Tag: Faculty

135 Years – Happy Birthday WVWC!

Birthday Cake - 135 years

It is not every day that a person has an opportunity to celebrate such a milestone! How does one even go about it? Gifts are certainly in order. Taking the time to reflect on the people who have been integral to such a long story of growth and success seems to be appropriate. What follows is my attempt to celebrate the founding of our Home Among the Hills, where the doors first opened on September 3, 1890 – and the people and adventures since that time.

Gift #1 – Faculty List

About 20 years ago, I asked what I thought to be a simple question. (Is there a list of all the people who have taught here through the years?) It turned out that the answer was that it was all in the catalogs. Yikes. There have been a LOT of those through the years! But, after many years of digging through those catalogs and making a spreadsheet, I finally came up with a list. It includes anyone who was listed as faculty in one of the catalogs – even some early student assistants in various lab classes. These are all people who have impacted lives. Some have taught here for decades. Others for just a few years, but if they happened to be YOUR years, they may have made a huge difference for you.

However, once I had the list I was still not satisfied. I wanted to know what they looked like, where they had come from, what they taught, and what kinds of people they were. So, I have been compiling that information as well by looking through yearbooks, alumni publications, and even researching some in places like LinkedIn or FindAGrave.  Click here to see the results (with more coming!)

Gift #2 – Buildings

Buildings all have a story to tell us (many, actually). When it was built? Why was it built? What was the purpose for each? Where did the funds come from? Who was it  named for? What has been written about each?

The Buildings section of DreamersAndGiants has been updated with a lot of that information. Click here to check it out!

Gift #3 – Online Course

Thanks to a suggestion from Provost Lynn Linder, and some great technical assistance and moral support from Traci Probst and Jon Benjamin, there is now an online course available for those who would like to know more.  Click here to explore it! 

Answers to some frequently asked questions:

  1. It is free.
  2. It is available for anyone to take (faculty, staff, current students, alumni, trustees, prospective students, or anyone who would like to know more).
  3. It covers the founding and early days, and the history of the buildings.
  4. The entire course takes about 2 1/2 hours, but you don’t have to do it all at once.
  5. At the end of the course, you recieve a certificate!

Bobcat 135

While I am not a student of numerology, I thought it would be interesting to see what the number 135 might signify. What I found seems pretty on target.

  • Number 1 often represents new beginnings, independence, and self-leadership
  • Number 3 represents creativity, communication, self-expression, and optimism
  • Number 5 represents adaptability, freedom, positive change, and adventure

Happy 135th Birthday, WVWC!

Bio – Stealey, Helen Louise

Education:

  • A.B. Fairmont State College
  • M.A. Duke University

Taught:

  • Assistant Professor of Education and Religious Education 1960-1965
  • Associate Professor of Education and Christian Education 1966-1978
  • Founder and Director of the Kindergarten Laboratory

Notes:

  • Stealey to Join Staff Next Year (The Pharos 1960-04-26, p.3)
    • Taught in Harrison County for 20 years
    • Conference Director of Children’s Work in the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist Church for 6 years.
    • Chairman of Children’s Work for the State Council of Churches
    • National Committee on Children’s Work of the National Council of Churches
    • Executive Committee of the State White House Conference Committee and was appointed by Governor Cecil Underwood to the golden anniversary of the White House Conference.
  • HELEN L. STEALEY, assistant professor of education and religious education, received her A.B. degree from Fairmont State College and her M.A. degree at
    Duke University. Miss Stealey has taught in Harrison County schools during the past 20 years. In addition, she has participated in five summers of community recreation and taught a summer term at Salem College in the field of Christian education. Miss Stealey is the director of the new laboratory kindergarten started this fall. (Sundial, 1960-09, p.13)
  • Wesleyan-Buckhannon Kindergartens Lead State (Sundial 1965-05, p.24)
  • Stealey Selected for Biography Publication (Pharos 1972-10-03, p.6)
    • Dictionary of International Biography
    • The World Who’s Who
    • Dictionary of American Women

Bio – Lyttle, William Bruce, Jr.

Born:   (Harlan, KY)

Died: 2019-08-24 (Raleigh, NC)

Education:

1957 A.B. West Virginia University (Physics)

1960 M.S. West Virginia University (Physics)

Taught:

Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Physics 1960-1964

Notes:

  • WILLIAM B. LYTTLE, JR., assistant professor of mathematics and physics was
    originally from Harlan, Kentucky. He received his A.B. (1957) and M.S. (1960) degrees from West Virginia University. Mr. Lyttle comes to Wesleyan from Waynesburg College, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, where he had been teaching since 1958. (Sundial 1960-09, p.13)
  • Served in the Navy during the Korean Conflict
  • Taught at Waynesburg University and West Virginia Wesleyan
  • Worked at Melpar/E-Systems in Fairfax, VA
  • Retired from the Night Vision Lab at Fort Belvoir in Alexandria, VA in the late 1980s
  • Obituary 

Bio – Hilliard, Robert L

 

Education:

  • 1942 B.A. (Cum Laude) Brooklyn College
  • 1948 M.A. Teachers College, Columbia University

Taught:

Assistant Professor of English 1960-1965

Notes:

ROBERT L. HILLIARD, assistant professor of English, comes from Saddle River,
New Jersey. He received his B.A. degree cum laude from Brooklyn College in
1942 and his M.A. degree (1948) at Teachers College, Columbia University,
New York. Before joining the faculty of West Virginia Wesleyan, he had taught at Drew Theological Seminary, Drew University, and the universities of Rutgers and Rhode Island. (Sundial 1960-09, p.13)

Bio – Keester, George Bennett

Born: 1915-02-10

Died: 1992-09-26

Education:

1942 B.A. Maryland Institute (Pharos article says 1936, Sundial says 1942)

1950 M.A. Florida State University (the first ever given in Fine Arts at FSU)

Taught:

Associate Professor of Art 1960-1971

Notes:

  • 1937-1941 Instructor of General Design at Maryland Institute
  • Career interrupted by World War II
  • 1946-1949 Instructor of Fine Arts at Ohio Wesleyan University (where he taught Fred Messersmith)
  • 1950-1951 Assistant Professor in Fine Arts at Stephen Austin College
  • Field Director with the American Red Cross during the Korean War
  • Noted Artist to Visit Campus (Pharos 1954-10-14, pages 1,2)
    • His avocation is the study of military uniforms and collection of miniatures
    • Mr. Keester, who has exhibited his work in many national art shows, makes the following comment on art: “Do not believe art, or if you prefer, pictures, needs explanation. If the picture is meaningless to the observer, no amount
      of clever talk or written explanation will make it clearer to the viewer. A design is its own excuse for existence and unless the artist communicates with the observer in isome measure through line, form, color, or symbol, the picture is a failure.”
    • GEORGE B. KEESTER, associate professor of art, comes from Nederland, Texas.
      He received his B.A. degree (1942) from Maryland Institute and M.A. (1950) from Florida State University. Mr. Keester served as curator of the museum of the United States Naval Academy in his home town, Annapolis, Maryland, from 1952-57 before returning to the teaching field. He was previously associate professor of art at Lamar State College at Beaumont, Texas. (Sundial 1960-09, p.13)
  • New Art Honorary Announced (Pharos 1961-10-10, p.1)
  • Keester, Tinelli Art is Modern (Pharos 1962-10-23)
  • Keester, Tinelli Display Paintings in Exhibit (Pharos 1963-10-15, p.1)
  • Painted portrait of President Wallace B. Fleming, which was presented at Founders Day, Octobe4 25, 1963. (Sundial 1964-01, p.24)
  • Designed specifications for an Art Center, opened in fall 1966 during the 75th anniversary celebrations. (Sundial 1966-06, p.20)
  • Painted portraits of Professors William Hallam and David Reemsnyder, which were presented at Founders Day, October 21, 1966. (Sundial 1966-12, p.7)
  • Keester Shows His Early Works (Pharos 1967-10-17, p.1)
  • George Bennett Keester memorial on Findagrave

Bio – Leckie, Sandra L.

Born: 1937-06-20

Died: 1984-12-01

Education

  • 1959 B.A. West Virginia University
  • 1960 M.A. West Virginia University

Taught:

Instructor in English 1960-1964

Bio – Herndon, Leon

Education:

1948 A.B. Hamilton College

1958 M.S. Columbia University

Taught:

  • Instructor in Library Science 1960-1962
  • Assistant Librarian 1960-1962

Notes:

  • LEON HERNDON, instructor in library science comes from Charlotte, North
    Carolina, Mr. Herndon received his A.B. degree (1948) at Hamilton College in
    Clifton, New York, and followed this with study at Georgetown University.
    He received his M.S. degree (1958) in library science at Columbia University in New York City. He has worked as librarian at Brooklyn College, for the American Cancer Society at the College of William and Mary and at Duke University. (Sundial 1960-09, p.12)
  • Listed among deceased class members in an article, How Sweet it Was, a memory of the Franklin College Class of 1948  by Paul S. Langa on June 6, 1998.

Bio – Wallace, Robert John

Education:

  • 1952 B.S. West Virginia University
  • 1955 LL.B. West Virginia University

Taught:

Instructor in Business Administration (part-time) 1960-1982

Notes:

ROBERT J. WALLACE, instructor in business administration, a Buckhannon attorney, is teaching courses in business law at Wesleyan. Mr. Wallace is a graduate of West Virginia University, where he received his B.A. degree (1952) and his LL.B. degree (1955) from the College of Law. Mr. Wallace was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court of West Virginia in 1955. (Sundial, 1960-09, p.12)

 

Bio – Davis, Jannie A.

Education:

1956 B.S. West Virginia Wesleyan College

Taught:

  • Instructor in Physical Education1960-1963
  • Assistant to the Dean of Women 1960-1963

Notes:

JANNIE A. DAVIS, assistant dean of women and physical education instructor,
comes from Abney, West Virginia. She received her B.S. degree (1956) in physical education at Wesleyan and is finishing her M.Ed. at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Miss Davis taught physical education in Raleigh County prior to her study at Ohio University. (Sundial, 1960-09, p.12)

Bio – Tilley, Margaret Edith

Sundial 1960-09

Education:

1956 B.S. Clarion State College

1960 M.Ed. University of Buffalo

Taught:

Instructor of Library Science 1960-1962

New Faculty 1960: MARGARET E. TILLEY, instructor in Library Science comes from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Miss Tilley has been librarian at Johnstown High School for the past four years. She received her B.S. degree at Clarion State College in 1956 and her M.Ed. degree (1960) from the University of Pittsburgh. (Sundial, 1960-09, p.12)