Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

West Virginia University has released the December 2018 and May 2019 Commencement schedules.

On August 21, 2018, the Eberly College will kick off a year-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of its naming. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends are invited to attend the celebration at 2 p.m. in Woodburn Circle. In case of inclement weather, the even will be moved to the Mountainlair ballrooms.

Robert O. “Bob” Orders, a longtime West Virginia businessman and West Virginia University alumnus, will serve as chairman of the West Virginia University Foundation Board of Directors.

Longtime West Virginia University administrator David Stewart, in keeping with the institution’s strategic partnership with the Royal University for Women, is taking a leave of absence to serve as president of the Bahraini school. Amber Brugnoli, assistant dean for continuing legal education in the College of Law, joined the Office of Global Affairs as assistant vice president for global strategy and international affairs Monday.

Carsten Milsmann, assistant professor in the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry at West Virginia University, has earned the National Science Foundation’s prestigious CAREER Award for research that could help develop solar energy applications that are more efficient and cheaper to produce.

Johanna Winant, an assistant professor in the West Virginia University Department of English, has accepted a distinguished fellowship at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Notre Dame to work on her book project.

Andrew Dacks, assistant professor of neuroscience in the Department of Biology , received a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct research at West Virginia University on the effects of serotonin in fruit flies. Dacks and his team of researchers will study how serotonin affects different cells in the olfactory system of fruit flies and how those systems could apply to other systems as well.

An award-winning teacher and researcher who has served in several leadership roles at West Virginia University will guide the College of Education and Human Services as interim dean, an appointment that will likely encompass the next academic year.

Ann Pancake will teach courses in Appalachian literature, environmental criticism and other subjects related to her writing and research. She will also contribute to the WVU Humanities Center Community Affiliates program but will devote the bulk of her time to writing about her native state.

An interactive sculpture on display at West Virginia University’s Evansdale Library illustrates the structure and function of a particular enzyme and can charge your smartphone.