, we welcomed back to campus over 100 alumni to celebrate their sport with alumni games. Graduates from field hockey, volleyball, and men's and women's soccer not only played their sport, but interacted with current students and heard about the exciting happenings at their alma mater. Thanks to all of our student-athletes (past and present), our coaches, athletic department staff, faculty-team advisors, and all others who make Virginia Wesleyan athletics so successful.

 

Student Standouts: The Marlin Chronicle and Model UN

Student accolades are abound this spring, including a collection of awards for VWC's student-led newspaper, The Marlin Chronicle, on behalf of the Society for Collegiate Journalists. The Chronicle's staff received a total of nine awards, including second place for newspaper overall excellence in the weekly or less category, and second place in sports news. As a former collegiate student newspaper editor, professional journalist and longtime advisor to the Society of Collegiate Journalists, I congratulate our student journalists for their tremendous achievements. I'm also happy to report that the Virginia Wesleyan delegation to the National Model United Nations Conference in New York returned to campus with good news for our team, who represented the Republic of Zimbabwe in nine committees, and Chile in a Security Council simulation. The VWC delegation earned a Distinguished Delegation Award, the highest-ranked award Virginia Wesleyan has ever received in New York. Keep up to date with our students' outstanding achievements on the VWC website.

 

Barclay Sheaks Gallery Website

One of two art galleries on campus, the Barclay Sheaks Gallery on the first floor of Godwin Hall showcases the work of nationally renowned painter and founder of the Art Department at Virginia Wesleyan College, Barclay Sheaks. Following his retirement from VWC in 2006, Sheaks donated approximately 50 of his paintings to the College for the establishment of a permanent gallery. For the first time, this collection can be viewed online via the recently redesigned Gallery website, which includes a page dedicated to the Barclay Sheaks Collection and links to a Flickr album with high-resolution images of each of the pieces in the collection. The revised website also features an updated Barclay Sheaks biography, a PDF of the catalog from the 1935-2000 Retrospective Exhibit of his work and a tribute written by Teresa Annas '76 for the Virginian-Pilot following Sheaks' death in 2010.

 

Academic Community Partnerships

A group of 18 advanced placement environmental sciences students from Nansemond-Suffolk Academy set sail April 15 aboard the Ocean Explorer, Virginia Wesleyan's 45-foot research vessel owned in partnership with the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. It was an educational excursion for all as students sampled marine organisms and conducted water quality testing in the creek behind Rudee Inlet. The initiative is part of an ongoing effort by the College to expand mutually beneficial academic partnerships in the community. Among the many partnerships to date are the NABT/BSCS Biology Teacher Academy, a series of biology student visits from King's Fork High School, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Green Run High School, and Bayside High School Health Sciences Academy, and a 3D printing demonstration as part of a science lesson on adaptation for students at Cedar Road Elementary School in Chesapeake. Programs like these are immensely valuable for participants, both young learners and seasoned professionals. And likewise, they provide an excellent opportunity for us, as a college, to showcase our outstanding programs, faculty and facilities.

 

CSRF's Founding Fellow Robert C. Nusbaum

The evening of April 25 was a very special occasion for the Virginia Wesleyan College community. We recognized and honored Robert C. Nusbaum for his founding vision in establishing and supporting our Center for the Study of Religious Freedom. I presented Bob with a special citation honoring him as the Center's Founding Fellow, prior to the Justine L. Nusbaum Lecture which is named for his mother. The founding of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom, the establishment of the Justine L. Nusbaum Lectureship, and a newly established endowment to enable the Center to hold an annual student essay contest--Bob is the driving force behind all of these. It was a pleasure to welcome him, his family and friends to campus and to express our gratitude for his commitment to Virginia Wesleyan College in this vital way. Please take a moment to view a photo gallery from the very special evening.

 

I know that many members of our VWC family are hurting right now and trying to find ways to endure the pain and sorrow of this tragedy. Since we received news of her death, the College has been working with Nancy's family, fellow students, friends, and others to celebrate her life while helping those who knew her to begin to heal.