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As we begin a new academic and fiscal year today, we reflect on our past and look toward the future. Despite the challenges we in higher education have been faced with, I am optimistic about the year ahead and know that it will be an important chapter in Virginia Wesleyan's history.
At the beginning of each academic year, we celebrate the special tradition of Founders Day. Our formal convocation ceremony and presentation of our annual Alumni Awards will be held virtually this year on September 10. We look forward to paying tribute to our roots, recognizing key individuals that helped to shape our history, and celebrating the institution's bright future. I am pleased to announce that our F
ounders Day Keynote Speaker will be Anthony Walters, and the recipient of our Distinguished Alumni Award will be Lee Stevenson '85.
Anthony Walters serves as President and CEO for the YMCA of South Hampton Roads, a nonprofit, community-based health and human services organization that serves over 250,000 children and families throughout Coastal Virginia, Northeastern North Carolina and as far west as South Boston/Halifax County in Virginia. In alignment with the Y's cause to strengthen community, Anthony works every day to uphold the "For All" portion of the Y's mission statement, reminding the community that the Y's doors are open to people of all ages, backgrounds, abilities and incomes. Anthony is honored to work for an organization that serves more than 30% of families through financial assistance. His priorities include the work he does side-by-side with donors, volunteers, and community partners to ensure funds are available to those that would otherwise go without the Y's programs-programs that leave a lasting impact in participants' lives, helping them reach their full potential. In his previous role as Chief Strategy Officer for the YMCA of South Hampton Roads, Anthony led hundreds of volunteers to over 250,000 hours of volunteer time, all to benefit causes of community outside of the walls of local YMCAs. Walters notes that one of the more gratifying accomplishments from his time with the Y is the growth and expansion efforts for the YMCA of South Hampton Roads through mergers with the YMCA of Portsmouth and the YMCA of South Boston/Halifax County. Prior to his time with the YMCA of South Hampton Roads, Walters worked for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, and even spent time as a high school English teacher with Durham Public Schools. Walters holds a bachelor's degree from Norfolk State University, served as a TowneBank Leadership Alliance Board Member, a member of Norfolk State University's Foundation Board, a member of Virginia Wesleyan University's Board of Trustees, President of the Norfolk Alumni Chapter of the Save Our Youth Foundation, Civic Leadership Institute Class of 2020, and a proud member of the Norfolk Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He is an active community stakeholder focused on the Y's cause to strengthen community.
Lee T. Stevenson '85, also a VWU Board of Trustees member, is the President of LineSlip Solutions, Inc. a software company at the heart of the commercial insurance industries digital transformation. Prior to joining LineSlip in January 2020, Lee spent 25 years in a variety of operational and strategic leadership roles at the global firm Marsh & McLennan Companies. Most recently he served as Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director for Marsh North America where he helped oversee day-to-day business and served on the division's Executive Committee. He was responsible for driving and implementing strategic, financial and operational initiatives as well as managing operations and technology. Lee started his career at Marsh in the Private Equity Mergers and Acquisition group where he spent 16 years. He is a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Turnaround Management Association, is an active angel investor and sits on numerous boards. He is a native of Virginia's Eastern Shore and lives in Chicago with his wife, Lara (D'Domenicus) Stevenson '88. They have three children, Taylor, Jack and Natalie.
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Highlights from the past month include:
Work and Learn Program (WLP)
Virginia Wesleyan University will launch the Work and Learn Program (WLP) this fall, an important campus initiative that will assist students financially and support their personal and professional growth. The WLP is intended to enhance on-campus student employment opportunities while providing a variety of experiences. All on-campus student employment opportunities will fall under this program, consisting of four components: the Federal Work-Study Program, Opus, Campus Cooperative (non-work-study employment), and Residential Leadership (resident assistants). Learn more here.
President's Council for Inclusive Communities (PCIC)
Members of the President's Council for Inclusive Communities (PCIC) for the 2020-21 academic year were appointed, and the Council's priorities and upcoming focus were refined. In these troubling times, the efforts of our PCIC are particularly meaningful to the University and our community. The PCIC will support all campus members as they respect the humanity of one another, work together to learn about others and themselves, and strive to sustain a culture of civility, respect, and open dialogue, and will ensure that silenced voices are heard. In addition to this mission, PCIC is charged this year to focus special attention on supporting Black members of our community. Black lives matter and we are committed to being a positive part of the social change that must take place. Priorities for the Council are outlined here.
For those who may have missed it, I'd also like to include a link to a recent message I shared with our campus community: "Why Black Lives Matter and Why They Should Matter In the Life of Virginia Wesleyan University."
ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
I was proud to sign the Presidents' Commitment with ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN)
in support of
Virginia Wesleyan
leading nonpartisan student voter engagement and civic learning. This includes a pledge to ensure all eligible students are able to register to vote. ALL IN and its Higher Education Presidents Council launched this call to action for higher education presidents and chancellors as a way to fully engage students in our electoral process. Learn more here.
Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Program
Thank you to VWU Trustee Howard Kern, CEO of Sentara Healthcare, and his colleagues for a generous gift/grant to fund significant equipment upgrades for our Sports Medicine and Athletic Training program. The gift will help improve the quality of care we are able to provide our student-athletes. We value our partnership with Sentara and appreciate Howard's advocacy for this support.
Spring 2020 President's List
Congratulations to the 123 students who were named to the President's List by achieving a 4.0 grade point average for the spring semester. This is a truly commendable accomplishment, especially given the challenges presented by COVID-19. Over the past five years, a reception has been held each semester in honor of the President's List students. We plan to hold a reception at a later date to celebrate the outstanding achievements of these students. Well done!
Student-Athlete Updates and Accomplishments
VWU graduates Hanna Hull, Madison Glaubke and Jessica Goldyn will return to campus this fall and to the softball field this spring. Read more in The Virginian-Pilot.
VWU softball's Hanna Hull earned the highest College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Honor. Read more here.
Six VWU student-athletes were named to the 2019-20 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-Academic Team for their combined performance both in the classroom and on the playing field. Kudos to Amber Matalus, Jacob Pilarski, Jenna Whitener, Destiny Kinka, Skyler Lattuca, and Hanna Hull. Read more here.
Three members of the Virginia Wesleyan softball team were named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) 2020 College Division All-State softball team. Congratulations to Jessica Goldyn, Hanna Hull, and Maria Weddle.
Jacob Pilarski of the VWU baseball team was named to the 2020 College Division All-State team by VaSID. Read more here.
President to President: 2019-2020
The full 2019-2020
President to President thought-leadership series, for which I serve as co-executive editor with longtime colleague Dr. Marylouise Fennell, is now available for download. This year's book, titled "The Next Big Thing," explores some of the most pressing issues in higher education today. When we selected this theme before launching the series last fall, we could not have known that the "next big thing" would be a global pandemic that would fundamentally change many facets of higher education. Access it
here.
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In closing, I want to thank our faculty and staff for their dedication to our shared mission. Employees who began working remotely in March returned to work (
with masks) on campus over the past month. I applaud each of you for your positive attitude and commendable work-ethic.
As I shared in a recent email to the Marlin family, we have chosen to embrace these challenges and have confidence in our strength as a campus community. We will need to come together to safeguard each other and to adapt with agility and creativity as the situation evolves. In the first of a series of communications outlining our plan for reopening this August, I provided an updated academic calendar fo
r the semester, which can be found
here
.
Together we will make it an extraordinary and memorable, if atypical, fall semester.
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