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Taking steps toward strengthening the teaching workforce in the Mountain State, West Virginia University will address critical staffing shortages among educators and enhance teacher preparation programs by building connections through an innovative, place-based approach.

Funded with more than $1.6 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization or POWER Initiative, the three-year project will be led by the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences, in partnership with the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative, and the WVU Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, and will integrate three complementary pathways to recruit, prepare, place, and retain teachers in schools and communities across West Virginia.

When Ben Lohmann reflects on the whirlwind journey that led him to becoming the director of operations for the West Virginia University men’s soccer team, he traces it back to a lifetime spent around the game.

West Virginia University's College of Applied Human Sciences will induct Ed Etzel and Patrice Harris into its Hall of Fame during a ceremony Thursday, Oct. 8, at 5:30 p.m., at the Mountainlair.

The event will also recognize the college's inaugural Class of 2025, which included all previous inductees of the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (CPASS) and College of Education and Human Services (CEHS) Halls of Fame. 

Three West Virginia University advisors recently earned recognition from the National Association for Academic Advising in the organization's 2026 awards cycle.

Cathy Manley, an academic advisor for health and well-being majors in the College of Applied Human Sciences, was named one of three national recipients of NACADA’s Outstanding New Advisor Award.

Miriam Mason, a 2020 graduate of West Virginia University's counseling master's program, has been named the 2027 School Counselor of the Year by the West Virginia Chamber Foundation, the West Virginia Board of Education, and the West Virginia Department of Education.

Mason, a school counselor at Mylan Park Elementary School in Monongalia County, received the honor at the inaugural Champions of Learning Gala on September 8 in Charleston, WV.

WVU's Center for Active WV has launched " Sponsor a Seat," a program to help students and teachers in Lewis and Upshur counties get classroom and personal items for the school year following recent flooding in the region.

Sponsor a Seat asks individuals and organizations to sponsor a seat on a virtual school bus, with each seat representing support for a school-aged child or teacher in Lewis or Upshur County. Donors can sponsor a full seat for $50 or share a seat by giving any amount.

The WVU College of Applied Human Sciences announces that Dana Voelker, professor of Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology and director of the School of Sport Sciences, has been named WVU’s 2026-27 Big 12 Faculty of the Year. 

The Big 12 Conference selected one faculty member from each of its 16 member institutions, which recognizes excellence in research and innovation and highlights the academic strength of Big 12 campuses.

Dana Voelker, director of the School of Sport Sciences in the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences, says injury creates a new layer of vulnerability on top of the body pressures athletes already experience, particularly in sports with strong expectations around a certain physique.

More than 50 coaches from Monongalia County and the surrounding region gathered at University High School on Aug. 14 for "Mastery: The Pursuit of Peak Performance," a professional development workshop presented by the Positive Coaching Alliance.

The session was hosted in partnership with Monongalia County Schools, the WVU School of Sport Sciences and the Russell "Bud" Bolton Center for Sport Ethics and Leadership. Coaches worked through the Positive Coaching Alliance's Pursuit of Peak Performance Framework, covering goal-setting, mental performance strategies, and approaches for delivering effective feedback. Participants also shared experiences on helping athletes work through critical moments in competition.

The Master of Arts in Literacy Education program at the West Virginia University College of Applied Human Sciences has been named a WVU Board of Governors Program of Excellence.

This designation reflects the highest standards for programs at WVU," said Matthew Campbell, Interim Director of the School of Education and Counseling. "Our Literacy Education faculty are national leaders in their field, and I'm proud of the work they have done to build and continually improve this program. The best measure of the program is its graduates, who lead literacy instruction in classrooms across the state and country."

Jaron Summers paused his college lacrosse career to join the West Virginia Army National Guard when COVID-19 hit, then returned home to finish his degree at WVU. Through WVU's accelerated bachelor's-to-master's program, he earned a bachelor's in Physical Education and Kinesiology and a master's in Physical Education Teacher Education. A paid student teaching position at Preston High School, where a teacher shortage put him in the classroom as the primary PE and health instructor, gave him hands-on experience before he graduated in 2022. Summers now teaches physical education and coaches lacrosse at St. Paul Christian Academy in Nashville.

West Virginia University's undergraduate elementary education program has received an A+ from the National Council on Teacher Quality for its preparation of future teachers in evidence-based reading instruction — the highest grade available in NCTQ's 2026 Teacher Prep Review: Decoding Progress in Reading Preparation, released June 9.

The report places WVU among a select group of programs recognized nationwide for meeting the standards set by literacy experts for coverage of the most effective methods of reading instruction. Specifically, this means the program is preparing aspiring teachers in all five components of scientifically based reading instruction, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary, and avoids many instructional practices that research has shown to be ineffective or counterproductive for teaching children to read.

The National Writing Project at West Virginia University will host the Teachers’ Day of Poetry on Thursday, July 23, in the Cathedral Room inside the Mountainlair.

The event will be facilitated by Marc Harshman, West Virginia Poet Laureate, and includes an Ekphrastic Writing Workshop from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by a Poetry for Your Students (and for You) session from 1-3 p.m. 

The Center for ActiveWV awarded $10,000 Be ActiveWV Grants to three Mercer County schools for their work on the Healthy Schools in Action Project. Oakvale Elementary, Mountain Valley Elementary, and Montcalm High School each received funding, which will go toward new "Mountaineer Mile" walking trails, giving students more opportunities to stay active throughout the school day. 

Like a lot of kids growing up, Gabriel Ray loved sports. He played basketball and track at Parkersburg High and loved competing in something that matters.

Also, like a lot of kids, he played video games growing up. It was more of a hobby and in between the spaces of the other activities, but it was still part of his life.