COLLEGE HOSTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GHOSTS/GOBLINS
10/31/01
Close to 90 kindergarten through eighth grade students from Wheeling
Catholic Elementary School dressed in a variety of costumes including goblins and ghosts haunted the halls of West Virginia Northern
Community College’s Wheeling Regional Campus on Halloween. This was the students’ annual trek to the college to receive Halloween candy from
faculty, staff and administrators.
Various areas of the campus were decorated by faculty and staff to lend
an air of eeriness to their travels.
Three students received monetary awards for originality and/or
scariness of their costumes.
In addition, bags of candy were delivered to Ritchie Elementary School
students.
West Virginia Northern is a Partner in Education with both Ritchie
Elementary and Wheeling Catholic Elementary. This program matches schools with local businesses in a cooperative learning venture.
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WEIRTON CAMPUS WILL SPONSOR
BLOOD DRIVE
10/25/01
West Virginia Northern Community College’s Weirton Regional Campus will
sponsor a blood drive with the American Red Cross Wednesday, Oct. 31,
noon-6 p.m., in Room 254 of the Redline Building.
For more information, contact Frank Targoss, 723-2210, ext. 4625.
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BREAST CANCER AWARENESS PROMOTED
10/24/01
Surgical Technology and Nursing students at the Wheeling campus of
West Virginia Northern Community college have been promoting breast cancer awareness during October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
by providing faculty, staff and students at the college pink ribbons, literature and treats.
According to Michele Watson, associate professor of nursing, the goal
is to increase awareness of breast cancer issues, especially the importance of early detection of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the
most common cancer diagnosed in women in America.
“These students have seen first hand the effects of breast cancer on
patients and their families,” said Watson. “When breast cancer is detected early and treated promptly, suffering and ultimately the loss
of life can be significantly reduced.
“Women are encouraged to ask their doctors and other health care
providers about mammography screening. Mammography (an x-ray picture of
the breast) is the single most effective method to detect breast changes that may be cancer, long before physical symptoms can be seen or felt,”
she said. “For early stage breast cancer, there are more treatment options, treatment can be less disfiguring and less toxic, and survival
is improved.”
-END-
POSITIVE IMPACT OF FAMILIAL
SUPPORT TOUTED
10/19/01
Much has been reported about the positive impact of familial support on
student success, and that hypothesis is reflected in the experiences of four area sisters.
Lisa Roberts of Hannibal is one of four sisters attending West Virginia
Northern Community College this year, but her story began some 15 years
ago.
Lisa didn’t graduate from high school when she planned in 1986. She had
attended John Marshall High School and during her senior year, she married and moved to New Jersey . She began attending high school there
and, shortly after, she and her husband moved to Maryland, where Lisa enrolled in Aberdeen High School and completed her senior year.
“When I applied for a diploma from Aberdeen, the school requested
transcripts from John Marshall since I had attended the high school in New Jersey for only a short time. Although I met all the graduation
requirements for New Jersey, the requirements for the Maryland school were different , and I was one English credit short.”
To graduate she would have to enroll in high school for another year to
pick up the English credit, and Lisa said, “I just didn’t want to do that."
“I felt that I deserved that diploma,” she said. “I stuck it out
through high school—not quitting—sometimes struggling to make average grades. After making all A’s and B’s at Aberdeen during the last grading
period I was in high school, I finally made the honor roll.”
Years later, Lisa’s sister, Mary Robinson, graduated from the
B.M. Spurr School of Practical Nursing at Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale in 1997 and became an LPN. “When Mary was able to do this, I
decided I wanted to get my GED so I could go to college,” Lisa said.
In the summer of 1999, Lisa, a resident of Monroe County in Ohio,
visited River High School to find out how she could complete a GED. When her high school transcript was reviewed, she was told that she had
enough credits for graduation but would need to complete a history course. She completed a correspondence course in history and then passed
a required proficiency examination. Soon she received her diploma from River High School, and her family honored her with a graduation party,
including a cake and all the trimmings.
Lisa enrolled in Northern’s pre-health sciences program immediately
after receiving her diploma and is now in her second year of the nursing program.
Lisa is active in school activities, serving as vice president of the
New Martinsville campus Student Nurses Association and as a New Martinsville campus student ambassador. She was named to the National
Dean’s list in 2000 and 2001 and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa. Lisa has received an Ohio Association for Adult and Continuing Education
scholarship and is receiving financial assistance through Monroe Co. Works.
She and her husband, Terry, have a son, Dalton.
Mary also has enrolled in the pre-health sciences program, taking
classes part-time, and would like to pursue a degree in education after graduating from Northern. She’s also working part-time as an LPN in
the nursery at Wetzel County Hospital and as office nurse in Dr. Ibanga Ekanem’s office. Ekanem is a New Martinsville pediatrician.
“I probably wouldn’t have registered in the nursing program if my
sisters hadn’t encouraged me,” she said.
She and her husband, Dan, and sons, Ben and Zach, live in Proctor.
Another sister, Renee Streight, who came to the family when she was six years old, also graduated from JMHS in 1988. She lives in Proctor with
her fiance, Roy Butler; two sons, Josh Streight and Michael Moore; a daughter, Savannah Moore; and Butler’s son, Tanner Butler.
Renee was a certified nursing assistant at the New Martinsville Health
Care Center for seven years. She had to quit in 1998 because of a disk bulge that resulted from an injury to her neck in 1997 while working at
the center.
West Virginia Workers Compensation is providing assistance so that she
can be retrained. She said she enrolled in Northern’s surgical technology program in January 2000 to prepare for a field in which she
can work with her disability.
Another sister, Amy Litman, lives in Clarington, with her husband, Ray,
and daughter, Hanna. She graduated from JMHS in 1984 and began at Northern in the fall of 1999. She hopes to enter the surgical technology
program next fall.
Amy is campus representative for Phi Theta Kappa, a student ambassador,
and on the National Dean’s List. She received a college academic scholarship.
“I always wanted to go back to school, but didn’t have the confidence
until Lisa enrolled at Northern,” Amy said. After her daughter starts school, Amy plans to attend full-time to complete an associate’s degree
and then to get a bachelor’s degree in education.
“It’s been wonderful having my sisters going to school with me,” Lisa
said. “We provide each other support and encouragement.”
Each of the sisters credited all the members of their families for
encouraging them to go to college and for supporting them as they work
toward their goals.
The women are daughters of Delbert and Arwana Wade of Proctor. Their
family also includes another sister, Lisa’s twin, Lorri Davisson of Proctor, and a brother, Delbert Wade of Moundsville.
-END-
NEW
MARTINSVILLE CAMPUS FRIENDS DINNER WILL FEATURE SECTARY OF STATE
10/19/01
The Annual Membership Banquet of the Friends of the College, West
Virginia Northern Community College New Martinsville Regional Campus, to
be held Nov. 1, will feature West Virginia Secretary of State Joe Manchin as special guest speaker.
This year’s banquet is scheduled to begin with a social hour at 6 p.m.
at the PPG McKenna Pavilion located off West Virginia Route 2, Proctor. Featured during the social hour will be pianist Bruce Ensinger. Dinner,
to be served beginning at 7 p.m., will be provided by the WVNCC Culinary Arts students. The Tyler Consolidated High School Chamber Choir also
will perform.
The Friends of the College membership dinner is held annually to
celebrate the past year’s college successes. Awards will be presented to several community partners which have given special support to the New
Martinsville campus of WVNCC.
To be honored during the event are the Greater New Martinsville
Development Corp., Wetzel County Schools, New Martinsville City Council,
Mary Rohrig of the New Martinsville bureau of The Intelligencer/Wheeling
News-Register, the Wetzel Chronicle and the Tyler Star News.
Reservations, at $20 a person ($15 for students), are being accepted
through Oct. 25 and may be made by calling the New Martinsville Regional
Campus at 455-4684, Ext. 4700.
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RESERVATIONS
STILL ACCEPTED FOR WHEELING FRIENDS DINNER
10/18/01
There’s still time to make a reservation for West Virginia Northern
Community College’s Wheeling Regional Campus Friends of the College
annual informational meeting and banquet, which will be held Wednesday,
Oct. 24, 6 p.m., at the Special Events hall in Glen Dale.
This year’s theme is “Celebrating Student Success” and featured
speakers are Friends board president Nick Zeros and Dr. John O. Hunter, college president. Larry Band, a member of the college Foundation board,
will serve as emcee.
Dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by a program which includes
the presentation of community recognition awards to Marshall County Schools, Moundsville Echo, Ohio County Schools, Ohio Valley Medical
Center, Reynolds Memorial Hospital, Teletech, and Wheeling Hospital. Further, the winner of the Patriotic Essay Contest, a Friends board
initiative aimed at Wheeling campus students, will be recognized. The contest winner will receive a $200 tuition assistance award donated by
Start Levy of the Sunset Mortgage Company, a board member.
The cost for the event, which is open to the public, is $15 per person.
Call 304-233-5900, ext. 4460, for additional information or reservations.
-END-
WVNCC/WVDRS PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCED
10/18/01
In a first for the state, West Virginia Northern Community College and
the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services announced today in Wheeling that they have partnered so that students with disabilities
who've graduated from one state program will have the opportunity to further their college careers closer to their homes.
College and rehabilitation services officials held a news conference to
explain details of their “articulation agreement,” the first of its kind in West Virginia, that will enable students with disabilities who
graduate from specific vocational training programs at the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center in Institute to transfer academic credits from
those programs to WVNCC for credit towards an Associate Degree or Certificate from WVNCC.
Dr. John O. Hunter, WVNCC president, said, “We believe this
articulation agreement indicates a strong mission of both institutions to serve students with disabilities who will be able to receive the twin
complement of rehabilitation services and college training. WVDRS and WVNCC have a history of working as partners to provide quality
educational services to individuals with disabilities.”
Jane Holland, WVDRS interim director, said, “This agreement will open
new doors for employment and career opportunities for individuals who complete a program at the Rehabilitation Center because they are poised
to achieve college degrees in one of the three WVNCC campuses in Wheeling, Weirton and New Martinsville. It focuses on the key
determinant of workforce success: the acquisition of marketable and certifiable skills.”
Starting in the Spring semester of 2002, students will be able to
transfer credit from WVNCC to WVNCC in the programmatic areas of business training, electronics, drafting, computer technology, major
appliance repair, and heating ventilation and air conditioning.
Students must meet academic requirements and performance standards in
order to transfer credits.
“This agreement stresses creativity and partnering between two training
institutions in West Virginia. It is an investment in people and is commensurate with Governor (Bob) Wises philosophy of workforce
investment,” Holland added.
William Tansy, administrator of the West Virginia Rehabilitation
Center, said, “The end result of these collaborations will mean that large numbers of students with disabilities will be enrolling at your
three campuses, and will be able to benefit from our mutual training services. Inevitably, students with disabilities will be given stronger
opportunities for career choice and workforce entry.”
As part of the partnership, training was conducted today and will
continue Friday at West Virginia Northerners three campuses by staggers from the WVDRS rehabilitation technology area of the Rehabilitation
Center. The professional development includes demonstrations of assertive technology devices that may be helpful to students with
disabilities and other technical assistance. In addition, all WVNCC staff will receive training in disability awareness and etiquette.
The West Virginia Rehabilitation Center is the states public,
comprehensive rehabilitation facility serving individuals with disabilities from throughout West Virginia. Rehabilitation officials
said in fiscal year 2001 there were 1,925 clients served by WVRD/rehabilitation services from the Northern Panhandle counties of
Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler. In fiscal year 2000, the Panhandle clients totaled 2,024 and for fiscal year 1999 the total
was 1,940.
Also scheduled to participate in the news conference from the WVNCC are
Marijuana Caldron, Song School and John Rife.
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APPLIANCES NEEDED
10/19/01
Students at West Virginia Northern Community College need non working
but repairable electric or gas clothes dryers. Other appliances—including refrigerators, washers, dishwashers and electric
and gas ranges—also are needed.
Mike Sidon, program director, said there is an immediate need for dryers
but that other appliances also will be needed as the students progress through the Appliance Repair program. The appliances provide students in
the program hands-on experience in troubleshooting and repair techniques.
Appliances may be brought to the colleges Hazel-Atlas Building on 15th
Street in Wheeling. Any repaired item is either saved for additional classroom training or donated to a charitable organization.
For additional information, contact Cindy Retch at 304-233-5900,
extension 4446.
-END-
RESPIRATORY CARE MINI
HEALTH FAIR SCHEDULED
10/17/01
The public is invited to attend a Mini Health Fair to be conducted by
students in the respiratory care program at West Virginia Northern Community College from noon to 7 p.m. Oct. 25 in the B&O Building
auditorium on the Wheeling Regional Campus.
Activities will include “The Ins and Outs of Mechanical Ventilation,”
during which students will provide an in-depth look at what the ventilator is, what it does and how it works; “Patient Assessment,”
during which students will perform and explain various patient assessment techniques, such as incentive spirometry, blood pressures and
pulse oximetry readings for those who wish to participate; and “The Life Saving Techniques of CPR,” during which CPR for infants, children and
adults will be demonstrated.
Also featured will be aerosol treatments, informational videos,
pamphlets and more.
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BLOOD DRIVE SCHEDULED AT NEW MARTINSVILLE CAMPUS
10/17/01
West Virginia Northern Community College will sponsor a blood drive
with the American Red Cross Tuesday, Oct. 30, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at its New Martinsville Regional Campus.
For those who are unable to donate blood, the college will sponsor a
“Ribbons for Rebuilding” fundraiser. Patriotic ribbons, made by the students, will be available at the campus Service Center throughout the
day. Donations will be accepted, with all of the proceeds to be donated to the United Way to benefit the relief effort and the victims of the
terrorist attacks.
For more information, contact Pam Stollings, 455-4684, ext. 4707.
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BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING SCHEDULED
10/17/01
The next meeting of the Board of Governors of West Virginia Northern
Community College is scheduled for 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 25 in the President’s Board Room at the B&O Building in downtown Wheeling.
A copy of the meeting agenda is available from the office of President
John O. Hunter.
-END-
NEWS
CONFERENCE TO ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH STATE DIVISION OF REHABILITATION SERVICES
SCHEDULED
10/16/01
A news conference to announce a West Virginia Northern Community
College/West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services partnership will be held Thursday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. in the B&O Building
auditorium, 1704 Market Street, Wheeling.
-END-
AIDS WORKSHOP SCHEDULED
ON NEW MARTINSVILLE CAMPUS
10/12/01
West Virginia Northern Community College will host an AIDS workshop on
Thursday, Oct. 18, 1-2:30 p.m., in Room 110 at the New Martinsville Regional Campus.
The discussion will be led by Tom Danford, professor of biology at the
college, who will present ideas related to prevention and treatment. Danford has served as co-chair of the education committee of the AIDS
Task Force of the Upper Ohio Valley since 1987, and as its secretary since 1988. He has delivered numerous educational programs on all
aspects of HIV disease in both academic and community settings. Admission is free. One CEU credit will be available to those who are
interested at a cost of $15.
For more information, contact Pam Stollings at 455-4684, ext. 4707.
-END-
NEW FACULTY NAMED
10/09/01
In addition to the new students who are finding their way around West
Virginia Northern Community College, new faculty also are becoming acclimated—-to their course content, students and facilities.
New to the Wheeling Regional Campus is Wheeling resident Carol G.
Cornforth, an assistant professor in the college’s Center for Business, Information Technology, and Culinary Arts.
For the past 11 years she worked both independently and as a consultant
with various computer consulting firms. Prior to that, she was an assistant professor at Wheeling Jesuit University and programmer analyst
at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.
She graduated from WJU with a master’s degree in business
administration and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
She and her husband, Bill, are the parents of Jennifer, 18; Kristin, 13; John, 13; and Ryan, 10.
Barbara A. Matey of Weirton has returned to West Virginia Northern
Weirton Regional Campus as an associate professor in the Center for Business, Information Technology, and Culinary Arts after being away for
the past three years. She previously worked as assistant professor and program coordinator of the Office Technology program, as a part-time
faculty member, and as public relations specialist.
Prior to returning, Matey worked at Weirton Steel Corp. as a business
process re-engineering facilitator, training coordinator, and systems rollout coordinator.
She has a master’s degree in education from the University of
Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree in business from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She currently is a doctoral candidate in the School of
Advanced Educational Studies at West Virginia University.
Cristina M. Riter of New Cumberland is an instructor of nursing on the
Weirton Regional Campus. She previously held positions at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Weirton Medical Center.
Riter has an associate’s degree in nursing from West Virginia Northern
and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from West Liberty State College. She is pursuing a master’s degree in nursing from WVU.
She and her husband, William, are the parents of three children: Sarah,
23; Bill, 19, and Gary, 17.
West Virginia Northern is a comprehensive tri-campus community college
offering a wide variety of programs and courses in the arts and sciences, career-technical education, developmental studies, and
community service.
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WEIRTON CAMPUS DYNAMICS
OF VIOLENCE SERIES ANNOUNCED
10/03/01
In response to the recent violent tragedies in our country, West
Virginia Northern Community College’s Student Senate Weirton Regional Campus Executive Committee will sponsor a three-part
personal/professional growth series on the dynamics of violence and how it affects our lives on three Thursdays in October.
The first session, scheduled Oct. 11 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., will be
presented by the Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Help Center. It will present its
“Respect” (responsible education for self-protection establishing confidence and trust) program, which is a school-based
curriculum designed to provide adolescent students with information and skills needed to prevent violence in
current and future relationships.
On Oct. 18, 7-9 p.m., Barbara Scanlon of the Marshall County Humane
Society will present the Humane Society of the United States’ “First Strike
Campaign” and “Kind Program,” which promote public awareness of the animal cruelty/human violence connection. Participants will learn how to
identify some of the origins of violence, predict some of its patterns, and prevent its
escalation.
Finally, on Oct. 25, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Daniel Caron of Wheeling Jesuit
University will present “Creating an Atmosphere of Safety and Belonging.” Participants will acquire skills to create an atmosphere of
safety and belonging that can be practiced with both children and adults. Participants also will learn how to creatively focus energy
toward conflict resolution.
All seminars will be held at the Weirton Regional Campus, and the cost
is $5 per seminar for WVNCC students and $10 per seminar or $25 for all three seminars for the public.
Paid reservations are requested; call 304 723-2210.
-END-
10/3/01--Middle East Panel Discussion Scheduled at Weirton Campus
Professors at three West Virginia institutions of higher learning will
be part of a panel discussion on the Middle East to be held Oct. 10 at
the Weirton Regional Campus of West Virginia Northern Community College.
The long-time educators, whose careers have dealt with the Middle East,
are from West Virginia University, West Liberty State College and
Bethany College. They will offer their perspective on that region of the
world by discussing the topic, “Can We Ever Understand the Middle East?”
The talk, open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. at the Weirton
facility located at 150 Park Ave. on Weirton Heights.
Moderator for the evening will be Dr. William Deibert, WVNCC academic
director of the Center for Liberal Arts and Transfer Studies.
Panel members, Deibert said, are Dr. William S. Arnett, associate
professor of history at WVU; Professor Roland E. Williams, former
associate professor of geography at West Liberty; and Dr. Clint Maffett,
associate professor of international relations at Bethany. All have
extensive knowledge about the Middle East. All are American-born and
plan to approach the subject matter in light of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks as fellow Americans find themselves searching for answers.
Arnett has taught at WVU since 1971. A specialist on the Middle East,
he has received the prestigious Malone Fellowship from the National
Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and has studied and traveled in Egypt
(1987), Bahrain and Saudi Arabia (1990) and Kuwait and Syria (1992).
From 1991-95, he was the state coordinator for the West Virginia
Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations. He was the lead instructor for the
first week of a two-week Summer Institute program titled “Fitting the
Middle East into the Curriculum” held at both Marshall and West Virginia
universities for West Virginia teachers of social science during the
summer of 1998.
Williams was director of the West Virginia Committee on U.S.-Arab
Relations from 1995-2000. He also received the prestigious Malone
Fellowship to study and travel in Egypt and Iraq (1990). Williams also
was part of an American delegation that visited Yemen in 1995, again in
2000 and visited Syria during the summer of 2000.
He has attended the Annual U.S.-Mideast Policymakers Conference held on
the campus of Virginia Military Institute, Lexington (1996-99).
Recently, Professor Williams hosted Donald Hepburn, retired CEO of
Bahrain Petroleum Co., to allow him to speak with various groups at WVU,
Fairmont State College, Bethany College and Wheeling Jesuit University.
Maffett is the director of the International Studies Program at Bethany
College. Prior to coming to Bethany, he served as legislative assistant
with the Senate Armed Services Committee specializing in U.S. energy
policy. In addition, he is a noted international energy analyst and has
presented papers in Russia, Europe and throughout the Middle East.
Most recently, Maffett was invited to prepare a report for the Emirate
Center for Strategic Studies in the United Arab Emirates. He also hosted
the first Arab League simulation conference for high school students in
the state of West Virginia. He continues to engage in consulting work
for the U.S. government.
The panel discussion was conducted previously at West Virginia
Northern’s New Martinsville campus before an audience of more than 60
persons.
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