West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s Education Division is pleased to announce its fall 2019 student teachers:

Keely Ankrom

Marcia Buckley

Amy Clark

Sierra English

Jordan Matics

Madison Pierce-Meadows

Kayla Norman

Brittany Sheppard

Dani Sinnett

Lucinda Swartz

 

 

“We have trained our student teachers to focus on finding a way to inspire their students to many questions,” said Dr. David Lancaster, Education Division chairperson. “True learning is teaching students to think for themselves.”

In the elementary education program, students gain hands-on experience as early as their freshman year observing and practicing teaching skills in real school settings. This includes learning key decision-making skills, creating effective lesson plans, developing and assessing one-on-one and group instruction, integrating new technologies into the classroom and more.

“It is such a joy to witness our student teachers helping children be successful,” said Lancaster.

Visit wvup.edu/education to learn more about WVU Parkersburg’s accredited programs.

The 2019 West Virginia Teacher of the Year, Jada Reeves, is this year’s convocation keynote speaker. Her goal, to instill dedication and perseverance into the students to promote positivity in the classroom as well as life. WVU Parkersburg will hold its annual convocation ceremony on Monday, August 26, at 12:15 p.m., in the College Activities Center.

Reeves, a fifth-grade teacher at Bradley Elementary School in Mt. Hope, W.Va., received her undergraduate degree from Concord University and a master’s degree as a reading specialist from Marshall University. Currently pursuing her certification in administration, Reeves received her National Board Certification in Early and Middle Childhood Literacy in 2013. Reeves continues being active in her work, conducting trainings for Raleigh County’s Innovative Team for Professional Development and contributes to the Excess Levy Planning Committee.

As the lead coordinator for the Southern WV National Board Certification Cohort, she serves as one of the facilitators for awareness in certification through the West Virginia Department of Education. Reeves also is the author of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards blog called The Standard.

Staying active in her community, Reeves volunteers her time as an assistant Girl Scout troop leader and as a foster home mom for rescue dogs from Operation Underdog. As an encourager to young individuals, Reeves hopes to instill dedication, perseverance and persistence into each person by showing passion for her work and exuding exciting energy in her classroom.

WVU Parkersburg’s convocation ceremony is held at the beginning of each academic year to welcome new and returning students as well as reaffirm the institution’s eternal commitment to its values.

A formal procession of the college by members of the faculty and administration, and an invitation to faculty members to ring the official college bell will begin the ceremony. A welcome by WVU Parkersburg President Dr. Chris Gilmer will follow. Reeves will proceed with her keynote address, followed by the honor code recitation by members of the WVU Parkersburg student body conducted by Chad Crumbaker, provost and executive vice president for academic and student affairs.

“Convocation is a special moment during which we welcome new students into both academic life as a whole and into this university in particular. It is a moment in time which marks the beginning of their journey toward the fulfillment of their dreams and toward enhanced service to their communities. We are so proud of our students, and we mark this moment with our new students who are joining the WVU Parkersburg family,” Gilmer said.

The ceremony is mandatory for new students, and there will be a live transmission to WVU Parkersburg’s Jackson County Center.

For questions or more information, please contact the Office of Academic and Student Affairs at appeals@wvup.edu or 304-434-8209.

If you are hungry, head on out to West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

Beginning this fall semester, the university will have new food service options available for students, faculty, and staff on the Parkersburg campus, and the community is invited to stop by and sample the cuisine.

Ricky’s Café, operated by the university, is expected to open by the end of August, serving full breakfast and lunch options. New vending machines provided by CRJ Vending are stocked around campus, and Chick-fil-A will be serving lunch Monday through Friday 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., or while supplies last, beginning August 19.

“We did a survey of our campus community about food preferences last semester and received about 300 responses. That’s an excellent cross section of our community. Respondents indicated that food quality and price are especially important concerns. We try always to be responsive to feedback, so we are building the menu at Ricky’s Café with these priorities in mind,” said WVU Parkersburg President Chris Gilmer.

“We also polled the community about food vendors they might like to see on campus, and Chick-fil-A polled especially high. It’s highly unusual for a small, rural college like ours to be able to attract a major restaurant chain to campus, and we are so pleased that our friends, the Angelos Family who own the local Chick-fil-A restaurants, answered our call. They have been upstanding citizens and business leaders in this community for decades, so we consider ourselves fortunate to affiliate with them,” Gilmer said.

He added that the university is also entertaining the possibility of a coffee kiosk or similar vendor to round out the options, but that they won’t move forward with any additional food vending options until Ricky’s Café is fully up and running. “First the cake, then the icing,” Gilmer said. “Our top priority is to provide lunch options for our students, faculty, and staff as quickly as we possibly can.”

While the university had been considering food service options for some time, the situation changed during the summer when the contract with its previous vendor ended unexpectedly. “I really want to commend our team for pulling together on short notice to provide economical and tasty dining options for our community,” Gilmer said. “We want people to be able to spend their money on choices that appeal to them for whatever reason, so it is important to have options. As always, our team put the needs of our community first and rose to the challenge.”

The West Virginia University at Parkersburg Board of Governors will meet Wednesday, August 14. The meeting will take place at 3:15 p.m. in the Francis and Nina Phares Board Room (room 1300A) on main campus. View the complete agenda here.

Nine West Virginia University at Parkersburg faculty members have been selected for promotions ahead of the 2019-2020 academic year. The promotions are effective Aug. 12.

Two faculty members earned the rank of full professor, five more received promotions to associate professor, and two were promoted to assistant professor.

Aaron Crites – promoted to professor of history

David Thompson – promoted to professor of psychology

Chad Crumbaker, J.D. – promoted to associate professor of legal studies

Joel Farkas – promoted to associate professor of biology

Holly Martin – promoted to associate professor of biology

Gerald Rowley – promoted to associate professor of electricity & instrumentation

Gary Thompson – promoted to associate professor of computer science

William Channell – promoted to assistant professor of chemical & polymer operator technology

Craig Giffin – promoted to assistant professor of industrial maintenance

To receive a promotion in rank, a faculty member must have demonstrated significant contributions in the areas of teaching and service to students, professional growth and development, and service to the institution and community.

“The faculty are vital to the success of students in every classroom,” said Chad Crumbaker, provost and executive vice president for academic and student affairs, WVU Parkersburg. “Those promoted this year represent programs from all across WVU Parkersburg. We are proud of their hard work and look forward to their continuing contributions in serving our community and our students.”

June 18, 2019 – WVU Parkersburg students in the Computer and Information Technology (CIT) Learn and Earn program will soon have the opportunity to gain real-world work experience while earning their degree, all in one location on campus.

The Ntiva Service Desk Academy will open in the Caperton Center for Applied Technology ahead of the fall 2019 semester, enabling students in the college’s CIT Learn and Earn program to work remotely for the D.C.-based tech company while completing their associate degree.

Through this new partnership, students in their second year of the CIT associate degree program will be provided the opportunity to work in a live, fully functional, professional IT service desk environment, working with customers on IT requests, technical issues and projects. Participants earn $16 an hour and may work up to 1,200 hours during the internship period.

“We are pleased to partner with Ntiva to offer this one-of-a-kind internship opportunity to our CIT students,” said WVU Parkersburg STEM Instructor Doug Rhodes. “It is very exciting to have the service desk located in the same building where our students are learning. It not only helps the students hired by Ntiva, but all our CIT students, to better understand what a modern service desk looks like, how it operates and the skills we are teaching in the classroom.”

Ntiva employees will work alongside the students to train and mentor those selected for the program.

“Our core mission is to grow people and we believe that technology is a key accelerator,” said Steven Freidkin, CEO of Ntiva. “By investing in the Ntiva Service Desk Academy in partnership with the CIT Learn and Earn program, we’re providing the opportunity for WVU Parkersburg students to gain valuable technical skills in a real-world environment. This in-depth training will open up more employment doors for graduating students in the CIT degree program, who were able to take advantage of this internship.”

WVU Parkersburg’s CIT Learn and Earn program started in 2016 with three local employers – Chemours, Woodcraft and iTech. Since that time, 12 students have participated in the program, and it has expanded with new employer partnerships, including Westbrook Health Services and Ntiva.

Among other recent notable accomplishments, the college’s CIT program ranked first in the state and No. 102 in the nation in the SANS Institute’s Cyber FastTrack competition, a national initiative to help identify cybersecurity talent in the U.S. and enable college students to discover their aptitude in the field. More than 13,000 students across the country started the program, and four of those were WVU Parkersburg students who qualified for the quarterfinals, earning the opportunity to compete for $2.5 million in scholarships and direct introductions to employers.

To learn more about WVU Parkersburg’s CIT program, contact the Center for Student Services at admissions@wvup.edu or 304-424-8310.

June 18, 2019 – The West Virginia Center for Civic Life (WVCCL) wants to help citizens start conversations about issues facing the state by encouraging fresh, innovative thinking during its annual Civic Life Institute. The event will be held at West Virginia University at Parkersburg on July 18 and 19, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., respectively, in the College Activities Center.

The WVCCL is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that convenes public workshops and provides resources to help people develop productive ways to address common concerns. Over the past 20 years, the center has partnered with hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals in community-based initiatives to address issues related to the health, education and economic well-being of West Virginia residents, such as What’s Next WV, a statewide initiative designed to help communities plan actions based on their own ideas for building stronger local economies.

“We need to find productive ways to talk to each other, especially when we disagree,” said Jean Ambrose, WVCCL representative. “It is our goal to help diverse sectors in the community develop habits of listening to each other, taking ownership of problems together and working toward solutions that work for all.”

Peabody award-winner Trey Kay, producer of the nationally-recognized “Us & Them” podcast, will lead a session at the institute that explores the cultural issues that often divide us. Following his remarks, participants will experience ways of facilitating community discussion that explore different points of view while working together on difficult issues. “Us & Them” is a joint project of West Virginia Public Broadcast, PRX and Trey Kay Productions.

Also, the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) is funding scholarships to participants in the institute. Eligible to apply are staff or board members of nonprofits or high school and college students from PACF’s service region: Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Wirt and Wood counties in W.Va. and Washington county in Ohio.

Visit www.wvciviclife.org or contact Jean Ambrose at 304-679-3970 or info@wvciviclife.org to learn more about the institute and registration.

Peabody award-winner Trey Kay, producer of the nationally-recognized “Us & Them” podcast, will lead a session at the institute that explores the cultural issues that often divide us.