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Jihad Dixon, a native of Charleston, W.Va., made the most of his time at West Virginia University. The list of accomplishments, roles and clubs are too long to list, but suffice it to say you aren't named one of the Daily Athenaeum's most influential people in 2016 by just sitting in your dorm.

Dixon left WVU after receiving a bachelor's degree in political science (2017) and a master's degree in higher education administration. He has leveraged his skills learned in the classroom and as an active member of campus to land him as the associate director for strategy and operations for the My Brother's Keeper Alliance through the Obama Foundation.   

Inspired by her family, rising sophomore Lauren Marquart's decision to attend West Virginia University and major in elementary education was a relatively simple one.

Marquart, a native of Wheeling, W.Va., is heavily involved in numerous activities despite being on campus less than a year. She serves as a student ambassador and is involved with student government, and gave a talk at the TEDxWVU event in April.

Many mass killings are rooted in some sort of grievance — real or imagined unfair treatment — a  West Virginia University expert said in the aftermath of the Texas elementary school shootings that left more than 20 dead.

Jeff Daniels, a professor of counseling, helped develop a model that focuses on detectable behaviors of school and workplace violence perpetrators based on research in an upcoming book. Daniels, who studies school violence, hostage crises and police ambushes, said the model aims to identify people “going down what we call the fatal grievance pathway.”

Yamile Gonzalez made history as she become the first graduate student who successfully completed a sport management master’s thesis at West Virginia University.

Gonzalez came to WVU from Guadalajara, Mexico, in the fall of 2019. She initially enrolled in the traditional industry track of the CPASS sport management master’s program. After a year, she chose to change to the thesis track. “In the traditional track, it was not required for me to write a master’s thesis, but I opted to do it because I wanted to learn how to conduct research," Gonzalez said.

A dual M.S. in sport management and master’s in business administration degree at the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences has provided a solid foundation for Adrian Dowell's career path. Dowell serves as the vice chancellor and director of athletics at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, a position he has held since December 2021.

In this role, Dowell oversees Omaha Athletics, a Division I athletics program in the Summit League and National Collegiate Hockey Conferences. He also serves on the Chancellor’s Cabinet which includes additional leadership roles on campus. Currently, a typical day includes six or so meetings with staff, coaches, student-athletes, campus peers and external constituents and usually a game, according to Dowell.

Tracy Morris, a professor of psychology and current dean of the WVU College of Education and Human Services, will soon join the Office of the Provost as West Virginia University’s new associate provost for academic personnel. She was selected through an internal, University-wide search process.

Morris joined the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychology faculty in 1993 and has more than a decade of administrative experience at WVU. In 2018, she was named interim dean of the College of Education and Human Services and later given an additional two-year appointment as dean through June 2022. Most recently, she has been integral in efforts leading up to the creation of the new College of Applied Human Sciences.

A new internship program, hosted by WVU Sports Medicine, continues a long history of collaboration between CPASS and WVU Athletics. In the arrangement, Health and Well-being students serve as sports medicine student managers who observe the ‘day in the life’ of master’s level students. The arrangement supports the HWB undergrads as they look to the future and explore career options.

Rafael Joseph had plenty of options when it came to where he would pursue a master’s degree in counseling. He knew that there would be numerous similarities between programs when it came to curriculum. For Joseph, his decision to attend West Virginia University was based on the in-class education and the level of care and support from faculty.

The guidance he received helped lead Joseph to land one of 30 spots as a National Board for Certified Counselors Minority Fellow for Mental Health Counselors for 2022-23. The fellowship provides financial support to attend professional development trainings, seminars and symposiums throughout the country. The programing centers on mental health issues for underserved populations.

As CPASS prepares to honor student milestones at the May 2022 commencement ceremony, students reflect on the success and challenges that they experienced coming out of the pandemic and returning to campus life. Join us as we celebrate the big day, Friday, May 13 at the Coliseum.

Health and Well-being graduate Dalton Perdue says he chose WVU because he believed he would excel in the HWB program. He feels that the relationships he has developed with fellow classmates and professors will help him prepare for future endeavors. Perdue is using his degree to springboard his education into health sciences and continue by attending medical school.

An internationally known expert in educational leadership and interdisciplinary transformations will join West Virginia University to lead the institution’s newest academic unit.

Autumn Tooms Cyprès, currently the associate provost for lifelong learning at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been named founding dean of the new College of Applied Human Sciences, the Office of the Provost announced Thursday, May 5. Her appointment will be effective June 30, 2022. Cyprès will also hold a faculty position in the College’s School of Education.

The Association for Applied Sport Psychology has recognized CPASS SEP faculty member Johannes Raabe for his efforts in the field of sport psychology. Raabe, assistant professor of sport and exercise psychology, received the Dorothy V. Harris Memorial Award in honor of his contributions to AASP as well as the academic discipline in general.

Jack Watson, dean and professor, says that the college is proud of Raabe and his accomplishments. “His work exemplifies the strenuous requirements for this prestigious award. He more than meets the expectations that were established by Dr. Harris,” Watson said. “Johannes has made a significant contribution to the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. He has developed a convincing record of scholarship and practice that helps to progress the profession and, in doing so, is establishing a strong international reputation. Johannes has set the stage for a long and productive career.”

College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences students, faculty and staff were recognized for their achievements for the 2021-2022 academic year at the college’s annual awards ceremony, April 22.

View complete photo gallery from the event

Two WVU faculty members have been named as recipients of the University’s 2022-2023 Big 12 Faculty Fellowship Program:

Kristen Dieffenbach, associate professor in the College of Physical Activities and Sport Sciences’ Department of Coaching and Teaching Studies.

Students, fans and faculty gathered for the Second Annual Friendship Cup, April 22 at the WVU Student Recreation Fields, to cheer on the eight teams in the single elimination competition. Matches took place in overlapping times while WVU Men’s and Women’s Soccer student-athletes served as referees. Winning team members from the lowest seed of the tournament, Elite FC, received gift cards and championship hats, along with bragging rights until next year’s event.

The friendly competition promotes team spirit and brings students and faculty from across campus together to celebrate the alliance of the international sport. The spring event acts as a prelude to the popular Diversity Cup that will take place in October 2022.

WVU sport management students attended a professional development gathering, April 19, hosted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The students heard from Travis Williams, Pirates president, Ben Cherington, Pirates general manager and other Pirates staff members. Following the open panel discussion, students enjoyed a behind-the-scenes view of PNC Park.

In addition to the facility tour, students participated in a round table social mixer where they met additional Pirates staff members who highlighted their career journey and sport management opportunities within the organization. CPASS Dean Jack Watson and sport management faculty members Patrick Hairston, Gary Lhotsky and Justin Wartella accompanied the students on the field trip.