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Head of the class
Donald Alexander Jr. considered multiple schools, as well as the Air Force, before he landed at Norfolk State University in 2019. The Chesapeake native grew up with strong ties to the university, one of Virginia’s two public historically Black colleges and universities. As an elementary schooler, Alexander went to summer camp on Norfolk State’s campus, […]
MARCIA CONSTON
Conston saw early on the value that education has for marginalized communities. She knew her goal was “to become someone to effect change in the lives of young people. And I knew that education would be the path to do that.” Conston began her career as a college administrator at her alma mater, Mississippi’s Jackson […]
Mary Washington hires admin/finance VP
The University of Mary Washington has hired Craig Erwin as vice president for administration and finance, effective Jan. 10. Erwin replaces Paul Messplay, who retires on Jan. 20. Erwin comes to UMW from Southwestern University, a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas, where he was vice president for finance and administration and chief financial […]
ODU hires associate VP for innovation, commercialization
Kevin Leslie will be Old Dominion University’s first associate vice president for innovation and commercialization, the Norfolk-based university announced Friday. Leslie will improve ODU’s technology transfer operation to better identify, develop and market faculty, staff and student intellectual property and startups. He also will lead federal and other grant applications related to innovatio[...]
Getting down to business
In the late 1990s, Jennifer E. Clift was working as a secretary when her supervisor encouraged her to continue her education. She began taking business classes at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. “I wasn’t in a settled place,” she says. “I was not a traditional student. I was working full time, plus pretty […]
On your mark
When Virginia Commonwealth University closed its buildings in spring 2020, then-student Julien Reininger wasn’t deterred from his entrepreneurial pursuits. In the kitchen of his parents’ Springfield home, Reininger ran a dehydrator for eight hours at a time, creating vegan jerky from canned jackfruit and developing different marinades. “I’m sure when I started doing it, they […]
U.Va. leads Pentagon hypersonic project
Like a “Top Gun” fighter pilot, Christopher Goyne feels the need for speed. Goyne directs the University of Virginia’s Aerospace Research Laboratory and leads a new team developing hypersonic engines that will enable more maneuverable missiles, jets and — eventually — spacecraft via a $4.5 million Department of Defense award announced in October. Under the […]
ODU hires associate VP for corporate partnerships
Civic Leadership Institute President and CEO Sarah Jane Kirkland will become Old Dominion University’s associate vice president for corporate partnerships on March 1, 2023, the Norfolk university announced Thursday. “Sarah Jane is well-known and highly respected in Hampton Roads, especially among business and industry leaders. For many years, she has been fully dedicated to creating […]
Youngkin budget outlines EVMS/ODU merger by 2024
In his proposed budget amendments released Thursday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin lays out the framework and a timeline for the merger of Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University, requiring it to take place by July 2024. Youngkin’s amendments to the 2022-24 state budget, which must be passed by the General Assembly during its 2023 […]
Independent colleges council taps former state delegate as leader
Former Virginia Del. Christopher K. Peace will be the next president of the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia Inc. (CICV) after the 2023 regular General Assembly session concludes. “[Chris] is far more than a lobbyist and attorney — he is a strategist with a great grasp of the issues. He carries a reputation as […]
GMU names EVP for finance and admin
George Mason University has promoted Deb Dickenson to executive vice president for finance and administration, the university announced Monday. Dickenson had been serving as interim senior vice president for administration and finance since June. In her new role, she will be responsible for universitywide leadership, strategic oversight and financial and operational management of the administrativ[...]
Class conflicts
Makena Massarella, a 20-year-old junior at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, is well on her way to becoming part of the solution to one of the most vexing problems facing Virginia and the nation: the shortage of teachers. She wants to be an elementary school teacher, the most in-demand position out of 10 critical shortages […]
