September 2018
New Academic Year Commences 
It's been a busy month, but this past week we welcomed 437 new traditional first-years and a total of 555 new students (traditional, non-traditional, online, graduate). Fall sports opened their seasons strong this past weekend and the campus is abuzz with activities as the semester is now in full swing.  
 
We welcomed our second cohort of the Batten Honors College at a Matriculation Ceremony. We look forward to the contributions of these students to the enrichment of our experience on campus and beyond our borders. Our goal is to enroll up to 160 students during a four-year period in this highly selective program. We currently enroll 77 students in the Batten Honors College. All reside in the Honors Village (Village IV). Of the initial 40 students selected for the Fall 2017 Cohort, 38 returned for their second year. That group had a collective grade point average of 3.65 in their first year here. Thirty-nine students were selected for the Fall 2018 cohort, the average GPA for Batten Fellows was 4.21, an SAT of 1340, and an ACT of 29. Our Batten Fellows and Shumadine Scholars have traveled not only across the state or the country, but also across the globe. They represent eight states -- Virginia (45), North Carolina (9), Maryland (7), Pennsylvania (6), New Jersey (2), South Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Delaware (1) -- and three foreign countries: Australia (2), China (2), and France (1).  
 
Earlier that day, many of you tuned in for my State of the University Address, whether in person or online. I shared many points of pride during the Address including that enrollment at VWU is the highest it has been in our 58-year history. The overall headcount for the 2017-2018 year reached 1,660, a five percent increase over the previous year. For more highlights, I invite you to read the feature story here. If you were unable to tune in last month, I encourage you to watch the recorded broadcast archived on the VWU Digital Broadcast Network. You may also view a photo gallery from the event. We are grateful for the support of our event sponsors: The Bonnewell Group at Morgan Stanley, represented in attendance by Trustee Gary Bonnewell '79; The Franklin Johnston Group, represented by President and COO Taylor Franklin '04; Hourigan Construction, represented by Executive Vice President Chris Brandt; Sentara, represented by President/CEO and Trustee Howard Kern; and TowneBank, represented by Executive Vice President Julie Anderson '96.  
 
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Additional highlights from the past month include:
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VWU Board of Trustees News 
With the recent passing of long-time Trustee and friend Anne B. Shumadine, J. Tim Bailey '83 has been named Treasurer of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee. Tim is Division President for Compass Group/Canteen, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. David L. Kaufman, Chair of the Board, will also serve as Chair of the Investment Committee. The Board has welcomed four new Trustees since the May meeting:

*Jean T. Jenkins '89, Community Leader, Virginia Beach, Virginia
*Robert W. McFarland, Partner, McGuireWoods, Norfolk, Virginia
*Eric C. Nyman '94, President, Hasbro North America, Providence, Rhode Island
*James H. Shumadine, Co-President, The Employment Guide, Norfolk, Virginia
 
Dominion Energy Supports Environmental Education at VWU 
Coming on the heels of the Summer Scholars program, generously funded by an anonymous donor, is   
the Environmental Explorers program. Made possible by a grant from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, the Environmental Explorers program brought meaningful, inquiry-based environmental science experiences to over 100 elementary-aged children through our partnership between Dominion Energy and YMCA's Camp Red Feather. After training, VWU Elementary Education students led environmental science experiential sessions based on a curriculum developed by education and science faculty at VWU. Activities included, but were not limited to, water-quality monitoring, species identification, and engineering design challenges. It was great to visit with representatives of Dominion last month when they visited our campus.

New Faculty Dinner  
I enjoyed getting to know two of our new faculty members, Dr. Nadia Nafar and Dr. Robert Ariel, last month over dinner. Dr. Nafar joins us from Alfred University in Alfred, New York, as our new Assistant Professor of Management, Business, and Economics. Dr. Robert Ariel, our new Assistant Professor of Psychology, joins us from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Unable to attend was Dr. Modupe Oshikoya, Assistant Professor of Political Science, who was traveling from London.  I am proud that we continue to attract highly qualified colleagues who offer unique perspectives.  
 
Gift to Fund Locker Room Improvements
I am pleased to share that Virginia Wesleyan Trustee Tassos J. Paphites '79 has made a generous gift to renovate the Men's and Women's Basketball locker rooms in the Jane P. Batten Student Center. Early in our discussion, Tassos communicated a vision to our coaches and me that he hoped to help Virginia Wesleyan create Division I-level locker room facilities. The project is currently underway with a completion date anticipated prior to the fall basketball season. Prozone Athletic has been retained to provide custom, wood lockers with logo graphics and USB ports; wall graphics; white boards, comfortable seating; and custom logo carpet. Additionally, game clocks from Daktronics will be installed in each locker room. Please join me in thanking Tassos, a men's basketball alumnus, and his daughter, Andrea, a women's basketball alumna, for their ongoing support of our basketball programs. We also appreciate the dedication of our basketball coaches, Dave Macedo and Stephany Dunmyer, who have contributed to planning and designing these new facilities.

A. Kenneth Scribner, Sr. University Store
In keeping with the comprehensive, institution-wide rebranding VWU has undergone since becoming a University in 2017, The Scribner Bookstore has been renamed the A. Kenneth Scribner, Sr. University Store. The change took effect on July 1. The origins of the store trace back to 1976 when the family of A. Kenneth Scribner, Sr. made a leadership gift in his honor upon his passing. In the coming years, the store came to fruition and was appropriately named in his memory.

Campus Improvements and Construction
Through private resources, new fountains will be coming to two of our campus ponds. The pond in old Marlins Park at the entrance to the University (Wesleyan Drive and University Avenue), home of the Marlin Statue, will be getting three new fountains with lights surrounding the statue. The old fountain will move to Renn Reserve Pond along Marlin Way.   

Demolition work began on old Marlins Park which will become Tom and Betty Broyles Field at TowneBank Park.  The new complex located between Perry Field and Chesapeake Bay Academy will include new dugouts, stands, press box, bullpens, batting cages, and fencing.
 
Work continues on the restoration of the 44-year old Bell Tower as The Beacon which will be structurally repaired and have a new look by the end of September.  Construction is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Improvements to all seven buildings in Jerry G. Bray, Jr. Village I (Bray Village) have been finalized and are scheduled to begin this week. Improvements include full replacement of all shower and bathrooms, painting, and corrective maintenance care.     
 
Scheduled for a March opening, brick and steel work continue on the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center.  Through the generosity of a number of donors, some additional features have been added including expansion of the parking area to include 259 spaces and a lighted, tree-lined, pedestrian/bike path from the DeFord Gate House to the Goode Center and heart of campus.  The path will also have a connection to the stands at Birdsong Field.  Enjoy this unique time-lapse video of the progress.
 
Additional work will occur on the Betty S. Rogers Track and Field Center over the next month, including new equipment, auxiliary storage facility (near the cell tower), and stands (on the west side of the track).
 
A press box will be added to the stands on the west side of the Birdsong Field.
     
A number of you have asked me about our public/private partnership development, "Coastal 61 at Oxford Village." You might recall that about a year ago we announced a relationship with The Franklin Johnston Group of Virginia Beach for the construction of eight multi-use apartment buildings on 12.8 acres of land across from the main entrance. Read more about this project.

Partnership with Sentara Sports Medicine 
In an effort to enhance services in an efficient manner to our intercollegiate athletics, Sentara Sports Medicine and VWU have partnered for athletic training services. Last year, Virginia Wesleyan partnered with Sentara Healthcare to operate the University's Health Center, located in Allen Village. Sentara Healthcare is a not-for-profit health system serving Virginia and North Carolina, with 12 hospitals, outpatient care centers, imaging centers, and more. Under the new agreement, Virginia Wesleyan will provide oversight for the program through Nicole Curry, Head Athletic Trainer. Sentara Sports Medicine will supplement Nicole's efforts with a team of certified athletic trainers. Both programs will be housed in the Bonnewell Athletic Training Room in the Jane P. Batten Student Center. The Sentara sports medicine team consists of physical therapists, exercise physiologists and certified athletic trainers who work with primary care physicians and orthopedic surgeons treating athletes of all ages. Clearly, this is a win-win partnership for VWU and our student-athletes. We welcome Sentara Sports Medicine to our campus.  
 
Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities satellite office coming to VWU 
I am proud to share that this fall, Virginia Wesleyan will become home to VCIC's first remote office outside of Richmond. The new VCIC Hampton Roads Office at VWU will develop and maintain community and professional networks across Hampton Roads to inform and implement VCIC's program work. VCIC will facilitate several customized programs each year for VWU as part of this new relationship. The University will also receive corporate-level sponsorship at the annual VCIC Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner. I served as chair of this, and in 2017, Dr. Craig Wansink, the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom, was honored at the 53rd Annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner. In 2001, the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom (CSRF) was recognized by the organization with a Distinguished Merit Citation. Virginia Wesleyan's strong relationship with VCIC dates back to 1998 when they became a sponsor of the CSRF's Nexus Interfaith Dialogue program, a partnership that continues today. Over the years, the VCIC has led diversity training for Virginia Wesleyan first-year students, provided facilitation training for students, faculty, and staff, and this past May, partnered with the CSRF and Muslim communities of Hampton Roads to host a Ramadan Iftar Dinner. 

SmartFlower Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony 
Virginia Wesleyan University is now home to a new type of flower-a solar SmartFlower-and it is only the second college campus in the country to have one. The University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 24 for its new photovoltaic system, and fittingly, the ribbon was cut by a beam of concentrated sunlight focused by a Fresnel lens. The Fresnel lens collected incident solar light from an area the size of a piece of paper, about 100 inches square. The SmartFlower will supply power to the Honors Village (Village IV) where the Batten Honors College students reside.  
 
"Keeping the Pressure on a Free Press"
If a democracy depends on an informed, engaged citizenry, then we must take the time to be informed, and at times skeptical, in order to be engaged. I hope you enjoy my August column in The Virginian-Pilot.
 
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Before signing off, I'd like to first call your attention to a special event taking place on our campus tomorrow, September 5, at 9 a.m. As we are ideally situated at the border of Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Virginia Wesleyan will host the press conference on our green rooftop of the Greer Environmental Sciences Center for the announcement of the first interconnection of the Regional Ring, a fiber optic backbone system that will connect all five Southside cities to the transatlantic cable landings. This event is in partnership with the Hampton Roads Regional Planning District Commission (HRPDC), Regional Broadband Steering Committee, elected officials from the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, and representatives from Old Dominion University.  This unified government network will reduce costs, bolster economic development, accommodate higher education facilities, and support the development of smart communities.    
   
The following day, Thursday, September 6, will be another exciting day on our campus as we celebrate our Founders Day. Founders Day was launched in 2016 as an annual event to honor the history and heritage of Virginia Wesleyan. Larry Hultgren, Virginia Wesleyan's longest-tenured faculty member will serve as keynote speaker for the event. The convocation will also celebrate the University's 2018 Alumni Award recipients. Founders Day Convocation begins at 11 a.m. in the Convocation Hall of the Jane P. Batten Student Center. The event will also be live streamed on the VWU Digital Broadcasting Network.  
 
The celebrations continue as we look forward to the 2018 Homecoming and Family Weekend on October 5-7. View the full schedule here and mark your calendars! 

Sincerely,
--
Scott D. Miller, Ph.D.

President