FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007
Contact: Dave Wellman, Director of Communications (304) 696-7153
 

Cooley named interim VP for Multicultural Affairs at Marshall

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Maurice R. Cooley, Director of the Center for African American Students Programs at Marshall University since January 2003, has been named interim Vice President for Multicultural Affairs at MU, President Stephen J. Kopp announced today.

Cooley, a two-time Marshall graduate, replaces Dr. Betty Cleckley, who retired in October. Cooley, who assumed his duties on Wednesday, Oct. 31, remains as Director of the Center for African American Students Programs while serving as interim VP for Multicultural Affairs.

“It is a worthy recognition and honor to be considered for the position of interim Vice President for Multicultural Affairs for such a prestigious and growing university,” Cooley said. “I also am grateful to walk in the footsteps of the former vice president, Dr. Betty Cleckley.”

Cooley said he plans soon to closely examine the goals and vision of Multicultural Affairs for the year ahead, then evaluate whether certain areas will warrant some modification.

“There is great work that must continue to be done in both areas,” he said. “We will work diligently.”

The search for a permanent Vice President for Multicultural Affairs already has begun. Steve Hensley, Marshall’s Dean of Student Affairs, is chair of a 10-person search committee that he said is sifting through the process of reviewing applications. Cooley is a member of the search committee.

“There are some very well-qualified folks,” Hensley said. “We anticipate concluding the screening process by around mid-November, and we hope to start interviewing candidates on campus by the second week of December. When they come to campus, there will be an opportunity for every constituency to meet with them.”

Before coming to Marshall, Cooley had been Director of Marketing and Corporate Development at Prestera Center for Mental Health Services, Inc., in Huntington since July 1996.

From April 1986 to July 1996, Cooley was Program Director for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Community Support Services at Prestera. Before that, he was Clinician and Supervisor of Emergency and Diagnostic Services at Prestera from May 1977 to April 1986.

Cooley graduated from Marshall with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 1970, then served three years active duty in the U.S. Army as a psychology specialist. He returned to Marshall and earned his Master of Arts degree in Counseling in 1975.

Cooley is a native of Lewisburg, W.Va., in Greenbrier County, and is a 1966 graduate of Lewisburg High School. He and his wife, Deborah, have two children, McKenzie, 15, and Luke, 12.

###