Professors Kellie Holzer, Ben Fraser, and Terry Lindvall wrote and edited the Travel Book for the C. S. Lewis Study Abroad Program, with pieces on the Inklings, Oxford Detectives, Salisbury Cathedral, Women in Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Kilns, British Culinary Dishes, and Oxonian Eccentrics. (Reformation Press, 2022).

Kathy Merlock Jackson published the lead article in the winter issue of The Journal of American Culture. Titled “Losing Sight, Finding Vision: One-Eyed Film Directors in Artistic Perspective,” it addressed the eye maladies and careers of four major American film directors.

The Bloomsbury Reader in the Study of Religion and Popular Culture, co-edited by Eric Michael Mazur (with Lisle Dalton and Richard Callahan, Jr.), was published in mid-January. An anthology containing excerpts of the major theorists commonly used in the study of religion and popular culture, the volume is designed and intended for classroom use.

Michelle Albert Vachris coauthored a chapter (with Kyle Vachris) on “Entrepreneurship and Governance” in the Scotch Whisky Knowledge Commons in Governing Markets as Knowledge Commons published by Cambridge University Press.

The student-centered instructional activity “Chemical Combination Laws” authored by Joyce Easter, has been peer reviewed and has been published in POGIL Activity Clearinghouse Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1 (2022).

President Scott D. Miller and Dr. Marylouise Fennell continue to collaborate as Executive Editors on the thought leadership series President to President. The 2021-2022 series is titled “The Vitality and Power of Higher Education,” and examines how colleges are approaching their missions with new vigor and re-examining their role in the community. In the sixth chapter, “Successfully Navigating the Mask Paradox: The Power of Institutional Authenticity,” Truman State University President Susan Thomas, Ph.D., describes how campuses can achieve institutional authenticity by proactively aligning what they do with who they are, allowing their mission and culture to drive strategic initiatives. President Miller's daily blog, Dialogue, can be found at prezscottmiller.blogspot.com.

Nine members of the VWU faculty prepared presentations for the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy (CHEP) in February.  Seven members were able to present and attend the conference in Blacksburg, Virginia. Session titles and presenters included:

"Creating Virtual Escape Rooms on Your Campus to Engage Students in Both Face-to-face and Remote Classrooms," presented by Denise Wilkinson, Amber Gruszeczka, and Kathy Stolley;

"A Riff on Content Acquisition Podcasts for Preservice Teachers," presented by Mindy Gumpert;

"Balancing on Quicksand: Teaching with Flexibility, Compassion, and Community during COVID-19," presented and/or prepared by Sherry Matis, Gabi Martorell, and Taryn Myers;

"Effective Teams in Student-Centered Learning," prepared by Joyce Easter;

"Teaching Leadership to Undergraduates: The BILD Approach," a poster presented by Arthur Pantelides.

President Miller participated in a panel discussion during the annual meeting of the American Council on Education in San Diego. The session, entitled "Unpacking the 'S' in ESG," (environmental, social, and governance) in an investment strategy, examined the 'S' of ESG, looking at areas that drive competitive advantage for companies—including social trends, human rights, and labor—through the lens of the global pandemic and beyond. The discussion of trends in endowment investment provided an opportunity for President Miller to discuss the environmentally friendly investment policy of VWU's endowment and the University's nationally distinguished Batten Honors College. President Miller is pictured with Christina Cutlip (center) and Megan Fielding (right) of TIAA.

VWU has received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program which provides funding to institutions of higher education to offer scholarships, stipends, and programmatic support to recruit and prepare STEM majors and professionals to become K-12 teachers. The grant will provide $1.16 million in funds dedicated to this initiative over a five-year period. Clair Berube led the project, "Transforming Effective Educators of Mathematics and Science in Southeast Virginia,” with support from Bill McConnell, Lydia Kennedy, Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson, and Maury Howard.

Robert Ariel was interviewed for the podcast "Teaching for Student Success" in an episode titled "A Better Way to Learn: Helping Students Adopt Retrieval Practice." The podcast focuses on evidence-based teaching practices for improving student success, equity, and inclusivity. The episode is available at teachingforstudentsuccess.org and on all major podcast apps.

Doug Kennedy completed requirements for the renewal of his status as a Certified Park and Recreation Professional.

Nadia Nafar, Department of Management, Business and Economics, to Associate Professor with Tenure;

Amber Gruszeczka, Research Librarian, to Librarian II;

Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson, Department of Biology and Dean of VWU Global Campus, to Full Professor;

Taryn Myers, Department of Psychology, to Full Professor.

As a part of the NOAA-funded Shared Waters Project, Norfolk Collegiate third graders and their teachers came to VWU's campus to tour the gardens of the Greer Environmental Sciences Center. Skyler Lattuca and 16 aspiring teachers in Bill McConnell's course, EDUC 266: Classroom Management and Teaching Strategies, led the children in clearing invasive species and making leaf rubbings to identify plant species.

Read the current issue or archives of The Pharos