Higher Education

Millipedes represent some of the earliest known terrestrial animals and are highly understudied, but two West Virginia University researchers are working to shine a light on these important invertebrates. Several years ago, Matt Kasson and Angie Macias set out to better understand the association between the millipede Brachycybe lecontii and fungi, its life-sustaining food. “Millipedes serve an important function in ecosystems. … Read more

The National Science Foundation has awarded a one-year $999,000 planning grant to Shepherd University to develop a comprehensive plan to cost-effectively connect the university to the Internet2 national backbone. “This planning grant will support Shepherd’s exploration of the feasibility to connect to Internet2,” said Dr. Robert Warburton, dean, College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. … Read more

West Virginia University’s Duncan Lorimer might be the “godfather of the fast radio burst,” but a pair of international students have taken exploring these mysterious cosmic flashes to a new level. In 2007, Lorimer was credited for helping discover fast radio bursts—the intense, unexplained pulses of energy, light years away, that pop for mere milliseconds. … Read more

Mark Anthony Manchin, Ph.D., has been selected as the 25th president of Glenville State College, according to officials at the school in central West Virginia. The college’s Board of Governors made the selection after an extensive search process that culminated last week in on-campus interviews with five finalists at Glenville, West Virginia. “I am excited … Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity for reform that could break the chains of outdated, and perhaps ineffective, approaches to policing, says a former police officer and professor of sociology at West Virginia University. Dr. James Nolan, who spent 13 years with the Wilmington Police Department in Delaware, says the outbreak is, in part, … Read more

The Master of Social Work program at Concord University has been recognized as one of the top online programs in the nation by Learn.org, according to university officials. Concord ranked 20 among the 25 schools that made the organization’s 2020 “Best Master’s in Social Work Online Programs” list, according to Dr. C. Scott Inghram, an … Read more

Service workers and those who have been unexpectedly laid off may not have the savings they need in a time like this, says a health-and-families agent for the extension service at West Virginia University. Lauren Weatherford, who is working with families in Fayette and Nicholas counties in southern West Virginia, says many mountaineers are wondering … Read more

Shepherd University, at Shepherdstown, West Virginia, is offering an opportunity for the public to engage free-of-charge in its Lifelong Learning program through a series of classes online that are open to anyone. The classes will be delivered in March and April through the Zoom software platform, according to Cecelia Mason, a spokesperson for the university. … Read more

Transparent communication between caregivers and their children is key in mitigating children’s anxiety about the pandemic, says a school counseling expert at West Virginia University. Christine Schimmel, associate professor and program coordinator of the School Counseling Program at the College of Education and Human Services, recommends that parents be open with their children about current … Read more

Practicing social distancing is one way to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, but practicing emotional closeness may help alleviate the anxiety that the coronavirus can provoke. Julie Brefczynski-Lewis, a research assistant professor in the West Virginia University Department of Neuroscience, part of the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, said that “switching to compassion mode” may … Read more