VCCS senior vice chancellor to retire
Sharon Morrissey, Virginia Community College System’s senior vice chancellor for academic and workforce programs, will retire at the end of 2023, VCCS announced Monday. Morrissey joined VCCS in 2014. She held leadership roles for multiple initiatives, including eliminating placement testing, providing expanded credit for prior[...]
44 Va. schools make U.S. News and World Report’s 2024 list
Forty-four Virginia schools ranked on the U.S. News and World Report’s 2024 best lists of more than 600 universities and liberal arts colleges in the country, released Monday. The University of Virginia ranked No. 24 in national universities, tying with Carnegie Mellon and Emory universities and Washington University in St. Lo[...]
U.Va. receives $50M gift from Breeden Co. founder
Ramon W. Breeden Jr., founder and chair of Virginia Beach-based developer The Breeden Co., has given $50 million to his alma mater, the University of Virginia, to support business education and athletics. University President Tim Ryan announced the gift during a U.Va. Board of Visitors meeting Friday, according to a news release[...]
VCU sets sponsored research funding record
Virginia Commonwealth University set a record for its sponsored research funding — $464.6 million — in fiscal 2023, the Richmond public research university announced Friday. The total is a 14% increase since last year and a 71% increase over five years ago. “I’m proud that research is one of the fastest areas of growth a[...]
Liberty University partners with Spirit in pilot pipeline program
Liberty University is partnering with Spirit Airlines in a pipeline program to land aeronautics graduates jobs as pilots amid a national shortage. Spirit, a low-cost airline headquartered in Miramar, Florida, with presences at Richmond and Norfolk’s airports, announced the partnership Thursday. Liberty, which has an aerona[...]
Three Va. universities land on top patents list
Three Virginia research universities have made the National Academy of Inventors’ new list ranking the nation’s universities that were granted the most patents in 2022. The University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and George Mason University each made the list released Aug. 30, ranking 43rd, 86th and [...]
Virginia Tech research institute receives $50M gift
A foundation established by the estate of Richmond philanthropist Bill Goodwin‘s late son, Hunter, has made a $50 million commitment to support cancer and neuroscience research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Virginia Tech announced Tuesday. The gift is one of three record $50 million donations Virginia[...]
UR biz school receives $10M donation
The University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business received an anonymous $10 million gift from an alumnus to establish an endowed scholarship fund, the school reported Thursday. The alumnus studied accounting and finance at UR and stocked groceries to fund his tuition and other expenses, the school said. “Access and affo[...]
Va. Tech names chief of staff for university operations
Virginia Tech has named Brennan Shepard its chief of staff for university operations. Shepard was most recently director of financial planning in the the university’s Office of Budget and Financial Planning and has served in various roles in the finance division over the past 15 years. He officially began his new role on A[...]
Support system
James Madison University is where Angela Reddix says she found “my tribe, the godmothers of my children” — and also her future husband, Carl, whom she met on her first day on campus. “All those relationships came from JMU,” says Reddix, founder, president and CEO of Norfolk-based ARDX, a health care management and IT c[...]
September 2023 Virginia 500 Spotlight: DONNA PRICE HENRY
FIRST JOB: I worked at a Dairy Queen during the summers while I was in high school. FAVORITE APP: Apple Fitness, except when it tells me that I’m behind in meeting my goals for the day HOW I BALANCE WORK AND PERSONAL LIFE: Some days, I am better at this than others. In my role […]
ODU hires director for cybersecurity school
Old Dominion University has named Daniel Takabi to direct its School of Cybersecurity. Takabi joins the school from Georgia State University, where he worked for four years and served as an associate professor of computer science, according to his LinkedIn account. Takabi started in his new role July 25; the university announced[...]