Inside…
HU Names New Director of the College of Virginia Beach
Dr. John Waddell
Dr. John Waddell has been named the new director of the Hampton University College of Virginia Beach. He replaces Mrs. Margaret Dismond Martin, who became the college’s interim director in Fall 2006 and served as the director from 2007 until Waddell’s appointment in December 2009.
Waddell served as president of Denmark College, in Denmark, S.C., for two years before coming to HU. Denmark College is a historically black, two- year technical college that serves continuing education students, traditional, full-time and part-time students.
HU President Dr. William R. Harvey’s leadership model and HU’s brand of excellence are what made the university an attractive place for Waddell to work. Waddell said his own personal goals for the College of Virginia Beach align with the overall institutional priorities for the satellite campus.
“These include but are not limited to enhancing the enrollment, expanding academic programs and cultivating external relationships within the Virginia Beach community,” he said.
Waddell earned both a bachelor's in secondary education and a master's degree in student personnel from the University of South Carolina. He earned a doctorate from Florida State University in higher education administration, and also attended the Harvard University Institute for Educational Management (IEM).
At HU, Waddell wants to focus on responding to the nursing field’s demands, as well as equipping students to be their best personally and professionally.
“National and local economic challenges as well as current shortages within the nursing industry, provide our campus with an extraordinary opportunity to meet the educational needs of the Virginia Beach community,” Waddell said. “If we listen attentively and respond in an efficient and effective manner, we can truly become an educational haven for traditional and nontraditional students alike. Our programs will allow those students to gain an accelerated, substantive degree and advance their employment status, income and overall quality of life.”
Located in the Virginia Beach Town Center, The College of Virginia Beach opened Sept. 2, 2003. It offers undergraduate degrees in nursing and hotel/resort management and graduate degrees in education as well as education certification programs. For more information about the college go to http://cofvb.hamptonu.edu/ or call 757.637.2200.