New Batten Honors College Names Director of Enrollment (11-03-2016)
Steve Pinto has been named the Director for Enrollment of the newly established Batten Honors College at Virginia Wesleyan College, according to President Scott D. Miller. Before joining the staff at Virginia Wesleyan this fall, Pinto served several years as a college counselor at independent schools along the East Coast, including Sandy Spring Friends School in Sandy Spring, Maryland, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy in Suffolk, Virginia, the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., and the Westtown School outside of Philadelphia. Prior to being a college counselor, Pinto worked in college admissions for seven years at his alma mater, Dickinson College. While at Dickinson, he served as an Assistant Director of Admissions, the Coordinator of Multicultural Student Recruitment and the Coordinator of the Admissions Student Intern and Student Volunteer programs. He received his B.A. in Anthropology and Political Science from Dickinson College. Named for Trustee Emerita and dedicated friends of the institution Jane P. and Frank Batten, Sr., the Batten Honors College celebrates the unique and vibrant intellectual journeys of selected students. Benefiting from small-class, personalized instruction and vigorous faculty-student interaction, The Batten Honors College will serve the special academic aspirations of students. Twenty full-tuition academic scholarships will be provided each year to attract top scholars. Students will be selected through an extremely competitive process that will include a day-long competition at the College. When fully implemented, a total of 80 learners will be known as Batten Fellows. They will add to the existing number of academically talented students in Wesleyan’s Honors and Scholars program to ensure a critical mass of top national scholars on the campus. “The Batten Honors College provides a transformative experience for high-achieving students,” says President Miller. “The program equips them with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of an ethical, thoughtful, and influential global citizen who understands the complexity of contemporary society, our interdependence with the natural world, and the interrelatedness of society, culture, economics, and the environment.”
“Virginia Wesleyan College is very fortunate to have a person with Steve's unique background on board to lead the recruitment effort for The Batten Honors College,” says VWC Vice President for Enrollment Services David Waggoner. “His role in the admission office at Dickinson College provides him with an understanding of college recruitment, and his years of success in college counseling at some of the most prestigious private academies in the area demonstrate he appreciates the needs of young people who are searching for the right college at which to earn their degree.” ​Originally from Connecticut, Pinto resides in Norfolk.