A $150,000 grant from The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., will help fund several speakers’ series and a teacher development program at West Virginia University.

WVU’s College of Business and Economics will receive $90,000 to create the PNC Practicum Series, while $60,000 will go to the College of Human Resources and Education establishing the PNC Teacher Development Fund.

At B&E, the funding will be used to set up at least three distinct speakers’ series per year for a three-year period. The series will be established in the economics program, and the graduate programs in industrial relations and finance. Each series will bring in from nine to 17 speakers annually.

“The ability to bring the world to our students is an important component of their education,” said Dr. Jose “Zito” Sartarelli, Milan Puskar Dean of the WVU College of Business and Economics. “PNC, through this lecture series, is enabling us to do exactly that – to bring to our students insights on the world that they would otherwise not have access to.”

The teacher training program will have special emphasis on early childhood education, officials said, which aligns with PNC support for readiness through PNC Grow Up Great, a 10-year, $100 million bilingual education initiative for children from birth to age 5. It will help teachers in rural settings effectively respond to the changes and challenges of the 21st-century classroom. Participants from multiple schools and across all content areas – math, science, reading, social studies and the arts – will attend professional development workshops and work in teams, developing instruction based on current research about best teaching practices.

“PNC believes in the power of education and the importance of ongoing training for 21st-century educators,” said Dee Hopkins, dean of the College of Human Resources and Education. “Thanks to PNC’s commitment, teachers will benefit from the knowledge and experience of our WVU faculty, who are leading experts in teacher education.”

Teacher-education students will also have an opportunity to take part in workshops, which will take place from 2010-2012, including summers.

The PNC Foundation, which receives its principle funding from the The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses on its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through its signature cause, Grow Up Great, PNC has created a 10-year, $100 million initiative to enhance early childhood education and school readiness.

The grant was made through the WVU Foundation, a private non-profit corporation that generates and provides support for West Virginia University.

-WVUF-

bn/11/4/2010

CONTACT: Bill Nevin, WVU Foundation
304-284-4056

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