EYE ON

MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM VIRGINIA WESLEYAN’S 2022-2023 ACADEMIC YEAR

1. 2023 COMMENCEMENT: In May, the University celebrated new graduates—including VWU webmaster Michael Skipper—as the Class of 2023 received their diplomas in TowneBank Arena in the Jane P. Batten Student Center.

2. AIRNESS: Last spring, the VWU Theatre Department presented “Airness” by Chelsea Marcantel, a comedy about competition, completion, and finding airness. It was an exuberant reminder that everything we need to rock is already inside us.

3. SENTARA CARES CHECK PRESENTATION: In April, Sentara Cares partners (from left) Alex Askew, Amanda Simpson and Sherry Norquist presented VWU President Scott D. Miller with a $100,000 check for Sentara Scholars at Virginia Wesleyan. The scholarships support students enrolled in healthcare-related programs.

4. CLARKE HERITAGE SOCIETY LUNCHEON: Ted Smith ’84 (left), Alice A. Clarke and VWU President Scott D. Miller attended the annual Lambuth M. and Alice A. Clarke Heritage Society Luncheon, held on campus in December to honor alumni and friends who have chosen to include Virginia Wesleyan in their estate plans, as well as those who are considering a bequest to the University.

5. MARLINS DAY SPRING OPEN HOUSE: Prospective students and their families visited Virginia Wesleyan last spring for a look at life on campus during the University's Marlins Day Open House.

6. TREE CAMPUS: In April, Kendall Topping of the Department of Forestry (right) presented Scott D. Miller, VWU President, and Elizabeth Malcolm, Professor of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and Director of Sustainability, with a Campus Tree flag and plaque from the Arbor Day Foundation. VWU was one of only 411 campuses in the nation to receive a 2022 Tree Campus Higher Education recognition from the foundation.

7. 2023 ETHICS BOWL: The VWU Ethics Bowl Team deliberated the topic Ethics and Digital Media during the 23rd annual Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges’ Ethics Bowl, hosted on the Virginia Wesleyan campus in January.

8. GEORGE BIRDSONG HONORED AT ETHICS BOWL: The 2023 Ethics Bowl Dinner honored VWU Trustee Emeritus and Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges Trustee George Y. Birdsong (right), pictured with VWU President Scott D. Miller.

9. ART MAJOR EXHIBITION: Haley Parshall with her ceramic art display in the exhibition, “Not JUST refrigerator art,” hosted by VWU’s Fine Arts Department. The exhibit also showcased the work of Britni Arrington, Kathryn Baca, Erness Anne Deseo, Carley Tantlinger, Melissa Ward, Alaycia Williams and Kara Young, all students of Professor of Art Sharon Swift.