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By  Letters to the Editor  | The Virginian-Pilot & Daily Press PUBLISHED: September 30, 2025 at 6:00 PM EDT It’s homecoming week at Virginia Wesleyan University, but we alumni don’t feel like we have a home anymore. In August, VWU announced that it will be renaming itself Batten University to honor long-time mega-donor Jane Batten. The announcement shocked us. We know and appreciate the Batten family’s investment in VWU, but sacrificing our identity, history and heritage in honor of one...

Column: Virginia Wesleyan taught that my voice mattered. Is that still true?  https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/09/06/column-virginia-wesleyan-taught-that-my-voice-mattered-is-that-still-true/ By  Bob Valvano  | Guest Columnist PUBLISHED: September 6, 2025 at 6:05 PM EDT As a young, aspiring basketball coach, I relied on my far more accomplished brother Jim for advice. One of the simple rules he taught me, when I asked if a certain coaching job was worth pursuing, is what I came to call the...

Letters for Aug. 27: Preserve the name, legacy of Virginia Wesleyan
By Letters to the Editor
 PUBLISHED: August 26, 2025 at 6:00 PM ET
Batten University
 origin
Re “Virginia Wesleyan to change name” (A1, Aug. 21):  My father Robert F. Boyd was crucial in building Virginia Wesleyan College, giving a very large part of the foundational money to start the school.

The one and only reason for naming the school after John Wesley is the tremendous spiritual influence Wesley left, leading hundreds...