UVa-Wise student Lewis and Chancellor Prior switch roles for a day

Joanna Lewis’ determination to make an annual canned food drive a success landed her squarely in Chancellor David J. Prior’s office on April 15.

Her generosity toward the food drive – she spent about $60 on non-perishable items – garnered her the job of “Chancellor for a Day,” an honor sponsored by the UVa-Wise chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary. The Hanover County native spent the day in Chancellor Prior’s chair as the College’s acting chancellor. Chancellor Prior attended Lewis’ classes and spent time with her friends around campus.

Chancellor Prior’s day started off well. He tried a round or two playing Wii Sports in a residence hall until his “boisterousness” resulted in a shushing by a resident assistant. (He found out later that the shushing was a set-up.) Hanging out in the cafeteria was also plenty of fun, he said.

As for Lewis’ classes, Chancellor Prior said a lecture on human-computer interaction was fascinating.

“It was really exciting,” he said. “The discussion was superb.”

Chancellor Prior managed to jot six pages of detailed notes during Lewis’ upper level probability and statistics class but said he soon found the lesson over his head. He tried his hand at student fundraising and sold a pizza kit to Robin Benke, director of library services – a feat that left his fellow students in awe.

Lewis faced a packed agenda as she began her duties as chancellor with a briefing by Keith Fowlkes, vice chancellor for information technology, Gary Juhan, vice chancellor for administration, Rusty Necessary, vice chancellor for enrollment management and Tami Ely, vice chancellor for development and college relations. She met with Steve McCoy, chief of campus police, before having a working lunch with UVa-Wise Board member Bill Sturgill, Napoleon Hill Foundation Director Don Green and Chancellor Emeritus Joseph C. Smiddy. A meeting with Amelia Harris, academic dean and Martha Necessary, director of budget, rounded out the rest of her workday.

“I think the College is doing well, especially with all the state budget cuts,” Lewis said. “I was very impressed with the forward-thinking on campus, the diverse ideas of the faculty and the administration and their problem-solving abilities. Overall, it was a very good day.”

The “Chancellor for a Day” event began with a food drive the week of April 1 through April 10. NRHH members collected donations of non-perishable food items in the C. Bascom Slemp Student Center atrium each day. For each food item donated, students received one entry in the drawing to become “Chancellor for a Day.” Food collected during the drive was donated to a local food bank.

                                                                                                     Posted April 21, 2009