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Amid financial concerns, Averett University names new leadership

Averett announced Wednesday that its board has appointed David Joyce as its 15th president. Tiffany Franks, who has served nearly 17 years as president of the private university, will retire Jan. 5, 2025.

The change comes following months of headlines about the school’s financial woes and cost-saving measures like staff furloughs and program cuts.

Don Aungst, who came on board as Averett’s and chief financial and operating officer, in 2020, no longer works at the university. His employment ended April 1, 2024, according to Cassie Jones, Averett’s spokesperson.

In September, Averett announced that Donald Merricks, a retired bank president, former state delegate and a two-time alumnus, had stepped in as the school’s interim chief financial officer. A news release did not address why the position was empty.

Averett also hired Susan Nelson as its director of finance in October. “This reorganized position encompasses the controller functions of accounting and financial reporting, and also incorporates the strategic fiscal management of budgeting, planning, processes and controls,” Jones wrote in an e-mail. 

And in November, the university decided to eliminate five undergraduate majors — art, chemistry, math, modern languages and religion — as well as the criminal justice master’s degree and the symphonic band program. One staff position at Averett is expected to be cut in January 2026 as a result of the cuts.

A news release about the newly selected president alluded to the university’s financial struggles.

“Dr. Joyce is the right leader for Averett,” Emma Maddux Kozlowski, vice chair of the school’s board of trustees, said in a statement. “He understands the urgency to put Averett back on strong financial footing and will find innovative ways to maximize operational efficiency.”

The board used Academic Search, a Washington, D.C. higher- search firm, with their search.

Joyce comes to Danville with nearly three decades of experience as a . For eight years he led Union College in Kentucky. He spent another 10 years as president of Ripon College in Wisconsin and most recently worked for nine years as president of Brevard College in North Carolina.

Joyce holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pfeiffer University, a master of divinity in pastoral psychology from the Yale Divinity School, a master’s in psychology from North Carolina State University and a doctorate in human resource from Vanderbilt University.

He began his career at Elon University as associate dean of student affairs, before joining Pfeiffer as college minister. Joyce is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.

Joyce will be installed as president on January 6, 2025. A “welcoming event” will be planned for that month for Joyce and his wife Lynne, according to the announcement.

“In our search for the next president of Averett, the Board of Trustees knew that Averett needed a strong leader with a proven record of turning around a college or university that was facing headwinds,” said Dan Carlton, chair of the university’s board.

A woman wearing pearls and a yellow blazer smiles.
Tiffany Franks will retire as Averett’s president in January 2025. Photo courtesy

The  announcement noted several achievements Averett accomplished during Franks’ tenure, including setting enrollment records, joining the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and strengthening ties with the Danville community.

“Nearly 17 years ago, she walked onto this campus and changed Averett,” Carlton said.  “She has been an ambassador of Averett in the community, a champion for our students and a tireless leader of the outstanding faculty and staff assembled at Averett.”

As of September, Averett had nearly 1,450 students enrolled, a 7% increase from the previous academic year, and including 550 students enrolled in Averett Online, its virtual educational offering. In 2022, announced a gift of $504,000 to the university to establish a hospitality and tourism academic program, and the school became Danville Regional Airport’s fixed-base operator in July 2021. Averett has offered flight training since 1981.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to add information from Averett University’s spokesperson.

Richmond’s Movieland at Boulevard Square to undergo $5M glow-up

Movieland at Boulevard Square, the city of ‘s only first-run movie , is undergoing approximately $5 million in and upgrades.

The project, which began in October and is expected to be completed in spring 2025, represents “the most extensive enhancements to the theater since it opened in 2009,” according to a Wednesday news release.

Located at 1301 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd. in the city’s area at the intersection with Leigh Street, is owned by New York-based , a family-owned and company. Bow Tie Partners also owns a Richmond site at 301 E. Main St., a city block that is primarily a parking lot.

Over the next six months, the theater will undergo renovations and upgrades, including:

  • Two new BTX: Bow Tie Extreme large format auditoriums with 50-foot-wide screens, Dolby Atmos sound and electric recliner seating;
  • Luxury electric recliners with integrated tables in all auditoriums;
  • Increased screen sizes in several auditoriums;
  • A Playland Arcade at Movieland, with an arcade and duckpin bowling;
  • An expanded kitchen and bar facility.

The interior of the existing building is being reconfigured to accommodate the upgrades, according to Ben Moss, co-founder and managing partner of Bow Tie Partners. Movieland currently has 17 auditoriums and will have 15 when the project is completed, as two auditoriums are being converted into a new kitchen and bar and duckpin bowling lanes.

Six of the renovated electric recliner auditoriums will be open by Christmas, and some recliners are currently in the theater’s lobby for guests to try out.

Movieland at Boulevard Square is an adapted 53,000-square-foot former locomotive assembly plant. Boulevard Square also includes a 6,000-square-foot former brass foundry available for lease and a parking lot with more than 750 spaces.

New dockworker strike threat looms for Port of Virginia

Shippers in are bracing for a renewed dockworker in mid-January after contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance stalled in November.

More than 45,000 walked off their jobs for three days starting Oct. 1 at ports from Maine through Texas, including at the , leading to panic buying at some grocery stores. , the union that represents the workers, and USMX, which supports the and ports, reached a tentative agreement on a wage increase of 62% over six years, setting a Jan. 15, 2025, deadline to agree to a new master contract, but bargaining broke down in mid-November, amid ILA concerns that automation would eliminate jobs.

In a statement, USMX said it is seeking continued modernization, while ILA said in its own statement that it embraces “technologies that improve safety and efficiency, but only when a human being remains at the helm. Their endgame is clear: Establish semi-automation now, and pave the way for full automation later.”

The Port of Virginia, which declined to comment for this story, is considered one of the most automated ports in the nation. According to CNBC, it currently has 116 electric semiautomatic stacking cranes, with plans to increase that number to 152, and is in the midst of a $1.4 billion modernization and expansion effort. The Virginia Maritime Association, which advocates for the state’s shipping industry, also declined to comment.

Scott Swan, a William & Mary professor who has studied the port’s economic impact, says striking a balance between labor and automation will be crucial, particularly as ships get larger and shippers and ports seek efficiency.

As the Jan. 15 deadline looms, Rachel Shames, of pricing and procurement at CV International, a Norfolk-based logistics and trade compliance company, has been warning customers that dockworkers could again walk off the job. Added complications from the Chinese Lunar New Year, which is expected to shutter plants in China for a week or more starting Jan. 29, as well as President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, could lead to shipping rushes as well as shifts, Shames says.

“I expect in the lead-up to Jan. 15 that we will see more volume moving over the West Coast as shippers just say, ‘You know, I don’t want to take any chances.’”

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Developer plans $3B data center in Appomattox County

A Connecticut developer plans to build a $3 billion on a 452-acre site in County.

announced Tuesday it had signed an agreement with the Economic Authority to purchase the industrial site.

“This project in Appomattox County exemplifies our strategy of expanding Virginia’s thriving data center beyond traditional hubs, bringing high- jobs and significant investment to communities across the commonwealth,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement.

The site will receive 300 megawatts of power from the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, and Dominion Energy and will have “substantial onsite green power,” according to a news release.

The site is fully zoned for and is cleared and ready for “rapid construction,” according to a news release.

“We are delighted to be working with Appomattox County, Virginia, to make a major investment in the region’s and electrical infrastructure that will address the growing demand for digital services in a highly sustainable manner,” AVAIO Digital Managing Partner Mark McComiskey said in a statement.

AVAIO Digital Partners is a data center business managed by AVAIO Capital. The company focuses on developing and construction hyperscale data centers in the U.S. and Western Europe. It has secured more than 1.2 gigawatts of power from utilities “at sites across the country” and is planning to build out the full capacity, with almost 600 megawatts available by 2027.

Micron gets $275M in federal funding for Manassas expansion

Micron is set to receive up to $275 million in to expand its manufacturing plant in Manassas, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has signed a preliminary, nonbinding agreement for the funding as part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, legislation Warner co-wrote. The law provides $52 billion in subsidies for domestic companies researching and , and Tuesday’s award means Micron will move its manufacturing of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips for automobiles from Taiwan to Virginia.

“I am proud to announce that $275 million should soon be headed to Virginia for to manufacture more cutting-edge semiconductors here in Virginia,” Warner said in a statement. “Making more of these chips in America will strengthen our national security and create jobs, which is why I pushed to pass this funding through Congress, why I am working with Micron and the Biden administration to secure this investment in Virginia, and why I’m going to be making the case to the incoming administration that we need to keep investing in domestic manufacturing of critical and emerging technologies like semiconductors.”

Warner says that the expansion of Micron’s facility would create nearly 950 construction jobs and more than 400 manufacturing jobs. Micron currently employs 1,230 in Manassas.

The White House announced that the Department of Commerce signed a nonbinding preliminary memorandum of terms with Micron for the $275 million in proposed funding.

“As the only U.S.-based manufacturer of memory, Micron is uniquely positioned to bring leading-edge memory manufacturing to the U.S., strengthening the country’s technology and fostering advanced innovation,” Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a statement. “Micron’s investments in domestic manufacturing capabilities, supported by the bipartisan CHIPS Act, will help drive economic growth and ensure that the U.S. remains at the forefront of technological advancements.”

Although the timeline of the expansion has not been announced, the Idaho-based company expects to invest $2 billion in the project, and the state also will be pitching in about $46 million, approved by the Major Employment Investment Project Review Commission in May.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the state repackaged a $70 million incentive package awarded to Micron in 2018 to provide $46 million in unspent financial incentives for the expansion of the Manassas plant.

The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded Micron up to $6.165 billion in direct funding to expand DRAM production in Idaho and New York, creating approximately 20,000 jobs and helping the U.S. grow its share of advanced memory manufacturing from less than 2% now to about 10% by 2035, according to the Biden administration.

Micron reported fiscal 2023 revenue of $15.54 billion, compared with $30.76 billion for the previous year.

Breeden VP returns from retirement

Retired Co. Barry Tomlin has rejoined the and property management company as its of and , The Breeden Co. announced Dec. 5.

Tomlin initially joined Breeden in 2007, working as vice president of property management at the time of his 2022 retirement.

In his new role, Tomlin will focus on customer satisfaction and engagement and will oversee marketing initiatives, including efforts to strengthen the company’s local branding.

“Barry’s unparalleled experience and deep understanding of our company’s values and goals make him the perfect leader in elevating our global and community-specific customer service and marketing efforts,” Bonnie Moore, president of property management at The Breeden Co. said in a statement.

Ramon W. Breeden Jr. founded the real estate development company in 1961. The company includes , property management and general contracting divisions. Its  portfolio boasts over 20,000 apartments.

George Mason’s Fuse tech hub opens to public

On the third floor of ‘s new state-of-the-art Fuse hub, robots jumped, begged, rolled over and offered a mechanical paw to shake Friday while a small drone hovered above.

The endearing welcome by George Mason’s RobotiXX Lab robots offered a brief glimpse into the future for the group of academics and students who are developing the next generation of intelligent robots built to work on behalf of humans in challenging environments. When RobotiXX completes its move from its current home on the university’s Fairfax campus in May 2025, it will not only have a bigger, better space in which to build and demonstrate its robots, but it will also be settled among partners who can provide a lifeline as RobotiXX develops its technologies.

“We want to be connected with industry so that we can push these robots from our academic lab out there to the wild,” says Xuesu Xiao, RobotiXX Lab’s director and an assistant professor of computer science at George Mason.

Two years after its groundbreaking, Mason offered the first public look inside Fuse, the new, 345,000-square-foot high-tech building on its Mason Square campus in Arlington County’s Ballston-Rosslyn neighborhood, on Friday, announcing its commercial launch as industry partners begin to move into the space in coming months.

Classes at Fuse, which will include undergraduate and graduate-level students, are expected to begin in the fall 2025 semester. within Fuse is expected to begin by June 2025.

The building, a public-private partnership developed by McLean-based Infrastructure and , which owns the building, will offer a mix of space for commercial businesses working in technologies, as well as high-tech lab, classroom, collaborative and incubator spaces and dining. The spaces are divvied up nearly into thirds, split among GMU, private businesses and collaborative and conferencing spaces, says Edgemoor Managing Director Brian Naumick.

Fuse cost a little more than $250 million to construct, with $90 million each contributed by Mason and Virginia’s Tech Talent Investment Program, as well as $78 million from Edgemoor.

Liza Wilson Durant, George Mason University's associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement, speaks at the Dec. 6, 2024, grand opening of the university's Fuse tech hub. Photo by Courtney Mabeus-Brown
Liza Wilson Durant, George Mason University’s associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement, speaks at the Dec. 6, 2024, grand opening of the university’s Fuse tech hub. Photo by Courtney Mabeus-Brown

Construction of Fuse is still ongoing, and commercial spaces will be outfitted as those tenants move in, says Liza Wilson Durant, George Mason associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement.

In October, Mason announced that the building’s first tenant, Cybastion, a cybersecurity and digital IT company focused on emerging markets, would move into Fuse in spring 2025.  About 75% of the commercial space has been committed, but officials declined to give a list of tenants or say how many companies are part of the initial slate, citing future announcements.

“Imagine how exciting it’s going to be for our students to come into the building in the fall and be able to walk past corridors with industry names where they’re going to want to work, and to have opportunities for internships and capstone projects, and even just shadow someone for the day,” Wilson Durant said during her keynote remarks Friday.

Fuse is opening as the region looks to become a tech stronghold and as GMU’s reputation as a research university grows nationally. Fuse is being viewed as a catalyst to spark more of that growth as well as an driver for Arlington’s Ballston-Rosslyn sections, including as a source for building a greater tech worker pipeline.

Ryan Touhill, the county’s economic director and a 2006 graduate of GMU, said in opening remarks that Arlington’s newest economic development strategy focuses on tech. “We’re going all in on the tech economy,” Touhill said.

Wilson Durant says several of Fuse’s new tenants are companies that have worked with the university as partners previously, adding that bringing academia and industry together into a collaborative space to work on a joint proposal on a project for a federal government agency, like the U.S. Department of Defense, might help accelerate the work.

“An academic environment, it fuels exchange of information and knowledge,” she says. “It’s less about selling a product and more about innovating and advancing the knowledge body. That’s a very attractive ecosystem for industry to be part of. It’s different.”

Caesars delays Danville casino’s opening by 5 days

The $750 million resort in will host grand opening festivities on Dec. 17 instead of Dec. 12 as previously announced, Nevada’s announced Friday afternoon.

On hand will be retired Chicago Bulls basketball star and five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman, who will lead a parade of race cars supplied by Virginia International Raceway, Kaizen Autosport and Foreign Cars Italia. The parade will kick off at 10:15 a.m., beginning at the corner of Main and Craghead Street and ending at Caesars Virginia, according to Friday’s announcement.

“We know that there is tremendous excitement for our grand opening, and we appreciate everyone’s patience with this short delay,” Chris Albrecht, senior and general manager of Caesars Virginia, said in a statement. “The team has been working around the clock to officially open the doors of Caesars Virginia, and we cannot wait to begin welcoming guests on Dec. 17.” 

When asked whether the opening date had been pushed back due to construction not being completed or another reason, Fatima Osborne, public relations and social media specialist for Caesars Virginia, did not specify a cause, “just delay overall.”

The 63-year-old Rodman was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team seven times and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Before joining the legendary 1990s Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan, Rodman played forward for the Detroit Pistons from 1986 to 1993. Away from the basketball court, he attracted international attention for his visits to North Korea and his friendship with the country’s leader Kim Jong Un.

Caesars and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians executives will offer remarks with community leaders at 11 a.m. at the resort’s main entrance. Doors to the resort casino officially open at noon. Rodman will make a “ceremonial first bet” in Caesars Sportsbook.

At 8 p.m. visitors can enjoy a firework and drone show that will light the sky above the resort and Danville’s historic Three Sisters smokestacks beginning at 8 p.m.

Last month, Caesars announced guests could begin booking room reservations at the Danville resort and casino for stays beginning Dec. 13. A message to Caesars Virginia asking whether the resort will honor reservations for the days prior to the new opening date was not immediately returned Friday.

A $750 million, 587,000-square-foot casino and resort hotel in Danville’s Schoolfield neighborhood, the permanent casino will replace the temporary Caesars casino that opened nearby in May 2023. The new casino — which will be the state’s third permanent casino and the most expensive yet — will have more than 90,000 square feet of gaming space with 1,500 slot machines, 79 live-action table games, 48 electronic table games, a poker room and sportsbook. The resort will have a 320-room hotel and a full-service spa and pool. A 50,000-square-foot meeting and convention space will serve double duty as a 2,500-seat entertainment venue.

An array of restaurants and bars will be located at the casino resort including celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant, Ramsay’s Kitchen.

A temporary casino opened in Danville in May 2023. It has paid more than $66 million to the city and state in gaming taxes since then, according to Caesars Virginia, which is owned by Caesars Entertainment and venture partners EBCI Holdings and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

About 69% of Danville voters voted in support of allowing casino gaming in 2020.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol opened its facility Nov. 14, making it the state’s first casino/resort combo.