Dear Marshall University staff and administrators,
Plans have begun for the 2024 Week of Welcome (WOW), which marks the arrival of Marshall’s class of 2028.
A key component of WOW and the successful transition of our students is UNI 100: Freshman First Class. This course, which meets approximately two times during WOW and once a week for the first seven weeks of the fall semester, provides freshman students with critical information about university resources, a network of fellow students with whom to connect, and, perhaps most importantly, a class leader, who becomes their go-to person at a time when they know few people on campus.
I hope that you will consider becoming a UNI 100 class leader(formally known as facilitators) for the fall. All staff members and administrators who hold an A.A./A.S. or higher are eligible to apply for this opportunity. The need for UNI class leaders or faciliators is great, as is the potential you have to make a positive difference in the lives of our new students. Here is the application form and a list of FAQs is available here to help explain what it takes to be a successful class leader.… Read More
Charles “Charley” H. McKown Jr., M.D., dean emeritus at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, passed away Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, at the age of 89.
Survivors include his wife, Sherry Wilson McKown; daughter, Dr. Sheri Mouw, and her husband, Ted Mouw; and four grandchildren, Arthur, Ella, Clara and Lucy.
Born and raised in Wayne County, West Virginia, McKown graduated in 1952 from Wayne High School, where he was an outstanding athlete. He later earned his Bachelor of Science from West Virginia University in Morgantown, before pursuing his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Following his medical training, McKown served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and the U.S. Public Health Service.
In 1976, McKown assumed the role of chair of the Department of Radiology at the Marshall University School of Medicine, later becoming vice president of Health Sciences and dean in 1989. During his nearly 23-year tenure as dean, McKown oversaw significant growth and development at the medical school, including the expansion of its health sciences footprint and the construction of several new clinical, educational and research facilities. Beginning in 1998 and throughout the decade that followed, the School of Medicine saw the completion of five new clinical, educational and research buildings with an investment of more than $120 million, including the Marshall University Medical Center, Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center, Erma Ora Byrd Clinical Center and Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center.… Read More
For the first time in its six-year history, a TEDxMarshallU talk has been promoted to an official TED talk, reaching over a million total views in less than three weeks.
Kathleen McAuliffe, an award-winning science journalist and adjunct professor at the University of Miami, first presented her talk about the influences of a person’s gut bacteria on their minds and personality last February at TEDxMarshallU’s Complexities of Identity event. Her talk explained current research that suggests the gut biome may have significant impacts on depression, ALS, Parkinson’s Disease and other neurological disorders.
On Jan. 22, after months of correspondence between TEDxMarshallU and the TED curation team—which included extensive additional fact-checking by TED curators—McAuliffe’s talk was republished on TED.com and the TED YouTube Channel as an official TED talk titled “Do gut microbes control your personality?” For a full week, McAuliffe’s video featured prominently on the front page of TED’s website.
Curators at TED hope that McAuliffe’s TED talk, which can be viewed at go.ted.com/kathleenmcauliffe or on the front page of the TEDxMarshallU website, will help viewers “learn more about how this emerging science could change how we treat disease — and discover the impact of your internal microbial makeup on your mood, weight and more.”… Read More
Marshall University was selected as the recipient for the 2024 Association of Student Conduct Administration Institution Award for Excellence. The award was accepted by Lisa Martin, Marshall’s Director of Student Conduct and her team members Michaela Arthur and Cadyn Fraley at the association’s conference in February in Portland, Oregon.
Marshall was recognized for its innovation in several key areas including educational initiatives, campus programming and strategic planning. The institution was selected for the award after a rigorous, competitive process. Read More
Marshall University President Brad D. Smith will chair the new Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Commission on Artificial Intelligence and Education.
Smith will co-chair the commission along with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. They are expected to convene the group next month, with commission members being announced by the SREB in the coming weeks.
The two-year commission will bring together leaders in education and business to develop a roadmap for how AI is used in classrooms and how to prepare a workforce that is being transformed by technology.
“Learning to lean into the discoveries AI technology will develop in the future excites me,” said Smith. “We’re given the challenging, yet promising opportunity of preparing students for a digital world with evolving opportunities in life, employment and contribution.”
The group will meet to review all data and then develop recommendations for southern states.
Before his role as president at Marshall, Smith held executive leadership positions with various companies in Silicon Valley and is best known for his tenure at Intuit, where he served as CEO for 11 years before becoming executive chairman.… Read More
Marshall University will present a GenCyber learning opportunity for K-12 teachers on April 20, which will be offered both in person and virtually. The GenCyber Teacher Academy Conference will focus on “Cybersecurity in the Classroom: Empowering K-12.” Free registration is available to all K-12 teachers, with materials and lunch provided.
Organizers are hoping to recruit teachers who can showcase how they are integrating cybersecurity concepts in the classroom and offering a $100 stipend for those who present virtually and a $200 stipend for those who present in person. There also will be six prize drawings, three $500 prize drawings for virtual participants and three $1,000 prize drawings for in-person participants.
“The conference will be open to all teachers from the Tri-State area who are interested in integrating computing and cybersecurity into their curriculum,” said Dr. Husnu Narman, camp leader, who is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Sciences and Electrical Engineering and a member of Marshall’s Institute for Cyber Security. “Teachers will have an opportunity to network with their peers and share their success stories and challenges in implementing these subjects in their classrooms. We expect that the conference will provide valuable insights and practical methods for enhancing the computing and cybersecurity education in K-12.”
The registration deadline is April 5, 2024, and can be completed at https://www.marshall.edu/gencyber/gencyber-conference/.… Read More
Tickets are available for the April ceremony to honor four graduates of Marshall University’s W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications (SOJMC) who are being inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
Katherine L. “Kitty” Dooley, Caryn Schafer Gresham, Jason Pheister and Mark Truby make up the Hall’s Class of 2023-24. WSAZ-TV anchor Tim Irr will be the emcee for the evening.
“It’s always a great evening when we are able to have everyone together to properly celebrate even more exceptional graduates of our program,” said Chris Dickerson, president of the SOJMC Alumni Advisory Board, which handles the nomination and selection process. “This year’s class of inductees is another perfect example that proves Marshall has one of the best journalism and mass communications programs in the country.
“We’re fortunate to have such a rich pool of candidates that represents successes in varied aspects of the field locally, regionally and nationally.”
The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. The doors will open at 5 p.m., and hors d’oeuvres will be served. The event will take place in the John Marshall Room of the Memorial Student Center.
Tickets for the event are $50 per person, which includes the appetizers. Tickets can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/sojmc24.
Full tables, sponsorship opportunities and advertising opportunities also are available. For more information regarding sponsorships, contact Dickerson at dickerson38@marshall.edu.… Read More
Marshall Health, a leading provider of comprehensive foot and ankle care, and the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted today a ribbon-cutting event and open house celebrating the relocation of Marshall Health’s podiatry clinic to East Hills Professional Center, 3246 U.S. Route 60, Suite 2, in Huntington.
The new clinic location, dedicated exclusively to podiatric care, is conveniently located just off the 29th Street exit of Interstate 64, ensuring easy accessibility for both existing and new patients. The upgraded facilities, including on-site x-ray and bracing, are designed with patient comfort in mind, featuring state-of-the-art equipment and a welcoming atmosphere that reflects dedication to delivering the highest quality care. In addition to the enhanced patient experience, the new location offers ample parking.
Delivering specialized foot and ankle care at the new facility are the following board-certified podiatrists of Marshall Orthopaedics: Kenneth Avery, D.P.M., Gregory Borowski, D.P.M. and Sheila Feaster, D.P.M., all of whom are assistant professors of orthopaedic surgery at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.
Marshall Podiatry also hosted an open house following the ribbon-cutting, providing attendees with tours of the new facility and the opportunity to meet the team and learn more about the comprehensive services offered.
For more information about podiatry services at Marshall Health or to schedule an appointment, please contact Marshall Podiatry at 304.733.7950 or visit marshallhealth.org/services/podiatry.
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Marshall University will welcome renown scholar Dr. Julian Glover at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, as part of the university’s Black History Month celebration. Glover will present his lecture “My Life, My Research: How a Homeless Kid Became a Professor.”
Glover is an academic, activist and performer whose research focuses on Black and brown queer cultural formations, performance, ethnography, embodied knowledge and performance theory. Awarded a Franke Fellowship at Northwestern’s Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, Glover’s work appears in journals including American Quarterly, the Harvard Kennedy School LGBTQ Policy Journal, South Atlantic Quarterly, Souls and Text & Performance Quarterly. In 2019, Glover was inducted into the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society at Yale University.
Glover is a classically trained cellist, with multidisciplinary creative work that engages sonic, visual, affective, written and kinesthetic registers with the aim of bringing viewers into critical dialogue with themselves toward psychic, spiritual and interpersonal transformation.
The lecture will be held in the Shawkey Dining Room in the Memorial Student Center on the university’s Huntington campus at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Media are invited and encouraged to attend.
To learn more about Black History Month events on Marshall’s campus, click here.
… Read More
Marshall University’s A.E. Stringer Visiting Writers Series will welcome award-winning poet Cyrus Cassells at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, in the Drinko Library Atrium.
Cassells is the author of nine volumes, most recently, “Is There Room for Another Horse on Your Horse Ranch?” Upcoming works scheduled for 2025 and 2026 include, “Everything in Life is Resurrection: Selected Poems, 1982-2022” and “Lorca to the Umpteenth Power.”
Cassells served as the 2021 Poet Laureate of Texas. Other honors include a Guggenheim fellowship, a Lambda Literary Award and the Poetry Society of America’s William Carlos Williams Award. He currently teaches in the Master of Fine Arts program at Texas State University, where he is a Regents’ and University Distinguished Professor of English. Read More
The Marshall University School of Music will present a Faculty Duo Recital featuring Dr. Şölen Dikener on cello and Dr. Johan Botes on piano. The concert will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, at Smith Recital Hall and is free and open to the public.
They will be performing the sonatas by Camille Saint-Saëns and Sergei Prokofiev.
“Both musical works in this recital program are masterworks,” Dikener said. “However, they are rarely performed at live performances, therefore the audience will have the opportunity to have a unique experience.”
The recital is sponsored by the School of Music in the College of Arts and Media. All are welcome. Read More
The Marshall University Board of Governors today approved two construction projects for the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and Marshall Health and approved the naming of a new softball facility as the Victoria Farley Softball Facility.
The board also authorized President Brad D. Smith to move forward with negotiations for the sale of university-owned property between 23rd and 25th Streets along 5th Avenue. The land was initially identified as a possible location for Marshall’s baseball field, but plans for the complex shifted to another location closer to campus.
Marshall’s Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Corporate Relations Toney Stroud said the property will be sold at a price not less than $750,000 per acre. The university owns about eight acres of land on the site, which also includes acreage owned by the City of Huntington.
The board approved $6.7 million in renovations to the former Strayer Building located in Teays Valley which will serve as an academic toxicology laboratory, occupational health clinics and support space, as well as expansion of a dermatology suite and other clinical space. The phased upgrades are being financed through a federal allocation, supplemental funding from the state and clinical revenue.
Approval was given to buildout the second floor of the school of medicine’s Robert C. Byrd Rural Health and Education Center in Chapmanville, West Virginia. The multi-million-dollar renovation will provide additional primary, specialty and subspecialty care, as well as telemedicine. The first floor… Read More
