Course corrections
Can an old college learn new tricks? William & Mary, the second-oldest institution of higher education in the country by virtue of its establishment in February 1693, is proving that it can. It has had little choice. The pandemic pushed the faculty into a steep learning curve to master online teaching, with 2,000 courses moving […]
Commonwealth Cyber Initiative funds $1M for student cybersecurity projects
The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative has allocated $1 million toward experiential cybersecurity projects for students at universities across the state, the organization announced Thursday. The seven projects involve student researchers from George Mason University, Longwood University, Marymount University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wil[...]
Graduation plans vary across Virginia universities
RICHMOND, Va. — College graduations will still look different due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but more Virginia universities are returning to in-person ceremonies. Graduations will be held online, in person or a hybrid format. Gov. Ralph Northam announced last month preliminary guidance for graduation events, which continues to be updated. “The acceleration of the vaccine […]
Hollins University appoints new provost
Hollins University has named Laura A. McLary as its new provost effective July 1, the Roanoke-based university announced this week. McLary arrives from the University of Portland in Oregon, where she served on the faculty teaching German starting in 1999 and became academic associate dean for the university’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2016. […]
U.Va. names new engineering school dean
The School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia announced Friday the appointment of its first female dean, Jennifer L. West. She will start July 1. A researcher, inventor and entrepreneur, West comes from Duke University, where she’s been associate dean of doctoral education for a little more than six years at […]
UPDATED: Liberty University files $10M suit against Falwell
Liberty University has sued Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 million, accusing the former president and chancellor of the Lynchburg-based Christian university of breach of contract and fiduciary duty. The suit alleges that Falwell negotiated a salary increase and larger severance package in his 2019 contract while not disclosing to the university’s executive committee his entanglement […]
Liberty’s renamed think tank names Pompeo, Huckabee as fellows
Liberty University‘s newly renamed think tank, the Standing for Freedom Center, has announced a slate of five new fellows, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Also named as fellows are Abby Johnson, an anti-abortion activist who used to work for Planned Parenthood, and Liberty alumni David and Jason Benham, […]
VMI names Wins new superintendent
Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins was named Virginia Military Institute’s new superintendent by the VMI Board of Visitors on Thursday. Wins, who has served as interim superintendent at VMI since November 2020, is a 1985 graduate of the state-supported military college in Lexington. “Maj. Gen. Wins has distinguished himself as a leader […]
Mary Baldwin University announces $5 million gift
William H. “Bill” Goodwin Jr. and his wife, Alice, have made a $5 million gift to Mary Baldwin University to fund the launch of a new hybrid doctor of nursing practice degree program. The prominent Richmond philanthropic couple, who have given tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes, said in a statement that they […]
GMU Center for Government Contracting taps two fellows
The Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University has named two senior fellows, it announced this week. The Fairfax-based center added Stephanie Halcrow, who most recently served on the House Armed Services Committee as a professional staff member, and promoted researcher Eric Lofgren. Halcrow is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, who […]
Hampden-Sydney receives $12M gift from alum’s estate
Hampden-Sydney College announced Tuesday it has received a $12 million gift — the second-largest in the history of the 245-year-old private men’s college — from the estate of a 1937 graduate and his wife. The estate of M. Blair Dickinson Jr. and Sarah “Lucile” Lawton Dickinson bequeathed the gift to the college, which Blair Dickinson […]
Mary Baldwin receives $1M gift to endow building
Mary Baldwin University has received a $1 million gift from the Robert Haywood Morrison Foundation to endow the building that houses the university’s Program for the Exceptionally Gifted for girls age 13 and older seeking college degrees, MBU announced Wednesday. The building will be named in honor of President Emerita Cynthia Haldenby Tyson at a […]