Feature Stories

Share this Story

VWU President, Trustees Named to Inside Business "Power List"

Dr. Scott D. Miller and Trustees Vince Mastracco and Howard Kern featured among most influential people in Hampton Roads


VWU President, Trustees Named to Inside Business Power ListNews Release | May 10, 2018

The president of Virginia Wesleyan University and two VWU Trustees have been named to “The Power List,” an annual Inside Business feature recognizing those who have the most influence in shaping Hampton Roads.

President Scott D. Miller and Trustees Vince Mastracco and Howard Kern are among those recognized as local leaders who, according to Inside Business Publisher Mike Herron, are the "most engaged in making things happen.”

“Our assemblage features business professionals, academics and nonprofit leaders, the backbone of any vibrant community, worthy of our attention and yours,” Herron writes in an introduction to the publication. “These leaders continue to weave themselves into the fabric of Hampton Roads.”

President Miller’s profile highlights the significant growth and prosperity that has occurred at Virginia Wesleyan University since his arrival in 2015. During his tenure, the institution has transitioned from a college to a university; established graduate and online programs; and formulated a 10-year, academic-based strategic plan. The University has also secured a national niche in the sciences by opening the state-of-the-art Greer Environmental Sciences Center and the highly selective Batten Honors College. New construction under Dr. Miller's leadership includes the Greer Environmental Sciences Center, the Frank Blocker Youth Center (Tidewater Collegiate Academy/YMCA Camp Red Feather), Birdsong Field, the Betty S. Rogers Track and Field Center, and the forthcoming Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center and Coastal 61 at Oxford Village (an eight-building apartment facility).

Dr. Miller tells Inside Business that he particularly enjoys “active involvement in important organizations that make a difference in Coastal Virginia and the world.” He serves on the Boards of the Hampton Roads Chamber, Virginia Beach Vision, Greater Norfolk Corporation, Virginia Aquarium Foundation, Second Nature's Climate Leadership Network Steering Committee (Chair), Association of Educational Institutions of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church (Chair), Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, American Academic Leadership Institute, and the National Association of Schools & Colleges of The United Methodist Church.

Long-time VWU Trustee Vince Mastracco, a partner with the Kaufman & Canoles law firm, appears at No. 9 on The Power List. He is celebrated for his active involvement in several significant commercial developments in downtown Norfolk as well as his service to Virginia Wesleyan University, Eastern Virginia Medical School, the University of Virginia, the Hampton Roads Business Roundtable, and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Trustee Howard Kern also appears on the list at No. 22. As president and CEO of the national award-winning Sentara Healthcare, he is recognized for his oversight of 12 acute care hospitals, 10 nursing centers and three assisted-living centers in Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina. His profile also features the forthcoming $93.5 million cancer center to be built on the campus of Sentara Leigh, which is expected for completion in 2020.

Virginia Wesleyan alumnus Taylor Franklin ’04, Chief Operating Officer of The Franklin Johnston Group, and VWU honorary degree recipient Cathy Lewis H'09, are also on the list.

View the 2018 Inside Business Power List at: https://pilotonline.com/inside-business/special-reports/power-issue/