April 28, 2023

Update from the President

Dear University Community,

Life around campus is quite busy as students and faculty are preparing for final exams, and the staff is working to prepare for all the events that precede Commencement. While we are focused on next week’s items, this week we continued to recognize our students for their achievements.

Thursday afternoon, our nursing students received their pins during a wonderful ceremony inside the Chapel of Mary and Joseph. The annual Nursing Pinning is a rite of passage for our BSN and MSN students – and a chance for the Nursing faculty and the University to celebrate the graduates and the completion of their academic journey. The pinning ceremony also allows the students’ families to revel in these accomplishments. The students select a significant person in their life to ‘pin’ them, and most often it is a family member who they select for this honor. The nurses also lit a candle and recited the Nightingale Pledge, which recognize Florence Nightingale’s contributions to nursing. This ceremony, which was filled with tears and laughter, was a special time for all who attended. Congratulations to each of these men and women!

Accounting and Business majors had the chance to meet and interact with three, local accounting/business professionals to learn more about career options that are available once they complete their degrees. Wheeling alumni Gary Glessner ’89, president of the Glessner Group, and Stephen Wharton ’03, vice president of the Glessner Group, along with Lenore Seifer, director of HR at S.R. Snodgrass, P.C. offered our students insights into the many career paths available to accounting and business majors. They also discussed the requirements to become a CPA and answered a variety of questions from our students. I am grateful to Mr. Glessner, Mr. Wharton, and Mrs. Seifer for taking the time to share such valuable advice with our students.

Today’s rain couldn’t stop our students, faculty, coaches, and staff from giving the University a good sprucing up! The 2023 Campus Beautification Day took place – although we did have a rain delay. We had to push the event to the afternoon to allow the heavy rain to pass. Our Cardinal Family brought to life Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’: Care for our Common Home – cleaning up around our HOME. About 100 students and employees fanned out across campus to pick up trash, tree branches, and rake leaves. Each volunteer received a 2023 Laudato Si’ t-shirt, which everyone wore for the annual group photo. Our mission – to be men and women in service to others – was on full display today. Thank you to everyone who braved the rain to help ‘care’ for our campus – this Cardinal Family is truly amazing!

The Cardinal Rugby team competed today at the 2023 Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7’s national championship tournament. The team, which was the number one seed in the East Region, beat Howard University 26-0. Heavy rain caused the postponement of Friday evening’s games. Because of this, details for Saturday’s game are not yet available.  Check the CRC schedule page on Saturday for updates. And don’t forget, the games are being streamed live online. A special thank you to our Rugby Alumni who hosted a meet and greet for the team on Thursday night in Gaithersburg, MD. Twenty-four former players – from all over the country – made the trip to D.C. to meet the current team and watch them play this weekend. Let’s join together on Saturday – in person and online – to cheer the team onto a national championship! Go Cards!

Finally, the campus will host a Late Night Breakfast for the students on Monday night. For any employees who would like to help that evening, please contact Christy Nieman in Student Services at cnieman@wheeling.edu or x2350. As part of the evening, Student Government is holding a can food drive and is asking students to bring can food items. For each item donated, students will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win prizes.  

Have a wonderful weekend! I hope you find time to do something that makes you happy!

With gratitude and appreciation,

Ginny R. Favede 
President, Wheeling University