The President's Letter 
September 2016
A monthly
communiqué from
Dr. Scott D. Miller

President of the College
A New Academic Year is Underway
Good morning,
 
Can it be possible? The fleeting season of summer has left us, and here we are again. A new academic year is underway, and the campus is filled with all of the promise and excitement that comes with the arrival of September.

Again this year, we welcome incoming students who are among the best prepared in Virginia Wesleyan's history. Although enrollment trends here and at many colleges continue to be impacted by uncertainty generated by the economy and national politics, the students Virginia Wesleyan attracts are committed to success.

We welcomed them during the annual "Marlin Days" of activities with a new tradition, Wesleyan Wishing Well, by having the Class of 2020 toss pennies into a fountain, make a wish, and symbolically begin their aspirations for their college careers and beyond. In the process, we hope they will embrace the idea of philanthropy and service, of giving and giving back.

As we prepared to launch Marlin Days for our incoming students, I delivered my second  VWC State of the College Address on August 23 to a large audience of faculty, staff, and invited guests. The event was also  webcast  and is available for viewing. Dramatic changes for Virginia Wesleyan College, referenced in the address, are also detailed on our  website .

I was pleased to introduce the Batten Honors College and the formation of three academic schools: the Susan S. Goode School of Arts and Humanities, the Joan P. Brock School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and the Birdsong School of Social Science. As I emphasized in the State of the College, we need to think creatively about attracting more students to the College. We must invest in our core mission and values, for they will sustain us in the busy, challenging years ahead. And we should always find ways to honor our heritage and maximize our strengths, while sharpening our academic and co-curricular programs to meet the needs, expectations, and ambitions of our students.

Therefore, the academic initiatives announced last Tuesday will energize this agenda, and position us for even greater success. We will implement these bold changes immediately, and it was a special honor to welcome to the Batten Convocation Center the special friends of the College for whom these academic components are named. We thank them for their outstanding leadership and support over the years.

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Other highlights from this past month:
  • It has been my custom to share day-one enrollment with our campus community. Our total enrollment in all programs is approximately 1,400 students. New student enrollment totals 519, made up of 370 freshmen, 95 transfers, 20 adult studies and 34 non-degree seeking students. Special thanks to David Waggoner, Vice President for Enrollment, and Beth Clarke, Associate Dean of Enrollment, for their outstanding leadership of this program. The future is bright with the strategies they are putting in place. I also appreciate our faculty and staff for supporting the efforts of our students and for their commitment to each student's success.
  • I'm pleased to share that Virginia Wesleyan College alumnus Michael White '81 has joined our Board of Trustees. Mike is the President of Maersk Line Agency, Inc. After graduating from Virginia Wesleyan, he studied at Harvard Business School and IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland. He and his wife and children currently reside in New Jersey.
  • Our partnership with Westminster-Canterbury has received a 2016 Excellence in Research and Education National Award for the Birdsong Initiative, a 24-week study examining the positive impact of bedside computers among dementia patients. The collaborative study was conducted in 2015 by researchers at Eastern Virginia Medical School with support from students in Virginia Wesleyan's Recreational Therapy program. We are very proud of our students' participation and impact.
  • Our community outreach continues as nine rising seniors from Chesapeake Public Schools' Science and Medicine Academy recently participated in a VWC Biology 190 class, "Diversity of Life." The course gave students the opportunity to go out on the vessel we share with the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, The Ocean Explorer, to collect and categorize marine specimens and to analyze and document water quality in the ocean and in Owl's Creek. Special thanks to the Chesapeake Bay Trust for making this experience possible and to Virginia Wesleyan College faculty members Vic Townsend and Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson for their excellence in teaching, and to Hilve Firek for coordinating this tremendous experience.
  • Campus Master Planning continues. A space-utilization study has been completed, a corrective maintenance plan has been drafted, and a 10-year master plan is on track for completion in October. We are grateful to the anonymous donor for providing the $350,000 gift to fund this critical function. Also, thanks to Comprehensive Facilities Planning, Inc., of Columbus, Ohio, Aramark Engineering Solutions of Philadelphia, Derck & Edson of Lititz, Pennsylvania, and the campus-based master planning committee for their work on this project.
  • Recently I had the opportunity to visit with Martha McClees, Executive Director of Virginia Beach Vision, and Donald Crigger, Executive Vice President of CBRE, to discuss Virginia Beach Vision and the Virginia Beach Light Rail Initiative. Composed exclusively of corporate CEOs, Virginia Beach Vision is an organization dedicated to helping to shape the future of Virginia Beach and the Coastal Virginia/Hampton Roads community. It is an honor to have been selected to serve on the Board of Directors of this organization and to share my deep commitment to the advancement of our region's development, prosperity and quality of life.
  • I recently participated in a Second Nature Steering Committee meeting to discuss critical next steps and resources for the successful implementation of our climate commitment. As I have shared previously, I am one of the original signatories of the Climate Commitment and Virginia Wesleyan is a part of the Climate Leadership Network, which consists of more than 650 institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia working together to implement comprehensive plans in pursuit of a sustainable future. As part of the Climate Leadership Network, we have access to the resources and capacity of schools leading on climate action across the country. The Commitments are driven by Second Nature and overseen by a group of 25 presidents who serve on the Climate Leadership Steering Committee. I'm proud to be included in this group.
  • Be sure to mark your calendars for Virginia Wesleyan's Homecoming and Family Weekend, scheduled for October 7-9, 2016. From our annual parade and athletic events to a theater production and tailgating, we look forward to welcoming alumni back to campus for an exciting time with our faculty, staff, friends, students and their families.
  • Finally, I am pleased to report that Virginia Wesleyan College has once again been selected as one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review. The education services company features VWC in the new edition of its flagship college guide, The Best 381 Colleges: 2017 Edition. It is an honor to be included once again among the nation's best, as only about 15 percent of America's 2,500 four-year colleges are profiled in the book. We continually strive to inspire excellence and achievement in our students and as an institution, and it is gratifying to be recognized by preeminent organizations such as the Princeton Review.
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These are substantial benchmarks of achievement by our faculty, staff, and students, and a testament to the academic quality and devoted faculty of our College.

Virginia Wesleyan is a very good college. To be great, we must recognize where we need to work smarter, where funds and resources can be found to support our students, faculty, and facilities, and where we need to go strategically in an ever more competitive enrollment market.
 
As we prepare to celebrate Virginia Wesleyan's very first Founders Day on September 8, I am confident that these goals will be achieved. We begin the year with high energy and notable achievements, and I look forward to keeping the campus community and all of our alumni and friends updated as we break new ground.


Sincerely,
 
Scott D. Miller, Ph.D. 
President 
Virginia Wesleyan College 
1584 Wesleyan Drive 
Norfolk, VA 23502

Phone: 757.455.3215 
Fax: 757.455.3139 
Email: sdmiller@vwc.edu