West Virginia University at Parkersburg

West Virginia University
at Parkersburg
Parkersburg, West Virginia

Institutional Profile: An HLC regionally-accredited public comprehensive community college. WVU Parkersburg is a former regional campus of West Virginia University. However, the college became an independent comprehensive community college with legislatively granted authority to confer both two- and four-year degrees.  WVU Parkersburg is a multi-campus institution and a member of the West Virginia Community and Technical College System, which governs the two-year degree programs, and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, which governs the four-year degree programs. WVU Parkersburg was formerly Parkersburg Community College.

Continuous employment with increased levels of responsibility with some positions overlapping.

Governor/College Trustee (Almost 2 years)

Elected to serve on the first WVU Parkersburg Board of Governors (trustees) and charged with the responsibility of institutional governance and structural/governance
reform of West Virginia University at Parkersburg under West Virginia House Bill 3215. As a member of the first WVU Parkersburg Board of Governors, the first responsibility of the Board was to create and adopt WVU Parkersburg policies and an institutional structure or, as some at the time said, “build a college from scratch.” Key functions included institutional audit review, responsible for reviewing and approving Board policies, and accountability. I served on the Administrative Services Sub-committee (responsible for facilities, finance, personnel), responsible for reviewing, recommending, and approving Board policies affecting the physical plant and real
property, the fiscal affairs of the college, personnel services and benefits, and evaluating the president. Also responsible for annual review of the capital improvements list, review and approval of the Campus Master Plan, debt management, budget, and personnel salaries.

Director of West Virginia University at Parkersburg Honors College (4 years) – Reported to the President

My responsibilities were those at a dean- or vice president-level and included complete Honors College oversight, assessment, budgeting, external and internal stakeholder development, marketing, fund and friend raising, supervision, collaborating with the college foundation for benefactor support, professional development, curricula
development, and program review. I supported nearly 100 honors faculty members and more than 600 honor students in the Honors College. The successes of the Honors College were innumerable and included affiliation with national student leadership initiatives including the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation and the Appalachian Leadership Honors Program. The Honors College became a model community college honors program and, as a consultant and former director, replicated the model with community colleges across the country as near as Ohio and as distant as Minnesota. The notoriety of the program led to
support by leaders from business, industry, and government, including renowned leadership experts such as four-star General Robert H. (Doc) Foglesong (USAF, Ret.), Presidential designee to Co-Chair the Joint US-Russian Commission on POW/MIAs and former president of Mississippi State University. General Foglesong made multiple visits to the WVU Parkersburg Honors College and proudly proclaimed it as a model for honors education, character development, and leadership.

Coordinator of International Education and Travel (5 years) – Reported to the President

As coordinator, I was responsible for the campus initiatives involving international education and study abroad. I developed the curriculum and instructed courses related
to international education and integrated sound academic pedagogy into the study abroad experience. After redesigning the program, international education enrollment quadrupled in the first year under my leadership and remained steady throughout my tenure. I personally led and instructed study abroad students in 14 countries on three continents over four years. Consequently, I have elementary language proficiency, according to US State Department Standards, in French, Greek, Spanish, and Italian. Further, I was proud to collaborate with colleagues to expand international exchanges of faculty from Bulgaria and built a vibrant international student organization.

Academic Advisor (Summer 2003) – Reported to the Director of Advising

Contracted as a full-time academic advisor in the Academic Advising Center assisting new and returning students with scheduling and academic planning. Responsibilities included working with faculty and staff and supervising office staff during times of vacation of the director.

Assistant Professor of Sociology, Psychology, and Philosophy (9 years) – Reported to the Chair of Social Sciences

Honors Faculty Member (4 years)

I am experienced in developing and/or instructing more than 20 courses in the disciplines of Sociology, Psychology, and Philosophy in a myriad of formats including traditional delivery, online, individualized, and alternative delivery. I served as the course and program coordinator for sociology and philosophy and was responsible for developing several articulation and transfer agreements with area universities for our baccalaureate students to continue to graduate school. I was among the first on the campus to teach online and introduced a number of educational technologies into my classroom, ie interactive personal response. Furthermore, I am experienced in providing numerous non-credit courses to meet business, government, and industry needs through Workforce and Community Education. As a faculty leader, I was elected as secretary of the Faculty Senate and was a member of the West Virginia Education Association. I was chosen to lead several campus-wide initiatives including the redesign of program review, development of a college-wide assessment program, and a number of diversity and social justice initiatives. I progressed through academic rank without question from an Adjunct Instructor to Term Instructor to Instructor to Assistant Professor.

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WVU Parkersburg students studying abroad in France. This is one of the groups I led while Coordinator of International Education. Other classes I led and instructed included groups in England, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.