Eberly News

Sophie Slaughter, a native of Culloden and member of the Honors College, is the recipient of the prestigious annual award given to college juniors with exceptional leadership potential and a commitment to public service. Slaughter, a junior double majoring in history and women’s and gender studies, envisions a future where everyone has what they need to live safe, healthy and self-directed lives.

Tyler Hickey said he believes West Virginia could be the future of energy. The Indiana native and graduate of Indiana University Southeast came to  West Virginia University to pursue a graduate degree in geology on the advice of a professor who was a University graduate.

West Virginia University students at the WVU College of Law and the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will benefit from a WVU alumna’s efforts to honor her brother’s legal legacy and promote education in the Mountain State through scholarships.

The College of Law celebrated the career of Judge Robert B. King, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, on Friday (April 4) with a portrait unveiling and a surprise. His sister, former WVU Eberly College Dean Mary Ellen Mazey, is spearheading fundraising efforts to establish a scholarship in his honor with support from King’s former law clerks, other colleagues and friends.

The Judge Robert Bruce King Law Scholarship will be awarded to law students from West Virginia, with first preference for WVU Eberly College graduates.

A West Virginia University psychology professor has been honored for her exceptional teaching of writing during the University’s annual awards season.

Julie Hicks Patrick is the 2024-2025 recipient of the Caperton Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Writing. Established in 2007, the award was made possible by the generosity of former West Virginia Governor and College Board president Gaston Caperton. Caperton’s intent was to “increase awareness of the need for improved writing skills,” identifying writing as a critical issue necessary to maintaining America’s competitive edge in the global market. 

The University’s Forensic and Investigative Science program in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences isn’t just ahead of the curve — it’s helping draw the curve for the rest of the nation. 

WVU is building one of the most respected programs of its kind, through a mix of cutting-edge research, hands-on training and unmatched faculty expertise.

This work opens meaningful, high impact career paths for students in science, law enforcement, environmental analysis and more.

A new collaboration between the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the WVU Health Sciences Center Office of Interprofessional Education is giving Bachelor of Social Work students an opportunity to join future doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health professionals in active learning and simulation activities, underscoring the vital role social workers play in patient care.

Renee LaRue, teaching associate professor in the School of Mathematical and Data Sciences, was named the 2025 College Level Mathematics Teacher of the Year during the West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference held at Stonewall Resort.

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.

In an empty studio room of the Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia, Princeton Middle School students wriggle neon-colored ropes that coil and arc to the amusement of the youngsters. It’s not all fun and games, though it looks that way from the smiles and giggles. The students are getting lessons on gravitational waves and wave frequencies, courtesy of Science Behind the Sport at West Virginia University. It’s just one of many STEM-related activities for students from all across the Mountain State on NASA Day, sponsored by the student with science experiment NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium at WVU.

Olgur Celikbas, Associate Professor of Mathematics in the School of Mathematical and Data Sciences at Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, is conducting research during this semester as part of an in-person fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (MPIM) in Bonn, Germany.