Falwell voices support for renaming Lynchburg
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. said he supports changing the name of the city of Lynchburg, calling it an “embarrassment to Liberty University ever since we started” because of perceived racist connotations. He also said in an interview Sunday that the university plans to reopen with “business a[...]
COVID-19 death toll underreported, study finds
A joint Virginia Commonwealth University and Yale University study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that the COVID-19 death counts reported to the U.S. public underestimate the true death toll of the pandemic in the country. “There are several potential reasons for this under-count,” lead author Dr. Steven Woolf, director […]
Mary Baldwin expands, refocuses MBA program
Mary Baldwin University has redesigned and expanded its MBA program, the Staunton-based private university announced this week. It will include four concentrations, including health care administration and nonprofit management, as well as strategic management (improving operations through systems or organizational change) and su[...]
Virginia Tech chooses School of Education director
Virginia Tech announced Tuesday it has hired Kristin Gehsmann as the director of the School of Education, effective Aug. 1. She will also serve as an education professor. Gehsmann was most recently a professor and chair of the department of literacy studies, English education and history education at East Carolina University. Du[...]
The mentor
Gregory Washington, the new president of George Mason, “embodies our university,” says Thomas M. Davis, rector of the school’s governing Board of Visitors. How? In just about every way possible, both personally and professionally, say Davis and others. Mason’s stated mission is to provide “equal opportunity and[...]
VCU, UCLA research could lead to better computer memory storage
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), released research findings Tuesday that could lead to more energy efficient memory storage for computers and other electronic devices. Magnets are used for computer memory due to their “up” or “down” polarity. The magnet[...]
Community colleges, businesses partner to get Virginians back to work
The Virginia Ready Initiative (VA Ready) announced Monday a program that will provide stipends for unemployed Virginians to attend community college programs in an effort to find new industry jobs and overcome coronavirus-related economic hardships. “We have people who need work and companies who need employees, so Virginia’s community colleges and employers are coming together […][...]
Averett University names chief entrepreneurship, innovation officer
Averett University announced Thursday that John Vigouroux will join the university as its first chief entrepreneurship and innovation officer. He also will lead the new Averett Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The center will serve as a learning lab and entrepreneurial space for students. The goal of the center is to [...]
VUU appoints associate provost for research
Virginia Union University announced Wednesday it has appointed Terrell Strayhorn as associate provost for research, innovation and graduate education. He will also serve as director of the Center for the Study of HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities) and as a tenured professor of urban education in the Evelyn Reid[...]
JMU leaders want Confederate names removed from buildings
James Madison University announced Monday that university leadership is asking the JMU Board of Visitors to rename three campus buildings on its Quad that are named for Confederate leaders Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Col. Turner Ashby Jr. and Matthew Fontaine Maury. “We recognize that these building names a[...]
Tech names VP of campus planning, infrastructure, facilities
Virginia Tech announced Thursday that Christopher H. Kiwus has been named vice president for campus planning, infrastructure and facilities, a position in which he oversees the university’s six-year plan for approximately 30 projects totaling nearly $3 billion. Kiwus had been Tech’s associate vice president and chief[...]
Tech names president, CEO for Corporate Research Center
Virginia Tech announced Thursday that Brett Malone will become the next president and CEO of the university’s Corporate Research Center (CRC), effective July 1. Malone succeeds longtime CRC President and CEO Joe Meredith, who retired in February after 27 years in the position. A “triple Hokie” (earning his bach[...]