2016 West Virginia Wesleyan College Report
West Virginia Annual Conference Journal 2016 Section VII — Reports
West Virginia Wesleyan College
I write this 2015-2016 academic year report with a heavy heart as this year’s Annual Conference will be my last as President of West Virginia Wesleyan College. I announced my upcoming December 31, 2016 retirement to our Board of Trustees in February. This time frame will allow for a thorough national search for a new President who will begin in January 2017. It has been a great decade for our college and I have cherished our relationship with The United Methodist Church and all of the personal friendships. In review of the 2015-2016 academic year, we are proud of many achievements. This was the celebratory year for our 125th Anniversary of the founding of West Virginia Wesleyan College. It was, thereby, appropriate to hear the passionate words from Bishop Thomas Bickerton at our October 2015 Founders Day Convocation. Bishop Bickerton, a 1980 graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College, provided an inspirational message for all. We also awarded Bishop Bickerton with Wesleyan’s Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. We also launched the public phase of our $30 million capital campaign, “Enhancing Our Tradition, Empowering our Future.” Our goal is to reach or surpass our fi ve year total by June 30, 2017. We have also had a productive year with campus improvements. Thanks to the research by our Archivist, Brett Miller ’06, we have a new Athletics Traditions Room, adjacent to the main gymnasium. It was the vision of Director of Athletics, Randy Tenney ’77, and funded by the West Virginia Independent Oil and Gas Association. In addition, the West Virginia Wesleyan College Emeritus Club provided the resources to complete classroom 200 in the Martin Religious Center. Our Title III staff members, led by Alison Clausen, have achieved and exceeded goals to support our students, faculty and staff.
• 15 first-generation students are receiving one-on-one advising in the spring of 2016
• 56 students are receiving one-on-one advising in the spring of 2016.
• 80 faculty have been trained in new or alternative teaching techniques.
• 111 of 117 faculty (full time plus adjuncts) have participated in development activities (seminars, workshops, technology, etc.).
• 31 faculty have been trained in how to use the new classroom technology.
Our $10 million Title III grant, in this second year of five, has been extremely important in allowing us to transform our campus facilities. To date, we have completed ten facilities projects and classrooms with state-of-the-art technology and flexible seating furniture. Another ten classrooms are in progress for summer. Another outstanding accomplishment that we appreciated this year was a successful accreditation visit by the Higher Learning Commission. The team members praised our 338 West Virginia Annual Conference Journal 2016 Section VII — Reports progress in the assessment of student learning. Also, they stated that, “Much progress has been made to improve the financial condition of West Virginia Wesleyan College over the past five years. This is evidenced by the increase in unrestricted net assets, steady increase in net tuition and fees, reduced dependence on the line of credit, growth in the Endowment and the five-year (2014-2019) $10 million Title III grant. Additionally, the College has raised nearly $24 million of the $30 million capital campaign goal.” The team also praised the Board for its commitment to the College and for providing oversight and expertise as appropriate, while leaving day-to-day operations to the administration, faculty and staff. Our students continue to make us proud and they are the heart of what we do. They continue to do incredible service, participate in fellowships and internships, succeed in athletics and co-curricular experiences, perform in prestigious national musical performances, and successfully compete in national academic settings. Our new Chaplain and Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, Reverend Chris Scott, is inspiring our students in many venues, and is an appreciated mentor and listener. Thank you for your support over the years of passionate team work. This year and the decade of working “from good to great” have been rewarding and fulfi lling. John Wesley would be proud.
Pamela Balch, President
