Office of the President, Message from Dr. Hakim J. Lucas

August 31, 2022

Dear Panther Community, 

Welcome to the Fall semester! Classes are in session and our campus is once again booming with activity! It is truly good to be back together in person.  

While these past months have kept us apart, we have used this time to study, to learn, and to reflect. As we begin this new academic year together, may we all renew our commitment to achieving academic excellence and to serving one another. 

Our faculty and staff did just that recently, preparing for the new school year by holding our Fall 2022 University Conference. In line with this year’s theme, In All Things, Excellence, we are focusing on six strategies to forge ahead in our goal of becoming Best in Class: 

1. We must develop a sense of urgency to drive sustainability. 
2. We all have and must understand our responsibility to increase collaboration, calibration and synchronization. 
3. Each team defines its own processes and outcomes to achieve Best in Class. 
4. We must continue to recruit and maintain Best in Class employees. 
5. We must create effective and efficient transactions that lead to quality and value-based transformations in the work and life of our students and employees. 
6. The work we do must be aligned to ensure that the University brand is synonymous with Student Success. 

As we work together to achieve our goal, it is important that we embrace one another’s individuality. In order to move from a sense of belonging – being a part of the VUU community, to becoming – fully embracing the successes of being a Panther, we must be intentional in our everyday interactions with each other. Remember, meaningful interactions build trust. Trust builds transformation and transformation leads to transcendence. Let’s all make our best effort to work better together this year. 

VUU Athletics

Let's get ready for some football! This Thursday, September 1, we kick off our 2022 Football season. Come cheer on our Panther Football team, at home, as they take on Virginia University of Lynchburg. The game starts at 7 PM. 

On Saturday, October 8, our football team will take on Elizabeth City State University for VUU Homecoming 2022! The week will be filled with fun events and opportunities to show our Panther Pride. The game will start at 12 PM. Stay tuned to your university communications for more Homecoming information. 

Season passes are still available for purchase in the Athletics Department. To read more about our student athletes and all things VUU athletics, click here.  

Looking forward . . . 

Mark your calendars for Virginia Union University Fall Convocation 2022. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, September 15 at 11AM in the Allix B. James Chapel in Coburn Hall. Dr. Roderick Smothers, President of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, will serve as the keynote speaker. The community is invited, and all students are expected to participate. 

As always, I thank you for your continued support of this university and the contributions you make to our campus community and community at large. The impact you make now will last throughout generations. 

I look forward to seeing your smiling faces around campus!

Sincerely,

Hakim J. Lucas, Ph.D.  
President & CEO