News for the new (fiscal) year 

I hope everyone is enjoying some down time over the summer. As we roll into our new fiscal year, I wanted to share a few announcements regarding key positions within the college. First, the Director of Graduate Studies for Eberly, Jess Queener, has accepted a position to work in the Office of Graduate Education and Life. Jess has done a wonderful job organizing this position, but this is a terrific opportunity for her. I am heartened to know that she will continue to serve our graduate programs albeit in different capacity. With Jess transitioning, we have asked Jessica Deshler, Professor of Mathematics, to serve as Interim Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies. Jessica has been serving as the graduate coordinator for Mathematics and we believe she is very well prepared to assist Eberly during the coming year. We wish Jess the very best in her new job and we are looking forward to working with Jessica going forward.

I am also pleased to announce that Brian Ballentine, John Kilwein and Amy Thompson and have been reappointed to serve as chair of the departments of English, Political Science and World Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, respectively. Additionally, Tina Levelle and Valérie Lastinger have been reappointed to their associate dean positions. Renée Nicholson will be stepping down as chair of our Programs in Multi- and Interdisciplinary Studies and Regents Bachelor of Arts. She will continue to provide instructional support to the unit but will be primarily administering the WVU Center for Humanities as its Director. John Navaratnam will take over as Interim Director and will continue his role as an Eberly Leadership Fellow. I want to thank Renée for her leadership the past couple of years, as well as welcome John into this new role.

I am excited that Amy Thompson has agreed to also serve as Eberly’s Director of International Relations and Strategic Planning. This new role will liaise with the Provost’s Office and our Office of Global Affairs to facilitate and coordinate international student needs and international academic exchange programs. Amy’s expertise in these areas will be vital in terms of advising the college of new opportunities to facilitate and promote international student recruitment, as well as grow opportunities for our faculty and students in the international arena.

Last but certainly not least, our Director of Marketing and Communications, Laura Fletcher, will be stepping down from her position at the end of this week. We have already begun a search for Laura’s successor and hope to have someone in place later this summer. In the meantime, we will be working with University Relations to cover our communication needs. Laura has been instrumental in promoting our College, its departments and programs, faculty and, of course, our students. She was responsible for all our communication products and programs including the Eberly Update. Please join me in thanking Laura and wishing her the very best. 

Be well and stay well,
Greg Dunaway

Geology student's research awarded

Geology graduate student Sam Ocon, whose mentor and adviser is James Lamsdell, recently received three awards in her field. First, Ocon was honored with the Winifred Goldring Award, presented by the Association for Women Geoscientists and the Paleontological Society to an outstanding woman student pursuing a paleontology career. Ocon also received a student research grant from the Geological Society of America and the Kenneth E. and Annie Caster Student Research Award from the Paleontological Society. Read more about Ocon in a November 2020 profile.  

Psychology honors club earns model chapter status

Congratulations to the officers and members of WVU Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology, named a Model Chapter for being active and community-focused. Only 32 of 1,150 international chapters earn the designation this year. 

Inaugural Bridge Faculty Fellows will address environmental sustainability

WVU Bridge, a campus-wide science and technology policy, leadership and communications initiative, has named its inaugural cohort of Faculty Fellows. These fellows will work directly with the Bridge team and receive support to connect their research to the science and technology policy sphere. The focus area for this first year is environmental sustainability, in particular water. Congratulations to the two Eberly College faculty fellows:

• Eddie Brzostek, Associate Professor of Biology
• Jamie Shinn, Assistant Professor of Geography

Learn more about Bridge and the fellowship.

Tu recognized for plasma physics expertise 

Congratulations to Weichao Tu in Physics and Astronomy, winner of the 2021 Katherine E. Weimer Award from the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics. This recognizes outstanding achievement in plasma science research by a woman physicist in the early years of her career. Tu is honored "for contributions to the understanding of the radiation belts, in particular by pioneering the technique of ‘event-specific’ radiation belt modeling to distinguished different physical processes that control radiation belt dynamics."

West Virginia Writers' Workshop goes virtual 

The West Virginia Writers' Workshop will be held via Zoom July 15-18. It serves a benefit for next year’s event, which (if all goes well) will be in-person and again feature free tuition and rooming for 12 West Virginia high school students. The Workshop will feature four craft talks, readings, a publishing panel and a writing workshop. A limited number of spaces remain – learn more and register.

Exploring Innovation in Appalachia applications open

On August 11, the Eberly College will host the inaugural undergraduate research symposium for students outside WVU, "Exploring Innovation in Appalachia." Sophomores, juniors and seniors from many academic disciplines are invited to apply for this free virtual event, which will include poster prizes. Please share with your networks; applications close July 16.

These articles are written by and/or about our faculty, students and alumni; however, views expressed in these articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Eberly College or WVU. Some media outlets may have paywalls or require an account to read an article in its entirety.
 

Fellowship helps WVU official research roots of hatred

William Brustein and Luke Gramith, History
Times West Virginian 

WV’s past steeped in lethal floodwaters; more frequent events expected in future

Steve Kite, Geology and Geography
Charleston Gazette-Mail

Ribbon cutting to unveil historical plaques in Star City

Native American Studies
Dominion Post

Eberly Update is produced by the Eberly College Dean's Office. To share a story in a future edition or to provide feedback, contact ECAS@mail.wvu.edu.