Campus
Communicator
September • 2012
Wheeling Ca mpus Groundbreaking
From left are Dean George, manager of the Barnes & Noble bookstore at the college; Lil Kabasan, Barnes & Noble regional manager; Student Activities Director Shannon Payton; the Thundering Chicken, WVNCC mascot; West Virginia Sen. Jack Yost; Don
Rigby, executive director of the Regional Economic Development Partnership; Rich Donovan, senior director of facilities for the
Higher Education Policy Commission, Charleston; Craig Trushel, Trushel Construction of Weirton which was awarded the contract for the project; WVNCC President Martin J. Olshinsky; West Virginia Sen. Orphy Klempa; Wheeling Mayor Andy McKenzie; Wheeling City Manager Bob Herron; Vic Greco of SMG Architects, Wheeling, project designers; the Rev. Darrell Cummings,
representing the WVNCC Board of Governors; and West Virginia Del. Erikka Storch.
A nice turnout of Northern colleagues
and students joined city, county, and
state officials to attend the Sept. 20
groundbreaking ceremonies for construction of a $2.1 million Barnes &
Noble bookstore and Student Union
at WVNCC’s Wheeling campus.
“By pairing an expanded Barnes &
Noble bookstore and a larger space
for students to gather, we believe West
Virginia Northern is providing the
internal and external college community in Wheeling an exciting new
meeting and shopping space,” Dr.
Martin J. Olshinsky, WVNCC president, said. “We are growing and so is
the city,” he added.
“We’re thrilled to be a part of the new
West Virginia Northern Community
College bookstore and student center
building,” Max J. Roberts, president,
Barnes & Noble College Booksellers,
said. “The new space will allow us to
make WVNCC students’ educational
experience the very best it can be and
to become a part of the fabric of the
Wheeling community.”
Steve Lippiello, WVNCC’s vice
president of administrative services
and chief financial officer, said a total
of seven firms provided bids for the
project, with Trushel Construction
Co. of Weirton winning the bid for
the 9,540 square foot structure. First
floor of the building will be devoted
to the bookstore and the second floor
will be Northern’s official Student
Union.
Numerous WVNCC colleagues and
students joined city, state and business
leaders to witness the groundbreaking
for the College’s new Student Union and
Barnes & Noble bookstore.
Wheeling Ca mpus
Paralegal Program
Accredited
Paralegal Instructor,
John Plesa
The Paralegal Studies
program at
WVNCC has
earned a threeyear accreditation by NALS,
the association
for legal professionals.
John Plesa, paralegal instructor and program director, explained the process leading to
accreditation was lengthy and detailed. “The college had to provide a
self-study report on development of
the program which began in 2006,” he
said.
The entire process took about three
years, Plesa said, during which the
NALS team recommended curriculum changes. Plesa, a Weirton resident
who joined the college as an adjunct
instructor, ultimately became the
paralegal program director and spearheaded the accreditation effort.
are very pleased our Paralegal Studies
program has received this distinction.
It testifies to the quality of instruction
offered students.” In addition, Plesa
pointed out that NALS is the organization that administers professional
certification examinations for the
AAS students in their second year of
study.
Welding Course Offered
A Basic Welding Course will be
offered by West Virginia Northern
Community College, Wheeling campus, beginning Oct. 8.
The four-week course ending Nov.
2 is the first such training program
at WVNCC and will be held in the
Maintenance Building across from
the Market Street side of the B&O
Building, 1704 Market St., downtown
Wheeling.
Class hours will be from 8 a.m.-4:30
p.m. Monday-Friday, with a daily halfhour lunch break. There will be 160
hours of instructional and hands-on
“The NALS team conducted a two-day learning, according to Karri Mulhern,
director of economic and workforce
site visit on the Wheeling campus,”
development at Northern.
he added. During that visit, the team
toured facilities and met with Plesa,
college administrators, current and
graduated paralegal students and the
program’s advisory committee.
Northern’s Paralegal Studies program
offers both a two-year associate in
applied science degree and a one-year
certificate in applied science. “In three
years, the college will submit another
report to NALS in anticipation of
earning another three- or five-year
reaccreditation based on the college
following additional recommendations made during the site visit,” Plesa
said.
Dr. Vicki Riley, vice president of academic affairs at the college, said, “We
“This welding training program will
allow local residents to learn new
skills to find employment in a variety
of industries or to advance in their
current position,” Mulhern said. “Local employers have indicated to us
that people with welding skills are in
high demand, and it is difficult to find
these people currently in our region.
“The types of businesses in need of
welders vary from production to light
and heavy manufacturing, maintenance and the oil and gas industry,”
Mulhern explained.
Mulhern added that the Basic Welding Course, which costs $2,550, is
limited to eight participants and that
students will be taken on a first come,
first serve basis. A waiting list will be
done the same way, with classes to be
offered monthly based on demand.
Registration as non-degree students
is available at Northern’s three campuses. For more information, contact
Mulhern at 304-214-8975 or at kmulhern@wvncc.edu.
dents with military experience. These
schools have world-class programs
and policies for student support on
campus, academic accreditation,
credit policies, flexibility and other
services to those who served.
Military Friendly School
WVNCC once again has earned
placement on the coveted Military
Friendly Schools list.
It was announced earlier this month
that Victory Media, the premier
media entity for military personnel
transitioning into civilian life, has
named West Virginia Northern to
the 2013 Military Friendly Schools
list which honors the top 15 percent
of colleges, universities and trade
schools in the country that are doing
the most to embrace America’s
military service members, veterans
and spouses as students and ensure
their success on campus.
Dr. Martin J. Olshinsky, president of
Northern, said, “WVNCC has consistently earned this designation, and
we are in a unique position to provide
one-on-one assistance to help veterans
assess their higher education options.
We understand and appreciate the
sacrifices made by our veterans and
want to help them make a successful
transition.”
“Inclusion on the 2013 list of Military
Friendly Schools shows WVNCC’s
commitment to providing a supportive environment for military students,” Sean Collins, director for “G.I.
Jobs” and vice president at Victory
Media, said.
“As interest in education grows we’re
thrilled to provide the military community with transparent, world-class
resources to assist in their search for
schools,” Collins added. Complete
survey methodology is available at
www.militaryfriendlyschools.com/
methodology.
The Military Friendly Schools’ media
and web site, found at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com, features the list,
interactive tools and search functionality to help military students find the
best school to suit their unique needs
and preferences. The 1,739 colleges,
universities and trade schools on this
year’s list exhibit leading practices in
the recruitment and retention of stu-
Lights, Camera, Action!
West Virginia Northern’s Alicia Frey, associate director of financial aid, participated
in the filming of a one-hour documentary, “The Road to College,” being created for
the state Higher Education Policy Commission.
The film is being produced for the HEPC by The Walkabout Co. of Wheeling. According to Deb Warmuth, Walkabout’s projects manager/producer, Alicia did an
excellent job of helping to explain to potential students some of the finer details
concerning financial aid. Alicia had a few days to become familiar with the script
then Deb and her husband, Rick, the director, set up their equipment just outside
the President’s office in the B&O Building and began filming.
About three hours later, Alicia’s role was complete, and should take up two or three
minutes in the documentary. Janet Fike, vice president of student services and
financial aid director, said, “It is gratifying to know that the College’s financial aid
expertise will be in this film.”
Dancing Wheels
The College community and the public are
invited to attend a unique performance at
WVNCC that will mark Disabilities Awareness Month in October.
The Dancing Wheels Company of
Cleveland, OH, which is a group of dancers with and without physical disabilities,
will perform at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, in
the multi-purpose room of the Education
Center, Wheeling campus.
This free performance was made possible
because the College was awarded a competitive grant through the Diversity for Equity
program of the state Higher Education Policy
Commission.
The performance is one activity among
many being planned by Denise Wycherley,
student disability coordinator, and Elizabeth
Knollinger, program assistant II, for Disability
Awareness Month this year.
Resource Fair
The Resource Fairs are held on each
campus every fall within the first few
weeks of the semester. Because many
students face barriers outside of the
classroom, the fair is one way to help
students identify services that can
help them overcome certain challenges as well as to keep them informed
about what is available in the community.
The annual Resource Fair was held at
Wheeling campus Aug. 28, the New
Martinsville campus Aug. 30 and on
the Weirton campus Sept. 6. Students
were encouraged to stop by and meet
with representatives from various
community agencies.
At right is the Wheeling YWCA Cultural Diversity Community Outreach
Program Director, Royann Johnston,
and student Hannah Chiplinski.
Radiography students hold a bake sale
in the front hall of the B&O Building.
From left are Tiffany Tiger, Mallory
Cooper, Megan Smith, Marissa Dailey,
Megan Arman, Mandi Bell and Sam
Nardo.
Tutoring Center Makeover
New Martinsville Ca mpus
The Tutoring Center in New Martinsville received a fantastic makeover this summer. New carpet, chairs, desks, and
filing and storage cabinets have given the Tutoring Center a new, updated, and welcoming look. The number of students
using our tutoring services already is greater than this time last year. In fact, tutoring staffers say the traffic can be very
busy sometimes. But that’s OK, they
say, because a busy Tutoring Center
means that more students are getting
the help they need to succeed.
Part of the increase in traffic occurred
because of “Operation Saturation.”
During the first two weeks of school,
the staff made a concerted effort to let
every student and faculty member in
every classroom, office, hallway, lobby
and student lounge know about tutoring services. A four-day Open House
(food!!) brought dozens of students
by to check it out. Much of the success also is taking place because of the
faculty who let staffers visit their classrooms and who are referring students
for tutoring.
Clockwise from left: Deanne Cline, Candace Cecil, Michelle Moore, Dennis
Bills, Dr. Sherri Buerdsell, Kelly Dennis and Karen Chapman.
Students Enjoy Their New Tutoring Space
From left are Stephanie Minis, Kelly Dennis, Melanie Pettus, and Cristian Bieto.
Getting Involved SGA
Student Government Association members
from all three campuses gather for one
of their monthly SGA meetings. From left,
first row, are Pam Williams, Tina Lessard,
Carrie Cuchta, Sarah Blankenship. From left,
second row, are Leslie Haglock, Lisa Lohsl,
Melissa Wallace, Michael Runyon. From left,
third row, are Missy Wenner, J.P Selekey,
Kristi Stuntz, Barry Lohsl, Nathan Schmidt.
From left, fourth row, are Wil Gallagher,
Clayton Weeks, Keith Woods.
➊
We |
l ve our Students!
Chicken Fest 2012
➋
Once again, Chicken Fest made its way to the three campuses
of WVNCC, and as usual a fun time was had by all. Students
love the chance to join in on the activities and games, and
eat a free lunch provided by Student Activities.
1. Strapped to a bungee cord, these students are
determined to see who can push their chicken
furthest in the “Chicken Run.”
2. Medical Assisting students enjoy their free lunch!
➌
3. Kayla Higgins and Tiffany Jackson
help out at the prize table.
4. Julie Horton shares Career
Placement information
with the students attending
Chicken Fest.
➍
5. And what is Chicken Fest
without an appearance
by our own Thundering
Chicken?
➎