Wise Move

Last Friday evening the Jefferson Literary and Debate society hosted the University’s eighth president Teresa A. Sullivan as the first presenter in their weekly speaker series. After delivering an excellent speech entitled “How Will We Know that We Are Good?” President Sullivan opened the floor for a round of questions from the audience seated in the University chapel. Once questions were raised about UVa’s emerging international presence, one student asked about what role the President thought the University played locally, specifically in southwest Virginia. President Sullivan used this query as a chance to talk about the University of Virginia College at Wise and the employment, research, and educational opportunities it offers the area. The school, commonly called UVA Wise, offers 29 majors and pre-professional programs including studies in dentistry, engineering, forestry, physical therapy, and veterinary medicine. The school was founded after residents of Wise County made a case to UVA that they needed access to a public college. An initial $5,000 grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia, with a follow-up grant pending got the ball rolling on hiring faculty and staff to then named Clinch Valley College in 1954, and today, the school enrolls some 1,900 students with a student-faculty ratio of 17:1. UVA Wise offers undergraduate degrees to a region of Virginia that previously had no other educational options, and they have expanded their scope of outreach to include a partnership with schools such as Istanbul University and the University of Seville. Their mission includes developing insight within and enriching the lives of students far beyond the bachelor degrees they award. President Sullivan’s comments made it clear that UVa’s scope of influence and involvement may reach far across continents, but that its close connection to southwestern Virginia has had an immeasurable impact on the residents and students to which education has become accessible. So how will we know that we are good? Partnerships continuing to enrich the lives of surrounding Virginians seem like a wise place to start.

Source: http://www.wise.virginia.edu/