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The West Virginia University baseball team was center stage this season, advancing to the NCAA regional tournament as announced last May. There were many names swirling around with the success of this team - one of them was Nick Snyder. 

Snyder is a sport management major hailing from Marlton, NJ. Why did he select WVU? The answer is two-fold. 

Katerina Lake, a new sport and exercise psychology graduate, currently serves as an assistant program manager for Camp Female empowerment and Wellness initiative (Camp WeFi) with Youth Enrichment Services (YES). 

YES is a nonprofit organization that aims to design and implement educational opportunities for minority and underserved children living in public housing and economically disadvantaged communities. 

A leader known for his innovation, energy and creativity will bring those essential skills to bear in his new role at West Virginia University. 

Damien Clement is now serving as acting dean of the Honors College effective Aug. 1, 2019. 

Once a mountaineer, always a mountaineer is a well-known rallying cry for the Gold and Blue faithful. Stephanie Mock embraced that mantra during her time as a student at WVU and has continued that dedication to her alma mater as she progresses in her professional career. 

Mock graduated in 2013 with her bachelor’s degree in sport management. During her education, she was a strength and conditioning intern for both the WVU and University of Pittsburgh Olympic sports teams. 

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.

A new major at West Virginia University will open a flexible track toward health science and non-school based community health related careers. Students in the Health and Well-being major can tailor a degree program within a diverse field, targeting a variety of roles.

The new curriculum, housed in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, is designed to help students plan their degree program while preparing for the next step following graduation. The customizable major features community partnerships, hands on learning, student research and mentorship.

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.

New administrative roles at West Virginia University College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences will support critical transitions within the organizational structure and prepare the college for new leadership. 

The WVU Office of the Provost announced in April that Jack Watson, professor and interim associate dean, will serve as interim dean. Watson steps into the role following the announcement of the retirement of Dana Brooks, professor and dean of the college, who served in that role for 26 years, with a total of 41 years at the college. 

WVU women’s soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown has created a soccer dynasty in Morgantown. However, it is not the winning records nor the titles that have defined her tenure at WVU, but rather the players she has inspired along the way. CPASS graduate student, Bryana McCarthy, is one of those players.

McCarthy, hailing from Ajax, Ontario, Canada, played with the team 10 years ago while earning her undergraduate degree in athletic coaching education.

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.

From the court room to the ticketing office, and now armed with a new degree, Morgantown native Leighann Sainato has gained a fresh perspective in her young professional career.

Starting as a community relations intern with the West Virginia Black Bears in August 2017, Sainato worked closely with Jackie Riggleman, then the assistant general manager and a CPASS Sport Management masters graduate. Now, two years later, the Black Bears have announced the promotion of Sainato to ticket operations and public relations manager.

The Friday Adapted Physical Education Program (APE), a CPASS initiative which provides weekly developmentally appropriate physical activity programming for more than 80 school-aged children with disabilities from Monongalia County Public Schools, received a generous donation from Dustin and Damon Casseday in April.

Damon Casseday, WVU Recreation, Parks and Tourism student, and his son, Dustin, have always had a close bond. Until the age of five, Dustin was nonverbal. It wasn’t until he started in the “Son-Rise” program, designed to help Monongalian County parents encourage their children to learn, that Damon saw progress as his son exploded with excitement to learn.