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Officials from Kanawha County Schools and West Virginia University, including WVU President Dr. Gordon Gee, today recognized 50 Kanawha County Schools teachers who applied and were selected to receive a master’s degree in Literacy Education with a Reading Specialist certification. This online degree, including books, will be paid for by Kanawha County Schools. This is part of Kanawha County Schools’ dedication to furthering literacy education and addressing student learning loss post-COVID. The cohort of 50 Kanawha County teachers will begin their degrees in August, with an anticipated program completion in May 2026.

“I am pleased to celebrate the first cohort of the Literacy Education Fellows,” West Virginia University President Gordon Gee said. “This program is a wonderful reminder that we, not just in Kanawha County but across West Virginia, have a high level of interest from teachers who want to be here and want to serve. As the state’s flagship, land-grant University, we will continue to nurture, support and provide more opportunities for teachers.”

Nolan Harvath had already bet on himself – and won, no less – before getting a call in April 2024 that led him to an opportunity that he had never even dreamed of.

Harvath grew up in Fairmont loving sports and excelling in soccer. His playing career led him to the University of Southern Indiana where he was a two-time team captain and played in over 50 games during his career. The plan at USI was to pursue pre-med and eventually become a physician, but he was not in love with the idea of eight years of med school. However, he couldn’t resist his love of sports and performance. Further, while dealing with his own injuries and recovery, he got a deeper appreciation for coaching while on the sidelines and also found the process and training necessary to get back to action fascinating.

Gary Lhotsky, a teaching associate professor of sport management with professional experience in athletic facility and event management, says organizers should take several lessons from the gate rushing by fans — many without tickets — that delayed the start of Sunday’s (July 14) Copa América final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, a host site of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On his way to two sport management degrees at WVU, John Terry immersed himself in activities while he was in Morgantown. He quickly got involved with the the WVU athletics department with facility management, and later parlayed that into a graduate assistantship in the same department. To further broaden his scope and talents, he worked at the Daily Athenaeum for all six years.

After graduating, Terry headed west and worked at the University of Washington first as the Assistant Director of Events for athletics and then later as the Director of Stadium Operations. He now works as the Senior Director for Events for U.S. Soccer managing events and competitions across the country.

Jeannette Garcia, a West Virginia University kinesiologist and health psychologist, is a community-based researcher who studies how children with neurodivergences, like autism, can benefit from judo and jujitsu classes, along with their caregivers.

The development of a video collection of literacy leaders across West Virginia is one of three West Virginia University programs that is being supported by funding from Women of WVU, the WVU Foundation announced.

For the upcoming grant cycle, Women of WVU awarded $32,500 to new projects and programs, and an additional $25,000 to four programs on a multi-year funding cycle.

The Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teachers (M3T) is featured in the Summer 2024 edition of the WVU Magazine. M3T is led by Matthew Campbell, associate professor of mathematics education and associate director of teacher education at the School of Education within the College of Applied Human Sciences, and Joanna Burt-Kinderman, a WVU alum and an instructional coach for the Pocahontas County school district.

Guy Hornsby, assistant professor for coaching and performance science in the College of Applied Human Sciences, has been named the Educator of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Hornsby was one of seven recipients of the organization's 2024 Peer Awards recognizing professionals for outstanding achievements in their field. Each individual was nominated by the NSCA community and will be recognized at the national conference in Baltimore in July. 

Carla Brigandi, associate professor in the School of Education in the West Virginia University College of Applied Human Sciences, has co-authored the 2023 Paper of the Year as selected by the editors of the Journal for the Education of the Gifted. This prestigious recognition highlights significant contributions to the field of gifted education.

The award-winning paper, titled "Who Gets Identified? The Consequences of Variability in Teacher Ratings and Combination Rules for Determining Eligibility for Gifted Services for Young Children," makes an important contribution to the field of gifted education as it looks at the effectiveness of using teacher rating scales to identify students for gifted services. The results highlight the importance of finding alternate ways to identify students with academic talent, which is particularly important for students living in rural and low socioeconomic communities, who are often overlooked and underserved in gifted education programs compared to their higher-income counterparts.

The Center for ActiveWV recently welcomed nearly 100 leaders from around the state to Stonewall Resort for its 2024 WV Physical Activity Symposium to discuss how to better promote physical activity and health and inspire other organizations to join the initiative.

The symposium also gathered an array of speakers and prominent figures from West Virginia, including: