Greer hosts Wesleyan "family meeting"
Campus called together to celebrate positive college achievements
by Christy Kincade

President William T. Greer, Jr. held a “family meeting” for the students, faculty and staff of the college on Tuesday, April 14. The purpose was to announce the creation of a freshman Portfolio Project and highlight other exciting things happening at VWC.

“Today is a time for some happy news,” Greer said. “Over 200 corporate business leaders will be on campus tonight, and this meeting is to address the campus on what I will tell them.”

Greer continued by listing all of the benefits this campus has to offer a student. Virginia Wesleyan is placed in the top ranks of liberal arts colleges, has a faculty committed to teaching, and will be on the leading edge of technology by July.

“I have never felt better about this college than I do now,” said Greer. “No liberal arts college in this land is on this track of technology.”

The Portfolio Project was created in response to parents’ views on how a liberal arts education will affect a student’s education after graduation. A national marketing firm did a survey to target prospective students; results showed that parents want to know and see how a liberal arts education works in the outside world.

Wesleyan’s project will bring internship and community service opportunities into a student’s education early on. It is not an academic major, but an effort to link the classroom with the rest of the world.

The project’s committee will review freshman applications to choose the 25 students that will take part in a pilot program next fall.

“Students will take courses and have experiences that bring a liberal arts education together,” said Philosophy Professor Dr. Larry Hultgren. “It is designed to lace classroom learning with experiential learning.”

In addition to receiving a liberal arts education, the freshmen will go out, shadow a job and bring that experience back to share in the classroom.

The college also received a $150,000 Kresge grant to further the expansion of buildings and projects on campus. Wesleyan was one of two colleges in America to receive this prestigious endowment.

The college faces some challenges to secure its position in the academic world and draw in more students. Administration presses on for a Phi Beta Kappa chapter of the national scholastic honor society. They also recognize the need for a student center with a pool and multipurpose room.

Greer said a 100,000 square foot building to go around the gym will only take 18 months to build. However, no answer has been given when this will occur.

The Portfolio Project is one way in which the college will enhance its existing internship and community service programs.

“For the first time we can come to grips with what it means to be a liberal arts college,” said Dr. Stephen Mansfield, Dean of the College. “The Portfolio Project will be a direct benefit to everyone.”