Eberly News

The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University has named recipients for its 2020-2021 awards for faculty and staff. In total, the Eberly College recognized 11 individuals across four categories for their talent, commitment and service to the College and WVU.

Eberly College announces 2020-2021 outstanding staff and faculty awards

Eberly News /

The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences has named recipients for its 2020-2021 awards for faculty and staff. In total, the Eberly College recognized 11 individuals across four categories for their talent, commitment and service to the College and WVU.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021 Five West Virginia University graduates, representing three colleges, share stories about how they set their sights on a career in the sports industry and achieved their dreams. For some, it started with a focus on their family’s love of sports, for others, it began with an early interest in team sports. For Billy Bunting, Bill Eagan, Brandon Golden, Michael Pehanich and Keith Tandy, West Virginia University offered the perfect pathway to connect them with the career of their choice. From communications, to coaching, premium club member relations and sales, each of these Mountaineers play a leadership role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization. Bunting, Eagan, Golden, Pehanich and Tandy face daily challenges to achieve goals and build meaningful relationships. As they discuss their experiences while in Morgantown, they reflect on why they chose WVU and how faculty guided them to excel, all the while developing a work ethic that remains with them today. Each one offers advice for current and recent grads on how to enter the professional sports field and, ultimately, land the dream job. Bunting, Eagan, Golden, Pehanich and Tandy reveal a love for learning that led to fulfilling their passion for sports. Finally, they share an ongoing connection to the WVU family that was fostered during their experience as Mountaineers.

Defining sports careers

Eberly News /

Five WVU alumni share how they followed their passion into professional sports while remembering their Mountaineer roots.

Closed religious communities such as the Amish are high-risk populations for the spread of both infectious diseases and public health misinformation, according to sociologists from West Virginia University who are working with data from Amish and Mennonite settlements to understand the COVID-19-related beliefs and behaviors prevalent within their communities.

WVU researchers study high-risk populations in low-tech communities

Eberly News /

Closed religious communities such as the Amish are high-risk populations for the spread of both infectious diseases and public health misinformation, according to sociologists from West Virginia University who are working with data from Amish and Mennonite settlements to understand the COVID-19-related beliefs and behaviors prevalent within their communities.

A West Virginia University astrophysicist is among this year’s Sloan Fellows, scholars recognized as emerging leaders in science. Sarah Burke-Spolaor, an assistant professor of astronomy, is one of 128 young faculty members from the U.S. and Canada to receive the competitive award.

WVU astrophysicist recognized as emerging leader in research

Eberly News /

Astrophysicist Sarah Burke-Spolaor is among this year’s Sloan Fellows, scholars recognized as emerging leaders in science. She is one of 128 young faculty members from the U.S. and Canada to receive the competitive award.

The world is in the midst of a data revolution. From how we shop to how we vote and all decisions in between, there is a growing need for professionals trained to use modern data analysis to solve everyday problems. To meet these 21st century workforce demands, West Virginia University is launching a new undergraduate data science major in fall 2021, the first of its kind in the state.

WVU responds to data science revolution with new major

Eberly News /

The world is in the midst of a data revolution. From how we shop to how we vote and all decisions in between, there is a growing need for professionals trained to use modern data analysis to solve everyday problems. To meet these 21st century workforce demands, WVU is launching a new undergraduate data science major in fall 2021, the first of its kind in the state.

Four Eberly College students selected for WVU Foundation scholarships

Eberly News /

The Office of Graduate Education and Life has announced the recipients of the 2021 WVU Foundation Scholarship awards, including four from the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. 

Frannie Kitzmiller

Criminology student named among the nation’s first female Eagle Scouts

Eberly News /

Frannie Kitzmiller, a first-year criminology student and Morgantown native, made history Feb. 4 when she became one of the nation’s first woman Eagle Scouts – a prestigious achievement attained by some of the country’s most noteworthy figures.

New research from West Virginia University biologists shows that trees around the world are consuming more carbon dioxide than previously reported, making forests even more important in regulating the Earth’s atmosphere and forever shift how we think about climate change. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Richard Thomas and alumnus Justin Mathias (BS Biology, ’13 and Ph.D. Biology, ’20) synthesized published tree ring studies. They found that increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past century have caused an uptick in trees’ water-use efficiency, the ratio of carbon dioxide taken up by photosynthesis to the water lost by transpiration – the act of trees “breathing out” water vapor.

WVU biologists uncover forests' unexpected role in climate change

Eberly News /

New research from West Virginia University biologists shows that trees around the world are consuming more carbon dioxide than previously reported, making forests even more important in regulating the Earth’s atmosphere and forever shift how we think about climate change.

Maybe space is tight in your home and you share a remote office with your spouse. Or your partner asks you to step away from work to watch the children because they have an important call to jump on. Then you may wonder, ‘Well, what makes his/her job more important than mine!’ There have been no shortage of conflicts arising from the era of COVID-19, and that includes the challenges at home between married couples. In fact, the more a person felt that their spouse disrupted their daily routine, the more they viewed their relationship as turbulent, according to West Virginia University research. Kevin Knoster, a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Communication Studies, led a study examining 165 married individuals and how their partners interfered with their daily routines in April 2020, a month into the pandemic. Their findings are published in Communication Research Reports.

‘Honey, I’m home – all the time:’ Pandemic life for married couples can lead to sadness, anger

Eberly News /

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the more a person felt their spouse disrupted their daily routine, the more they viewed their relationship as turbulent, according to new research from the Department of Communication Studies.

Lupe Davidson

Eberly College names first associate dean for social justice, faculty development and innovation

Eberly News /

Maria del Guadalupe "Lupe" Davidson has been promoted to serve as associate dean for social justice, faculty development and innovation in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, effective Jan. 1, 2021. Davidson came to WVU in fall 2019 to serve as the Eberly College’s director and academic coordinator for social justice affairs and professor of women’s and gender studies.