West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s Social Justice Committee will host a “Faith is Fairness” panel discussion sponsored by Fairness West Virginia on Monday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. in the college theater (room 1305). The event is free and open to the public.

“WVU Parkersburg is committed to being a safe place for open discussion. One of the purposes of universities is to create spaces in which people with differing points of view can share them with mutual respect and courtesy, not expecting that everyone will agree, but expecting that everyone has the potential to be enriched by exploring perspectives that both support and differ from their own,” shares Dr. Chris Gilmer, president of WVU Parkersburg.”Our goal in all of our social justice programs is to be balanced and fair to all while promoting a spirit of inclusion.”

The panel discussion is the namesake of Fairness West Virginia’s “Faith is Fairness” project which asks faith leaders and followers to answer how their beliefs defend the LGBTQ community. Reverends Steve Peck and Shauna Hyde of Parkersburg and Clare Sulgit of St. Marys, will serve as panelists on the topic. The discussion will be moderated by Billy Wolfe, Fairness West Virginia communications specialist.

“So often, religion is abused to justify LGBTQ discrimination,” said Wolfe. “And yet, the Golden Rule – the idea that we should treat others the way we, ourselves, wish to be treated – is a central commandment in nearly every world religion.”

Dozens of faith leaders throughout West Virginia have joined the project to call on local and state government to protect the LGBTQ community from discrimination. “They do so not in spite of their faith, but because of their faith,” added Wolfe.

“We hope members of all religious faiths and Christian denominations will join us for this important conversation,” said Debbie Richards, WVU Parkersburg Social Justice Committee co-chair.

For more information, contact Billy Wolfe at billy@fairnesswv.org or Debbie Richards at Debbie.Richards@wvup.edu or (304) 424-8201.

The West Virginia University at Parkersburg Board of Governors will meet Wednesday, Feb. 13. The meeting will take place at 3:15 p.m. in room 1300A on main campus.

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West Virginia University at Parkersburg student Sarah Weeks was crowned Miss West Virginia Collegiate America 2019 during the Miss West Virginia Jr. High, High School and Collegiate America pageant competition. The pageant took place on Saturday, Jan. 27 in Bridgeport, W.Va.

Weeks will represent the state at the Miss Collegiate America pageant in Little Rock, AR from June 24-29. The Collegiate America pageant system exists to provide personal and professional opportunities to girls currently enrolled in a university, trade school, beauty school or continuing education program by providing $70,000 in scholarships in addition to trips, wardrobe, travel service and additional prizes.

“At the national competition, I will present my personal platform, ‘BeYOUtiful’ which aims to help individuals define their own beauty standards,” said Weeks. “In today’s society, full of negative social media and comparison, I want to help others find their confidence and feel empowered.”

Currently, Weeks is pursuing a degree in communication and media studies with an emphasis in strategic communications. She moved to West Virginia from Colorado at the beginning of the 2018-2019 academic school year with the hopes of gaining new social, academic and career opportunities. It is her goal to be a broadcast journalist and ESPN personality.

In addition to being a student in the communication and media studies program, Weeks is the secretary of the WVU Parkersburg Media and Communication club as well as the assistant editor for The Chronicle, the college’s online, student-run newspaper.

“I am so thankful to WVU Parkersburg and the community for the unconditional support I have received,” said Weeks. “I am excited to represent the wild and wonderful West Virginia, a state that has truly changed my life and touched my heart.”

Visit @MissWestVirginiaHighSchoolAmericaPageant on Facebook to follow Sarah Weeks’ journey to Miss Collegiate America.

Dr. Chris Gilmer, president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg, was recently selected as a representative of the Community Colleges of Appalachia (CCA) to attend the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Workforce Development Institute 2019 in San Diego, Calif.

Dr. Gilmer joined nearly 100 college presidents and hundreds of workforce development leaders from around the nation in a dialogue about apprenticeships, internships, conversion of non-credit training programs into credit-bearing programs, grant opportunities, credentialing of employees, equity and inclusion and other timely topics in the field of workforce development. He was also selected as a new president scholarship recipient to the Institute by CCA.

Veteran presidents from around the nation and other workforce leaders highlighted exemplary workforce development programs that can be replicated and adapted by institutions such as WVU Parkersburg. Sessions also featured an opportunity to hear from federal funders including the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Michelson 20MM Foundation, instructional technology partners like IBM, and experts in rural higher education such as Dr. Anne McNutt, CCA executive director, and Dr. Randy Smith, president of the Rural Community College Alliance. Dr. Walter Bumphus, AACC’s president, convened the gathering.

“Workforce development is such an important part of what we do at WVU Parkersburg,” said Dr. Gilmer. “With the goal of getting workforce credentials into the hands of more and more West Virginians, and with an increased demand by local employers for highly qualified employees, this is becoming an even sharper focus for WVU Parkersburg. The institute was a great opportunity to meet national leaders in this field and to renew friendships with AACC leaders with whom we will be increasing our participation this year.”

He added, “It was an honor to represent CCA, and I am deeply thankful they selected me as a registration and travel scholarship recipient so that I could bring the valuable insights of this conference home to our communities without having to stretch the college’s resources to do so. We have a great workforce development team, and they are working hard every day to increase educational attainment and to promote job skills in the Mid-Ohio Valley.”

West Virginia University at Parkersburg made a recent donation to Wirt County High School’s Career and Technical Education welding program.

The donation consisted of five welding stations, including four multi-process welders, four bench wire feeders and a tungsten inert gas (TIG) welder. Wirt County High School principal Elizabeth Smith accepted the donation on behalf of the school’s Career and Technical Education program which provides agricultural science, business education, family and consumer science, and technical education classes to students.

Before the donation, Wirt County High School shared four welding stations between 16 students. With the five additional units from WVU Parkersburg, the high school has the ability to open more seats in its technical education class and familiarize students with the trade.

Joe Hunt, WVU Parkersburg assistant professor in welding, also introduced Wirt County High School to a more cost-effective welding supply company, providing significant price reductions on future welding technology purchases.

“WVU Parkersburg’s donation allows more of our students the opportunity to complete the program and work towards their certification,” said MaryJane Pope Albin, Wirt County Schools superintendent. “Our students’ future employment possibilities have increased because of this generous act and it is greatly appreciated.”

WVU Parkersburg offers a certificate and associate of applied science in welding as well as a 10-week course in aluminum welding. Visit www.wvup.edu/welding to learn more or call (304) 424-8310 to speak with an admissions representative.

Four West Virginia University at Parkersburg students represented the college at the West Virginia American Choral Directors Association (WV-ACDA) 2019 All-State Collegiate Honor Choir. The performance took place on Saturday, Jan. 23 at the Baptist Temple in Charleston, W.Va.

WVU Parkersburg students Morgan Carez, Tony Province, Dana Stiffler and Philip Wilson were among those selected from colleges and universities across the state to sing at the concert. The choral performance was conducted by Dr. Jeffery Johnson, professor of music at the University of Kentucky.

“This was the 23^rd annual convening of the WV-ACDA Collegiate Honor Choir,” said Dr. H.G. Young, WVU Parkersburg professor of music and choral director. “I am proud that WVU Parkersburg has exceptional student representatives to participate in the performance every year.”

The WV-ACDA also hosted choral performances by middle and high school honor choirs the same day.

Founded in 1959, the American Choral Directors Association is a nonprofit music-education organization whose expressed purposes outline the association’s dedication to the advancement of choral music. The mission of ACDA is to inspire excellence in choral music through education, performance, composition and advocacy.

For more information about WVU Parkersburg’s chorale, contact Dr. H.G. Young at HG.Young@wvup.edu or 304.424.8248.

West Virginia University at Parkersburg will host the Student United Way of the Mid-Ohio Valley’s ExtravaCANza, a canned food sculpture display, from now until Friday, Feb. 8 in the Caperton Center Atrium. The canned goods used to build the sculptures will be donated to the WVU Parkersburg Riverhawk Food Pantry.

ExtravaCANza is an annual volunteer project that started in 2016 and is part of the United Way’s Hunger Solutions MOV initiative. The United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley works in partnership with local food pantries to support and promote their work in serving area residents in need of emergency food.

The design and build teams are members of the Student United Way of the Mid-Ohio Valley board and involves more than seven high schools from across the region. The students designed and submitted sculpture drawings as well as ensured they had the right number of canned items for construction.

“We are thrilled our student group has a growing awareness of community that extends beyond their own immediate peer group,” said Stacy DeCicco, executive director of the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley. “These kids have developed leadership skills and personal empathy that I believe will change their lives forever.”

In addition to building canned food sculptures, the organization will be collecting nonperishable items to be donated to local pantries. Baby formula, personal care items, feminine hygiene products and paper products like toilet paper and paper towels will also be collected to support various agencies within the United Way’s service network.

Donations may be dropped off at the WVU Parkersburg Caperton Center Atrium or United Way office located at 935 Market Street in downtown Parkersburg.

For more information, contact Stacy DeCicco at sdeccico@uwamov.com or 304.580.0570.

The Arc of the Mid-Ohio Valley and West Virginia University at Parkersburg will co-sponsor a WV ABLE training session on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the college’s theater (room 1305). This free, one-hour training session is open to the public and designed for individuals with disabilities, their families, caregivers and community stakeholders to learn about the benefit of WV ABLE’s tax-free savings accounts for disability-related expenses.

According to the ABLE National Resource Center, millions of individuals with disabilities and their families depend on a wide variety of public benefits for income, health care, food and housing assistance. To receive public benefits like Social Security and Medicaid, individuals must meet resource test requirements proving the value of their resources (cash savings, land, retirement, vehicles, etc.) makes them eligible for aid. Benefits are limited if the reported resource value exceeds $2,000.

ABLE accounts were created as a result of the Stephen Beck Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014 and recognize the extra and significant costs of living with a disability. ABLE accounts allow eligible individuals to save and fund a variety of disability expenses without endangering their Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income benefits.

WV ABLE Director Kristi Pritt will conduct the training and provide an overview of the WV ABLE program, account benefits, and more. Representatives from collaborating agencies will also have information tables available before, during and following the session as additional resources for attendees.

For more information about this event, contact The Arc Executive Director Liz Ford at Liz.Ford@thearcmov.org or 304.485.2000 ext. 106, or Debbie Richards at Debbie.Richards@wvup.edu or 304.424.8201.

To learn more about the WV ABLE program, email wvable@wvsto.com or call 304.340.5050.

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

• Matthew Barton
• Sydney Casto
• Janae Cundiff
• Sabrina Deem
• Emily Goodwin
• Katelyn Hess
• Hannah Jordan
• Nicole Landis
• Cristin Miller
• Baylee O’Brian
• Taylor Plaugher
• Meghan Sinclair
• Isabella Stoops

 

 

 

“Educational efforts made in today’s classroom set the standard for students and teachers in the future,” said Dr. David Lancaster, WVU Parkersburg Education Division chair. “It’s important that education students begin work in the classroom early on so they build realistic and informed skillsets as they become teachers.”

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 accessing one-on-one and group instruction, integrating new technologies into the classroom and more.

“I’m excited to announce the new student teachers and believe they are ready to make a positive impact on the school system and touch the lives of many students to come,” shared Lancaster.

Classes at WVU Parkersburg start Monday, Jan. 14. Visit www.wvup.edu/education to learn more about WVU Parkersburg’s accredited programs.