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Recent Articles from Gary Robertson
The Royals of Regent
Although Lynchburg’s Liberty University has grabbed plenty of headlines in recent years, Virginia Beach-based Regent University can more than hold its own as a politically influential private Christian institution. Founded and still run by the 92-year-old televangelist and culture warrior M.G. “Pat” Robertson, Regent now has 11,000 students, 80% of whom are enrolled online. The […[...]
On the line
“VMI is at a crossroads. As the world around VMI changes, the Institute must evolve or risk becoming irrelevant.” — One Corps – One VMI: A Unifying Action Plan From a distance, Virginia Military Institute seems timeless, unchanging. The rhythmic marching of the long lines of cadets, the stark outline of the barracks against the […]
DEI openers
Every movement has its moment. And now appears to be the moment for diversity, equity and inclusion officers in C-suites, academia and government. Black Lives Matters protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020 broadened awareness of race-based inequities that exist in the United States, including inequality in hiring and job […]
Better together
“Cooperation” is a word Jim Noel uses a lot these days when speaking about the Greater Williamsburg region, which encompasses the city of Williamsburg and York and James City counties. As York County’s economic development director, Noel has watched as one of the most historically significant areas of the nation has worked to revive and […]
Getting off the road
For years, residents in the Fredericksburg region looked north for opportunity and higher-paying jobs. But more homegrown jobs and remote work are signs of change for the area, says Curry Roberts, president of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance, which includes Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford. “We’re developing a distinct economy [&helli[...]
World view
Want to see the world? Head for Blacksburg. Well, at least that’s one way you might look at it. Virginia Tech, which sits in the New River Valley (population: approximately 44,300), boasts the largest number of international students of any college or university campus in the state. In pre-COVID years, about 4,000 international students populated […]
Preparing for the worst
Read about the 2021 Virginia CFO Award winners. John Brocato’s coveted tickets to the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament suddenly became void in March 2020 after the ACC canceled the tournament as the COVID-19 pandemic began turning the world on its head. And as the chief financial officer of a small building supply company […]
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 […]
Making it rain
For Hanover County Economic Development Director Linwood Thomas, things couldn’t get much better. “It’s really been a perfect storm,” Thomas says. That storm — the good type — is a deluge of distribution centers and warehouses that have opened recently or are currently in the pipeline for the county of about 108,000 residents, located about […]
A growing legacy
Since his selection as president of Radford University five years ago, Brian Hemphill has fulfilled the mission he set when he was hired: to increase fundraising and open channels to boost enrollment. During Hemphill’s tenure, he has seen the university reach record enrollment numbers and grow its endowment by $20 million. But all things must […]
