Month: February 2018

Walking the Walk

If it is wrong, say so. Founded on the Social Principles and Social Creed of the Methodist tradition, West Virginia Wesleyan alumni are walking the walk.

Several times over the past several weeks, I have come across an alumnus out there doing just what they have learned. From the Save the Crew movement in Columbus, OH to immigration issues, to economic justice, to advocating for ecological responsibility, they are out there. Each time, I can’t help but think that they are doing just what we have taught them is important.  Our Mission Statement says that:

West Virginia Wesleyan College prepares its students through its curriculum of arts and sciences, preprofessional, professional, and graduate studies, and its rich campus life program. As a residential institution of higher education, the College aspires to graduate broadly educated men and women who:

  • Think critically and creatively,
  • Communicate effectively,
  • Act responsibly, and
  • Demonstrate their local and world citizenship through service.

For example, Bishop Tom Bickerton, Class of 1980, is the Bishop of  the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. His recent statement in response to offensive remarks by public officials and the unfairness of their policies is full of grace, hope, and justice. It calls for all of us to do our part to restore dignity and justice.

Or Wilson Harvey, Class of 2017 speaking of the current situation in West Virginia where public employees are not being given the respect or the benefits that they deserve. Wilson writes,

“It would be a serious moral and political miscalculation to issue legal injunctions to try and end the strike. I think that politicians seem to severely underestimate the bipartisan support that teachers appear to have from the electorate. There are some against the strike, but at least anecdotally it would appear that voters have teachers backs. Trust me, the state’s teachers wouldn’t be on strike for the first time since 1990 if there wasn’t a really good reason.” Wilson is a secondary teacher in Lewis County, West Virginia.

And 2003 graduate Adena Barnette’s advocacy and leadership. She is a teacher in Jackson County, West Virginia who has gone over and above in her care for her students, her continued lifelong learning, and her advocacy in this current situation. She spoke before the PEIA Board. They turned a deaf ear. She then gave that same message in a different form, publishing it in the Charleston Gazette.

These three (and many thousands of WVWC Alumni all over the world) have learned at the feet of such people as John Warner, Arthur Holmes, Tamara Bailey, Melissa Buice, Rob and Lynn Rupp, Shirley Fortney, and many others through the years too numerous to list here. They embody the very mission of the college:

  • Think critically and creatively,
  • Communicate effectively,
  • Act responsibly, and
  • Demonstrate their local and world citizenship through service.

They are walking the walk and making us proud.

To read more about the people and events that have made West Virginia Wesleyan College great, check out https://DreamersAndGiants.com

Faces of Wesleyan

They All Have a Story

Curating the Stories

Who are these people? Each of them has been a major figure in the history of West Virginia Wesleyan College. There are thousands more. They put in long hours and made a difference in the lives of students. They made decisions that shaped the future of the school (which we now call the present).

How many times have I wished that I could tell them, “Your college is thriving. It is making a difference in the lives of students so that they can go out and make a difference in the world.”

How many times have I thought that the amazing faculty who is here today is a reflection of those who have gone before them? And yet, their memories are fading or disappearing altogether. As will ours in time unless someone tells our stories.

And so this work calls to me.

It goes beyond documenting facts. It goes to who I am and what I do. It goes to pride in what our WVWC ancestors were able to accomplish, and how they contributed mightily to what we are today.

It goes beyond calling out their names. It goes to telling about who they were and what they did.

It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up.

It goes to the dreams that they had for this college, and those who would come after them (for us).

It goes to who they were and the kinds of decisions that they made. The paths that they chose.

It goes to celebrating the great times, and learning from the hard ones.

It goes to caring about and collecting their stories. Organizing and preserving them. And sharing them.

Because, as noted by Natalie Sleeth in the Hymn of Promise, “From the past will come the future, what it holds a mystery. Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.”

So, as a scribe called, I tell the stories of my WVWC family in hopes that these stories will call young and old to step up and restore the memories of our Home Among the Hills, or to learn them for the first time.

These are some of the reasons that this history is important. They are excerpts from the HistoryRelevance.com Value Statement. You can read the whole thing here.

History enables people to discover their own place in the stories of their families, communities, and nation. They learn the stories of the many individuals and groups that have come before them and shaped the world in which they live.

No place is a community until it has awareness of its history. Our connections and commitment to one another are strengthened when we share stories and experiences.

People are drawn to communities that have preserved a strong sense of historical identity and character.

Their stories reveal how they met the challenges of their day, which can give new leaders the courage and wisdom to confront the challenges of our time.

History, saved and preserved, is the foundation for future generations.

Be sure to check out the DreamersAndGiants.com website often. New photos and stories are being added regularly.

Education: A right? A privilege? A treasure? Thank you Morris Purdy Shawkey!!!

Shawkey, Morris Purdy
West Virginia Blue Book, 1919

Education is in the news everywhere in West Virginia right now. In our society today, we often think of it as something we take for granted. Of course there have always been schools and teachers around……..haven’t there? We sometimes see this as our right. Some even complain when they “have to” go to school or read something about the world. Very rarely do we truly understand what a treasure and a privilege it is to have these opportunities.

M.P. Shawkey taught at WVWC  from 1895-1897 (or the West Virginia Conference Seminary as it was named at that time). He died 77 years ago this week, and was featured in a story on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. It seems that he is widely recognized as the father of secondary education in West Virginia. He served three terms as the West Virginia State Superintendent of Free Schools, and during that time vastly increased the number of high schools (from 6 to 116) and was a huge supporter of having libraries in every school. You can read more about him here. Go ahead — it is a really fascinating story! It includes time spent as President of Marshall and of Morris Harvey among other things. It includes political intrigue and other elements that would make for a great feature film.

Morris Purdy Shawkey also wrote several books on West Virginia History, Geography, and Industry, which includes the best description I have ever read about the development of schools in West Virginia…..and why they mattered to communities and individuals alike. Read this description here!!!  Please!!! I wish each and every person in the legislature would read it.

We must value our schools. We must value our teachers. We must value those who work with our children. We must value those who provide the opportunities for our children to grow and shape our future as a society.

To read more things like this, check out https://DreamersAndGiants.com

Leadership – Then and Now

Wark, Homer E.

On February 25, 1931, WVWC President Wark was invited to speak to the Weekly Convocation at West Virginia University on the topic of “The Problem of Leadership”. Here is a summary of that speech, and a link to the Pharos article about the event. (You should read it! It could have been written today!)

Today we talk a lot about leadership styles, and how they come to be formed. We talk about Liberal Arts education (the kind of education that teaches you to think and learn — not a political ideology). Sometimes it is referred to as a Classical Education. The very first year of existence, the West Virginia Conference Seminary was strong in this. And has been growing stronger ever since as defined by the Association of American Colleges & Universities. We now blend Liberal Arts Education with our professional programs to help students to be true leaders in their fields. The best of both!

To find more things like this, be sure to check out the DreamersAndGiants webpage.