Virginia Wesleyan University

History

The school was chartered in 1961 as Virginia Wesleyan College under the initiative of Methodist minister Joseph Shackford Johnston, later the college's first president. It became a university in 2017.

Academics

Colleges and schools

Virginia Wesleyan University consists of four schools devoted to specific areas of study: the Susan S. Goode School of Arts and Humanities, the Joan P. Brock School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Birdsong School of Social Science, and the D. Henry Watts School of Professional Studies.

Batten Honors College

The Batten Honors College, named for Virginia Wesleyan Trustee Emerita Jane Batten and her late husband Frank Batten, Sr., was founded in 2017 with a mission to "inspire, engage, and prepare academically talented students to become leaders, environmental stewards, and impactful citizens in the global community."

VWU Global Campus

Founded in 2017, VWU Global Campus enrolls 2,601 students in early enrollment, evening and weekend, online (undergraduate, graduate, and non-credit) and at LUJ/VWU Global (Japan). VWU Global Campus operates all for-credit programs outside of the traditional undergraduate program, the campus in Japan, and also supports non-credit, continuing-education offerings. In 2024, Lakeland University (WI) and VWU announced the joint establishment of the Jane P. Batten and David R. Black School for International Studies. Virginia Beach Economic Development, Tidewater Community College, and VWU share a workforce development center, The Hive, in Virginia Beach. Approximately 3,000 continuing education learners benefit from joint programs at The Hive.

Westminster/Wesleyan Lifelong Learning Institute

The Westminster/Wesleyan Lifelong Learning Institute, a component of VWU Global Campus, was launched in 2017. Several courses will be taught during each of two regular semesters, and roughly half will be on faith-related topics. The University offers a wide variety of courses throughout the year for the nearly 1,000 residents of the Westminster-Canterbury on the Chesapeake Bay campus and roughly half are on faith-based topics. Over 1,100 learners enroll in Institute courses in 2024.

Campus

Situated on 300 acre in Virginia Beach, the university is separated into five villages. Bray Village (Village I) and Allen Village (Village II) offer combined living-learning environments built on the Jeffersonian model, with multi-purpose buildings. Brock Village (Village III) and Honors Village (Village IV) are solely housing units. Coastal 61 was added as a fifth village in 2020.

The Robert "Bobby" T. Williams Trail, leading from the Blocker Youth Center to Lake Taylor, was dedicated in October 2019 in memory of the 1975 graduate who was killed in the Virginia Beach Municipal Center shooting in May 2019.

The Greer Environmental Sciences Center, dedicated in 2017, received the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s National Conservationist of the Year Award in 2018. The facility is a state-of-the-art center for teaching and research. The 18-acre Wilson Arboretum was established in 1995 in memory of William M. Wilson, dean of the university from 1971 to 1994. Since 1997, retiring faculty members have chosen a tree to be planted within the arboretum to honor their service to the institution

The 12 acre Beech Forest, a rare example of an old-growth stand of beech trees, was designated a Natural Heritage Resource by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1992. The campus features over 13 miles of biking and hiking paths and trails. In July 2023, Virginia Wesleyan and the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art announced their collaboration on the construction of a $25 million facility to be built on the University's Virginia Beach campus. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in August 2024, celebrating the facility’s donors: Jane Batten, Joan Brock, and Susan and David Goode.

Athletics

Main article: Virginia Wesleyan Marlins

thumb|Virginia Wesleyan athletics wordmark Virginia Wesleyan University sports teams are known as the Marlins. The university participates in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. VWU added supplemental conference membership with the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC).

Notable alumni

• Kelly Convirs-Fowler, representative, U.S. State of Virginia's 21st House of Delegates District
• Kevin Nickelberry, assistant basketball coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida State, former head coach at Hampton University and Howard University
• Randy Peele, assistant men's basketball coach at Texas Southern University
• Sam Presti, executive vice president and general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder
• Richard H. Stuart, State Senate of Virginia
• Bob Valvano, American sportscaster
• Keller Williams, American musician

References

References

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3. ""This is not how we love each other": Local United Methodists react to church's controversial ruling". Virginian-Pilot.
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5. (April 30, 2020). "Virginia Wesleyan University to expand presence to Japan with new partnership". Virginian-Pilot.
6. (2025-08-20). "Virginia Wesleyan University changing name to Batten University".
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15. [https://www.vwu.edu/about/news-and-events/e-news/2017/october-13-2017.php The Wesleyan Review, October 2017],
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20. "Campus Map".
21. "Virginia Wesleyan, Franklin Johnston Group Break Ground on Coastal 61 at Oxford Village".
22. Albiges, Marie. (June 2, 2019). "Bobby Williams' service to Virginia Beach was honored multiple times over 41 years".
23. "The Wesleyan Review - October 25, 2019".
24. Mayfield, Dave. (December 6, 2017). "Virginia Wesleyan wins top conservation award from Chesapeake Bay Foundation".
25. Pennecke, Sandra. (August 15, 2017). "New building at Virginia Wesleyan more instructional than most".
26. Michalski, Annalisa. (May 28, 2018). "Three very different facilities, each an arboretum".
27. "Historic Campus Architecture Project (Council of Independent Colleges)".
28. (2023-07-26). "Virginia MOCA to move into new, state-of-the-art facility at Virginia Wesleyan University".
29. (2024-08-20). "Long a "hidden gem," Virginia MOCA breaks ground on new museum at Virginia Wesleyan".
30. "Division III".
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37. (December 10, 2024). "KELLER WILLIAMS".