The big freeze
Given pandemic-caused interruptions, college students have been through a lot so far this decade, but one silver lining at many Virginia schools has been frozen tuition. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin made it a priority to keep costs flat this academic year, and he succeeded in getting all 15 of the state’s public colleges and u[...]
Va. Tech names new biz school dean
Saonee Sarker, a professor at Sweden’s Lund University, will serve as the next dean of the Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business following an international search. Virginia Tech announced Sarker’s new role Monday. She has been a professor in Lund University’s Department of Informatics in the Schoo[...]
Angela and Carl Reddix donate $1.1M to JMU
James Madison University alumni Angela and Carl Reddix have made a $1.1 million commitment to their alma mater to support first-generation college students, JMU announced Friday. Founder, president and CEO of Norfolk-based ARDX, a health care management and IT consulting firm, Angela Reddix studied marketing at JMU and graduated[...]
Va. Tech names College of Architecture, Arts and Design dean
Virginia Tech has named a new dean to lead its College of Architecture, Arts, and Design (AAD) following an international search. Tsai Lu Liu will start July 1. He has led the Department of Graphic Design and Industrial Design at North Carolina State University, in Raleigh, since 2012 and has a background in industry and [&helli[...]
Emory & Henry receives $2M gift for equestrian expansion
Emory & Henry College will use a $2 million donation from The Bill Gatton Foundation to help construct a new equestrian center and boost its equine studies program. The private college, based in Emory, announced the donation Monday. The Bristol, Tennessee, foundation’s lead gift for the project was to Emory & Henry’s[...]
CNU chooses next president, Coast Guard Academy chief
U.S. Coast Guard Academy Superintendent Rear Adm. William G. Kelly will become Christopher Newport University’s sixth president on July 1, the Newport News-based public liberal arts school announced Thursday. CNU Chief of Staff Adelia P. Thompson has been serving as interim president since former President Paul S. Trible Jr.[...]
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 [...]
$100M donor gift to launch U.Va. biotech institute
The University of Virginia will build a biotechnology institute funded with a $100 million donation from Charlottesville investor Paul Manning and his wife, Diane, the university announced Friday. Along with the Mannings’ gift, U.Va. will contribute $150 million, and the state has allocated $50 million in initial investmen[...]
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 admin[...]
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 al[...]
VCU names medical school dean
Dr. Arturo P. Saavedra will be the next dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and executive vice president for medical affairs at VCU Health, the university announced Monday. His appointment is effective April 15. Saavedra is currently chair of the University of Virginia’s dermatology department a[...]
New VCCS chancellor set to start April 1
The Virginia State Board for Community Colleges on Wednesday announced that it hired David Doré to lead the state’s 23 community colleges. Doré currently serves as president of campuses and executive vice chancellor for student experience and workforce development at Tucson, Arizona-based Pima Community College, where mo[...]