CoffeeBreak is an e-newsletter distributed to Averett faculty and staff to keep them up-to-date on campus activities and information. Please send information you would like included in CoffeeBreak via this form. This will be the final CoffeeBreak for 2020. For the next CoffeeBreak, please submit by Friday, Jan. 1, for a Wednesday, Jan. 6, publication.

Everyone in the Averett University community should continue their daily self-health checks via LiveSafe over the break. This will help us all stay in the habit of daily reporting, as well as help to identify any issues as we near the return of students and employees in January.

If you’ve not yet started reporting via the app, you’ll need to make a few easy setting changes within your LiveSafe app on your mobile device:

1. Open your app, login and click on the top left menu button with the three lines.
2. Select “Settings.”
3. Click “Manage Organizations.”
4. Select “Add” and search for “Averett University.”
5. Click “Averett University Employees.”
6. Enter PIN “2020.” Once those steps are complete, you will now see a grey tab called “Health Questionnaire” at the top of your home screen every time you log in. Please note, if you do not have the app, you may still use the web link found here. If you need help getting the app, click here. As a reminder, if you receive a green check, you are cleared to work on campus. If you receive the red X, please notify Human Resources and your supervisor, department or division chair immediately and forward the email you receive from LiveSafe to your supervisor, department or division chair. You should not report for in-person work if you receive the red X.

For any questions or concerns, please contact Kathie Tune at [email protected].

Spring 2021 Check-In Dates

The spring 2021 semester is right around the corner! Check-in dates will once again be staggered, as they were for the fall 2020 semester. Click here to learn more about when check-in will be held for all students.

Join Us for a Send-off Honoring Dean Villarose

The campus is invited to drop by Jut’s Café between 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, to express gratitude to Lesley and wish her all the very best as she transitions to her new position at Gardner-Webb. Please know we will need to adhere to the Governor’s guidance and only have 10 people at a time in the space.

Welcome Our New Director of Counseling Services

Student Life welcomes Dr. Jenny Wagstaff as director of counseling services. She earned her Master of Science in clinical mental health counseling from Radford University and her doctorate in counselor education and clinical supervision from Virginia Tech.

She has worked in higher education for over 20 years where she has served in both student affairs and faculty positions. For the past six years, she served as an assistant professor in counselor education, and taught courses in the areas of group counseling, family counseling, crisis, substance abuse, lifespan development, multicultural counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy for graduate students pursuing their degree in clinical mental health counseling.

Prior to teaching, she worked as a licensed professional counselor in the Hokie Wellness Center at Virginia Tech for seven years and as the Assistant Director for Student Support Services for the International Student Center at Virginia Tech for two years. She has published research in the area of brief motivational interventions to address high-risk drinking on the college campus and authored research around the readiness of student affairs professionals to provide helping skills. While she enjoys teaching, she is most passionate about providing counseling services to students. It is her goal to work with students in a manner that leads to the development of self-awareness, self-reliance and self-confidence. Her counseling style is highly supportive while being goal-orientated and solution-focused. To maintain a work/life balance, Wagstaff enjoys spending time being creative in the kitchen, gardening and walking around her farm with her husband and dogs.

Averett Athletics Announces Women’s Golf Program

Averett University is announcing the addition of a varsity women’s golf program, which will begin play during the 2021-22 academic year.

“We are excited to add a women’s golf program, which will help us provide additional opportunities for female student-athletes,” said Meg Stevens, Averett Vice President, Director of Athletics and Campus Operations. “The addition of a women’s golf program here at Averett will benefit our University by reaching into a new demographic and increasing the opportunities for women to compete in college athletics, as well as positively impact our established men’s golf program.”

Stevens also announced that men’s golf head coach Ben Potter is being named the director of golf for the men’s and women’s golf programs. In addition, Averett will hire a graduate assistant coach to work with both golf programs.

Women’s golf is the latest sports addition for Averett in recent years. Since 2016, the University has added men’s lacrosse and men’s wrestling, brought back women’s lacrosse and added two club sports — esports and a competitive dance team.

“We are proud to announce a sports expansion during a time when many institutions have eliminated athletics programs,” Averett President Dr. Tiffany M. Franks said. “At Averett, we have focused on balancing the effects of the pandemic while continuing to look outward and stay the course with strategic enrollment growth. This addition will increase our national and international footprint, as well as demonstrates how Averett is poised to respond to the growing interest in the sport.”

The women’s golf program will compete within the USA South Athletic Conference, which began sponsoring women’s golf in 2019-20. Averett will be the ninth institution within the conference to sponsor a women’s golf program.

Potter is in his second year as the men’s golf head coach after playing his final two seasons collegiately for the Cougars. Before the 2019-20 season was cut short, Potter’s team played in five events and earned one team win and two individual wins. He coached the 2020 Division III Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award recipient, who also was a Golf Coaches Association of America First Team All-America and All-Region selection, a member of the GCAA All-Freshman Team, the Virginia Sports Information Directors’ State Player and Rookie of the Year and the third-ranked player in the nation by GolfStat when the season was halted. Potter also led the Cougars to as high as a No. 22 national ranking by GolfStat during the 2019-20 campaign.

Potter is excited for his expanded role as the director of golf for both programs.

“I am thankful to Dr. Franks and Meg Stevens for the opportunity to build this program,” Potter said. “Starting the women’s golf team is a great addition to our program and is very exciting. I am personally excited to help the new student-athletes achieve their goals on and off the course. Averett golf has seen a lot of growth in the last several years, and the addition of the women’s team is another amazing step forward.”

The women’s golf program will look to follow in the successful footsteps of Averett’s men’s program, which began in the 1970s. Since 2000, the Averett men’s golf program has made three NCAA Tournament appearances, including winning the 2003 Division III national championship. The program has produced one individual national champion, nine All-America selections, one USA South Conference champion and four Averett Athletics Hall of Fame inductees among numerous other accolades.

Averett’s Holiday Video Series

Since we cannot have our usual in-person Arts@Averett Christmas events and performances this year, we are going virtual this December with a series of videos including holiday messages and musical performances. The series kicked off yesterday with a message from Averett President Dr. Tiffany Franks. Stay tuned to Averett’s social media channels next week and throughout the rest of the month for some Averett holiday cheer! Follow the links here to view the videos on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Kwanzaa Celebration

The CCECC and Averett’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force are partnering with Cobb Enterprises and the City of Danville Parks and Recreation to co-sponsor a virtual Kwanzaa Celebration from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 26. Please click the poster at left for details on how to register and what events will be offered.

The event will feature:

• The Danville Kidpreneurs will sell their items virtually
• Storytelling with Fred Motley
• Various guest speakers
• Kuumba Dance Company

To celebrate Kwanzaa with Danville, please register via Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Successful Winter 2020 Commencement

On Saturday, Dec. 12, Averett 2020 spring, August and winter graduates participated in a heartfelt, socially distanced commencement ceremony at Grant North Campus. Although they were wearing face masks, more than 100 members of the Class of 2020 were clearly smiling and grateful to have the opportunity to cross the stage and receive their diplomas from Averett President Dr. Tiffany Franks. Families were able to step inside momentarily, photograph and cheer on their graduates. Tears were shed, laughs were held and it was a memorable and meaningful moment everyone will cherish.

While we regret not being able to hold our traditional commencement ceremonies this year, we are thankful for everyone who was involved to make this year’s ceremony such a success. Read the full story by clicking here. To view Friday night’s virtual commencement ceremony, click here. To view Saturday’s in-person commencement ceremony, click here.

New Professional Development Initiative

Staff Council and the CCECC have come together to bring a professional development series to Averett staff and faculty that will occur each semester. Our goal is to explore the world that Averett staff and faculty research and personal passions and skills can bring to us all. This professional development series will include in-person, virtual and asynchronous events that will showcase what Averett faculty and staff have been working on and accomplished. We know Averett brings a lot to the table, and this initiative is a way to build relationships within Averett by creating unity, sharing knowledge and showcasing Averett talent with the entire Averett family. To prepare our professional development experiences, we need you to complete this very short survey to help us realize what skills sets we all bring to the table. The link to the survey can be found here.

Engaged Showcase Award Winners

Unfortunately, COVID prevents us from hosting our annual Engaged Showcase, honoring the excellent work and positive impact our service-learning courses, interns, Bonner Leaders, volunteers and career competitiveness experiences have had on our Dan River Region. We want to recognize those who have been identified by staff and peers as outstanding engaged learning leaders for 2020-2021.

Averett University’s CCECC Engaged Student Leader Award 2020-2021 Grey Capozzoli	Averett University’s CCECC Engaged Intern Award 2020-2021 Jasmin Tinnis
Averett University’s CCECC Engaged Faculty Leader Award 2020-2021 Dr. Melanie Lewis	Averett University’s CCECC Engaged Community Leader Award 2020-2021 Elsabe Dixon Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History

Millennium Advisory Services Presents: Social Security & Medicare

This webinar will cover topics such as the ages you are eligible to claim your benefits, factors to consider before deciding to take your social security benefits, as well as information about Medicare for health insurance in retirement.

You can also speak with a financial advisor from Millennium to help you evaluate your options with social security and how they fit into planning for your retirement by using the scheduling link below.

Help is available!

All participants also can go through Millennium’s goal-based financial planning process and receive a personalized financial plan that helps answer questions like:

• How much should I be saving to reach my retirement goals?
• How should all my accounts be invested today to achieve my goals?
• When can I retire?
• How much money can I spend each year in retirement?

Schedule a Virtual Meeting

What does it look like to create a financial plan? CLICK HERE to view a three minute overview of Millennium’s financial planning process.

You can also reach Millennium’s scheduling team at [email protected] or by phone at 877-435-2489 and select option 1.

Thomas G. Siebers, CFP®
Investment Advisor Representative
Millennium Advisory Services, Inc.
5340 Twin Hickory Road
Glen Allen, VA 23059
Office: 804-346-1040 / 877-435-2489
Fax: 804-346-1044
www.mas-edu.com

Questions concerning any the webinar or the financial services provided by MAS for Averett employees? Contact Kathie Tune, HR director, at [email protected] or 434-791-7106