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CPASS and WestVirginia University as a whole have always had a commitment to innovative, hands-on education. Now, thanks to a grant award from Steelcase Education, CPASS will be able to expand our offerings with an active learning classroom that will support instructors and students by creating an environment that encourages engagement,collaboration and creativity.

The new classroom in the Health and Education Building, valued at $67,000, will open during the fall 2019 semester and offer a varied, flexible setting designed to facilitate hands-on experimentation and problem-solving to meet 21st-century learning and faculty development.

Student-athletes face a multitude of challenges in overcoming injuries. In attempting to achieve recovery and return to the field or court, athletes often rely on physical and psychological techniques. Damien Clement, associate professor, sport, exercise and performance psychology and athletic training, strongly supports the utilization of sport psychology techniques in preparing for the athlete’s return to competition.

“It’s a very rewarding experience for me working with an injured athlete from their initial injury all the way through rehabilitation and back to the field of play. Athletic injury is very common place in athletics but the emphasis on the psychological aspects of recovery is only beginning to become mainstream,” Clement said.

West Virginia University celebrates Mountaineer Values through the Values Coin program, which recognizes faculty and staff who help bring the University’s mission to life through their daily work. This past year, CPASS faculty and staff received both Pay It Forward and Mountaineer Values coins. Original CPASS recipients then selected more coworkers to receive Pay It Forward coins. Congratulations to our recipients!

“Working for WVU has always given me a sense of pride that has resonated deep within me. The opportunities and benefits that I have received at WVU have been outstanding. I am grateful to the many people at WVU who have helped and guided me. It is through the teaching of my parents that I learned the values displayed on the coin. It is because of my WVU family that I have been able to grow these same values. I especially want to thank Dean Brooks for his encouragement, support and guidance and especially for the honor of being selected to receive the WVU Values Coin this year.”

Assistant Professor, Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology

Earlier this year, WVU created the inaugural Outstanding Graduate Research Mentoring Award to honor and encourage the considerable efforts and accomplishments of faculty who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the mentorship of graduate students. Sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education and Life and the WVU Research Office, the new award recognizes four finalists.

Sam Zizzi, Pat Fehl Endowed Professor, Sport and Exercise Psychology, was a finalist for the WVU 2019 Outstanding Graduate Research Mentoring Award. Here’s part of what he shared with the nominating committee:

This year, FiT published textbooks on subjects ranging from sport and cultural psychology to foundational sport management. FiT will release updated versions of the fourth edition of “Psychological Bases of Sport Injuries,” the fifth edition of “Media Relations in Sport,” and fourth edition of “Racism in College Athletics,” co-edited by CPASS’s very own former dean, Dana Brooks, in the upcoming year. FiT will also publish new titles on topics such as mindsets for the training of dancers and human resource management within sport and recreation programs.

Andrea Taliaferro, Physical Education Teacher Education associate professor, is one of six West Virginia University faculty members who were recognized with the University’s 2019 Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching. The award honors exceptional professors who go above and beyond to inspire their students. Each of the honorees received $5,000 in professional development funds from the WVU Foundation.

Taliaferro holds a joint appointment CPASS and the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. She directs the Friday Adapted Physical Education Practicum program, a partnership with Monongalia County Public Schools that provides weekly physical activity programming for nearly 100 children with disabilities while also providing hands-on experience for WVU students. She has also contributed to local, county and statewide initiatives, including McDowell CHOICES and the partnership between the National Inclusion Project and Lifetime Activities programs.

WVU Football hosted the first annual Professors’ Day at Milan Puskar Stadium on April 11. University faculty, including eight from CPASS, were invited to tour the stadium, spend time on the field and meet the new coaching staff. WVU Athletics started this initiative to thank faculty for their hard work and help in motivating student-athlete success in the classroom.

This year, the Office of Student Success (OSS) has welcomed Elizabeth “Betsy” Robbins to their staff. Robbins is joining OSS as a program assistant, a role in which she is providing integral support to recruitment and retention initiatives for both undergraduate and graduate programs.

The entire OSS team has had a fantastic academic year. Both recruitment and retention rates are at some of the highest points in several years and they have had the privilege of enrolling 262 incoming CPASS students throughout June.

Prior to the spring 2019 commencement, several CPASS seniors reflected on their undergraduate years at WVU and CPASS and offered advice to their freshman selves.

“I will always remember the relationships and bonds I created that will last for a lifetime while at WVU.”

A hallmark of CPASS education is learning outside the classroom. Here are just a few of the things our students immerse themselves in at home and abroad:

CPASS students and faculty participated in the Curt Roberts: Step Up to the Plate event, February 5 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Roberts was the first African American to play for the Pirates, beginning on April 13, 1954. The Pirates initiated the event to provide a unique opportunity for diverse students to interact with hiring managers and receive a perspective on the business of professional baseball. CPASS sport management students met with panelists and other organizational representatives, including a member of the Pirates’ associate council, a community outreach coordinator and scouting personnel.

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.

In his remarks, President E. Gordon Gee urged students to be willing to take risks. “I believe that the greatest risk all of you will face is giving in to your fear of taking risks. Generations of CPASS graduates have dared to risk failure. And, by doing so, they have nurtured ideas that made our world better,” Gee said.

“It all starts with you being the best leader of yourself. You can't expect anyone to follow you if you can't take your own lead. You must be motivated to do so because you can't motivate anyone else if you can't motivate yourself.”

CPASS students can now focus on the dynamic industries of high-performance athletics and recreational sport with one of the only undergraduate programs of its kind in the country. 

The Coaching and Performance Science program, modified from the athletic coaching education major, 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 valuable hands-on learning with faculty, WVU Athletics, WVU Medicine or a variety of sports organizations.