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Batten Honors College Matriculation Ceremony 2022
Ceremony signifies students' commitment to be responsible, contributing members of the Batten Honors College community
University News | August 19, 2022
Photo Gallery: Batten Honors College Matriculation Ceremony 2022
The Batten Honors College of Virginia Wesleyan University welcomed its newest class of scholars to campus on August 19 with the traditional Matriculation Ceremony in the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center.
"Today each of you becomes an important part of our story, and you will contribute more than you may realize to the legacy of Virginia Wesleyan University," President Scott D. Miller told the students. "Never again will you have such an unparalleled environment in which to expand your horizons, take calculated risks, and find new passions—to chart a meaningful purpose for your life and for our society, culture, and the natural environment."
Following remarks from Dr. Miller and Dr. Travis Malone, Dean of the Batten Honors College, each of the students came forward to pen their names in the matriculation book. The signatures mark the students' commitment to be responsible and contributing members of the Batten Honors College academic community and to realize the full potential of their own unique gifts and abilities.
Launched in fall 2017, the highly selective Batten Honors College quickly became a national niche program of the University. It was created with the intent to graduate gifted students across the professional spectrum who will commit to a single avocation: saving a planet and population threatened dangerously by climate change and environmental degradation.
The Batten Honors College is gratefully named for Virginia Wesleyan Trustee Emerita Jane P. Batten and her late husband, Frank Batten, Sr. It enrolls a total of 160 scholars.
Earlier in the day during his State of the University address, Dr. Miller noted that VWU’s endowment grew to $126 million in the 2021-22 Academic Year, including an $80.3 million endowment for the Batten Honors College. All endowment funds are invested in an environmentally friendly portfolio with Brown Advisory of Baltimore, supporting the adoption of long-term investment strategies that create an equitable, low-carbon, and regenerative economy. The Brown Advisory Foundation has also made a contribution to establish a student-managed investment fund at Virginia Wesleyan.
The newest class of scholars boasts a collective high school GPA of 4.01 (on a 4.0 scale) and an average SAT score of 1335. Students hail from from 11 states and two foreign countries—California, Delaware, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as Germany and Sweden.
“All of us here in the Virginia Wesleyan family wish you the very best,” said Dr. Miller, “and it is our deepest hope that you enjoy this unique and meaningful journey.”
A special reception for parents followed the Matriculation Ceremony in the president's residence, DeFord Manor.
View the Batten Honors College Matriculation Ceremony in its entirety on the VWU Digital Broadcasting Network.