West Virginia University

From Free net encyclopedia

(Redirected from WVU)

West Virginia University

Image:Wvu seal.jpg
Established 1867
School type Public, Land grant
President David C. Hardesty Jr.
Location Morgantown, WV, USA
Enrollment 26,051
Faculty 1,071
Faculty to Student Ratio 19:1
Campuses Urban and Suburban
Sports teams The Mountaineers
Mascot The Mountaineer
Official Colors Old Gold and Blue
Homepage www.wvu.edu

Image:Mountaineer.jpg

West Virginia University is an institute of higher learning based in Morgantown, West Virginia, with off-site campuses in Parkersburg, Montgomery, Keyser and Charleston, West Virginia. WVU was founded in 1867 as a land-grant university with the help of the Morrill Act, and was originally called the "Agricultural College of West Virginia." The university gained its current name in 1868. Enrollment for Fall semester of 2005 was 26,051 with school projections estimating enrollment reaching 30,000 before the year 2010.

The university offers 171 different majors in 13 different colleges and has produced 25 Rhodes Scholars, including current WVU president David C. Hardesty. There are only 6 other public universities with more. The university has also produced 29 Goldwater Scholars, 16 Truman Scholars, 5 members of USA Today's All-USA College Academic First Team, and 2 Udall Scholarship winners.

Contents

[edit]

Colleges and schools

West Virginia University is organized in 13 different colleges or schools. They are:

[edit]

Forensics program

In addition to the above listed colleges/schools, WVU also has a nationally recognized forensic science program. Originally created through a partnership with the FBI, the program is fully accredited by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and is the official library holdings repository for the International Association for Identification.

The program focuses on several aspects of forensics including:

Forensic facilities include special "crime-scene" houses and vehicles that can be altered and adapted to give student investigators hands-on experience, as well as traditional laboratories and classrooms.

[edit]

Institutional advancements

In addition to the high technological advancements the university has made, the Health Sciences division and university spending currently has over 800 million dollars in new construction. This includes a joint venture between the Johns Hopkins University into a new center solely devoted to the study of human memory. The $87 million Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute BRNI, is currently under construction and will be the only institute of its kind in the world. It is scheduled for completion in late 2006.

The University has also received growing national recognition for its engineering programs. Upcoming projects include an engineering research park, advancements to the NASA/WVU IV&V Facility, as well as combined research with the Institute for Scientific Research [1], who is building its national research headquarters within 20 miles of WVU's Morgantown campus in Fairmont, West Virginia (A move from the University of California, Berkeley).

Image:WVRHClogo.gif Also located on campus is the West Virginia and Regional History Collection, the world's largest collection of West Virginia related research material. It is located in the Wise Library on the Downton Campus. According to the university, the collection includes over 4,500,000 manuscript documents, 30,000 books, 15,000 pamphlets, 1,200 newspapers, 100,000 photographs and prints, 5,000 maps, and 25,000 microfilms, oral histories, films and folk music recordings. It is often called simply the "West Virginia Collection."

[edit]

Campus

An interesting aspect of the West Virginia University campus is the fact that it is actually split into three smaller sections or sub-campuses. The original main campus, typically called the Downtown Campus, is located in historic downtown Morgantown. Because expansion of the downtown area was virtually impossible, a newer campus, called the Evansdale Campus, was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s about a mile down the Monongahela River from the historic Downtown Campus. The third campus is the Health Sciences Campus, which, although located relatively close to Evansdale, functions as its own area (it lies well above the Monongahela Valley).

[edit]

PRT system

Template:Main Because of the issue of WVU's split campuses (Downtown, Evansdale, Health Sciences) one of the major icons at the school is the Personal Rapid Transit system that links them.

In 1974, Boeing began construction on the major PRT project in Morgantown, West Virginia, designed to shuttle students between WVU's three campuses. The Downtown and Evansdale campuses, both located in the valley of the Monongahela River, were already fully developed. Because it proved impossible to develop any more valley land, WVU expanded to a separate parcel a couple of miles away on the other side of a ridge (today's Health Sciences campus).

The WVU PRT has been in continuous operation since 1975, with about 16,000 riders per day (as of 2005). The system uses about 70 vehicles, with an advertised capacity of 20 people each (although a more practical number is more like 15). The system has five stations (Walnut, Beechurst, Engineering, Towers, and Medical) and a 4 mile (6 km) track. The vehicles are rubber-tired and run along electrified rails. Steam heating keeps the elevated guide way free of snow and ice. Most students habitually use it. This system was not sold to other sites because the heated track has proven too expensive. The system will occasionally break down, yet it is usually only for about ten minutes. Otherwise, it reliably transports students between Downtown, Evansdale and Health Sciences.

The PRT has also been the recipient of favorable recognition. The National Society of Professional Engineers named the WVU PRT one of the top 10 engineering achievements of 1972, and in 1998 The New Electric Railway Journal picked the WVU PRT over Walt Disney World's monorail as the greatest people mover in the United States.

Each autumn during the annual Mountaineer Week celebrations, a special PRT car is brought in front of the MountainLair student union where students participate in the "PRT Cram." The purpose of the event is for student organizations to organize groups who attempt to squeeze as many people into the PRT car as possible. The current record was set in 2000 with 97 people.

[edit]

Image and reputation

Image:Woodburnhallwvu.jpg For a large part of its recent history, WVU has had the reputation of being a "party school." As part of the effort of the mid-1990s to get rid of the school's party image, a number of programs were instituted under President David C. Hardesty to encourage students to celebrate their school spirit in an appropriate manner.

The first major change students noticed was in 1995, and was the elimination of the annual Grant Avenue Block Party that usually took place after the first day of school each semester. This event would frequently attract over 10,000 students along Grant Avenue, one of Morgantown's traditional student party locations. In place of this giant block party, the school began holding a yearly music concert after the first day of school called FallFest. This event has grown in popularity over the years and has attracted nationally popular acts such as O.A.R., Mos Def, Blues Traveler, Orgy, Cypress Hill, Fuel, Kanye West, and many others. In addition to the musical entertainment, FallFest also usually includes comedy acts and a film festival. In the words of former WVU Student body Vice President Talal Husn, the former tradition of Grant Avenue Block Parties are "simply legend. . .something most of us heard about when we came to school here, but we can't really visualize because it's not a part of the current campus culture."

Another program that has grown increasingly popular on campus is WVUp All Night, (commonly referred to amongst students simply as "Up All Night"). Billed as a "premiere weekend entertainment alternative," the program runs Thursday through Saturday evenings in the MountainLair student union. Activities include Comedy Caravan, a Thursday night activity where national comedic acts are brought in, free food, free or low cost movies, bowling and billiards, karaoke, Casino Night, arts and crafts, bumper cars, and many other activities. Attendance at WVUp All Night varies from week to week, but university officials have stated that on average over the course of the semester, 4,000 students show up each weekend.

Aside from the issue of doing away with the party school image, the University has also gone through great trouble to encourage responsible celebrating after "big wins" by the school's athletic teams. Students will often set fires in the streets, most commonly fueled by couches. While the University has worked closely with Morgantown law enforcement officials, the practice still remains after big football or basketball team victories. The school has also worked closely with the local government in Morgantown to enact new policies involving city noise ordinances, requirements that large private parties obtain permits, and working with town bars and clubs to have set closing hours.

The University has also received much attention over the years for its fan celebrations after big sports victories. After big wins, students will often ignite couches on fire or light fires in the streets. This practice gained popularity in the 1980s when West Virginia football team beat Penn State University for the first time in over a decade.

[edit]

Residential education

Image:Boreman Hall South.jpg One of the flagship programs of the University is the Residential Education (ResEd) program also enacted in 1995. This program works hand-in-hand with other University initiatives to promote a healthy and responsible living environment for students while focusing on academics and responsible decisions. As part of Operation Jump-Start, the current ResEd program focuses primarily on "promoting student success by easing the transition from high school to college and to personalize the freshman experience. [2]" Other Operation Jump-Start programs include FallFest, WVUp All Night, Freshman Convocation, and the Festival of Ideas, a lecture series featuring different speakers.

Although a campus-wide plan, the ResEd and Operation Jump-Start programs are primarilly focused on residence halls. The 11 residence hall have an intricate administrative network that works to improve the life of student residents and provide them with guidance and academic support. Each individual hall is assigned a Resident Faculty Leader (RFL, pronounced riffle), that oversees all programming aspects of the hall and lives in a house (usually next door to the hall) where students meet for Hall Council meetings and other planned events. Each hall is also assigned a Residence Hall Coordinator (RHC) who works closely with the RFL to oversee hall programming and is responsible for more hands-on daily operations of the hall. Along with these two positions is the Resident Assistant (RA), who is either an undergraduate or graduate student who has lived in the residence halls for at least one year and who take responsibility for the daily operations of one floor each. This three part system or RFL, RHC, and RA have signifcantly improved the day to day lives of students living in the residence halls and have been nationally recognized and duplicated.

[edit]

Athletics

Template:Main The school's sports teams are called the Mountaineers and compete in the Big East Conference, a member of the NCAA's Division I. The school has teams in 13 college sports and has won several national championships (including multiple NCAA Rifle team championships, track, and wrestling.)

Mountaineer sports were started in 1891 when a group of students organized the first football game at the school in a cow pasture. Since then, each sport at WVU has adhered to NCAA rules and regulations. One of the biggest wins in school history occurred in the 2006 Sugar Bowl when the Mountaineers defeated the University of Georgia to win their first ever BCS game. See the main article (WVU Mountaineers) for more sports information.

Some of the most notable athletes at West Virginia University are; Jerry West (NBA Logo), "Hot Rod" Hundley, Rod Thorn, Joe Stydahar, Jeff Hostetler, Major Harris, Jerry Porter, Kevin Pittsnogle, Marc Bulger, Avon Cobourne, Mike Vanderjagt, Todd Sauerbrun, Adam "Pacman" Jones, Greg Jones (Three-time national champion in wrestling), Nate Carr (wrestling), Georgann Wells (1st Woman to dunk in league competition), Amos Zereoue.

[edit]

School traditions

One of the reasons WVU has such a strong history in athletics is perhaps because of the many traditions at the university. Several of the school traditions and icons are listed below:

[edit]

Flying WV

Image:Goldoutline115w.gif The logo of the university is known as the "Flying WV," which is one of the most popular items to emerge from the Don Nehlen era of Mountaineer football. The logo was quickly adopted as the official university logo.

[edit]

The Mountaineer

The Mountaineer was adopted in 1890 as the official school mascot. A new Mountaineer is selected every year by the school's senior honorary, The Mountain. The new Mountaineer is given a custom tailored outfit and carries a traditional rifle which is fired to mark the opening of sporting events. Male Mountaineers traditionally grow a beard and wear a coonskin cap.

[edit]

Take Me Home, Country Roads

The John Denver song Take Me Home, Country Roads, which has become a de facto anthem for the state, has also been adopted by WVU as its unofficial theme song. It is commonly played at most home sporting events as well as other occasions on campus. John Denver himself showed up in 1980 to help dedicate the new Mountaineer Field, now called Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, and led the crowd in Take Me Home, Country Roads. It is now part of a new tradition: After a victory, fans are encouraged to stay in the stands and sing "Take Me Home, Country Roads" along with the football team.

[edit]

The Pride of West Virginia—The Mountaineer Marching Band

Image:PrideofWestVirginia.jpg

The WVU Marching Band, nicknamed the Pride of West Virginia, was formed in 1901 as an all-male ROTC band. The band performs at every home football game and makes many other appearances on- and off-campus throughout the year.

During its traditional pre-game performance, the band enters Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium from end-zone tunnels to a spirited, 220-beats per minute "run on" cadence. The band plays several university songs and favorites including: "Fight, Mountaineers," "Mountain Dew," "Simple Gifts," "West Virginia University's Alma Mater," "The Star Spangled Banner," "Country Roads," and "Hail West Virginia!" The band also forms several iconic images during its pre-game show including the Flying WV, WVU, expanding circles, and an outline of the state of West Virginia. Each season's pre-game show is similar but unique.

The Mountaineer Marching Band is renowned for its high energy performances, outstanding musical arrangements, and innovative drill moves. Because of its tradition of excellence, the WVU Band was recognized in 1997 as the country's outstanding collegiate marching band by being named recipient of The Sudler Trophy awarded by the John Philip Sousa Foundation.

[edit]

Notable alumni

Cheryl Hines, Attended, HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm

[edit]

Trivia

  • In 1997, WVU was named the #1 party school in the nation by The Princeton Review.
  • WVU students staged a riot against the National Guard in the spring of 1970, shortly after the shootings at Kent State.
  • In early August 2005, Jessica Lynch, a rescued prisoner of war in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, announced that she would be attending West Virginia University; she received a full scholarship.
  • Over 300 student organizations exist on campus, ranging from the Astronomy Club to a Gaming Club to a Community Service Club.
  • The Mechanical Engineering, Athletic Training, Nursing, and Physics programs have 100% job placement rates.
[edit]

Points of interest

[edit]

See also

[edit]

External links

Template:Big East Conference


Template:State University System of West Virginiait:West Virginia University

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/West_Virginia_University"