Eberly News

Political science, engineering, biology, health sciences, chemistry, physics and astronomy are some of the disciplines uniting to support 13 future WVU doctoral students who will collaborate with K-12 schools and regional industry to enhance West Virginia’s economic development in evolving energy.

Ten students from the Ebelry College of Arts and Sciences have earned Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to travel abroad this summer without financial constraints. These undergraduate students received the competitive national award funded by the U.S. State Department to participate in transformative study abroad experiences.

Fifty-five graduates were inducted as lifelong members into the WVU Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, a national honor society that recognizes outstanding achievement in the liberal arts and sciences, and champions freedom of thought.

Three Eberly College graduates will spend an immersive summer abroad studying foreign languages as recipients of the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship. A love for travel and global learning led Ella Dietz to major in international studies and pursue minors in political science and Russian studies. She will travel to Kyrgyzstan. Wyatt Gaines is an international studies major with minors in conservation ecology and geographic information science. Gaines first traveled to Japan as part of the Model United Nations and then again for a 10-month exchange program at Kansai Gaidai University. Christelle Temple graduated with a degree in public relations and minors in leadership and creative writing, she will return to Tanzania to study Swahili.

Every year, students from across Eberly College are selected as  Outstanding Seniors and  Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistants.  Eberly Scholars are also chosen annually for a monetary award to help offset the cost of their education as they work to achieve their academic goals. Read about all three groups below.

Eight remarkable members of the West Virginia University Class of 2025 who have distinguished themselves through academic excellence and by making significant contributions on campus, across the Mountain State and beyond have been honored with the Order of Augusta, the most prestigious University student award.

For Amy Hessl, professor of geography at West Virginia University, the past can predict the future. Hessl is a dendrochronologist, a scientist who unravels climate histories and trends through the study of tree ring growth patterns. So when wildfires engulfed the Los Angeles, California area in January 2025, resulting in dozens of deaths and tens of thousands of destroyed structures, Hessl wasn’t taken aback. In fact, she said, ongoing warm air temperatures and variable precipitation – which can be presumed from her studies of climate history trends — will lead to even more extreme fires in the future.

The Student Government Association Judicial Court certified Colin Street and Rozaireo Jones as president and vice president, respectively, for the 2025-26 academic year.  Colin Street, a sophomore from Morgantown, is a sophomore pursuing a triple major in  political science, environmental and energy resources management and  multidisciplinary studies. Rozaireo Jones, a sophomore from Fairmont, is majoring in journalism and multidisciplinary studies.

Recognized as champions for justice, civil rights and world peace, four West Virginia University undergraduate students are the recipients of the prestigious 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship. Selected by the Center for Black Culture based on an essay and letters of recommendation, Tysa James, Janelle LaBarbera, Cheyenne Torres and Gabrielle Williams were honored at the annual MLK Unity Breakfast on Jan. 18 in the Mountainlair Ballrooms.

Mason Moseley, a political science professor at West Virginia University, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to study Argentina’s mining industry and its environmental impact. Starting in March 2025, he’ll work with Argentine scholars and teach at Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Inspired by protests he witnessed in Mendoza in 2019, Moseley will explore why social movements around environmental issues, like water rights, gain traction. His research includes public opinion surveys, and he plans to compare findings with environmental movements in West Virginia.