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Number 7, May 2007
Construction Underway for Village IV
Virginia Wesleyan College broke ground in March on its fourth residential village, adding 96 beds to campus and again increasing the College's residential population. The College moved up the timeline for Village IV after having its largest freshman class in the fall of 2006. The College also experienced unprecedented demand to live on campus last fall and again had to place some students at the Lake Wright Hotel to accommodate all housing requests.
Location Extends Edge of Campus
Referencing the map on the right, you will see that Village IV, phase I (#12) is located at the southern end of the academic lawn. Village IV, phase II (#16) is also depicted. Included on the map are Blocker Hall (#2), the Chapel (#3), the future academic building (#14), and the planned green science building (#8). The science building and Village IV will provide a southeastern vista to the academic lawn with each building being aligned with the sidewalk that extends from the Chapel.
Residential Population Continues to Grow
The Village IV townhomes are anticipated to open in the spring of 2008. Once opened, the residential capacity on campus will be nearly 800 students. Virginia Wesleyan has set a goal to have a resident population of one thousand students. The College believes a population of this size will provide more benefits of community living, with increased diversity and participation in social and academic activities.
Townhouse Living Preferred By Students
Given the recent success of the newly built townhomes and apartment building in Brock Village, the College has decided that Village IV will feature only townhouse living. Phase I of Village IV will feature six buildings with four townhouses per building for a total of ninety-six beds. The remaining phases include 11 buildings, which will be built in the future following the same design as Village IV.
The pine trees removed for Village IV were originally planted with the expectation that they would later be removed for future development.
- Trunks were used as pulp wood.
- Branches were ground up on site and used as mulch on campus.
State-of-the-Art Amenities
Each unit will have four private bedrooms, two semi-private baths, one kitchen, one living room and one laundry area with a washer and dryer. Kitchens will be equipped with refrigerators with ice and water in the door, dishwashers, ovens, cook tops, disposals, microwaves and plenty of counter space. The living room will be furnished with a sofa, two chairs, and occasional tables. The dining room will include a table and four chairs. The townhouse will also feature cable TV, high speed Internet, and telephone jack with local service.
Exterior Design
The Village IV townhomes will be constructed with steel frames and brick that blend with other existing buildings on campus. These townhouses will have pitched architectural roofs as opposed to flat roof structures featured on many campus buildings. Covered porches with columns will further define the design. Each townhouse is 1,776 square feet with the outer two units in each building being handicap accessible units. The project will cover 8.5 acres when complete and will share a parking lot with the new green science building.
Progress Toward Our Goal
The Key to the Future Campaign covers five years, from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2008. As of March 31, 2007, the College has raised $44.1 million, an increase of $400,000 since our last update.
Each endowment, each capital improvement and every Annual Fund dollar supports the drive to be Phi Beta Kappa-caliber.
Campaign Leadership Gifts
H.S. "Ab" Abernathy
Mr. Abernathy has made gifts totaling $340,827 to the College's Key to the Future Campaign. Mr. Abernathy is a longtime friend of the College through his ties to the United Methodist Church. Mr. Abernathy is an alumnus of Randolph-Macon College. He retired from the Virginia Beach Public Schools after serving as Assistant Superintendent-Budget Director for 14 years.
Mr. Abernathy established the Abernathy-Eason Endowed Scholarship in 1994. The scholarship provides assistance to a student preparing for a career as an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. As part of his gift to the Campaign, Mr. Abernathy gave $173,730 to the scholarship. He also made a gift of $145,096 for the addition of books to the Hofheimer Library Collection. His gift also provided $5,000 for the Annual Fund for Academic Excellence, $2,000 for the Marlin Athletic Club and $10,000 for the Venture Capital Fund.
Roy E. Hendrix
Mr. Hendrix has made a gift of $265,000 to the Key to the Future Campaign. The gift provides $250,000 for the Roy Hendrix Endowed Business Scholarship at the College. The Scholarship provides support to a student studying business at Virginia Wesleyan. Mr. Hendrix first established the scholarship in 1997.
Mr. Hendrix serves on the Virginia Wesleyan College Board of Trustees and on its Building and Grounds Committee. He worked for 30 years for the U.S. Army at Fort Monroe before retiring in 1988. He taught economics and computer courses at Tidewater Community College for six years. He also served on the U.S. Selective Service Board for 20 years. Mr. Hendrix currently owns and manages a portfolio of investment properties.