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Time Capsule Placed in Greer Environmental Sciences Center
Ceremony held on April 21 for time capsule to be opened 25 years from now
News Release | April 26, 2017
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A little over a year ago, Virginia Wesleyan broke ground for the Greer Environmental Sciences Center, a nearly 40,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that will provide unprecedented opportunities for students, the study of marine sciences, ecology, and preservation and sustainability of the natural world. The campus community has watched with anticipation and excitement as great beams have been put into place, walls and roof work have been completed, and systems have been installed.
Last Friday, April 21, a ceremony was held for the placement of a time capsule within the walls of the new building. Holding some of today’s treasures for tomorrow’s discovery, the time capsule contains student reflections, an edition of the Marlin Chronicle student newspaper and other items that speak to who Virginia Wesleyan is as a campus community today.
When the time capsule is opened in the year 2042, the Greer Environmental Sciences Center will have served Òùµ´ÉÙ¸¾ for a quarter-century, will have made valuable contributions to the body of scientific research and knowledge pertaining to our natural home on the Chesapeake watershed, and will have become a meeting point for the sharing of ideas and perspective on the environment and many other dimensions of the Virginia Wesleyan academic experience and expertise.
Among the attendees at the time capsule event were Trustee Emerita Jane Batten, Trustee Emeritus George Birdsong and his wife, Sue, Trustee Butch Everett and his wife, Carol, Trustee Susan Goode, Trustee Anne Shumadine, Trustee and Chair of our Alumni Council, Mavis McKenley ’11, and former President Billy Greer and his wife, Fann.
The Greer Environmental Sciences Center honors former president Billy Greer’s advocacy for the sciences and commitment to sustainability. It also marks the College's declaration to society and the larger academic community that Virginia Wesleyan is resolved to be a premier liberal arts institution in the field of environmental science. The Batten Honors College and the Joan P. Brock School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences will be special beneficiaries of this beautiful building.
Speakers at the event included President Scott Miller, Associate Provost Maynard Schaus, Executive Vice President of Hourigan Construction Chris Brandt and current Virginia Wesleyan students Stephanie Reidell and Rachael Pan.
“Human curiosity is indomitable,” noted senior biology major Rachel Pan, “and this new, wonderful building will provide a place for that curiosity to grow, to flourish and to become.”
The Greer Environmental Sciences Center will open this summer and will be dedicated on Founders Day this fall. Read more on the Greer Environmental Sciences Center web page: www.vwu.edu/GESC