In little more than 40 years, Virginia Wesleyan College has earned a reputation as a respected institution of higher education, distinguished by its impressive academic quality and student-centered approach to teaching. And, with a new “Vision” in place that builds upon the College’s institutional youth and vitality; strategic vision based on a strong tradition of teaching and service; premier location among Hampton Roads’ wealth of cultural, environmental and scientific resources; and its commitment to attain Phi Beta Kappa status by the end of the decade, Virginia Wesleyan is poised to become one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the nation.
“The vision here is to take this good, small, well-located liberal arts college and leap over 150 years of history in order to place ourselves in the room with colleges much older,” said Virginia Wesleyan President Billy Greer. “We are poised and ready to make this leap. Everything we do now we do with that in mind.”
Phi Beta Kappa
The vision is focused around the College’s decision to become a Phi Beta Kappa-caliber college by the end of the decade. The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest and most respected academic honor society for the liberal arts and sciences in the United States, is highly selective in granting charters to academic institutions – of the 2,324 four-year colleges in the nation, only 279 have earned Phi Beta Kappa charters.
“Phi Beta Kappa is the scholastic society in the country," said Greer. “It validates you. It’s like a ‘good housekeeping’ seal for your college. When it happens, it will mean that we have the volumes in our library necessary for the education of the students. The [reduced] teaching load will give faculty time to engage in research or in student research. We will be able to attract and retain top faculty. Phi Beta Kappa will enhance every aspect of campus in a profound way.”
“For several years, President Greer spoke frequently
about his desire for us to move VWC to the next level
of sophistication with regard to our academic rigor so we
could compete with older, more prestigious institutions
for students and funding,” said Dr. Linda Ferguson,
director of the strategic planning committee and
professor of Management/Business/Economics. “As
a Strategic Planning committee, we harnessed the
President’s energy and chose the vision of becoming a
Phi Beta Kappa-caliber institution by the end of the
decade. Doing so gives us a series of challenges to meet
with as Phi Beta Kappa has certain criteria against which
they measure applicants.”
With the goal of receiving a Phi Beta Kappa charter at the forefront, the vision is driven by three strategies: promote academic excellence in teaching and learning programs; build a strong and diverse student body; and create a state-of-the-art instructional setting and a campus to support it.
Focus on Academics
In pursuit of achieving these objectives, the endowment will be increased by $29 million, largely for the purpose of recruiting top students and faculty with generous scholarships and competitive salaries; the average SAT score for the incoming freshman class will be raised above 1100; faculty teaching loads will be reduced; and students will be routinely participating in internships, study abroad and community service. Renovations to Hofheimer Library are in the works, with plans to improve lighting and install climate control systems and create areas to include a computer lab, college archives room, instructional technology classroom, a quiet study hall with access 24 hours a day, seven days a week and floor space and shelving to accommodate additional volumes. In addition, 50,000 new volumes, ranging from old and new classics to core titles for recently added programs in classics and criminal justice, will raise the library collection to Phi Beta Kappa-quality.“The library is the heart of campus,” Greer said.“This will give the building a ‘Barnes and Noble’ look and take the library into the 21st century.”
Faculty
The proposal also includes the addition of four new faculty positions per year for five years, a reduction of the faculty teaching load from a four-four teaching load (four classes each semester) to a four-three teaching load, an increase in faculty compensation and an increase in faculty development opportunities. Most of the top liberal arts colleges adopt a four-three teaching load, which enables faculty members to have at least one “release time” per year to interact with students, guide them in undergraduate research and internships and to engage in their own cutting-edge research.“With the reduced teaching load, faculty will spend more time with students outside the classroom and have time to build closer relationships,” Greer said.“The prestige of having a PBK chapter will be ‘priceless,’” said Vivian Teter, PBK member and associate professor of English. “Faculty like myself who are already experiencing the reduced teaching load implemented as part of the PBK effort can point to this as an improvement. I think we’re on the right track.”
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Another major focus of the vision is the enhancement of the environmental science program. The College established a Bachelor of Science degree in 2004, thereby acknowledging the important role of empirical study. A partnership with the Virginia Aquarium to build a 42-foot research vessel will be used by at least seven Wesleyan classes, including oceanography, marine biology, ecology, environmental chemistry and environmental geology. Students will have the capability and opportunity to collect marine organisms, sediment and water samples with research-quality equipment. They will gain invaluable hands-on experience with the Chesapeake Bay as their classroom.
The construction of a platinum “green”
laboratory science building is another pillar of the
plan. It will be the only such building at a liberal
arts college in the world. The facility will feature
energy-efficient technologies and maximize the
use of recycled and environmentally sustainable
materials, which will yield benefits including
reduced energy costs, improved water conservation, protection of natural resources, improved
air and water quality and reduced quantities of solid
waste.
“This building will change how science is taught
and how science buildings will be built in the future,”
Greer said.
The new science facility will foster hands-on, research-oriented activities in classrooms and laboratories, incorporate multimedia instructional technology and feature dedicated research areas, instructional areas, modern laboratories and natural history areas; an observatory dome and pier; a new greenhouse, herbarium and botany laboratory; at least two computer science classrooms; and multipurpose, reconfigurable classrooms.
Beyond the Classroom
Continued expansion of the College’s athletic facilities is another facet of the vision, which calls for the laying of an artificial surface and lights for the field hockey facility, construction of an all-weather track and field stadium for the recently established men’s and women’s track and field program and the addition of elevated bleachers, a press box, restrooms and a concession area at the baseball field.
The vision also includes the expansion of the PORTfolio Program as an academic centerpiece, the enhancement of the reach of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom, the internationalization of the campus, greater diversification of the student body, an increase in the level of academic excellence and a growth in recruitment and retention of students.
“We have made significant progress,” Greer said. “Our endowment has gone from $20 million to $44 million in only four years with plans to grow to $60 million. We are planning a building explosion on campus in terms of facilities. Six years from now, we will have the Phi Beta Kappa chapter, we will have the new science building, a new field hockey and lacrosse stadium, 50,000 new volumes in the library and an even higher quality faculty.
“A graduate should look at his diploma and say, ‘This was a good diploma when I got it, and its value is increasing every day.’ Alumni are cheering this on. What this region needs most is an institution of higher learning that has achieved national prominence. We are limited only by our desire to do it. It’s ours to do.”