The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University is conducting a national search to fill the new Anna Deane Carlson Chair in the Social Sciences. The chair has been established through a $1 million gift from alumna Anna Deane Carlson, a 1943 sociology graduate.
The intent of the chair will be to bring an outstanding social scientist to the university annually to enhance academic offerings, stimulate research productivity and contribute to West Virginia and society through the social sciences. In its initial year, the chair will be located in the Division of Sociology and Anthropology in the School of Applied Social Sciences within the Eberly College. The national search is being coordinated by Nancy Lohmann, professor of social work.
The visiting appointment will support the development of the new school and recognize the donors degree in sociology. Although many specialties in the discipline will be considered, individuals with expertise related to program areas in criminal justice, social welfare policy, nonprofit organizations and health care are of particular interest.
“This new chair is an exciting addition to the Eberly Colleges growing group of distinguished professorships and joins the Bennett Chair in Chemistry and the Jackson Chair in English at the million-dollar level,”said M. Duane Nellis, Eberly College dean.”It is a significant investment in assisting in the initial development of our new School of Applied Social Sciences, which represents disciplines that are being called upon by society to address critical issues in crime and punishment, the delivery of health care and other social services, and economic development and poverty in the Appalachian region. This yea, we are hoping to attract a scholar who has a successful research program that has had a positive impact on societal problems. Long-term, the Carlson Chair will strengthen the social sciences more broadly throughout Eberly College.”
The School of Applied Social Sciences offers a bachelors degree in anthropology, social work and sociology; masters degrees in public administration, social work and sociology, and is developing a proposal to offer an interdisciplinary doctorate in applied social research which would draw on the faculty of the entire school and integrate knowledge from the various disciplinary areas. The school also offers a graduate certificate in health care administration and is developing proposals to offer certificates in nonprofit administration and criminal justice administration.
The master of social work degree is offered as a part-time program in Charleston, Keyser and Martinsburg, in addition to the full-time program in Morgantown.
Carlson is a Morgantown native who grew up in Logan. She and her husband Donald, currently reside in Boca Raton, Fla. They are the former owners of an independent telephone company.
The gift was made to the WVU Foundation, a private non-profit organization that generates, receives and administers private gifts from individuals and organizations for the benefit of West Virginia University. The Foundation is in the midst of a $250 million”Building Greatness”campaign on behalf of the University. More than $116 million has been received for the campaign which concludes Dec. 31, 2003.