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Jan. 19, 2011
WVU Parkersburg celebrates its 50^th anniversary.

CONTACT:  WVU Parkersburg President Marie Foster Gnage, 304-424-8200.

50^th Anniversary website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
West Virginia University at Parkersburg is having a year-long celebration.

It’s the college’s 50^th anniversary.

In the fall of 1961, 104 students enrolled in the Parkersburg Branch of West Virginia University, housed in an abandoned elementary school building located where the current Parkersburg/Wood County Library is now.

Fifty years later, thousands of Mid-Ohio Valley residents have pursued and realized their dreams of college educations through the Parkersburg institution which has had four name changes in its half-century of serving the region’s higher education needs.

Theme for the year is “the college the community built.”

“Our anniversary is an opportunity to thank those citizens who had the foresight to recognize the importance of public higher education to the economic vitality of this region,” noted WVU Parkersburg President Marie Foster Gnage.

“It’s a fitting tribute to the Mid-Ohio Valley’s commitment to higher education,” she added. 

WVU Parkersburg is the only public college in West Virginia which was founded by area citizens.  Wood County voters passed a bond levy in 1965 to develop the college's current campus location.

The college plans events and activities throughout the year to commemorate the 50^th milestone. 

A website has been developed which provides information about the college’s history, much of which was compiled by retired Professor Emeritus Bernard Allen in a manuscript entitled “Four Diamonds in the Rough” which refers to the institution’s four names over 50 years.

WVU Parkersburg is the only community college in West Virginia accredited to also offer bachelor’s degrees.  It is one of 27 institutions nationwide classified as a Baccalaureate/Associate’s College by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. 

WVU Parkersburg offers more than 40 programs, including seven baccalaureate degrees.

 cd01/19/11