West Virginia University at Parkersburg will hold its fall commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 10:30 a.m. in the college activities center. Former White House liaison and senior United States Department of Justice official Shirlethia Franklin, Esquire will give the commencement address.

This semester, WVU Parkersburg plans to award certificate, associate and bachelor’s degrees to over 270 students. The college will also award an honorary degree to previous WVU Parkersburg Board of Governors member Curtis Miller and to distinguished commencement speaker Shirlethia Franklin.

“It’s sincere joy and privilege to share my first WVU Parkersburg commencement with so many talented students and their families. I am extremely proud of them all,” said Dr. Chris Gilmer, president of WVU Parkersburg. “It is also an extraordinary pleasure that such a very outstanding former student of mine, Shirlethia Franklin will give our commencement address.”

Franklin, currently Of Counsel for the Business and Tort Litigation group of the Jones Day law firm in Washington, D.C., is actively involved in the firm’s pro bono civil and human rights cases. As a public servant, she has noted, “The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”

Franklin met Dr. Gilmer while she was earning her Bachelor of Arts in English in 2004 from Tougaloo College, a private, historically black, liberal arts institution, where she also graduated valedictorian of her class.

In 2007, she graduated from Howard University of Law in the top ten percent of her class. Upon graduation from Howard Law, Franklin served as judicial law clerk to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland’s federal judge.

Franklin was selected as the Truancy Intervention Project’s Volunteer of the Year Honoree in 2012 for her commitment to pro bono legal service. Then, was appointed to the 2013 – 2014 Class of White House Fellows, one of the nation’s most prestigious fellowships for leadership and public service, by President Barack Obama’s Commission on White House Fellowships. Most recently, Franklin served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor to the U.S. Attorney General where she counseled the Attorney General on significant law enforcement issues and high-profile environmental matters.

Saturday’s commencement ceremony will host more than 100 students and their families. All students participating in commencement activities are strongly encouraged to report promptly at 9:30 a.m. outside the college theater.

For those who cannot attend on Saturday or were unable to get tickets, a link will be available at www.wvup.edu for a live video via YouTube.

Three students from West Virginia University at Parkersburg can now add real-world experience in financial trading to their resumes after recently participating in the TD Ameritrade thinkorswim® Challenge. The national competition gives undergraduate students a hands-on approach to managing money in the markets, without any risk involved.

During the competition, student teams are given $500,000 in virtual dollars to trade stocks, options and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over a four-week period, as well as unlimited access to an array of valuable educational resources. Participating teams compete for many rewarding prizes, including a $30,000 donation to the winning team’s college or university.

WVU Parkersburg students Justin Bosley, Shianne Winters and Austin Grimm – who comprised the first team to represent the state of West Virginia in the national competition – placed 299 out of 515 schools. The trio outperformed teams from Harvard University, Princeton University, Penn State University, Queens College, Ohio State University, UCLA and other notable post-secondary educational institutions across the country.

“The competition allowed us to demonstrate what we have learned in class in real time against some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities,” said WVU Parkersburg student Justin Bosley. “Speaking on behalf of our team, we couldn’t be more honored to put West Virginia on the map. Our results speak volumes to the quality of education at WVU Parkersburg and its business programs.”

West Virginia University at Parkersburg and the Actors Guild of Parkersburg will host two showings of Ken Ludwig’s “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” on Saturday, Dec. 8 in the college theater. Performed by the Guild Builders Teen Workshop, the first show is from noon – 2 p.m., and the second from 2 – 4 p.m. Tickets are $8 per person and will be available only at the door with all proceeds going to the Actors Guild.

“‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” follows the wild holiday adventures of a mouse, an elf, and a spunky little girl who go on a journey to find out why Santa did not visit their house last year. Ludwig, the playwright, is a two-time Olivier Award-winner, with 24 plays and musicals that are performed throughout the world in more than 30 countries.

“We are thrilled about our renewed partnership with the Actors Guild,” said Dr. Chris Gilmer, WVU Parkersburg president. “They are a local treasure, and we want to support their work in every way possible. It is one of my dreams to return live theatre to our campus, and this is an important first step.”

The Guild Builders is the Actors Guild of Parkersburg’s youth theater program, and provides instruction in the performing arts; from acting, singing, and dancing to technical and behind-the-scenes work. The program is free and open to students in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Their next show, “Aladdin Jr.,” will open Friday, Jan. 18 and run on the weekends until Saturday, Jan. 26.

Visit www.actors-guild.com for more information on the Actors Guild of Parkersburg, Guild Builders and upcoming shows.

For the second consecutive year, West Virginia University at Parkersburg has been recognized as the most affordable college in the nation for its online bachelor’s degree in child development by the SR Education Group.

“We are very excited that our child development program has once again received national recognition for being the best value for an online education,” said Dr. David Lancaster, professor and chair of the Education Division, WVU Parkersburg. “By offering an online program format, we hope to make the degree more accessible and affordable for students who seek flexibility in completing their bachelor’s degree.”

WVU Parkersburg’s child development program offers a career ladder approach, meaning students can move seamlessly from a one-year certificate to a two-year associate degree and then on to a four-year bachelor’s degree without losing any credits along the way.

Students who enroll in the program, including those who live outside of West Virginia, can earn a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Child Development entirely online for $2,532 or less per semester, depending on course load. Additionally, WVU Parkersburg’s tuition charges are capped, so any credits taken in excess of 12 credit hours per semester are offered at no additional charge.

Students from West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and Georgia are currently pursuing or have completed the online degree program through WVU Parkersburg.

The SR Education Group’s “2019 Most Affordable Child Development Degrees Online” rankings represent online schools across the nation that are committed to providing quality, low-cost online bachelor’s degrees in child development. The tuition rates of every accredited college offering fully online degrees are manually researched and collected each year to determine and rank the most affordable options.

For more information about WVU Parkersburg’s child development program, contact Christi Calvert at 304-424-8000 ext. 430 or christi.calvert@wvup.edu.

West Virginia University at Parkersburg will participate in the day-long global fundraising initiative #GivingTuesday on November 27. Following Thanksgiving and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday is a day of giving created to harness the collective power of individuals and communities through philanthropy.

On #GivingTuesday, WVU Parkersburg will collect funds for students and student-based programs that support all members of the WVU Parkersburg community, providing a variety of opportunities for students to learn, grow and be successful throughout their college career and beyond.

“This is our first time to participate in #GivingTuesday, and we are excited to see how engaged our community will be in supporting the important mission of the university,” said Keith Gaskin, vice president of Institutional Advancement. “Those who choose to give, at any level, will make a difference in student lives today, knowing they will have an impact on generations to come.”

Founded in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y – a community and cultural center in New York City − #GivingTuesday inspired millions of people to give back and support the causes they believe in. Over $300 million was raised online to benefit a tremendously broad range of organizations, and much more was given in volunteer hours, donations of food and clothing, and acts of kindness.

Donations of any size can be made on the WVU at Parkersburg Foundation webpage http://foundation.wvup.edu/, where donors can make a contribution through the Network for Good or PayPal™.

Donations collected through #GivingTuesday will support the Annual Fund which provides scholarships, faculty and staff development, technology upgrades and learning tools, career development programs and much more.

Alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of the college are all welcome and encouraged to participate.

For more information, contact WVU Parkersburg Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Keith Gaskin at lgaskin@wvup.edu or 901.238.8238.

West Virginia University at Parkersburg will host Dr. Cris Mayo, distinguished scholar in the field of gender studies, on Monday, Nov. 26 for two transgender awareness training sessions. Both trainings, sponsored by WVU Parkersburg’s Social Justice Committee, are free and open to the public.

Dr. Mayo will conduct a session from 12:15 – 1 p.m. and again from 5 – 6:30 p.m. in the college theater. The afternoon session will be streamed live at the Jackson County Center in room 206. The extended, evening training will be interactive and include video segments.

In addition to basic information about transgender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people, the training will provide strategies for assessing gender-inclusivity of living and learning spaces, recreational facilities, forms, policies, teaching methods, and curricula, as well as using inclusive pronouns and chosen names.

“We have invited Dr. Mayo to come to our campus to promote education and awareness about what it means for someone to be transgender,” said Debbie Richards, WVU Parkersburg specialist assistant to the president for policy and social justice. “Awareness programs like this help to create a more inclusive and accepting society for all.”

Dr. Mayo is director of the LGBTQ+ Center and Women’s Resource Center, and professor of women’s and gender studies at West Virginia University. Her books, “Disputing the Subject of Sex” and “LGBTQ Youth and Schools: Policies and Practices,” are both American Educational Studies Association Critics’ Choice Award winners. In 2017, she published “Gay-Straight Alliances and Associations Among Youth” which focuses on how young people form relationships despite sexuality, gender, race, or education level, and work together to create more positive school environments.

For more information about this event, contact Debbie Richards at Debbie.Richards@wvup.edu or 304.424.8201.

West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s Sigma Omega chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) honor society welcomed 13 new members during the fall 2018 semester. A formal induction ceremony was held on Thursday, Nov. 1 in the college theater.

During the ceremony, a formal welcome was given by Dr. Chris Gilmer, WVU Parkersburg president and PTK alumni member. Dr. Gilmer was presented with the Phi Theta Kappa Alumni medallion in recognition of embodying the organization’s true spirit of leadership, service, fellowship and continual academic excellence.

Also, officers Justin Bosley, Victoria Poellot-Tauber, and Brittany Sword were installed as president, vice president, and secretary/treasurer respectively.

“Phi Theta Kappa brings together an amazing group of students that make a positive impact on our campus and community with various service projects,” said Bosley. “The honor society is a golden standard for what student excellence is, and I am blessed to be in a leadership position that allows me to make a difference.”

Inductees took the official oath of membership to uphold PTK’s four hallmarks of scholarship, leadership, service and fellowship in the presence of their friends and family. New WVU Parkersburg Sigma Omega chapter members include:

Julia L. Blair

Heather N. Carpenter

Ashley R. Cox

Deborah A. Darling

Lauryn B. Fields

Serena M. Graham

Benjamin A. Halley

Hannah N. Halley

Andrew M. Hoschar

Amy. L Hudson

Paige M. Leasure

Thomas E. Mullenix

Walter W. Westfall

The Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest honor society in higher education with 1,250 chapters across the United States, Canada and Germany. Membership to PTK is by invitation only and extended to students meeting specific eligibility criteria. In order to be eligible for membership, currently enrolled students must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average and completed at least 12 credit hours of associate degree coursework.

For more information about WVU Parkersburg’s Sigma Omega chapter, contact advisors Marie Butler (Marie.Butler@wvup.edu), Andrew Rochus (arochus1@wvup.edu) or Andrew Walker (wwalker1@wvup.edu).

What do civil rights pioneers and second-grade artists, college presidents, researchers, school superintendents, and poets have in common? They will all be joining students, faculty, and staff at West Virginia University at Parkersburg Nov. 8-10, as part of the second convening of the National Institutes for Historically-Underserved Students.

The project started in 2016 as a collaboration between Dr. Chris Gilmer, then Vice President for Academic Affairs at Adams State University, and Dr. Donzell Lee, then Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Alcorn State University.

Gilmer, Founder of the Institutes, is now President of West Virginia University at Parkersburg, and Lee, Co-Founder of the Institutes, is Interim President of Alcorn State University. In West Virginia, the two presidents are reuniting many of the original think tank participants and adding exciting new voices to a conversation meant to help level the playing field for America’s most vulnerable students.

The think tank will include a town hall meeting at WVU Parkersburg on Friday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. in the college theater. An exhibition of the nationally-acclaimed documentary art installation “A Peace of My Mind” will be on display on campus throughout the week leading up to the think tank. On Friday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m., in the College Activities Center, the college will also celebrate the inauguration of Dr. Gilmer as president of the university. These three events are free and open to the public and will include a reading by internationally acclaimed poet Aaron Abeyta and a solo performance by Dr. Matthew Valverde, one of the most acclaimed young tenors of his generation. The WVU Parkersburg Foundation is sponsoring this convening of the National Institutes.

“‘Historically-underserved’ is not meant as a label. It is meant as a statement of empowerment, each of us accepting, even celebrating, the uniqueness of our birth and our defining characteristics while at the same time asserting that education is a right of every person willing to work hard for it. It is not simply a privilege of those to whom it comes easily,” Gilmer said. “American higher education was not built on a level playing field, and it is our commitment to help level that field.”

Among the 40 educational leaders participating in the November think tank at WVU Parkersburg are Constance Slaughter-Harvey, Esquire, a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement who desegregated the University of Mississippi School of Law; Dr. Deb Daiek, President of the National Association for Developmental Education; Kevin Christian who leads diversity efforts at the American Association of Community Colleges; Dr. Lonie Haynes, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at Highmark Health; The Reverend Dr. Rosalyn Nichols, Lead Pastor of Freedom’s Chapel Christian Church; Marguerite Salazar, member of the Cabinet of the Governor of Colorado; Donna M. Harris-Aikens, Senior Director of Education Policy and Practice, National Education Association; Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, Chancellor, West Virginia Council on Technical and Community Colleges; and a number of university and college presidents. A group of student ambassadors from WVU Parkersburg will also take part in the event.

“As the first person in my family to attend college, I was a historically-underserved student. There are many first-generation students, veterans, working adult students, and others throughout our service area who need someone to advocate for their right to an education. We are in no way about special rights for anyone. We don’t absolve anyone of the responsibility to work hard and to give his or her best,” Gilmer said. “After our students have given us their best, however, it’s our job as educators to meet them wherever they are and help them attain the education they want and deserve. That’s the role the National Institutes can fill.”

For more information, contact WVU Parkersburg Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Keith Gaskin at lgaskin@wvup.edu or 901.238.8238.

In observance of International Education Week, West Virginia University at Parkersburg will host award-winning actress, producer, and philanthropist, Qurrat Ann Kadwani, for a performance of her solo play, “They Call Me ‘Q,’” on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the college theater. Funded in part by the Higher Education Resource Assessment, the event is free and open to the public.

“They Call Me ‘Q’” is a narrative in which Kadwani portrays 13 different characters to tell her story of moving from Bombay, India to the Bronx, New York while seeking balance between the cultural pressures of her traditional parents and social acceptance in a new city. During the play, Kadwani will portray several individuals who have shaped her life including her parents, Caucasian teachers, Puerto Rican classmates and African-American friends. The program creates an open dialogue about immigration and the universal search for identity.

“An increasing number of children in the U.S. are being raised in immigrant families and will become a significant part of our future society,” said Debbie Richards, WVU Parkersburg special assistant to the president for policy and social justice. “This theatrical performance speaks to the cultural conflicts that immigrants experience when discovering their human identity and place in society.”

Kadwani is a theatre graduate of State University of New York at Geneseo, and the founding artistic director of eyeBLINK, a multicultural non-profit committed to promoting social change through theatre, dance, and special events. Her TV appearances include “All My Children,” “As the World Turns,” “The Blacklist,” “Law and Order: SVU,” “Falling Water,” and “Mr. Robot.”

Highlighted as a “Woman Who Shapes the Future” by Fox 5 NY, Kadwani won the SAPNA NYC Dream Award (2014), Maui Fringe Best Play Award (2013), Variations Theatre Groups Best Actress Award (2012), and more. She is also the first South Asian female to have a solo play produced off-Broadway. “They Call Me ‘Q’” has been performed over 200 times in 35 states.

For more information, contact Debbie Richards at Debbie.Richards@wvup.edu or 304.424.8201.

 

West Virginia University at Parkersburg and Artsbridge will host “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in the College Activities Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Broadway stars Mary Michael Patterson (“Phantom of the Opera,”) Cary Tedder (“A Bronx Tale,”) Hilary Morrow (“Birdland Jazz Club”) and Sam Hamashima (“Comfort Women: A New Musical”) will perform songs from Broadway, the Great American Songbook, and more under conductor Luke Frazier leading the American Pops Orchestra.

Frazier, named one of the “Top 40 Under 40” by Washingtonian Magazine, is a Parkersburg South High School and West Virginia University graduate. He was the first-ever student selected for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s (WVSO) Andrew and Amy Vaughan Student Symphonic Fellowship. The program develops and encourages West Virginia high school students interested in pursuing a career as professional musicians, educators, composers or conductor by allowing fellows to sit alongside WVSO musicians in rehearsals, attend concerts, and meet and interact with guest artists.

“Luke is a product of our Wood County music program,” said Dr. H.G. Young, WVU Parkersburg Humanities, Fine Arts, and Social Sciences professor. “This event is a result of a young man giving back to the place that nurtured his talents and his advocating for music education.”

Founded in 2015 by Frazier, the American Pops Orchestra is comprised of musicians from Washington, D.C. and New York City that use innovative musical concepts to breathe new life into classic tunes. Frazier leads the organization to provide free public concerts as part of a mission to share the joy of music will all members of the community.

The company will tour schools in the Mid-Ohio Valley for a week, visiting Wood, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, and Doddridge counties in West Virginia, then Belpre and Little Hocking schools in Ohio. The tour is sponsored by Artsbridge.

Only 500, free tickets to the event will be available in the WVU Parkersburg Business Office until Monday, Nov. 5. Any remaining tickets will be distributed at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, contact Dr. H.G. Young at HG.Young@wvup.edu or 304.424.8248.

      

Luke Frazier                             Mary Michael Patterson         Cary Tedder

   

Hilary Morrow                         Sam Hamashima