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WVWC Receives Estate Gift in Excess of $11 Million

Evans Delivers Founders Day Address

Nursing Graduates Continue NCLEX Success

Cai Receives Exemplary Teaching Award

Steed Elected Alumni Council President

U.S. News & World Report Ranks Wesleyan Among Best Colleges

Five Students Conduct Neurological Research Projects

Admission Office Holding Open Houses in November and December

WVWC Receives Estate Gift in Excess of $11 Million Wesleyan has received the single largest donation in the school’s history from the estate of Thomas H. Albinson ’76. The gift in excess of $11 million will be directed to endowments for the Thomas H. Albinson II School of Business, the media studies program, and the campus radio station.

Albinson was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2015 and served until his death in March, 2016. He received a bachelor of arts in economics from Wesleyan and was a student assistant to the late Frank Bayard, professor of economics. Albinson’s favorite student activity was serving as a late night classic rock show host on WVWC-FM. His persona was “TA” and his show “Isacoustic” was a favorite on campus and to listeners throughout the region.

Albinson began his career as a financial analyst with Booz, Allen & Hamilton and worked as a systems analyst and investment advisor for a number of companies and non-profit businesses. The $11-plus million gift is the second major Albinson family donation to Wesleyan. In 2014, the College received $2.1 million from the Mary B. Albinson Trust. That donation funded a number of campus capital projects and led to the naming of the Thomas H. Albinson II School of Business.

Evans Delivers Founders Day Address “Secret Sauce” was the title of the Founders Day address delivered by Charles R. Evans, ’69 on Friday, October 11. Evans is the president of the International Health Services Group (IHSG) and senior advisor at Jackson Healthcare. Founded by Evans in 2007, IHSG is a social enterprise to support health services development in under served areas of the world.

Jackson Healthcare is an Atlanta-based consortium of companies that provide physician and clinician staffing, anesthesia management

and healthcare information technology solutions proven to improve clinical and financial outcomes to hospitals, health systems, and physician groups throughout the U.S.

Evans is a member of the boards at several additional healthcare companies as well as non-profit organizations including FaithBridge Foster Care and the American International Heath Alliance. He served as a member of Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees from 1998 to 2006.

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Cai Receives Exemplary Teaching Award

Mengfei Cai, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and Chair of the department, was named the recipient of the General Board of Higher Education of The United Methodist Church Exemplary Teaching Award. Cai joined Wesleyan’s faculty in 2012. She received a B.A. from Huazhong Normal University and M.S. and Ph.D. from Brigham Young University.

She is described by her colleagues as one who is diligent in her work with students, whether it is an introductory class or working one-on-one with students in research. Students cite her as most organized, thoughtful, and respectful and a faculty member who teaches with intentionality. They also appreciate her balance of structure and flexibility along with her patience.

Steed Elected Alumni Council President

Tara Steed ’87 has been elected president of Wesleyan’s Alumni Council. Steed has worked in healthcare administration

for the past 22 years and is currently working for WVU Medicine in the Information Technology Department. She received a bachelor of science in mathematics from WVWC and a master’s in business administration from the University of Maryland. She was elected to Alumni Council in 2017 and currently resides in Morgantown. Tara has many Wesleyan ties as her dad, Gerald (Jerry) was a long-time employee. Other family Wesleyan graduates include her mother, Diana ’89, and brothers Brad ’86 and Derek ’94.

Nursing Graduates Continue NCLEX SuccessWesleyan’s passage rate on the West Virginia National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX) continues to be among the best in West Virginia and surrounding states. The first-time passage rate has averaged 94% for the last five years.

The NCLEX exam is a standardized test that every state regulatory board uses to determine if a candidate is ready to become licensed as an entry-level nurse. Wesleyan’s MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner students have a first-time pass rate on national certification exams that has averaged 98% for the last several years. Certification examinations are a requirement for nurses with graduate preparation to become licensed as advanced practice providers by state boards of nursing.

Wesleyan’s School of Nursing offers the following programs:

BSN MSN Post-Graduate Certificate-FNP DNP

The Class of 2019 are employed at a number of hospitals including the Charleston Area Medical Center, WV, Marietta Hospital, OH, Mt. Sinai-West in New York City, St. Joseph’s-WVU Medicine, and United Hospital-WVU Medicine.

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U.S. News & World Report Ranks Wesleyan Among Best Colleges

Five Students Conduct Neurological Research Projects WVWC Biochemistry Professor, Dr. Bruce Anthony, is leading teams of undergraduate students in research related to brain cell development and regeneration. Through support from the Maier Foundation, the WV INBRE program and the WV Division of Science and Research Summer Undergraduate Research Experience program (SURE), five senior science students were awarded the opportunity to research the impact of strokes, Alzheimer’s disease and addiction recovery on the brain.

Brantley Hyre, senior molecular biology major from Elkins, WV; Laurel Lloyd senior biochemistry major from Sutton, WV; and Hannah Tenney, senior biochemistry major from Buckhannon, WV, are exploring how long it takes for brain cells in mice to redevelop after the exposure to opioids has been suspended.

“Current rehabilitation programs are relatively short term, 21 or 28 days,” Dr. Anthony said. “After this short stay, individuals are expected to be able to change their life and be healthy. However, research is showing that the effects of addiction cause certain brain chemicals to be suppressed and this often leads to depression making full recovery a harder process.” Anthony continued. The students are studying how long the effects of these substances remain in the brain. “This data could help recovery practitioners

Wesleyan has been ranked in Best Regional Universities South, Best Value Schools, and Top Performers on Social Mobility in the latest U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 edition of “Best Colleges.” For the ninth consecutive year, Wesleyan has the highest state ranking as a “Best Value” school in regional rankings that includes academic quality and cost of attendance after financial aid.

Wesleyan was also featured in this year’s list of Best Southeastern Colleges in The Princeton Review’s “2020 Best Colleges: Region by Region” and has been designated as one of the best schools in the Southeast for more than 12 consecutive years. In addition, the College has been named to Kiplinger’s

2019 list of “Best College Values” for “delivering students a high-quality education at an affordable price.”

In a recent national survey, Wesleyan is among the best institutions in the nation in preparing students for their post-graduate careers. Benefitting from outstanding academics in a rich liberal arts setting, Wesleyan graduates are finding immediate success after graduation. Statistics compiled for the 2018 and 2017 graduating classes indicate that 95% are enrolled in graduate or professional school or have been placed in a job.

(l-r) Caitlin Murphy, Hannah Tenney, Laurel Lloyd, Dr. Bruce Anthony, Cristal Espinosa, and Brantley Hyre

develop improved recovery programs in the future - which support not only the withdrawal from the substance but time for the brain to heal and depressive symptoms to subside, in turn, allowing a better chance for long-term success of individuals in recovery,” Anthony explained.

Cristal Espinosa, Wesleyan senior biochemistry major from Rock Cave, WV, is conducting research related to how a stroke might change the surrounding brain cells. This research model demonstrates cell losses and how stem cells might aid in the recovery process for stroke victims. “My brother suffered a stroke at birth,” Espinosa said. ”I hope this research can influence public policy and decrease death rates.”

Caitlin Murphy, Wesleyan senior biochemistry major from Dailey, WV, is conducting research into Alzheimer’s disease. “I was inspired to work on this project because my grandmother has the disease,” Murphy said. “I hope an outcome of this research would be to identify drug properties that could slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.”

Research projects began during the spring and summer semesters of 2019 and the students will continue into the fall. “I want our undergraduate students to learn how to design experiments and analyze data in different ways, preparing them to become independent researchers ready for advanced education opportunities,” said Anthony.

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The November Open House will include home athletic contests and performances by the Bobcat Marching band while the December event will feature creative and performing arts auditions and art portfolio reviews in the afternoon.

For more information about each Open House event, go to www.wvwc.edu.

To refer a prospective student, call the Admissions Office at 800-722-9933.

Admission Office Holding

Open Houses November 9 and December 7

The schedule for the weekend is as follows: November 15 3:00 pm Registration in the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts Lobby 3:30 pm Starter Rehearsal in Culpepper Auditorium 7:00 pm Jam Session at the Opera House (downtown Buckhannon) November 16 10:30 am Rehearsal in Culpepper Auditorium 3:00 pm Last rehearsal for Milburn Group 7:00 pm FEATURE CONCERT for Milburn Group and Young Alumni Group

Wesleyan Celebrating 50 Years of

WVWC will celebrate 50 years of jazz with a special reunion November 15 and 16. Band members from five decades are expected to return to campus for a weekend of sharing memories and jam and practice sessions. The highlight of the weekend will be a concert beginning at 7 pm on Saturday night in Culpepper Auditorium in the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts. The show will feature a performance by the Dr. David Milburn Group, directed by Neil Randolph ’78 and the more recent alumni group, directed by Dr. James Moore, dean of the faculty and chief academic officer.

November 15-16

FREE ADMISSION TO CONCERT