Marie Nicolo remembers she was the first to speak at a hastily arranged Zoom meeting of the Virginia Wesleyan University Alumni Council on Aug. 22.
It was two days after the school announced it would become Batten University at an event the school said was a “special celebration of The Batten Legacy,” blindsiding Nicolo and other alumni.
“I said I was unhappy with the decision and how it was made, how no one knew it was coming, no one was brought into the decision-making or given a chance to voice their opinions,” she recalled. “Why was the name Virginia Wesleyan taken out completely? They could have named it Virginia Wesleyan, Batten Campus. I was totally against the underhanded way it was done.”…