Page 84 - UB Church and Shen Univ
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Volume 6 Relation of U.B/EUB Virginia Conferences to Shenandoah University Dec. 26, 2013
During this same period Gregory Hall was renovated for the arts and sciences with new modern
science labs, classrooms, and offices for faculty and students. Enrollment in arts and sciences classes
had grown because of the increase in health science majors, and more education course offerings and
certification programs for teaching. New majors in Communications, Environmental Studies,
Kinesiology, and Sports Management added to the student enrollment, along with traditional majors in
biology, chemistry, mathematics, English, and history. Recruitment of excellent liberal arts students
was the most difficult task for the admissions office, since the Commonwealth of Virginia had a large
number of well-established liberal arts colleges. The availability of undergraduate degree offerings in
the related professional disciplines to traditional liberal arts majors such as Communications and
English, as well as Environmental Studies and Biology, gave the University a competitive edge for
recruiting liberal arts students that normally sought such majors only at selective private colleges and
large public universities. However, the lack of a student center and a major new facility for the Arts and
Sciences limited the college’s ability to attract high-quality liberal arts students and thereby limited its
ability to compete more effectively with many sister institutions in the Commonwealth.
Additional program expansion was completed during this period with a master’s program in
Athletic Training and a master’s degree in Physician Assistant Education. These programs were
instantly popular with students, as the Athletic Training program blended well with the Physical
Therapy offering and had a large pool of internship opportunities in the collegiate athletic program. The
Athletic Training program was initially limited to approximately 15 students per class but gained
accreditation quickly and greatly boosted the services in athletic training for the University’s growing
athletic teams.
With consultation in the medical and hospital community, the president worked to create a new
master’s offering in Physician Assistant Studies. While attending the national meeting for the discipline
in Chicago, the president, with the help of a consultant, recruited Tony Miller to start the new program.
He was one of the national officers of the Physician Assistant National Association. With the
cooperation of the Winchester Medical Center, which provided leased space on the top floor of Medical
Office Building II on the Medical Center campus, the University initiated the program with excellent
student demand, newly equipped space, and the assistance of Medical Director Dr. Jim Laidlaw.
Dr. Laidlaw was a well-respected heart physician who was ready to retire from his practice and enjoyed
the confidence of the medical community. He was able to help obtain many offers of clinical rotations
for the students. The program received high marks from the beginning and was recognized nationally
when its first graduates had a 100 percent passing rate on the national license exam—a record that was
repeated for several years of operation. The University still regularly receives accolades for the
Physician Assistant program, which continues to place dozens of physician assistants in medical offices
and hospitals in the area and across the country.
f. Reaching into the Downtown Community (Late 1990s)
In an attempt to build stronger ties to downtown Winchester, the University purchased the
former Dominion Bank Building in a bargain sale arrangement with James Bowman, former trustee and
friend of the University. The building provided space for the Development and Public Relations
departments, and half of the facility was leased to Virginia National Bank. Prior to the time that the
bank occupied the large ballroom space, the University attempted to use this area as a downtown
cultural venue to be rented to local groups for concerts and events. The difficulty of managing this
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 74
During this same period Gregory Hall was renovated for the arts and sciences with new modern
science labs, classrooms, and offices for faculty and students. Enrollment in arts and sciences classes
had grown because of the increase in health science majors, and more education course offerings and
certification programs for teaching. New majors in Communications, Environmental Studies,
Kinesiology, and Sports Management added to the student enrollment, along with traditional majors in
biology, chemistry, mathematics, English, and history. Recruitment of excellent liberal arts students
was the most difficult task for the admissions office, since the Commonwealth of Virginia had a large
number of well-established liberal arts colleges. The availability of undergraduate degree offerings in
the related professional disciplines to traditional liberal arts majors such as Communications and
English, as well as Environmental Studies and Biology, gave the University a competitive edge for
recruiting liberal arts students that normally sought such majors only at selective private colleges and
large public universities. However, the lack of a student center and a major new facility for the Arts and
Sciences limited the college’s ability to attract high-quality liberal arts students and thereby limited its
ability to compete more effectively with many sister institutions in the Commonwealth.
Additional program expansion was completed during this period with a master’s program in
Athletic Training and a master’s degree in Physician Assistant Education. These programs were
instantly popular with students, as the Athletic Training program blended well with the Physical
Therapy offering and had a large pool of internship opportunities in the collegiate athletic program. The
Athletic Training program was initially limited to approximately 15 students per class but gained
accreditation quickly and greatly boosted the services in athletic training for the University’s growing
athletic teams.
With consultation in the medical and hospital community, the president worked to create a new
master’s offering in Physician Assistant Studies. While attending the national meeting for the discipline
in Chicago, the president, with the help of a consultant, recruited Tony Miller to start the new program.
He was one of the national officers of the Physician Assistant National Association. With the
cooperation of the Winchester Medical Center, which provided leased space on the top floor of Medical
Office Building II on the Medical Center campus, the University initiated the program with excellent
student demand, newly equipped space, and the assistance of Medical Director Dr. Jim Laidlaw.
Dr. Laidlaw was a well-respected heart physician who was ready to retire from his practice and enjoyed
the confidence of the medical community. He was able to help obtain many offers of clinical rotations
for the students. The program received high marks from the beginning and was recognized nationally
when its first graduates had a 100 percent passing rate on the national license exam—a record that was
repeated for several years of operation. The University still regularly receives accolades for the
Physician Assistant program, which continues to place dozens of physician assistants in medical offices
and hospitals in the area and across the country.
f. Reaching into the Downtown Community (Late 1990s)
In an attempt to build stronger ties to downtown Winchester, the University purchased the
former Dominion Bank Building in a bargain sale arrangement with James Bowman, former trustee and
friend of the University. The building provided space for the Development and Public Relations
departments, and half of the facility was leased to Virginia National Bank. Prior to the time that the
bank occupied the large ballroom space, the University attempted to use this area as a downtown
cultural venue to be rented to local groups for concerts and events. The difficulty of managing this
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 74
