July 2019
It's a Great Summer to Be a Marlin
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Recently, we celebrated a historic day for Virginia Wesleyan as we broke ground to launch our newest construction project and public-private partnership (P3), Coastal 61 at Oxford Village. The new eight-building, 248-unit luxury-apartment community, located on the north side of campus on Wesleyan Drive, is expected to open in 2020. We are proud to embrace both sides of Wesleyan Drive, expanding our presence as we expand our programs and enrollment.
Public-private partnerships, also called P3s, are becoming a prominent part of the higher education landscape. I am pleased that we are a part of a very special P3 developed between Virginia Wesleyan University and The Franklin Johnston Group. Through this relationship, previously unused, but valuable, University land is being put to good use through an innovative relationship that meets the needs of the University and the adjacent City. Thanks to our friends at The Franklin Johnston Group,
led by VWU graduate Taylor Franklin '04, President and Chief Operating Officer of TFJG, for stepping up in this significant way.
During the ceremony, it was wonderful to visit with leaders of our City. Among others, we thank former Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms, Virginia Senator Bill DeSteph, and Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer for their ongoing support of this P3.
The luxury community that is Coastal 61 at Oxford Village will showcase one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 833 to 1,395 square feet. Each apartment will feature an open floor plan, fully equipped kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, custom crown moldings and trim, spa-inspired bathrooms, over-sized walk-in closets, and private patios and balconies. It will also include a rooftop sky park, a two-story clubhouse, resort-style swimming pool and high-end landscaping. The community will be open to the public and is also envisioned as a living space for VWU students, faculty, and staff.
View photos from the Groundbreaking Ceremony and read more
here
.
I will continue to keep you informed of our progress and look forward to providing a complete campus update at my State of the University address on August 23.
Additional highlights from the past month include:
Old Fine Arts Building
Fundraising continues for improvements to the old fine arts building, with several lead gifts having been received in recent months. I am pleased to share that The Robert G. Cabell III and Maude Morgan Cabell Foundation of Richmond notified the University in June of a $300,000 matching grant opportunity. We are appreciative of The Cabell Foundation for its ongoing generosity, and invite your support toward helping us achieve the matching funds.
National Colleges of Distinction
Virginia Wesleyan has again been honored among the national Colleges of Distinction, with specialized recognition for our programs in Business, Education, and Career Development! Read more
here.
Greer Environmental Sciences Center
The Greer Environmental Sciences Center has been added to the International Living Future Institute's Biophilic Design map--one of only two Virginia projects to be featured. The initiative connects people and places around the world that are regenerating life. Learn more
here.
Technology Initiatives
We have many new and exciting Information Technology (IT) plans in motion under the leadership of Dr. Chris Davis, Chief Information Officer. We recently signed a contract with Ellucian to modernize and cloud-host the Colleague environment. The new contract also provides an extensive on-demand training library available to all employees of the University. More details on the training will follow from the IT Department. Additionally, we are moving forward with an aggressive datacenter refresh project which will bring our internally hosted servers and infrastructure to an upgraded, stable, and secure state. Critical to the long-term success and viability of the University, these donor-funded investments in our technology infrastructure will pay dividends now and for years to come. Stay tuned for more information.
Pride Month
In celebration and support of all LGBT members of our VWU family, our community, and this nation, we are proudly flying a
Pride flag
on our campus, adjacent to the American flag and Virginia state flag in front of Godwin Hall. We continue to focus on fostering an inclusive culture at Virginia Wesleyan and introduced this flag during Pride Month.
Campus Vote Project
Virginia Wesleyan has been recognized for our leadership in the NASPA and Fair Elections Center's Campus Vote Project (CVP) Voter Friendly Campus Designation process. We have again been designated as a Voter Friendly Campus through December 2020. It remains a priority of Virginia Wesleyan to prepare students to be active, engaged citizens in our community and nation. Many thanks to VWU's Dr. Brian Kurisky, Director of Wesleyan Engaged: Center for Civic Leadership and Service Learning, for leading the charge to build civic engagement programs on campus to support this and many related goals.
Upgrades to Bray Village
Upgrades to Bray Village are nearing completion. With work in Eggleston Hall scheduled to wrap up in late July, all four residential buildings will be complete. Each floor will have new restroom and shower facilities, complete with rain-style shower heads and other attractive fixtures. Utilities, including ventilation and HVAC units, are also being upgraded. The buildings of Bray Village are some of the institution's oldest and have served the University well over the years. The four buildings house 240 residential students on eight floors. The Village is also the location of several classrooms, faculty offices, and the Office of Campus Security. Incoming first-year students, arriving in late August, will be among the first to enjoy the enhanced spaces.
Welcome Coach Fisher
We were glad to officially welcome home Pam Fisher, a 1985 graduate of Virginia Wesleyan. Pam served as interim head coach of the Virginia Wesleyan men's and women's golf teams during the 2018-19 academic year and has been named head coach of the teams for the upcoming year. We look forward to her continued involvement on our campus. Read more
here
.
Scholar Athletes
We're very proud of the recent achievements by two of our scholar-athletes. Congratulations to Hanna Hull of the softball team and Jayla Harris of the women's basketball team. Hanna was named a Google Cloud First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and Fastpitch News' Pitcher of the Year for the 2019 season! Jayla has earned the Marjorie Berkley Scholar-Athlete Award which is given by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) to the most Outstanding Female Student-Athlete in the conference.
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We recently welcomed our newest Marlins and their families to campus for Marlin Nation Orientation! I invite you to read more about the action-packed days and view the full photo gallery here. The next scheduled orientation for first-year students begins on August 25, with Transfer Student Orientation on August 27. We are enjoying the activity on campus this summer with educational and collaborative programs, workshops, and institutes, while looking forward to an exciting fall!
Sincerely,
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