It's in the
Bag
Two nonbusiness majors at WVU won $10,000 plus $1,500 in legal
assistance and $6,000 toward office space for a year in the WVU
Entrepreneurship Center's business plan competition.
Katherine L. Grisso and Ben Harrell plan to produce unique fashion purses that will be offered for sale in major retail department stores and/or small boutiques.
Five student teams competed in the second annual business plan competition. The four runner-up teams each received $2,000.
The winning team, K. Lianna Accessory Design, was led by Grisso, a junior textile, apparel, and merchandising student in the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences with a minor in business administration. Her partner, Harrell, is a junior advertising major in the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism. Both students are from Morgantown.
Special
Athletes Compete
Smiling faces were everywhere on campus June 4-6 as WVU once
again hosted the Special Olympics West Virginia Summer Games.
It was the seventh year WVU hosted the event. Nearly 700 athletes
competed in swimming, track and field, bocce, softball, tennis,
cycling, golf, and kayaking.
The Summer Games also attracted tremendous support from the community and WVU employees and students, many of whom volunteered throughout the weekend or came out to cheer for the athletes during opening ceremonies. WVU coaches and student-athletes also made guest appearances and volunteered their time at the three-day event.
What Summer
Vacation?
Students appear to be trading in carefree summers relaxing in
the sun for taking classes to pick up some extra credits.
Early numbers showed that registration for both summer sessions was well over 10,000, up from 8,114 at the same time in 2003. Registration for Extended Learning courses was up by 68 percent, reflecting an increased demand for Web courses.
WVU's many online course offerings allow students to take classes from any location—from home, from the beach, or anywhere with Internet access—so students need not remain in Morgantown to take summer sessions.
Mountainlair
Plaza, Garage Getting Facelift
A $6.5 million makeover of the Mountainlair parking garage and
plaza is under way.
The first phase of the project—repairs to the two-story, 450-space parking garage—began in early July.
Improvements will include concrete repairs, new lighting, and renovations to the ventilation system. Plans also call for replacing or renovating the stair tower, installing a pad for a lift to transport heavy equipment to the plaza, and sprucing up the facade.
Garage renovations are tentatively scheduled to be complete by mid-October. Work on the plaza also began in July and will take a little more than a year to complete.
The new plaza will sport a fresh artificial playing turf, basketball court, terraced walkways, increased lighting, and tables and seating situated among shade trees and shrubbery.
The design separates the plaza into two sections—one for recreation and the other for dining, studying, or relaxing outdoors.
The Division of Student Affairs is spending an estimated $4.5 million on the plaza renovations, while the parking office is allocating about $2 million for the garage repairs.
A
University on the Move
Former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, WVU alumnus Steve Goodwin,
WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr., and Senator Robert C. Byrd
exchange greetings prior to President Hardesty's annual State
of the University address at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.
Hardesty's address focused on WVU's accomplishments and its future.
"By 2010, we are considering the possibility of enrolling
30,000 students on the main campus in Morgantown," he told
West Virginia's congressional delegation. This is the 26th year
for the annual luncheon sponsored by the National Capital Area
Chapter of the WVU Alumni Association.
A Healthier
Campus
Whether it's due to New Year's resolutions or the facility's
unique features, students and employees are flocking to the Student
Recreation Center in record numbers. The center recorded two
consecutive months of record-setting attendance in January and
February, boosting its overall attendance to more than 1.7 million
visitors since its opening in July of 2001.
In addition to the equipment and many fitness programs available at the Student Recreation Center, WVU recently launched Fitness First, a Web site designed to get students, faculty, and the community more physically active and make them aware of campus wellness options. To view the Web site visit http://www.wvu.edu/wellness.
Gnage New
President at WVU at Parkersburg
As WVU at Parkersburg begins its 15th year as a WVU regional
campus, the school recently welcomed its first woman president—Marie
Foster Gnage.
Dr. Gnage began her presidential duties July 1, coming to WVU at Parkersburg from Raritan Valley (NJ) Community College. She received her bachelor's degree in English from Alcorn A&M College, her master's in English from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, and her doctorate in English from Florida State University.
Gnage's appointment follows a four-month national search to fill the position vacated in 2003 when Erik Bitterbaum took a similar position at SUNY Cortland after three years at Parkersburg.
Med School
Dean Named
The new leader of WVU's School of Medicine will be a familiar
face to many. Before assuming the position of dean on July 1,
John E. Prescott, MD, served as the school's senior associate
dean and president of University Health Associates, the clinical
practice organization for faculty physicians and dentists.
He succeeds Robert M. D'Alessandri, MD, who will remain vice president for health sciences at WVU as well as president of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute.
Prescott was formerly chair of the school's department of emergency medicine and director of the Center for Rural Emergency Medicine. In 1999 he became UHA president and CEO, the first physician to hold that position.
Jeffrey L. Neely, MD, was named interim CEO of UHA, replacing Dr. Prescott. Dr. Neely is the vice-chair of internal medicine in the School of Medicine and serves as medical director of WVU's telemedicine system, Mountaineer Doctor Television. He is a 1979 graduate of the WVU School of Medicine.
Oman Med Students
Visit WVU
Eight students from Oman Medical College made West Virginia their
home for a week in May as guests of the WVU School of Medicine.
Accompanied by their college counselor, the students visited with WVU dignitaries, faculty, and students, participated in educational activities related to medicine, and shadowed physicians.
As part of WVU's academic partnership with Oman Medical College, WVU faculty members from the School of Medicine and Eberly College of Arts and Sciences develop curriculum and provide instruction to premedical and medical students in Oman. Upon successful completion of their seven years of coursework, students will be awarded medical degrees from the Oman Medical College, according to Omani medical and graduate degree standards.
U92
Broadcasts to Iraq
As the general manager of U92, WVU's campus radio station, Kim
Harrison is used to getting feedback from students and alumni.
But from an army captain in Iraq? That was unexpected.
As it turned out, the captain was Deron Haught, a West Virginia native from Harrisville, Ritchie County, and a lifelong Mountaineer fan.
Currently, he conducts combat patrols and raids of suspected targets in and around Altun Kupri, an Iraqi town roughly the size of Oahu, his home base in Hawaii.
Haught e-mailed Harrison during the spring semester to let her know he was having trouble connecting to U92's Web stream. In his "downtime," he hoped listening to WVU baseball games would be a distraction from war.
Since then, Haught has been able to successfully "tune in" U92, and the Mountaineers finished their season with a 10-16 league record.
In an e-mail to WVU's News and Information Services, he wrote: "I am really looking forward to WVU football. I think we've got a great team, and when the season starts, I'll know I'm closer to home. Thank you for all you do."
New Student
Housing OK'd
WVU will build two new residence halls, purchase a private facility
it formerly leased, and renovate existing halls under a ten-year,
$40 million plan approved in June by the WVU Board of Governors.
WVU also will extend its lease of Pierpont Apartments near the Health Sciences Center for another 11 years and demolish College Park Apartments near University High School for future development.
The long-range plan addresses WVU's increasing enrol
lment and aging facilities and underscores WVU's commitment to the first-year student experience. Once completed, there will be 1,100 more University-owned spaces, bringing the housing capacity to over 4,800.
The goal is to accommodate all of the freshman class, a modest number of returning students, and a limited number of upperclassmen, particularly international students, in University-owned halls. Currently, some 1,000 spaces are leased around town each year.
The new residence halls will be located across from the Evansdale Residential Complex, or Towers, and in the current lot next to Summit Hall on Grant Avenue. Each will likely share dining facilities with its neighboring hall.
The Evansdale Campus hall will open in fall 2006 followed by the downtown facility in fall 2007. Then, each of the four Towers will be completely renovated, one per year beginning in 2008.
The new and renovated facilities are expected to appeal more to students and parents, providing improved technology access, larger living accommodations, more privacy, and enhanced security programs.
Grad Student
Attends Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students
A WVU graduate student in physics got a chance to pick the minds
of some of the world's leading scientists this summer.
Chris Compton was among more than 500 young researchers from around the world selected to attend the 54th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students June 27July 2 in Lindau, Germany.
Since 1951, Nobel laureates in chemistry, physics, and physiology/medicine have annually convened in Lindau to have open and informal meetings with students and young researchers from around the world. The meetings rotate by discipline each year, and this year's event focused on physics.
Compton was one of 23 participants chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy and one of only 58 students representing the United States.
Renovation
Transforms Coliseum Roof
Visitors to Morgantown this fall will notice that the Coliseum's
roof has an attractive new look.
During the summer months, workers removed the existing insulation and replaced it with new insulation plus a urethane-based coating to keep the roof attractive and durable.
Another part of the project was to pressure-wash the lower portion of the structure and to replace joint sealants and repair deteriorated concrete surfaces.
The $1.9 million project is expected to be complete by the end of October.
Smithsonian
Adds Links to WVU Libraries' Digital Exhibits
WVU has taken up digital domain in the Smithsonian Institution.
Links to four WVU Libraries digital exhibits appear on a Smithsonian Institution Libraries Web site. The site, Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web, lists nearly 3,000 library-related exhibits from more than 25 countries. In 2003, close to 16,000 people visited the site.
"We're honored that the Smithsonian has taken notice of our work in the digital arena," WVU Libraries Dean Frances O'Brien said. "Electronic resources and archives quickly became commonplace in academic libraries, and we want not only to compete in the field but to make an exceptional offering."
The Smithsonian provides links to the following WVU Libraries exhibits: A Devoted Life: Grace Edwards Waters, Jesse Stuart Web Exhibit, Season's Greetings: Holiday Cards from the West Virginia and Regional History Collection, and Vintage Valentines from the West Virginia and Regional History Collection.
WVU Libraries have several other digital exhibits, including one for the Isaac Asimov collection, which has gained international attention.
WVU Libraries' digital exhibits can be viewed at http://www.libraries. wvu.edu/exhibits.
4-H Riders
Trek across State
Representative Shelley Moore Capito joined nine 4-H members and
other participants making a 250-mile bicycle trip across eastern
and central West Virginia June 17-20 to raise awareness about
and funds for the 4-H program and WVU Jackson's Mill. The bike
riders raised nearly $20,000 in donations and pledges.
Kudos
Perley Isaac Reed Documentary Wins Emmy
The Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism's award-winning student-
and faculty-produced documentary on cancer patients and their
struggles with the disease has won a Midwestern Regional Emmy.
Cancer Stories: Lessons in Love, Loss and Hope was nominated in the informational program category. The documentary chronicles the lives of five cancer patients from diagnosis through their treatments.
The documentary originally aired on West Virginia Public Broadcast stations in December 2003. WVPB also helped with the project, providing an award-winning editor.
More than 30 broadcast, news-editorial, and photography students worked for nearly a year and a half to create the documentary and a book that WVU Press will release in the fall.
The documentary and book have been featured
in American Journalism Review. The documentary also won
an Award of Excellence in the 2004 Broadcast Education Association
Festival of Media Arts documentary category.
Faculty Member Receives Lincoln Center
Award
Bassoonist Peter Kolkay, a member of the WVU music faculty, is
one of four musicians in the nation selected to receive a 2004
Career Grant from the Avery Fisher Artist Program at Lincoln
Center for the Performing Arts.
The announcement was made in May during festivities at Lincoln Center's Clark Studio Theater. Performances by the four recipients, along with interviews, were taped for nationwide broadcast July 4 on the Arts & Entertainment channel's "Breakfast with the Arts."
Avery Fisher Career Grants give professional assistance and recognition to talented instrumentalists who have potential for solo careers. The winners receive $15,000 to use in furthering their careers.
Kolkay is the first bassoonist to win the award.
Researcher Honored
For his contributions to the field of petroleum geology, Douglas
G. Patchen of the West Virginia University National Research
Center for Coal and Energy and the West Virginia Geological and
Economic Survey was named an honorary member of the American
Association of Petroleum Geologists at the association's 2004
annual convention.
Dr. Patchen was one of four members of the 31,000-member organization to receive this oldest of the association's awards. The AAPG was formed in 1917. Patchen directs the Appalachian regional lead organization of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council, located at the NRCCE.
Rifle Club Wins Championship
Behind the sharpshooting of senior Nicole Allaire, the WVU Rifle
Club captured the 2004 NRA National Club Team Championship following
intercollegiate rifle sectional competition held across the United
States.
The WVU rifle shooters compiled a score of 4,533, finishing 218 points ahead of Penn State in the smallbore event. In air rifle, the WVU club team defeated Clemson 1,495 to 1,464.
Allaire led the WVU club team with 1,176 in smallbore and 392 in air rifle. Both scores topped all club shooters nationwide, earning Allaire the titles of NRA National Collegiate Club Smallbore Rifle Champion and National Collegiate Club Air Rifle Champion to go with the All-American honors she received earlier this year.
The club team title is the fifth for WVU. It won four rifle club team championships between 1961 and 1976. The WVU rifle team has captured 13 NCAA titles over the years.