The West Virginia University at Parkersburg Board of Governors will meet Wednesday, April 8. Due to the stay-at-home order, the members will not meet face-to-face. The meeting will take place at 3:15 p.m. via video conference.

For further details and instructions on how to attend the meeting, please contact Brady Whipkey, WVU Parkersburg chief of staff at brady.whipkey@wvup.edu.

Visit wvup.edu/about/board-of-governors/agenda/ to view the complete agenda.

Parkersburg, W.Va. (April 2, 2020) – WVU Parkersburg Business Policy Capstone students are in a neck-and-neck race for global market leadership competing in the international market simulator GLO-BUS. All five student teams in the class finished in the top 100 recently.

The competition promotes students to co-managers of a company – selling either wearable video cameras or sophisticated camera-equipped copter drones – where they must make major decisions in areas such as product design and performance, financing company operations, pricing and marketing.

A computer provides insight into how each decision will impact the company’s performance by calculating the potential sales, profits, and other key information. The companies are judged on five criteria, including how much they earn per share, return on equity investment, stock prices, credit rating and brand image.

“Seeing it from week to week, you see how important it all is,” said Tom Mullenix, WVU Parkersburg student and team member of Prestige Worldwide. “Our team didn’t consider the importance of some aspects of the process, but we now see how crucial each element is.”

This marks the first time all of the student teams in the capstone class have earned a top 100 ranking during the competition. The top performer, A PORC, tied for 25th in the overall game, and their performance in stock price ranked 8th globally for the same week of February 24 to March 1.

“It’s quite amazing to see five teams all in one location in a global competition,” said Jeff Holland, professor and chairperson of the Business, Accounting and Public Service Division. “It’s almost statistically impossible.”

GLO-BUS combines all of the student’s previously learned concepts and lets them create their own strategies for success.

Supported by classmate and teammate, Nick Roedersheimer, Mullenix added, “We took some loans early, and we’ve paid them off. We’re looking forward to doing well in the long run.”

The competition is ongoing and the teams are planning for continued success.

The Business Policy Capstone students are joined by more than 31,000 students from 297 schools in nearly 30 countries.

(March 26, 2020) – West Virginia University at Parkersburg is using its unique resources to find solutions to help with shortages our local health care facilities are facing during the COVID-19 crisis.

Jeff Matheny, WVU Parkersburg Board of Governor’s member and CEO of Physician’s Business Office, recently contacted the WVU Parkersburg’s Workforce and Economic Development Division (WED) Executive Director Michele Wilson to see how WED could use their onsite makerspace to help provide additional face shields to our health care community.

“I had been following the news on the COVID-19 response from hospitals and health care facilities around the country when I saw an article talking about shortages of personal protective equipment because of the huge demand,” said Matheny. “The article described a process that had been developed in Boston to utilize 3D printers to produce face shields. Once I forwarded this information to Michele, her team jumped in and produced a prototype very quickly. After showing what had been produced to people working in health care settings locally, they confirmed the need and were excited to have something to protect the staff who might be exposed to the virus.”

Facing the challenge of producing protective face shields as quickly as possible, Logan Mace, WVU Parkersburg Entrepreneur Center project coordinator, immediately started researching potential solutions. He found that the online maker community had already developed great designs that the college’s makerspace would be able to fabricate via 3D printers and a laser cutter. A protype was created and shared with Matheny, who then asked the makerspace to create 100 face shields as quickly as possible for distribution to local hospitals, physicians’ offices and health care centers later this week.

“Our institution, and our division in particular, has always searched for ways we can give back to the community and help find solutions to the problems business and industry face,” said Wilson. “We are very happy we can use the resources we have, which are normally open to the public to use, to do our part in helping keep our doctors and health care providers safe.”

Other community partners have since become involved in the project. When local philanthropist Tres Ross of the Ross Foundation became aware of what we were doing, he called upon two other local makerspaces – the Epicenter in Marietta and the Boys & Girls Club of Parkersburg – to help as well. Ben Shuman, executive director for the Boys & Girls Club of Parkersburg, ordered the raw materials and Brad Hemmerly, Epicenter Makerspace coordinator, is picking them up in Columbus, Ohio. The Ross Foundation is providing a $5,000 grant for the materials. Woodcraft Supply is also providing more than 650 masks and shields to local health care workers. The hope is that between all of the community partners thousands of face shields will continue to be made and distributed to area medical workers.

WVU Parkersburg’s WED is planning to virtually train other makerspace locations throughout the state on how to create these masks for distribution. The West Virginia National Guard is also collecting a prototype to test it for durability and protection capabilities.

Parkersburg, W.Va. (March 23, 2020) – In response to the continued threat of COVID-19, West Virginia University at Parkersburg is closing all buildings owned by the college, both in Parkersburg and in Ripley, effective Monday, March 23, at the close of business until further notice.

President Chris Gilmer announced today that all instruction and business functions of the college are moving immediately online with all offices operating remotely beginning Tuesday, March 24.

“It is our great hope that we will be able to come back to face-to-face operations as soon as possible,” said Gilmer. “We will be monitoring the situation continuously and making appropriate announcements.”

As announced last week, spring break has been extended on both WVU Parkersburg campuses through Sunday, March 29. Classes will resume in a fully alternate, non-face-to-face format on Monday, March 30.

The college will continue to make updates to the campus website to notify students, faculty and staff. The web link is www.wvup.edu/coronavirus.

(March 17, 2020) – Spring break will be extended for one week for students at West Virginia University at Parkersburg. President Chris Gilmer announced on Tuesday, March 17, that spring break is extended on both campuses through Sunday, March 29. Classes will resume in a fully alternate, non-face-to-face format on Monday, March 30.

The college president also closed the campuses – both Parkersburg and the Jackson County Center – to the general public. Both campuses are open to students, faculty and staff only. Members of the general public are asked to transact business by telephone or through technological means. This will include requesting admission to the university, registering for classes, getting advised, paying bills, and other necessary functions. A link will be available on the college’s website to allow students to access these functions in a succinct online location. Students are also encouraged to call 304-424-8310 to talk to the admissions staff.

“The university recognizes that this decision will create a hardship for some faculty members, some students, and the public. We deeply regret any inconvenience; however, the decision is judged essential toward the promotion of public health and is in keeping with prevailing national trends,” President Gilmer said. “We look forward to providing our usual excellent customer service when this crisis has passed.”

At present, the University hopes to resume face-to-face instruction on Monday, April 20, although this date will be evaluated regularly and could be extended.

Computer labs on both campuses will be open during regular hours, and the IT help desk will remain open, anticipating a higher volume of calls due to an increase in online instruction. Labs will be available for student and faculty use to complete instruction because the University recognizes that many students and some faculty members do not have reliable access to the Internet at home. Social distancing will be enforced in the labs.

“The goal is to protect the university’s employees and the public to the degree possible by enforcing social distancing,” President Gilmer said. The practice of social distancing is now in mandatory effect on both campuses. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention define social distancing as “remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately six feet or two meters) from others when possible.”

The opportunity for most employees to work remotely will be phased in over the next few days.

The college will continue to make updates to the campus website to notify students, faculty and staff. The web link is https://www.wvup.edu/coronavirus/.

College wins gold, silver, bronze and merit awards for marketing and advertising work

(March 17, 2020) – The West Virginia University at Parkersburg Marketing & Communications team was honored with five awards in the 35^th annual Educational Advertising Awards competition, sponsored by the Higher Education Marketing Report.

This is the first year the college has been recognized for its marketing efforts by the largest educational advertising awards competition in the country.

WVU Parkersburg earned two gold awards in the Newspaper Advertising – Single Ad and Ad Series categories. The single ad “Start Sooner, Finish Faster” highlights the achievements of a football player who excelled on and off the field by earning college credits during high school. The “Come Join Us” ad series features students in well-known spots throughout the seven-county region served by WVU Parkersburg, such as North Bend State Park in Ritchie County, Fort Boreman in Wood County and the Little Sister oil well in Tyler County.

An ad series featuring students who attended rival high schools but then became best classmates at the college won a silver award in the Newspaper Advertising – Series category.

Bronze and merit awards in the Outdoor Advertising category were received for “Let Us Invest in You” and “Join Us” billboards showing students in the college’s Communication and Media Studies experiential learning program in scenic outdoor spots in Wood and surrounding counties. The students visited the communities as part of an assignment to examine the demographics and other characteristics of the target audiences in those areas for marketing research.

“Our team is innovative in both design and in approach to educational advertising,” said Dr. Torie Jackson, vice president for Institutional Advancement, WVU Parkersburg. “It is this initiative to pursue uncommon marketing techniques that allows WVU Parkersburg to make a prominent statement among the pages of newspapers, the sounds of airwaves, or the passing of billboards. It is an honor to work with such a talented team.”

This year, the Educational Advertising Awards received more than 2,350 entries from over 1,000 colleges, universities and secondary schools from all 50 states and several foreign countries.

Judges for the awards competition consisted of a national panel of higher education marketers, advertising creative directors, marketing and advertising professionals and the editorial board of the Higher Education Marketing Report.

A full list of Educational Advertising Awards winners can be found at educationaladvertisingawards.com.

The health and safety of our University communities is without exception my greatest concern and highest responsibility.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2020, I convened a town hall meeting on the Parkersburg Campus of West Virginia University at Parkersburg to provide current, medically-sound updates on the national spread of COVID-19 and its potential implications for the University and the communities it serves. The meeting was transmitted live to our campus in Jackson County and was available remotely to all members of the broader community. The panel consisted of medical and public health experts of the highest order so that our community would have access to the very best and most reliable information. About 75 community members participated, and the panelists answered every question that was asked.

This town hall meeting was held as part of our ongoing commitment to providing timely, thorough, and consistent communication to our students, faculty, staff, and friends of the University. Such communication will continue until the threat of the virus has passed. As the medical experts have told us, this situation changes very rapidly; therefore, the University will err on the side of caution and will continue to communicate with our stakeholders on a heightened basis.

We are in close communication with Chancellor Sarah Tucker and her leadership team, and Chancellor Tucker is in close communication with the Governor. I was recently updated that a State of Emergency has not been called in West Virginia, and no guidance has yet been provided on a statewide level about consideration of closing campuses or curtailing events. We will, of course, follow any statewide guidance that we receive. Unless and until such guidance is received, we will make the very best and most informed decisions that we can make on a local level.

To the degree that such transition is possible, I have instructed the Provost of WVU Parkersburg to begin making preparation to transition our face-to-face classes to online classes. I may make this decision to transition at a local level or state authorities may make it at a statewide level. Further, I am reviewing requests for out-of-state travel on a case-by-case basis, and am considering putting a complete halt on non-essential domestic travel. I have not yet taken that step, on advice of medical authorities who do not believe such a step is currently necessary. WVU Parkersburg is not aware of any University-sanctioned international travel recently undertaken or planned.

As always, I take the safety, security, and health of our community very seriously, and will work in consultation with our Board of Governors, local, state, and national authorities, and the management team of the University to do everything we can reasonably do, based on medical counsel received, to maintain a safe learning and working environment.

West Virginia University at Parkersburg will host a community forum on the coronavirus, COVID-19, tomorrow, Tuesday, March 10, at 12:15 p.m., in the college theater. The information session will provide the latest information from reputable medical sources about the international and national spread of the virus, how to best contain and prevent it, and steps the college and the communities it serves should take to prevent, prepare and react should there be confirmed cases in West Virginia.

The information session can also be watched online at www.wvup.edu/live.

Interested students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to participate to hear the latest updates and ask questions.

The West Virginia University at Parkersburg Board of Governors will meet Wednesday, March 11. The meeting will take place at 3:15 p.m. in the student lounge of the WVU Parkersburg Jackson County Center.

Visit wvup.edu/about/board-of-governors/agenda/ to view the complete agenda.