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It’s no secret that West Virginia currently ranks as one of the highest states for obesity prevalence. Partners from multiple organizations around the state, including faculty and staff from West Virginia University, believe that a key component to tackling this problem is to empower communities to take charge of their health – thus forming Take Back Our Health WV.

Take Back Our Health WV, a community-based project that aims to improve the health of West Virginians by increasing access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities where West Virginians live, work, learn, play and pray.

The Steelcase Active Learning Center will officially open at West Virginia University, Thursday, October 31, 3 p.m. in the Health and Education building, Evansdale campus. The center was funded by Steelcase Education and is valued at $67,000.

According to the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences’ faculty, it ideally suits courses that emphasize collaborating and cooperative learning approaches. “The overarching goal here remains our increased capacity to engage students more actively in their own learning and to move toward interactive pedagogical approaches that better serve today’s learners,” Sean Bulger, professor, physical education and kinesiology, and associate dean for graduate and online education said.

West Virginia University fosters inclusion and diversity on campus. The Mountaineer community represents numerous faces, each one unique and special. Behind every face is a story. For three years, students have joined together to honor the University’s diversity and find common ground through the love of soccer.

The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences hosted the 5th Annual Diversity Cup Tournament, September 28-29. The CPASS Sport Management Club, WVU Athletics and the WVU Recreation Center partnered with CPASS to celebrate diversity, friendship and inclusion.

The West Virginia University Alumni Association will welcome many familiar faces to campus this fall during 2019 Homecoming ceremonies, as the University celebrates accomplishments of alumni around the globe. The Alumni Association will recognize Dana Brooks, former College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences dean, as the 2019 recipient of the Paul B. “Buck” Martin award.

The Alumni Association is honoring Brooks for his efforts to preserve, maintain and promote the traditions of WVU. Buck Martin served as president of the Alumni Association and was former editor of The Martinsburg Journal and noted WVU historian.

After more than 40 years of service to WVU and CPASS, Dean Dana Brooks retired on June 30, 2019. A tireless advocate for diversity and for his students, Brooks leaves behind a legacy of innovative leadership and passion for his field — sports education.

Dana Brooks knew he wanted a career teaching and inspiring others even as a youth growing up in Hagerstown, MD. He was a consummate team player. And he has the trophies and awards to prove it, stacked high on his shelves. He was never focused on the scoring or winning, but on supporting his team. “I was a passer. I defended. The team scored for you. I’m all about the team,” Brooks says.

CPASS master’s student and instructor Marla Gladstone plans to analyze opposing factors and how they have influenced history and sport by bringing real-life experience into the classroom.

The idea behind PET 101: Games in American culture course is to evaluate and discover how sport has influenced history and how history has influenced sport. Instead of taking stories and examples straight from a textbook, Gladstone’s desired plan of action is to bring different guest speakers into the classroom, to give a more biographical, human perspective.

As the West Virginia University Mountaineer football team opened their 2019-2020 season on August 31 against FCS powerhouse James Madison, fans could feel the excitement in the air. However, even before kick-off, fans were treated to Gold and Blue-style entertainment, with a focus on family fun.

The College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences partnered with WVU Athletics and USA Football to host Youth Sports and Spirit Day during pre-game activities held at the Caperton Indoor Facility, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The festivities took place during the Chick-fil-A Kids Zone event and were organized by Kristen Dieffenbach, athletic coaching education associate professor, with the help of graduate assistants Christina Villalon and Maggie Roberts. They estimate that 150-200 kids took part in event’s first year.

This fall semester, the Office of Student Success has added two new staff members to their team to focus on recruitment and retention initiatives. Please join us as we welcome Allie Haught and Jordan Schmidt-Gonzalez to the College.

As a West Virginia native and first-generation student, Allie Haught grew up loving WVU and dreaming of attending the university. She was motivated to enroll and have that new experience. Once she began her college career, WVU became home.

CPASS is co-hosting Youth Sports and Spirit Day at Mountaineer Field Saturday August 31, at the season opener against JMU, August 31. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and pregame activities will begin at 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. at the Chick-Fil-A Kids Zone in the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility.

Kristen Dieffenbach, Athletic Coaching Education associate professor, along with graduate assistants, Christina Villalon and Maggie Roberts, will host the youth sports station-based program at the Chick-fil-A Kids Zone. The activity will provide hands on teaching and youth sport experience for PETE/PEK and ACE students. 

West Virginia University was recently awarded funding to support the development of a collaborative classroom through Steelcase Education. The Steelcase Active Learning Center is envisioned as a future hub for instructional innovation, twenty-first century learning and faculty development on the Evansdale Campus.

The Steelcase Active Learning Center, located in the Health and Education Building and valued at $67,000, will feature flexible workspaces designed for collaborative learning and problem-solving. The physical space will support the use of mobile devices, distance learning technologies, and other interactive features to facilitate a more fluid teaching and learning environment for both students and instructors. 

Students at West Virginia University can now focus on the dynamic industries of high-performance athletics and recreational sport, creating one of the only undergraduate programs in the country specifically featuring coaching and performance science.

The Coaching and Performance Science program , housed in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences , blends sport and movement science knowledge and professional development to prepare graduates for the growing field of athletics and applied sport sciences. Students can complete extremely valuable hands on learning with faculty, WVU Athletics, WVU Medicine or a variety of sport organizations.

Improving the healthy lifestyle landscape in some West Virginia areas might sound like a tough task, but a group of passionate West Virginia University faculty and staff believe the secret lies in empowering communities and providing the support they need to take control of their own health.

Last fall, faculty from WVU Extension Service, WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences , and WVU School of Public Health and West Virginia Prevention Research Center entered into a five-year contractual partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and launched the Be Wild, Be Wonderful, Be Healthy project.

The CPASS Visiting Committee has established the Dana Brooks CPASS Scholarship in honor of Dean Dana Brooks’ upcoming retirement on June 30, 2019. This new award will benefit future students in the college and maintain the Dean’s honor in the future.

The endowment will provide scholarships for undergraduate or graduate students enrolled at WVU in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. A student who is a recipient one year is eligible for consideration in any other year, provided they continue to meet the selection criteria.

Body image among young adult female athletes has become a hot topic within the sports exercise psychology industry. Kate Fairhurst, a CPASS Ph.D. candidate, recently received the 2019 Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Research Grant to continue her research on the topic.

This grant, which is awarded to students and professionals, will support the completion of her doctoral dissertation, which involves the application of PhotoVoice approaches to explore young adult female exercisers' experiences of their body and body image while exercising in a fitness center environment.

Randy Meador, MS, ATC, was inducted into the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association (MAATA) Hall of Fame this May. Meador serves as coordinator of athletic training services for WVU intercollegiate athletic program, Head Men’s Basketball athletic trainer and clinical instructor for the CPASS athletic training curriculum program.

Meador earned his Master of Science degree in athletic training from CPASS (1985), where he then began his long career as the head athletic trainer for the WVU Men’s Basketball team.