Saving Virginia Wesleyan Q&A, As Published In The Marlin Chronicle

Originally published in the Marlin Chronicle

Q: What is “Saving Virginia Wesleyan”?

A: Saving Virginia Wesleyan is a small group of alumni and stakeholders who formed an LLC to hold the university’s leadership accountable, reverse the Batten University name change, and restore transparent, mission‑driven governance at Virginia Wesleyan University.

To memorialize and preserve the entire process for Alumni, current and future students, we created our website savingvirginiawesleyan.org

Q: How did this cause begin, and how has it evolved?

A: This started when we discovered the board secretly approved the Batten University name change in a closed February 2025 session, with no meaningful input from students, faculty, alumni, or the wider community. As we dug into public records and board actions, the work

evolved from a simple “stop the name change” effort into a broader campaign challenging donor capture, structural financial distress, and governance failures through regulatory complaints, media, and direct engagement with trustees.

Q: What has kept your passion and commitment to this cause?

A: We owe much of who we are to Virginia Wesleyan, the professors who knew our names, the lifelong friends, a liberal arts education with Methodist-inspired values, and the sense of a school that wasn’t for sale to the highest bidder. What keeps us going is the conviction

that if we don’t stand up now, the school’s identity and integrity may be permanently traded to line the pockets and egos of those who have no legacy or appreciate the value of VWU.

Q: Have you communicated directly with the university about the proposed name change? If so, how did they respond?

A: Yes, we’ve engaged through counsel, exchanged detailed agenda proposals, and requested a transparent, balanced meeting with specific trustees and representatives of the Batten family. The university and its legal counsel tried to tightly control the agenda, limiting who can attend, and keeping discussions behind closed doors and under attorney client privilege, which only reinforces our concerns about secrecy and conflicts of interest. A meeting did occur on Dec 11th. The details of what transpired are within the Legal section on the website.

Q: What is the most important thing current students should understand about this cause?

A: They need to understand that this cause is not anti-Batten and not anti-growth. It is a pro-Virginia Wesleyan, pro-integrity effort focused squarely on their long-term interests: the value of their degrees, the school’s reputation, transparency in governance, and continued access

to federal aid and accreditation. Many students have told us they do not want the name change, feel slighted that they were not even consulted, and don’t know how to

challenge something that feels already decided. Responses by the administration have been dismissive. We’ve even heard from a student-athlete that their team’s coach asked them not to vote on the petition or speak out—raising serious questions about where that directive

came from. Some students and parents fear that speaking up could jeopardize their scholarships or other funding they receive. That fear is unacceptable, potentially unlawful, and fundamentally at odds with both Virginia Wesleyan’s stated values and core American principles of free speech.

Perhaps this should be the next debate topic for VWU Let’s Get Ethical 2026 Ethics Bowl Team when they deliberate on the topic of “Ethics in Business”?

It is also worth noting that Greg Plummer, Virginia Wesleyan’s first All-American in soccer, and Bob Valvano, current ESPN college basketball analyst, were willing to give up their places in the VWU hall of fame rather than be permanently tied to Batten University; that’s

how much the name Virginia Wesleyan matters.

For current students, this is about protecting the value of your degree, your school’s identity, and the legacy you inherit — and pass on. If alumni were willing to sacrifice personal honors to defend the name, it’s worth standing up now to make sure it remains the one on your diploma. Students should know they are not powerless. They should unite, visit our website, review the documented facts, and read the correspondence between our legal team and VWU in the Legal section. We even proposed a fair and generous compromise—Virginia Wesleyan Batten University—one that preserves 64 years of history and national recognition, keeps “Virginia Wesleyan” primary, and avoids reducing student-athletes to the unfortunate acronym “BUMs.” This was soundly rejected by President Miller and the board. Sadly, recent billboards sited in Hampton Roads and media outreach announcing the new Batten University name as Tradition Transformed “make it clear that a small group is attempting to finalize this bad decision without broad community consent.

As Joni Mitchell warned decades ago:“You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”

You chose to be a Virginia Wesleyan Marlin - not a BUM.

Q: What resources or actions are most needed for your organization to achieve its goals?

A: We need four things: Vote on our petition at Change.org (Currently 6200 signatures - the link is on our home page), more voices, more documentation, and more professional support. That means students and alumni willing to speak up, insiders willing to share information,

and resources to sustain legal, regulatory, and communications work until the board reverses its decision on the name change. Please go to our website, where there is a contact us form. If you have any information you would like to share, action items to consider, or let us know

any way we can help give you the voice you deserve.

If students don’t stand up now for the name and legacy of their own school who will?

TERRY SIVITER,

Virginia Beach, VA

VWC Class of 1980

GREG PLUMMER

Pawley’s Island, SC

VWC Class of 1984

BOB VALVANO

Louisville, KY

VWC Class of 1979

JOHN BOYLE

Roche Harbor, WA

VWC Class of 1982