2013 West Virginia Wesleyan College Report

On behalf of the West Virginia Wesleyan College family, I am honored and proud to share some highlights from the 2012 – 2013 academic year.

Two new Fulbright Scholars to make our six year total of international scholarship winners 15, including 11 Fulbrights.
First-tier in the South in the 2013 U. S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges Guide.
Only West Virginia school listed in the “Great Schools at Great Prices” category in the 2013 U. S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges Guide.
Ranked 12th among baccalaureate colleges by Washington Monthly.
Listed as a Best Southeastern School in The Princeton Review for 11 consecutive years.
Nationally recognized for the Center for Community Engagement and Leadership and the Learning Center for students with diagnosed learning differences.
One of four colleges in West Virginia to be recognized by Colleges of Distinction.
Ranked #1 in the number of Appalachian College Association Scholarship recipients for the past five years.
Ranked #1 among West Virginia small colleges in science research funding.
Number one private school for West Virginia PROMISE Scholars every year since the program’s inception in 2002.

These accomplishments are the result of our excellent faculty and staff who believe in the philosophy of John Wesley. We continue to attract the best students from West Virginia and from 21 additional states and six countries. Our 460 new students in the fall of 2012 had an average GPA of 3.38, with 78 freshmen bringing in a 4.0 average. Our students remain committed to service. Our Center for Community Engagement was named a Sullivan Foundation College after their Foundation Presidents visited our campus and witnessed first-hand how engaged our students are in meaningful service. One example was our campus effort to provide shelter to those who suffered power outages from Superstorm Sandy. The School of Health Sciences is now our largest school with 144 nursing majors and 135 athletic training majors. Our 2012 nursing graduates had 100% passage on their first attempt on National Council Licensure Examination. We are so proud of this success. Faculty members continue to amaze us. Dr. James Moore, Director of the Jazz Ensemble, was a Grammy Award nominee this year. We also had an alumna, Sherezade Panthaki, ’99 as another nominee. As the media and the public questions the value of higher education, we are even more convinced that a West Virginia Wesleyan College education provides our students with excellence in academics, spiritual life, co-curricular opportunities, and the love of life-long learning. Please help to share our college successes with prospective students and families who may worry that West Virginia Wesleyan College is not affordable. We make it happen! Thank you for your support to West Virginia Wesleyan College, the College of our West Virginia Conference. We value our continued partnership.

Pamela Balch President