VWU - Key Persons

Bryson Mortensen is Director of Choral Activities where he conducts Virginia Wesleyan Vox Vera and Camerata. Previously Bryson was Artistic Director of the Festival Choir of Madison where he premiered more than fifteen works by living composers in four years, and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Wisconsin 芒聙聯 Rock County where he brought the UW-Rock County Jazz Singers to perform at the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association convention. Bryson has worked with living composers such as Andrew Maxfield, Joshua Harris, Timothy Takach, Abbie Betinis, Nathan Howe, Eric William Barnum, and Paul Carey. In addition, Bryson has been a guest conductor for All-District Choruses and Festivals across the country. As director of the Vox Vera and Camerata, Bryson has led tours to Virginia, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. He has conducted the choirs in Carnegie Hall in New York City, and conducted the premieres of Andrew Maxfield's "Armistice Sonnets," Timothy Takach's "The Longest Nights," and Joshua Harris' "There will be stars over this place forever," which was performed at the grand opening of the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center. Bryson's research focuses on increasing literacy and improving vocal technique in the high school and young collegiate choir and arts leadership.

Christopher Garran

Job Titles:

Member As of 2020 / Head of School

Cynthia W. Spanoulis

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Member As of 2019 / Executive Director

Dean Mattix

Job Titles:

Member As of 2020

Douglas B. Wilson - EVP

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Executive Vice President

Dr. Keith Moore - SVP

Job Titles:

Senior Vice President

Dr. Keith Moore is the Senior Vice President at 黑料吃瓜网, a role he assumed October 2022. In this capacity, he oversees the areas of Residence Life, Student Activities, Health Services, Student Center, Campus Ministries, Counseling Services, Campus Security, Wesleyan Engaged, Health Services, IT, Dining Services, and Facilities Management. Dr. Moore previously served as Virginia Wesleyan's Vice President for Campus Life and Operational Management. A Boston native, Dr. Moore has also held positions in new student orientation and housing and residence life at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has served as president of the Virginia Association of Student Personnel Administrators and taught courses through Old Dominion University's Darden College of Education. Moore holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. He earned an M.Ed. in Educational Policy, Research, and Administration from University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a B.A. in Politics and History from Curry College. Dr. Moore is married to the former Meredith Ann Martin, the lead school psychologist with Chesapeake Public Schools. They reside in Virginia Beach with their daughter, Jacqueline Rose.

Elizabeth F. Middleton

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Retired Corporate Secretary

Ellen Carver

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Member As of 2021 / Executive Director

Emily S. Miles

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Community Leader / Norfolk, Virginia

Eric C. Nyman - CEO

Job Titles:

Chief Executive Officer

Graham E. Garrenton聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽

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President / Chesapeake Bay Contractors, Inc

Howard P. Kern

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President & Chief Executive Officer Emeritus

J. Benjamin Unkle

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Thorn Run Partner
Member As of 2019 / President and CEO

J. Timothy Bailey - Treasurer

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Treasurer

James H. Shumadine

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Co - President

Jerry Miller

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Chief Executive Officer / the Miller Group / Virginia Beach, Virginia

John A. Trinder

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President and Chief Operating Officer / MaxMedia, Inc. Virginia Beach, Virginia

John Almeter

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Member As of 2022 / President

John E. Lingo

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Manager and Retired Vice President

John S. Burton

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Member As of 2016 / Owner

Jonathan E. Pruden - Chairman

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Chairman
Chief Executive Officer / Taste Unlimited, LLC / Virginia Beach, Virginia

Joseph P. Ruddy - COO

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Chief Operations Officer

Joseph R. Thomas

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Retired Regional Vice President

Joyce B. Easter

je..@vwu.edu

Job Titles:

Professor of Chemistry

Joyce Easter received her B.S. with honors in Biology from Cornell University in 1990 and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Duke University in 1995. Before joining the faculty at Virginia Wesleyan College in 2000, she was an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Eastern Illinois University for five years. Easter's research focuses on natural product biochemistry. One line of research she is currently working on involves the detection and isolation of bioactive compounds from marine invertebrates from the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Marine invertebrates are a rich source of substances with antimicrobial, antiviral, cytotoxic, and anti-inflammatory properties, and therefore potential lead compounds for new pharmaceuticals. She is also interested in the integration of green chemistry into the pharmaceutical industry both in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and the identification of potential renewable pharmaceutical feedstocks. Easter has been involved in pedagogical research and curriculum reform for more nearly 20 years as a member of Project Kaleidoscope, the American Chemical Society, and the POGIL Project. She has developed innovative teaching materials and developed inquiry-based experiments for her biochemistry and organic courses. She was the 2002 recipient of both VWC's Samuel Nelson Gray Distinguished Teaching Award and the United Methodist Church Exemplary Teacher Award. In addition to teaching chemistry, Dr. Easter also serves as the Dean of the Batten Honors College. J.B. Easter (2002) "What are they looking for? A Guide to the Graduate School Admission Process" In Chemistry 12 (2) 23-24. (www.acs.org/education/inchemistry.html)

Judy Jankowski

Job Titles:

Member As of 2019 / Head of School

Julie R. Anderson

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Member As of 2016 / Executive Vice President, Business Banking / TowneBank

Kenneth G. Trinder II

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President and Chief Executive Officer / EOS Surfaces, LLC / Norfolk, Virginia

Kevin W. Kittredge

kk..@vwu.edu

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Program Chair
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry / Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Lee T. Stevenson - President

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President

Lemuel E. Lewis

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Retired Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer / Landmark Communications / Suffolk, Virginia

Louis F. Ryan

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Retired, Executive Vice President and General Counsel / Landmark Communications / Norfolk, Virginia

Mark E. Jones

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Member As of 2016 / President

Matthew R. Nusbaum

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Asset Manager, Partner / S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. Norfolk, Virginia

Mavis E. McKenley - VP

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Secretary
Trust Officer
Vice President

Maynard H. Schaus

ms..@vwu.edu

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Professor of Biology and Environmental Science and Director of Accreditation and Coordinator of Sustainability Management

Dr. Maynard Schaus received his B.S. in Biology from California Lutheran University and his Ph.D. in Zoology from Miami University (Ohio). He has been a member of the Virginia Wesleyan faculty since 1998, and has previously served in several leadership roles, including Vice President for Academic Affairs, Associate Provost and Dean of University College, Chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Director of Undergraduate Research. Dr. Schaus's research on aquatic ecology and the role of fish in lake nutrient cycles in Florida and Ohio has been published in several peer-reviewed journals. He has mentored students on many undergraduate research projects, including studies on fish and nutrient cycles in Lake Apopka (Florida), green roof runoff, salt marsh bird community composition, and nutrient uptake by stormwater management ponds. He has also collaborated on investigations of the ecology of neotropical harvestmen in Belize and Costa Rica, and has led several travel courses to these areas. Dr. Schaus was awarded the Batten Scholar Award in 2008 in recognition of his scholarly efforts. Schaus, M.H., W. Godwin, L. Battoe, M. Coveney, E. Lowe, R. Roth, W.W. Morris and C. Hawkins.聽 2013.聽 Effect of a size-selective biomanipulation on nutrient release by gizzard shad in Florida (USA) lakes.聽 Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems 411: 13.

Meredith Ann Martin

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Lead School Psychologist With Chesapeake Public Schools

Michael J. White

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Retired Chief Executive Officer and Head

Michael R. Rawls - CEO, EVP

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Chief Executive Officer
Executive Vice President

Michael Weatherly

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Thorn Run Partner
Member As of 2023 / Founder / Owner & Senior Vice President

Michelle Ellis Young

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Thorn Run Partner
Member As of 2020 / Chief Executive Officer

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney - SVP

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Financial Advisor
Senior Vice President

Nancy T. DeFord

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Vice Chair
Vice President / DeFord, Ltd. Virginia Beach, Virginia

Papa Johns

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VP Head of Brand

Pierre Granger

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Member As of 2018 / Agent

Priscilla Monti

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Member As of 2020 / Senior Vice President of Programs and Communications

Robert W. McFarland

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Partner

Robin D. Ray - President

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President

Ronald M. Kramer

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Community Leader / Virginia Beach, Virginia

Scott D. Miller - President

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President
Ex Officio
President of the University ( Ex Officio )

Scott Tominovich

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Member As of 2021 / Partner

Sharon K. Swift

ss..@vwu.edu

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Professor of Art

Sharon Swift, Professor of Art, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Oklahoma and summa cum laude from the MFA program in Visual Studies at Old Dominion and Norfolk State Universities. She has participated in over 140 juried and invitational art exhibitions. Swift's artworks incorporate photographs of her travels and mixed media elements which she manipulates in various ways including collage and computer techniques. These works can be found in many private collections plus the permanent holdings of the Chrysler Museum of Art, and the Franklin Furnace in NYC. Swift's professional recognition includes a Fulbright Travel Grant to the People's Republic of China, selection for prestigious workshops at the Maine Photographic Workshops, the Santa Fe Workshops, an Artist's Residency at the Virginia Center for the Arts, and numerous design and photography awards. She has taught in Japan, a Bureau of Indian Affairs School, and four US universities including 黑料吃瓜网 where her courses include computer art, graphic design, mixed media, photography and travel photography.

Sharon S. Goodwyn

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Counsel / Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP / Chesapeake, Virginia

Soraya M. Bartol - Chairman

sb..@vwu.edu

Job Titles:

Chairman
Professor of Marine Biology / Supervisor of the Greer Center Aquatics Lab

Stephanie Gorham

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Member As of 2018 / Executive Director

Sue Haupert-Johnson

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Ex Officio

Susan E. Larkin

sl..@vwu.edu

Job Titles:

Named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Susan Larkin received her B.A. in English Literature from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D in English Studies and a graduate certificate in Women's Studies from Illinois State University. Dr. Larkin's research is interdisciplinary and interweaves children's and adolescent literature, women's and gender studies, and cultural studies. She has published on Judy Blume, Harry Potter, Mr. Rogers, Walt Disney, Laura Ingalls Wilder, women's memoir, and empowerment, identity, and gender in adolescent literature. Dr. Larkin teaches a variety of English, Women's and Gender Studies, and Wesleyan Seminars at VWU.

Sylvia Schelly

ss..@vwu.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Vice President for Finance
Interim Vice President for Finance

Sylvia Schelly is the Interim Vice President for Finance at Virginia Wesleyan University. She came to the University in 2017 as Interim Controller and quickly advanced to Assistant Vice President for Finance. Schelly is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. Following college, she moved to northern California and worked for Paracelsus Health Care Corporation as a Controller for a group of convalescent hospitals. She then relocated to Berlin, where she worked for an Italian wealth, finance and investment bank for five years. Before her arrival at VWU, Schelly worked for 11 years as an Associate Controller of Budgeting at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Schelly was born in Berlin, but grew up in southeastern Ohio. She currently lives in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, with her husband Matt. They enjoy kayaking, traveling, fixing up their historic home, and sitting on their porch visiting with friends. Their daughter, Eva, lives in Melbourne, Australia.