RENOVATIONS

FUNDED BY TRANSFORMATION NOW!

S. Frank and Wilma Williamson Blocker Hall. Blocker Hall was modified in 2017 to incorporate the administrative office for VWU’s Batten Honors College.

Kenneth R. Perry Field at TowneBank Park. This baseball facility, updated in 2017, includes a 370-seat grandstand; a climate-controlled press box; and modern dugouts and bullpens.

Robert F. and Sara M. Boyd Dining Center. Renovated in 2019, the Boyd Dining Center and related facilities house the student dining hall, President’s Dining Room, Founders’ Foyer and Shafer Room. The Board of Trustees Suite, the setting for Board meetings and other campus events, is also in this facility.

Monumental Chapel and Beazley Recital Hall. Host to both campus ministries and musical events, the space was renovated in 2020 to include a choral music library and instrument storage. It also has sound-diffusing panels for outstanding acoustics and is home to one of the campus Steinway pianos.

Susan T. Beverly Hall and Edward D. Hofheimer Theatre This fine arts complex, renovated in 2020, features the Robert G. Cabell III and Maude Morgan Cabell Foundation Visual Arts Studios, The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation Ensemble Rehearsal Room, Alison J. and Ella W. Parsons Fund Fine Arts Entrance & Lobby and the James A. Hixon Music Studios. The Hofheimer Theatre serves as a setting for theatrical instruction as well as performance.

TowneBank Arena in the Jane P. Batten Student Center. This 2,000-seat arena is the home of Marlin volleyball and basketball, along with hosting a wide range of other events for both the campus community and Coastal Virginia. Renovated in 2020, the arena includes Champions Foyer, the Hall of Fame, locker rooms, hospitality suite and athletics offices.

Lambuth M. Clarke Hall. Clarke Hall exemplifies the University’s commitment to providing state-of-the-art teaching technologies. The building was renovated in 2021 with new technology, classrooms and office space to support Workforce Development partnerships and Business and Computer Science and Information Systems programs.

Inaugural Ryan Research Symposium

Proves The Environment Is In Good Hands

One evening last spring, before dinner was served in VWU’s Brock Commons, seniors from Batten Honors College stationed themselves at their research posters. As arriving dinner guests strolled through the displays, the students took turns dazzling them with their work.

The event was the inaugural Louis and Prudence Ryan Environmental Research Symposium. And the poster presentations on display described innovative solutions to challenges facing the environment and sustainability.

Prior to the event, the students’ work had been evaluated and finalists chosen by a distinguished panel of judges: Christy Everett, Hampton Roads director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Marjorie Mayfield Jackson, founding executive director of the Elizabeth River Project; and Joel Rubin, founder and president of Rubin Communications Group. The judges assessed the research on four criteria: the project’s potential impact; how it addressed environmental complexities; its strength of evidence; and its clear communication.

After dinner, the three finalists made oral presentations: Abby Mahoney presented “Reducing Campus Food Waste”; Brooke Morris presented “Combating Fraudulent Pharmaceuticals in Kenya”; and Abby Peterson presented “Urban-Tree Planting: Outlining How to Diminish Urban Stormwater Runoff Utilizing Community Partnerships.”

Before the awards were announced, VWU President Scott D. Miller reminded the seniors of guidance he offered when they were accepted into the Batten Honors College.

“I knew that their education and experience here,” he said, “would prepare them to solve problems creatively, think globally, make connections and work toward a better world.”

To that end, he explained that the evening’s symposium and prize helped realize the vision of philanthropist Jane Batten for an honors college with a global mission.

“We are so grateful that the Ryans believed in Mrs. Batten's vision and generously created an endowment to fund this symposium and the Ryan Prize.”