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Franklin Elected to VWU Board of Trustees

W. Taylor Franklin, VWU Class of 2004, will join the Board July 1


University News | April 12, 2021

W. Taylor Franklin, Virginia Wesleyan University Class of 2004, has been elected to the VWU Board of Trustees effective July 1, according to John F. Malbon, Chair of the Board. Franklin is co-founder and chief operating officer at The Franklin Johnston Group. 
 
Working collaboratively with his executive team and co-founders at The Franklin Johnston Group, Franklin oversees company operations, new business and partnership acquisitions and new development opportunities. Along with his partners, he has been responsible for developing thousands of multifamily units along the East Coast, including Coastal 61 at Oxford Village located on the north end of the VWU campus.
 
Franklin currently serves on the Executive Board for Neptune Festival, is vice president on the board of the Chesapeake Bay Wine Classic, vice chair for The Virginia Gentlemen, and was past chair on the board at Norfolk Collegiate School. He is also a member of the Virginia Beach Economic Development Authority. 
 
Franklin has held a spot on the Inside Business Power List three years in a row and has also won an award for Outstanding Emerging Philanthropist. In 2017, Virginia Wesleyan awarded him the Alumni Service Award for his philanthropic work in the Coastal Virginia community.