Inaugural Address of David J. Prior

“Honoring our Traditions as We Chart the Future”

Thank you.

Secretary Morris, Rector Farrell, President Casteen, Chairman Gott, members of the Board of Visitors, members of the College Board, students, faculty, staff, and all of you who are friends of The University of Virginia's College at Wise, thank you for being here to celebrate a very special day in the history of this College.

I am also very delighted to welcome four former chancellors of the College: Joseph Smiddy, Jim Knight, Jay Lemons, and Ernie Ern. Thank you for your continued support.

I want to thank all of the delegates who are here representing universities, colleges and learned societies – in particular our youngest delegate, Grace Willows, age 7, who is accompanied by her father, Professor Dennis Willows, representing the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories. Thank you for joining us, Grace.

For all of you to be assembled here today, on this lovely campus, it took the remarkable foresight and determination of many.  Foremost, of course, is Thomas Jefferson, whose dreams of furthering public education resulted in the founding of the University of Virginia.

In a letter to George Wythe in 1786, Jefferson stated, “The most important bill in our whole (Virginia) Code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people.  No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness.”

 We share Mr. Jefferson’s commitment to public education – and his understanding that a well-educated, thoughtful, and honorable citizenry is essential to the well-being of our families, communities, and in fact, our liberties.  It is a joy for us to say “we hold these dreams!”

In the early 1950s, several citizens, as ws noted earlier, from this town – Kenneth Asbury, William Thompson, Fred Greear, Lois Tracy, and Mary Draper Thompson – presented their dream for a local college to the University of Virginia.  Upon President Darden’s decision to establish the college in Wise, then came the founding faculty, including Buck Henson, Stan Botts, O.K. Campbell, and of course, the founding chancellor, Joseph “Papa Joe” Smiddy. These builders, these founders, created the start of the story. Today is one of the chapters in that story.  All of you are participating in the ongoing story and I am thrilled that you are part of that chapter on this day.

We are blessed to have had the commitment of President Darden in 1954 – and now the remarkable support of President Casteen, whom I view to be a direct philosophical descendant of Mr. Darden.  President Casteen understands that the College’s role involves more than buildings and classes.  He understands it is a matter of public policy and is based on public trust.  As he noted in his 1992 inauguration in Charlottesville, “our most profound obligation must be to the people …  the public whose future we exist to enlighten and enrich.”

We understand the “private good” of education (that is, the value to the graduate).  However, beyond this proximate view is the collective “public good” created by our graduates as they serve their communities, as they act honorably in support of social justice and civility, as they become reflective leaders and citizens of the world.  Our commitment to the public good is a systemic principle that unites the dream of Mr. Jefferson and the creation of the University of Virginia, and guides our academic endeavors in Wise. It will be a theme we will cherish for decades to come.

Throughout this region there is a fierce pride in our College.  I often hear faculty describe their pride in creating a learning environment in which students become critical thinkers, effective communicators, and dedicated, honorable citizens.  I hear community members describe how the presence of this College here in the far Southwest gave them access to higher education and to careers that would not  have been within their reach.  It gave them hope to strive.

The College is surely creating a regional culture of learning that will enhance the quality of life throughout southwest Virginia.

The future of the College is very bright, indeed.  It is difficult to describe when momentum is underway when there is movement and excitement and as I have noted to some of you occasionally a student will move through a college career very, very busy.  Sometimes too busy to reflect on their experiences.  Sometimes too busy with term papers, part-time jobs, recreation, athletics to reflect on what they mean to the college and what the college means to them.

But here at UVa-Wise I often hear students say this is a college on the move.  Hearing this from our students, I think this is very special indeed. We increased enrollment 34 percent in the enrollment in the past 4 years.  Many colleges, as Professor Erlenbach noted, have stabilized their enrollment or are struggling.  UVa-Wise is being discovered.  We are on the move.  Major building projects (such as the recently constructed C. Bascom Slemp Student Center had a transformative effect on this campus and the upcoming renovation of Crockett Hall).  Visitors that haven’t been here in three or four years tell me they are amazed at how the College has changed: its persona, the excitement, the student activities. We’re on the move.

An aggressive fundraising campaign in silent phase has increased our endowment to over $30 million, funding that has helped support our students as they make their way through college to afford what we have to offer. There’s an increased collaboration with the public schools, local community colleges, and state agencies.  We are working hard to be good members of this community and this region.  We are proud to say that we are among the top 10 public liberal arts colleges in America as referenced by U.S. News and World Report.  Our rigorous academic programs and vibrant student life program combine to create a positive and supportive learning environment for our students.  It is, my friends, after all, all about the students. That is our mission.  Everything we do – whether directly related to our students or indirectly related to our students – is all about the students.

As a liberal arts college, ensuring a strong liberal arts foundation for all students, regardless of major, is more than academic rhetoric – it is a compact we enter into with our students. 

A crucial element of that foundation is the development of essential learning skills.  For our students to respond effectively to life’s challenges, they must be agile learners, skilled communicators, and adept problem solvers.  They must be comfortable in a team-based problem solving environment.  They must be comfortable working with individuals of diverse cultures, perspectives, and physical ability.  These are life skills, not just educational goals.  Regardless of their future endeavors, these skills and habits of mind will prepare our students for success.

In addition to the educational opportunities the College provides, we are also taking a leadership role in the economic revitalization of Southwest Virginia.

As the College develops private sector partnerships with local firms such as CGI-AMS and Northrup Grumman, we enjoy the support of regional economic development agencies, friends of the College, and county Boards of Supervisors.  They are all finding ways to support the College and its commitment to the economic development of the region.  In addition, I must say that our legislative delegation is especially committed to the College and its pivotal role in the future of our region: Delegates Bowling, Carrico, Johnson, Kilgore, and Phillips, and Senators Wampler and Puckett.  This group of dedicated citizens richly deserves our gratitude.  They, together with their colleagues in the General Assembly and Governor Tim Kaine’s administration, have demonstrated their support of public education and also understand the unique role of our College here in the mountains.          

As we look to the future, we will continue to enhance our overall academic quality and will take in particular concern in three key areas:

• As we increase international and multicultural experiences,

• undergraduate research,

• and a rededication to communication skills.

 

• First, we intend to significantly expand the number of opportunities for students to increase their global awareness through study abroad, participation in international study tours, and work in multicultural settings such as the urban environment of large cities.  Such experiences can transform one’s perspective and lead to greater acceptance of all people.

• Second, we will increase the opportunities for our students to participate in independent research projects with faculty members.  Such opportunities go beyond the classroom and beyond the text book and allow students to develop independent problem solving skills, self-confidence, and creativity.  To provide focus, in spring 2007, we will host a symposium to be entitled “A Celebration of Student Research and Creative Works,” which will afford our students the opportunity to present the results of their independent projects in a broad range of topics from the sciences, to fine and performing arts.

• Third, we will reaffirm our commitment to the development of communication skills.  Based upon our fine general education program, we will launch our support and nurture of a systemic effort to emphasize improvement of the full range of communication skills. This “communication across the curriculum” will emphasize the full range of communication skills from basic reading, writing, and speaking, to electronic information retrieval, synthesis, validation, and presentation.  This “communication guarantee” will commit our students and faculty alike to the development of these crucial “life skills” that our students must have to be successful professionals and agile life-long learners.

 

Taken together, these systemic initiatives will prepare our students for successful professional and civic engagement.  Our students and our communities deserve nothing less.  As recently noted by President Casteen, “Our efforts stem from the conviction that with the gift of learning comes the obligation to apply what we know to serve the public good.”  We pledge ourselves to this obligation.

We at the College will continue to honor our traditions as we chart a course for a prosperous future.  We’ll continue to celebrate our history, our founders, our builders, and all members of the College family as we strive for excellence.

Let me close by affirming to all of you that Merry Lu and I are deeply committed to this College.  We believe in Mr. Jefferson’s dream for education and the dream that inspired the founding of this College.  And we are delighted to rejoin the University of Virginia family.

Thank you all very much.