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SAB, SGA to hold candlelight vigil on campus Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. at McCraray Lake



By Jordan Fifer

Photo Editor

jtf3u@uvawise.edu

Posted: 10:12 a.m. | Updated: 4:45 p.m.



David J. Prior, the seventh chancellor of the University of Virginia’s College’s at Wise, died unexpectedly Thursday morning following a brief illness, college officials announced.

Prior, 68, died around 3 a.m. Thursday after being taken from his home on campus by ambulance to Norton Community Hospital, said college spokeswoman Kathy Still.

It was not immediately clear how the chancellor died. He had recently canceled several classes due to illness, but college officials did not say if the two were related.

Rumors quickly circulated around campus Thursday after emergency vehicles were spotted at the chancellor’s residence, the Lila Vicars Smith House, early Thursday morning. College officials waited until later in the morning to announce Prior’s death until his family had been notified, Still said.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Chancellor Prior passed away early this morning,” said Dean of Students Jewell Worley, in an email to students just after 10 a.m. “This is a sad day for all of us.”

Still said counselors would be available on campus for students, faculty and staff, and Worley encouraged students to visit the Center for Student Development in the lower level of Cantrell Hall where counselors would be available.

The Student Activities Board and Student Government Association said they planned to hold a candlelight vigil on campus Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. at McCraray Lake. Counselors will be available at the vigil, which is open to the public.

Prior was hired at UVa-Wise in September 2005 and was inaugurated on April 11, 2006 as the college’s seventh chancellor. During his time in office, he oversaw more than $110 million in construction and renovation on campus, including the newly-finished convocation center, the Gilliam Center for the Arts, the Hunter J. Smith Dining Commons, Commonwealth Hall, and the renovation of the Leonard W. Sandridge Science Center, Smiddy Hall and Crockett Hall.

He succeeded Ernest Ern, who served as chancellor for one year following the resignation of Steven Kaplan, who left UVa-Wise to become president of the University of New Haven.

Prior was perhaps best known on campus for his affable character and beaming grin. He was a shrewd fundraiser for the college, having overseen a record intake of donations from alumni and, just recently, the largest single monetary gift in the college’s history.

As news of Prior’s death spread, college officials, community leaders and others shared their memories of the administrator.

“David seemed to have been prepared from birth to lead and love the College at Wise and the people and landscape of Southwest Virginia,” said John Casteen, president emeritus at UVa, in a college news release. Casteen was president of UVa when Prior was inaugurated. “Tireless, wise and always focused on whatever would be best for the college, he brought its great promise to maturity.”

Current UVa President Teresa Sullivan sent an email to UVa-Wise employees and students Thursday afternoon mourning Prior’s death:

“He was a strong, capable leader with a clear vision for the College and its future,” Sullivan wrote. “He cared deeply about the success of the College and the people of his community, and he was a respected and much-loved figure throughout Southwest Virginia. He worked hard to build relationships with students, alumni, donors, and elected officials. He was a gifted scientist, scholar and administrator. But most importantly on this day, we remember that he was a warm, compassionate person whose kindheartedness and good humor touched many lives. He will be dearly missed.”

On campus, Prior’s unexpected death came as a shock to many students.

Sydney Gilbert, a junior political science and communication studies major, said she first met Prior when he sat next to her at a scholarship luncheon her sophomore year.

“He took the time to get to know me as an individual,” she said. “That’s the kind of man, leader and chancellor he was. He wanted to know each student as a person.”

Facebook and Twitter were quickly flooded Thursday morning with memorial notes from students, alumni and others.

“I, along with all of my fellow seniors, were looking forward to shaking Chancellor Prior’s hand at graduation this May,” said Rachel Hensley, a senior biochemistry major. “I’m so blessed to have gotten to know him.”

“We’ve lost a great man who cared so deeply about everyone here,” said theater major Laura Baty. “Chancellor Prior was never invisible or aloof at this school he loved so dearly and this campus grieves as a whole for such a loss.”

Travis Brannon, a 2010 graduate of the college, remembered working with Prior during the two years he served as SGA president.

“He guided the college through a great stage of transition and growth,” Brannon said. “Everyone in the UVa-Wise family must forever be thankful for the legacy and solid foundation he leaves behind.”

Prior grew up in northern Michigan and had an bachelor’s degree in biology from Olivet College, a master’s degree in animal physiology and biochemistry from Central Michigan University, a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Virginia, and was a post-doctoral fellow in neurobiology at Princeton University.

He began teaching in 1973 at the University of Kentucky, where he went on to hold dual full professorships in biological sciences and physiology and biophysics. In 1987, he left UK to become chairman of the Department of Biology at Northern Arizona University, where he was named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1992.

In 1995, Prior was named dean of graduate studies and research at Northern Michigan University. Three years later he took a job as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, first at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and later in 2002 at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Still said Thursday afternoon that college officials would work to name an acting chancellor, but that it was too early to comment specifically.

Prior is survived by his wife, Merry Lu, and two adult children, Andrea and Christopher. Details of any memorial services, other than Thursday night’s planned candlelight vigil, had not yet been set.

Editor’s note: David Prior was 68. This post has been updated to reflect the correction.

This is a breaking news update. Check back later for more.



