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The Office of Graduate Education and Life will host a slate of events during the week of March 25th to celebrate National Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week. The celebration begins Monday at four locations—the Mountainlair, the College of Law, Health Sciences Center and Engineering Sciences Building—with a cake cutting ceremony. Other highlights include self-care workshops, Family Movie Night, and a social event on Saturday evening to close out the week.

The West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities is joining forces with the Brain Injury Association of America and the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators to educate the public about the incidence of brain injury and the needs of people with brain injuries and their families during the month of March as National Brain Injury Awareness Month.

Graduate students at West Virginia University enrolled in a public advocacy course have spent the semester traveling between Morgantown and Charleston, half of them advocating for legislation that would increase access to medical marijuana and industrial and agricultural hemp, and the other half lobbying for the implementation of a state bank which would increase access to loans for small businesses and farmers.

West Virginia University Athletics will celebrate diversity and inclusion at the second annual “iBelong” game, which will welcome people who may have felt excluded from sporting events for a variety of reasons. The “iBelong” game will be held at the women’s basketball game vs. Oklahoma at the WVU Coliseum Saturday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. Participants will receive an “I Belong” t-shirt and free admission to the game for themselves and their families and friends. Gates will open at 2:30 p.m. featuring booths with activities, informational sheets and giveaways.

West Virginia University’s Formula SAE Mountaineer Racing Team, which provides opportunities for students to gain broader insight into the engineering profession, will enhance its mission through a $30,000 award from the DENSO North America Foundation. The grant money will be used to develop an engine powertrain dynamometer testing facility used to test, tune, and enhance the team’s racing engines and transmissions.

A community-wide philanthropic endeavor led by the women in the Panhellenic Association at West Virginia University has raised $37,000 for the Circle of Sisterhood Foundation to help build a school in Malawi, an effort to support entities around the world that remove educational barriers for girls and woman who face poverty and oppression.

Krista Bresock, a WVU instructor, is sharing her passion for math with her students using research she did in Sweden regarding calculus students’ thought processes when solving integrated and visual volume problems.

As the heart of winter descends upon West Virginia, bitterly cold temperatures forecasted for much of the area may prompt residents to use portable space heaters to add to primary heat sources, such as central air; however, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in a 2017 article, caution and due diligence should be the key to using these devices effectively since they’re a source of approximately 1,100 house fires and 50 deaths per year. The peak season for accidents is December to February as the weather is naturally colder. West Virginia University Extension Service has tips and resources to help ensure the safe use of space heaters.

The West Virginia University Division of Student Life offers many special services to help non-traditional students with their transition to campus, including an individualized online Bachelor’s programs, scholarships and special study areas in Elizabeth Moore Hall. For the second consecutive year WVU upholds its national ranking in the top 200 as one of the best schools in the country for non-traditional students.

President E. Gordon Gee’s bow tie collection will be displayed as an exhibit at the West Virginia University Evansdale Library until May 15. The exhibit, created by WVU Art in the Libraries program, will include notable ties that were worn in times of honor and photographs.