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Ferrum College president to step down

Ferrum David L. Johns will resign effective Nov. 7, the school announced Tuesday.

The private college’s board of trustees will select an interim president as it begins a national search for its next president. Johns has been ‘s president since January 2018.

“I am proud of all we have accomplished these past five years and the way we have worked together to make Ferrum a great place to live, work, study and play. I appreciate the support I have received from the board throughout this process,” Johns said in a statement.

Kevin P. Riley, vice president of academic affairs, has been promoted to chief operating officer of the college and will lead the college through the transition as it selects an interim president and then a permanent president.

“We are confident in Dr. Reilly’s ability, and that of the entire president’s cabinet, to lead the college over the coming months,” Ferrum College Board of Trustees Chair Scott Showalter said in a statement.

He also thanked Johns for his service.

“We are grateful for [Johns’] service to the college and his many contributions during his tenure as president, including managing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and for his efforts in establishing the strategic direction of the college,” Showalter said. “On behalf of the board of trustees, we wish Dr. Johns all the best in his next endeavor.”

GMU launches College of Public Health

George Mason has rebranded its College of Health and Human Services as the in a move to address a critical need for skilled health professionals and research across the state.

announced the renaming Tuesday, following approval in late October by the State Council of for Virginia and it now becomes the first and only college in the state. The rebranding more accurately reflects the school’s academic and research missions and reflects the role it plays in the community; it is also expected to bring more opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and expanded funding opportunities, College of Public Health Dean said through a university spokesperson.

Perry, an epidemiologist, started at GMU in August as dean of the former College of Health and Human Services. The college has outlined key initiatives including community engagement, workforce , research, as well as education. It includes more than 1,900 undergraduates and 1,300 graduate students, six undergraduate degrees, eight master’s degrees, five doctoral degrees and six professional certificate programs and is comprised of the School of Nursing, as well as the departments of Global and Community Health, Health Administration and Policy, Nutrition and Food Studies, and Social Work.

“Mason’s College of Public Health graduates will bring new and diverse talent to Virginia’s health workforce, addressing critical shortages and building a strong talent pipeline for the long-term health of the region,” George Mason President Gregory Washington said in a statement. “Individuals, families and communities will benefit from discoveries, clinical care and public health practice initiatives generated by this multidisciplinary and multisector college.”

The newly renamed college will focus on an inclusive approach to public health education, research and practice. More than 60% of its student body is from historically underrepresented groups and 38% of its undergraduates are first-generation college students. Given its location in , the college will also draw on its proximity to federal health-related agencies, health systems, policymaking institutions, nonprofit community service organizations and global health consulting management firms, according to a news release.

“As the first and only college of public health in Virginia, this launch reflects our academic and research mission and the pivotal leadership role we play in population health and well-being,” Perry said in a statement.  “Our distinctive set of degree offerings, our inclusive approach to research and education, and commitment to experiential learning opportunities prepares students to thrive in multicultural environments.”

In , Old Dominion University, Eastern Virginia Medical School and State University are currently working in partnership to develop the ONE School of Public Health, the universities announced in January 2021. In August 2021, the presidents of the three institutions signed a memorandum of understanding. Under the MOU, ODU will serve as the lead institution and house the school. An institutional operations committee and a curriculum committee will have representatives from each institution.

Noblis names VP, chief solution architect

Reston-based Inc. has named Jim Soltys vice president of business and chief solution architect, succeeding Lisa Gardner, who was named vice president of the company’s federal civilian solutions mission area in late October.

“We are fortunate to have someone like Jim ready to step into this role,” Gardner said in a statement. “As a senior fellow in the federal civilian solutions mission area, he knows the challenges and opportunities our customers face and comes in ready to lead.”

Soltys previously served in roles in telecommunications, operational support systems, full life cycle and digital transformations, as well as cloud and mobile strategies for federal agencies. He has a Ph.D. in systems engineering from the of Virginia and a master’s degree in science in mathematics from Clemson University.

Noblis is a not-for-profit corporation that delivers technical and advisory strategies and solutions to federal government clients. Soltys is the latest in a string of leadership changes at Noblis recently. Last week, the company also announced the creation of a role for a chief growth officer; Matt Salter was named to that position. In February, Noblis announced former CEO and President Amr ElSawy would leave in October, after 15 years leading the company. He was replaced by Mile Corrigan, a senior vice president from its federal civilian solutions division.

Leidos completes acquisition of Aussie special missions biz

Reston-based has completed its of -based ‘ special mission subsidiary from British aerospace manufacturer Cobham Ltd., the announced Monday.

The $215 million deal was first announced in August. The acquisition adds airborne surveillance and search and rescue missions to Leidos’ Australia portfolio and marks its entry into the country’s aviation market. The business will be integrated into and operate as part of Leidos Australia, the company said in a news release.

“We are excited and eager to formally welcome Cobham’s Special Mission team to the Leidos family,” Leidos Chairman and CEO said in a statement. “Bringing in the special mission business will build on our global airborne ISR capabilities while providing new opportunities for growth. Together with Leidos Australia leadership, I look forward to working with this talented team.”

The business owns and operates 14 modified aircraft that deliver critical services to the Australian government, including contracting with its Border Force, a part of the Department of Home Affairs, to patrol the country’s 8.2 million square kilometer exclusive economic zone. It also provides fixed-wing search and rescue operations for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and operates a specialized mission training system for more than 30 mission aircrew annually.

“It’s a milestone day for all of us at Cobham Special Mission and the beginning of a new and exciting chapter as we become Leidos,” said Leidos Australia Vice President of Airborne Solutions James Woodhams, who previously served as managing. director for Cobham Special Mission. “Leidos is a recognized employer of choice and I’m really excited about what being part of Leidos means for our .”

Leidos Australia works with the Australian government to provide services across information technology projects and services, intelligence and defense missions systems. Leidos Australia has 2,000 employees and is headquartered in Melbourne.

 

Mighty Dream Day 1 focuses on diversity, equity

Grammy winning music superstar Williams put on his business hat Tuesday in Norfolk, welcoming attendees to his forum, which he likened to an event like the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “but for marginalized communities.”

The three-day forum kicked off with spoken-word poetry and a mighty boom of drums and crash of cymbals played by the Norfolk State Spartan Legion marching band. Ryan Shadrick Wilson, founder and CEO of Boardwalk Collective and a member of Williams’ Yellow education foundation, promised a new kind of business conference — “important but pretty fun” — and Williams himself, clad in a Spartan-green double-breasted suit jacket and jeans, threw out a challenge to fellow businesspeople in the Hampton Roads region.

“I know it’s sort of kumbaya-ish, but this shouldn’t be the only forum dedicated to [, equity and inclusion],” said Williams, a native whose primary residence is in Miami. “Norfolk is the host, but this is about the whole 757.”

Chief Diversity Officer Melonie Parker and Ryan Shadrick Wilson, founder and CEO of Boardwalk Collective and a member of ‘ Yellow education foundation, take the stage at Mighty Dream. Photo by Mark Rhodes

Among the first day’s speakers were Google Inc. Chief Diversity Officer Melonie Parker, Columbia University neurology professor Dr. Olajide Williams and Todd Triplett, creative lead for the east region of North America.

Parker, who was greeted with cheers when she said she was a Hampton University alumna, said she considers herself “the chief steward of inclusive culture” at Google, which increased its emphasis on diversity and equity following George Floyd’s murder by a police officer in May 2020. The tech giant has doubled its number of employees, increased the number of Black executives and provided more mentoring and funding to Black entrepreneurs over the past two-and-a-half years, she said.

In a conversation about health equity, Dr. Olajide Williams, who co-founded Hip Hop Public Health, a nonprofit initiative to teach about their health, said that Black representation in the medical, financial and educational fields is crucial to overcoming barriers built by structural racism. “The elephant in the room is racism,” Williams said. “First we have to acknowledge it, and then we have to dismantle it, and that’s a whole different conversation.”

Triplett added that self-education, imagination and hope were also key to achieving change.

Williams said during a news conference Tuesday morning that the name “Mighty Dream” comes from a Langston Hughes poem and that the forum — a sequel to his October 2021 Elephant in the Room event at NSU — was renamed to avoid political associations with elephants, the traditional symbol of the Republican Party.

Pharrell Williams and Ryan Shadrick Wilson, founder and CEO of Boardwalk Collective and a member of Pharrell Williams’ Yellow education foundation, take the stage at Mighty Dream. Photo by Mark Rhodes

He said he wanted to get away from politics, but acknowledged that diversity, equity and inclusion — and providing his home community with more business opportunities — was still impacted by politics.

“Hopefully, we set an example,” Williams said. “The gatekeeping has to stop. It just doesn’t help anybody. We’re all human beings.”

In response to a question about the shutdown of Norfolk nightclubs frequented by young Black people following a spate of gun violence, Williams said, “I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s fair. If [city officials] really cared … [they would say], ‘We’re going to talk to these people and help them and educate them.’ This will work, and this is what the area needs.”

Williams said he plans for Mighty Dream to return next year, but didn’t answer a question about the future of his popular Something in the Water music festival, which debuted in Virginia Beach in 2019 and moved to Washington, D.C., after Williams criticized Virginia Beach as “toxic” following the 2021 police killing of his cousin.

Pharrell urges Norfolk to speed up Military Circle development

During a news before his three-day forum kicked off Tuesday, music superstar Williams said he is waiting for to officially approve his team’s Wellness Circle project at Military Circle Mall, noting, “I’ve been told many times that we won it. … You have to ask the city. The ball’s in their court.”

Reached Tuesday through a city spokesperson, Norfolk city manager Larry “Chip” Filer confirmed that they are currently working with the Wellness Circle team.

“I can confirm that the city is in discussions with Wellness Circle regarding the exciting redevelopment of the Military Circle mall site,” he said. “The parties are currently negotiating deal terms so we may bring a world-class arena, affordable housing and more to the site. We are making good progress and I want to thank the individuals on the Wellness team for their steadfast commitment to the project. I look forward to finishing these initial discussions and moving on to the completion of the traffic analysis, economic impact and other studies needed to bring the project to life.”

Pharrell added that the project, which would include an arena and flagship Yellowhab school, as well as residential and retail components, does not have a set timeline, although he said he’s excited to move forward.

“There’s a couple of gatekeepers that are not necessarily happy about that, so they make trouble and kick up dust and do the things that they do,” Williams said. Though he did not name any specific , Williams and developer , CEO of Gold Key | PHR, had a public spat in October 2021 after Thompson denied Williams the use of the Cavalier’s iconic front lawn for an 800-person party where controversial comedian Dave Chappelle would have performed. Thompson is part of a competing group that also submitted a proposal for the redevelopment of Military Circle Mall.

Reached Tuesday, Thompson said that he heard that Williams’ team was in negotiations with the city, adding, that Williams’ “proposal is very ambitious, and if they could pull it off, it would be great for Norfolk. We stand ready, willing and able to step in with an expansive, unique and economically viable development for sustainability and if he is unable to find a pathway to bring his vision to reality.”

During his Tuesday news conference, Williams also joked about the “generic” developments that have characterized the region and called on city officials to move forward with the Military Circle redevelopment. “Over and over again … knockoff restaurants and generic brands. We deserve more. We are on the middle of the Eastern Seaboard. We can’t keep leaving it to five [or] six people with not the best taste. Sorry, I mean, am I wrong? No. I’m saying it with love. Open it up, guys. Open it up. This [development] should have been moving a long time ago.”

Norfolk’s EDA purchased the 75-acre property for $11 million and the nearby DoubleTree Hotel property for $2.4 million.

The Wellness Circle proposal includes 1 million square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel, 1,100 new housing units and a 15,000-seat arena. The project’s other developers include Virginia Beach-based Venture Realty Group and California arena management company Oak View Group, both of which are also co-developing the Atlantic Park surf park with Williams at Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront.

Two other development teams, including groups connected with Thompson and Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith of Dallas Cowboys fame, submitted competing proposals for the project. The city returned $100,000 deposits made by each of the three developers in June, citing the amount of time it has taken the city to choose a developer, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

Stay tuned for Virginia Business’ coverage of Mighty Dream, taking place through Nov. 3 in Norfolk.

Roanoke County day care begins $2.5M expansion

Children’s Nest Learning Center – broke ground Friday on its $2.5 million campus , estimated to create 15 jobs.

Children’s Nest’s current facility at 504 Dexter Road in the Hollins area has 105 slots. The company will develop an adjacent parcel to build a 7,000-square-foot facility, adding more than 150 child care slots for and afterschool programs, as well as a splash pad.

“We want to be a gamechanger in our community and help more families find child care that offers quality and educational care,” Rhonda Spangler, owner of Children’s Nest Learning Center, said in a statement.

The expansion’s expected completion is late 2023.

Children’s Nest Learning Center – Hollins operates under the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education. The center provides infant, toddler, pre-K and after school care.

The expansion is within the area included in the Roanoke County Hollins Center Plan, a multiyear revitalization initiative that the county’s Board of Supervisors adapted in 2020. The plan explores higher density, mixed-use in the Hollins area, which has the highest concentration of employment in the county.

“Children’s Nest is providing a much-needed service to our community and will be able to extend the availability of high-quality child care with this expansion in Hollins,” Marshall Stanley, an specialist with the county, said in a statement.

New hangars, terminal in Winchester airport’s sights

This month, the will open the first group of hangars for midsize private aircraft, a public-private project that could end with 32 new units, bringing the ‘s total number of hangars to 100.

The multiphase, potentially $20 million project is a partnership between the Regional Airport Authority and Purcellville-based TMG Corp., a design-build firm. The first phase of the project involves the sale and construction of 11 hangars, six of which will open in November. Developers broke ground in December 2021.

“It’s all very exciting,” says Nick Sabo, executive director of the airport authority and the airport’s manager. “It’s cutting edge because there are not many models of this type to look at as far as a public airport like ours. The airport authority had to adopt a policy on how to handle the partnership, so we wrote the script.”

The authority feels comfortable working with private industry, Sabo adds. “This was the only way we saw to bring new hangars to the region that was cost-effective and would offer a quick timeline.”

The investment of up to $20 million will be spread over a six-year period. “We have land available, but what we lack is deep reserves to invest,” Sabo notes. “This means new tax revenues for the airport and and new revenues for TMG.”

space in the region is at a premium, Sabo says.

The additional hangars also will help increase the airport’s and the Frederick County Authority’s outreach “to companies with large government portfolios and direct government [and] private users with activity connected to Winchester Regional Airport,” says Patrick Barker, the EDA’s executive director. “This clearly shows that Frederick County has the assets to be attractive to aviation businesses.”

State funding — a $4.1 million grant from the Virginia Department of Aviation — is helping the airport replace its 33-year-old, 9,245-square-foot terminal with a 16,000-square-foot building that will include a community room and leasable office space. The airport is also approved for a $3 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the building project.

Sabo hopes to start construction of the terminal in March 2023, with completion in summer 2024, noting that all of the changes “add up to a historic time of development at this airport.” 

The Highlander nearly complete in Radford

, a $40 million boutique and center, is expected to open next to soon.

University officials and their partners in the project broke ground in April 2021 and expect it to be completed in January 2023.

The conference hotel will have 124 rooms, including four suites, and a 4,000-square-foot conference space that will allow the university to host large-scale events it couldn’t accommodate previously. There will also be a 2,750-square-foot indoor rooftop bar and restaurant and a 1,650-square-foot rooftop terrace.

“We just think it’s going to draw a lot more to the community,” says John F. Cox Jr., Foundation’s CEO. “We are excited about the opportunities to use the hotel for , events on campus and events throughout the New River Valley. That would include events such as homecoming, commencement and, of course, sporting events. We are optimistic that large companies in the area will use the hotel, and some have started to … [inquire] about booking rooms and/or events.”

The foundation’s board, Radford University Real Estate Management LLC, which manages the foundation’s real estate assets, and the university’s leadership began discussing the vision for a hotel in 2019.

“They’re real happy with the progression of the university as an institution — they just added a college of nursing — and their athletics program is great,” says Tony Peterman, executive vice president of hotel advisory at real estate firm JLL, one of the partners in the project. “But they’ve always seen the hotel as a challenge because they have a lot of parents, visiting professors and alumni coming, and the hotel experience in Radford didn’t match what they were trying to do with the university.”

JLL, which specializes in structuring public-private partnerships, helped guide the project and lined up stakeholders including -based S.B. Ballard Construction Co. as general contractor and BLUR Workshop as architect. The Highlander will be owned and operated by a special-purpose entity created for the project for the benefit of Radford University and its foundation. Preston Hollow Community Capital helped secure financing, and Provident Resources Group acted as the borrower and owner. Aimbridge Hospitality LLC will manage the property.

“Not only is it going to be the nicest hotel in Radford, but the nicest hotel in the region,” Peterman says. 

Lawyers aim to lower barriers to legal advice for startups

It takes a lot to start a business — a marketable idea, available capital and good advice, among other resources. Tricia Dunlap puts guidance in the same bucket.

A former history teacher who became a lawyer in her 40s, Dunlap started her own -based firm, Dunlap Law PLC, in 2015 to help “un-lawyered or under-lawyered” entrepreneurs get legal counsel affordably. Hourly billing costs that often range in the hundreds of dollars are a significant barrier for many small business owners, Dunlap notes. That’s why she’s aiming to make legal assistance from her firm more accessible for entrepreneurs through a new program based on setting flat, project-based fees or low monthly retainers. “I’m hoping to launch that in the first quarter of 2023,” she says.

Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, retired executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, joined Dunlap as a partner in September. She’s excited to help entrepreneurs. “A lot of times what happens is they’re so focused on what they’re doing or selling that they forget some of the corporate niceties they have to take care of and sustain,” Gastañaga explains. “They may or may not have a well-written foundational document, whether it’s articles of corporation or the paperwork they need to start up a limited liability company. We really want to help start out right.”

At the of Virginia School of Law’s Entrepreneurial Law Clinic, law students advise business owners pro bono  and also make referrals. Pamela Rosen, general counsel at Fermata Energy, is one of the clinic’s co-teachers.

Rosen says that it’s wise for entrepreneurs to ask their networks for lawyer recommendations — and to remember that some attorneys are, themselves, small business owners. “With that lens and mindset, the idea is that a lot of folks are open to networking and getting to know each other,” as well as working out a payment plan that works for both parties, she notes.

Hunter Guerin, who started Llamawood, a Richmond-based firewood delivery service with four employees, in 2021, says there’s a lot of free templates online for legal documents used in business — everything from nondisclosure agreements to vendor contracts. But, he adds, “I would still like an attorney to review those. When I started my business, I knew I wanted to be forward-thinking in terms of liability, dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s.”