President Bush Celebrates Fourth of July at WVU
WVU entertained a special guest on the Fourth of July.
President George W. Bush celebrated the nation’s birthday in Morgantown, delivering a speech touting patriotism and freedom to about 5,000 people in WVU’s Woodburn Circle.
With a flag-draped Woodburn Hall serving as his backdrop, Bush called on Americans to support U.S. troops as they fight to spread the democratic ideals expressed 229 years ago in the Declaration of Independence.
“Defending the ideals of our founding has required the service and sacrifice of every generation, and the men and women of our armed forces have always answered our nation’s call,” said the president, who shed his suit coat and necktie and rolled up his sleeves for the 20-minute talk.
“At this hour, our men and women in uniform are defending America against the threats of the 21st century,” he added. “The war we are fighting came to our shores on September 11, 2001. After that day, I made a pledge to the American people: We will not wait to be attacked again. We will bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies.”
Bush praised the sacrifices made by troops and their families, especially the current contributions of West Virginia’s soldiers in the war on terror.
He also lauded WVU and “the good work that the folks do here to educate the people of West Virginia.”
Bush’s visit, the first to WVU by a sitting president since William Howard Taft came to campus in 1911, made for strong reactions—both for and against his administration’s policies. Besides the people who turned out to hear him speak, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of Stewart Hall to protest all things Bush—from the war in Iraq to the economy.
But having an opinion—and the freedom to voice it—was what the day was all about, said Ron Justice, Morgantown mayor and WVU assistant dean of students.
“That’s what freedom’s all about,” Justice said. “It’s about being able to say what you believe. I think Morgantown gave him a very warm welcome. There are going to be diverse opinions in any community you go to.”
Texan Moves East to Lead Business School
The former senior executive associate dean of Rawls College of Business Administration at Texas Tech University has been named the Milan Puskar Dean of the WVU College of Business and Economics.
R. Stephen Sears began his new job in August. He replaces Jay H. Coats, who retired over the summer.
“I am very impressed by the professionalism and high integrity of everyone I have met in West Virginia, and I’m very excited an honored to be chosen to be dean of the College of Business and Economics,” Sears said. “You’ll get the best that I’ve got.”
Sears comes to WVU from Lubbock, Texas, where he taught at Texas Tech’s business school as the Lubbock Bankers’ Association Professor of Finance. After serving as interim dean during the spring and summer of 2001, he was appointed as the senior executive associate dean and maintained this position until the summer of 2003.
Sears has written two books on investment management, a chapter for another book, and several articles.
He has an associate’s degree from Odessa Junior College, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Texas Tech, and a doctorate in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
WVU Alumna Returns to Lead Eberly College
A WVU alumna who has served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, since 1999 returned to her alma mater October 1 to lead the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
As dean of the Eberly College, Mary Ellen Mazey will head WVU’s largest college, with 6,300 students majoring in 30 undergraduate programs and more than 1,000 graduate students.
“It is a great honor and privilege to return to my alma mater as dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences,” she said. “I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students, and administrators to build and enhance the educational and research mission of the college and WVU.”
A graduate of Harvard University’s Management Development Program, Mazey earned a doctorate in urban geography from the University of Cincinnati. She also has a master’s degree in geology and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from WVU.
In 2004, Mazey was named an Eberly College Outstanding Alumnus.
Mazey replaces Rudy Almasy, who has been serving as interim dean since July 2004 when M. Duane Nellis left the University to become provost at Kansas State University.
Byrd Memoir Published by WVU Press
For a while he was a kid again, roaming the poor coal camps of southern West Virginia, learning the three R’s in a two-room school, following the Dempsey-Tunney boxing match, and reading the “funny papers.”
These were some of the moments of his youth that Robert C. Byrd touched on when he joined WVU officials in Morgantown and Washington this summer for two special ceremonies to launch the release of his autobiography.
Published by WVU Press, Robert C. Byrd: Child of the Appalachian Coalfields is a real-life rags-to-riches story by the state’s senior U.S. senator.
The 800-page memoir recounts Byrd’s life experiences from growing up in Stotesbury, West Virginia, in the early 1920s to his election to an unprecedented eighth U.S. Senate term in 2000.
“This book is the generous act of a most generous man who offers us in these 800 pages the chance to understand intimately his role in our political history since World War II,” said Patrick Conner, director of WVU Press.
Byrd has been a fixture in West Virginia politics since 1946, when he was elected to the first of two terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates. He won a seat in the state Senate in 1950 and a seat in Congress in 1952. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1958 and has remained a member of that body since.
Byrd described writing his autobiography as “a labor of love,” adding, “the book takes the reader on a journey—the story of my life.”
WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. called the book “a wonderful gift from one of America’s greatest statesmen.”
The book is priced at $35 and can be ordered by contacting the WVU Press toll-free at 1-866-WVUPRESS or by visiting www.wvupress.com.
Potomac State Becomes Division of WVU
The relationship between WVU and Potomac State College became stronger July 1 when the 104-year-old school at Keyser became a division of the University.
The move makes Potomac State a fully integrated unit much like a college on WVU’s Morgantown campus. The two-year school was previously a regional campus of the University.
The new arrangement involves both organizational and operational changes for Potomac State and its 1,300 students.
Administratively, the school’s leader—Kerry Odell—has the title of provost. Previously, the head of the college held the titles of president of the institution and regional vice president of WVU. The school’s Board of Advisers will become a Board of Visitors with authority and responsibility similar to those of visiting committees for colleges in Morgantown.
From an operational standpoint, Potomac State will be able to offer services under WVU’s umbrella that it could not afford to provide as a regional campus with its own budget.
These services include an online customer service system, access to WVU’s Web site for faculty and students, a bachelor’s of applied science degree in criminal justice, a scholarship program for new freshmen who enroll at Potomac State and transfer to WVU, and a $12.25 million, 200-bed residence hall.
Special Olympics
WVU’s long run as host of the Special Olympics West Virginia Summer Games came to an end when the University hosted the games for the eighth and final year June 3–5. The Summer Games will be moving to Charleston for three years beginning in 2006. Approximately 600 athletes from all parts of the state as well as many volunteers participated in the weekend’s activities. Here, athletes celebrate a great weekend of games.
Hendricks to Lead WVU Bands
John Hendricks has been named the new director of bands at WVU.
Hendricks has been WVU’s assistant director of bands for the past 12 years and director of the Mountaineer Marching Band since 1998.
The Shepherdstown, West Virginia, native succeeds Don Wilcox, who served as WVU director of bands for 34 years before retiring at the end of the 2004–05 academic year.
Dearl “Jay” Drury has been appointed assistant director of bands and will become the 11th director of the 340-member “Pride of West Virginia.”
WVU Residence Hall Devoted to Multicultural Community
WVU students may want to brush up on their “holas” and “bonjours” because residence life went global this fall.
The Spruce House at 544 Spruce Street was transformed into WVU’s new International House, a multicultural community for 37 undergraduate students—17 females and 20 males—from around the world.
Conveniently located near the Downtown campus, the facility is within easy walking distance of major classroom buildings and the PRT system, said Associate Dean Peter Li, who oversees the Office of International Students and Scholars.
International House has a dormitory-style setup with two or three people per room, a combination of twin and bunk beds and community bathrooms. There will be one floor for males and one floor for females—plus a lounge large enough for hall activities.
Like traditional residence halls, the International House has resident assistants and many of the same amenities, including a dining area where students can prepare group meals featuring traditional cuisine from their homelands.
WVU Forms its Own Innocence Project
WVU has formed a Mountain State version of a national project that aids people who have been unjustly jailed.
The Innocence Project at WVU is an offshoot of the New York City-based Innocence Project. The program has helped exonerate 159 wrongly convicted prisoners since its founding in 1992 by nationally known defense lawyers Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld.
The WVU project is the first such effort for West Virginia prisoners and their families and will be the first in the country to combine a university’s law school and forensic science program, its organizers say.
There are currently 28 such projects doing work across the United States, and 19 of them are housed at colleges and universities.
The project uses DNA analysis and other forensic methods to offer a high-tech take on cases previously thought to be open-and-shut by the juries that delivered the verdicts of guilty.
WVU, City Join Forces on Park Project
A lush green space on the Monongahela riverfront will soon be transformed into an even more vibrant gathering spot, thanks to a joint project by WVU and the city of Morgantown.
Scheduled to open in Spring 2006, Mountaineer Heritage Park on Don Knotts Boulevard will feature an entrance plaza, Walk of Seniors, butterfly garden, gazebo and picnic areas, water feature, and memorial garden.
The project will be supported by the purchasing of items such as bricks, gardens, and plants, as well as through in-kind gifts.
WVU landscape architecture students and faculty have assisted with the design and landscaping. Other WVU participants include the Division of Student Affairs, Physical Plant, and WVU Alumni Association. Morgantown’s Beautification Committee and the Board of Park and Recreation Commissioners also have key roles in the upcoming project.
KUDOS
History Professor to Teach in Poland
A WVU history professor will spend part of next year in Poland teaching and lecturing about the nation’s often painful past.
Robert Blobaum, chairman of the Department of History and a scholar of modern Poland, will teach at Warsaw University from February 1 to June 30, 2006, as a 2006 Fulbright Distinguished Chair of East European Studies.
Blobaum, who came to WVU in 1984, was selected by the U.S.-Polish Fulbright Commission and the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars. Awards in the Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program are viewed as among the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program and reserved for those with a prominent record of scholarly accomplishment.
Recognized as a leading scholar on 20th century Polish politics and society, Blobaum is the editor of Antisemitism and Its Opponents in Modern Poland, a book of essays by Polish and American scholars. He has also written numerous articles and books on the subject.