Three finalists for president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg are being invited to campus for interviews.
Search committee co-chairs Joseph Campbell, chair of the WVU Parkersburg Board of Advisors, and C.B. Wilson, associate provost, academic personnel at West Virginia University, announced the finalists and their affiliations:
p. Dr. Harry R. Faulk, associate provost at Fairmont State College
p. Dr. Marie Foster Gnage, senior vice president for academic affairs at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey
p. Dr. Curtis C. Smith, provost and vice president for academic affairs at California University of Pennsylvania
The finalists will visit campus in the next few weeks to meet with faculty, staff, students and community representatives as well as WVU officials. The new leader will also be a WVU regional vice president, reporting to WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr.
Fifty-five candidates from 25 states and one foreign country applied for the position, which is to be filled by July.
The caliber of our applicants was of the highest quality,Campbell said.It speaks well of the reputation WVU Parkersburg enjoys in attracting such an excellent pool of candidates.
Dr. Faulk has been at Fairmont State since 1976. He is associate provost, a position he has held for six years. He served as Fairmonts assistant vice president for academic affairs from 1991 to 1998. Before assuming various administrative positions, Dr. Faulk taught full-time in Fairmont States School of Fine Arts. He received his bachelors and masters degrees in music from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester and his doctor of arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
Dr. Gnage has been senior vice president for academic affairs at Raritan Valley since 2001. She has held various teaching and academic positions. She was assistant vice chancellor for educational services at Pima Community College in Arizona from 1998 to 2001. She was vice president for instruction at Central Florida Community College from 1994 to 1996 and dean of academic affairs at Broward Community College from 1991 to 1994. She received her bachelors degree from Alcorn A&M College, her masters from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and her doctorate from Florida State University.
Since 1996, Dr. Smith has been provost and vice president for academic affairs at California University of Pennsylvania. He also served as its interim president during the fall 2002 term. From 1993 to 1996, he was vice president for academic affairs at SUNY Cobleskill. Dr. Smith served as assistant dean at Kent State Universitys Trumbull campus from 1991 to 1993. He has held various positions as a faculty member and college administrator. Dr. Smith earned his bachelors degree from Harvard University, his masters from Wesleyan University and his doctorate from Syracuse University.
The Parkersburg presidency was vacated in June 2003 following the departure of Erik Bitterbaum who took a similar position at SUNY Cortland after three years at the Parkersburg campus. A national search process commenced in February. Dr. Joseph L. Badgley, dean of academic affairs, has been serving as interim president.
Founded in 1961, WVU at Parkersburg offers certificates, associate degrees, select bachelor’s degrees and workforce development programs. It is the only community college in West Virginia accredited to offer baccalaureate degrees. As a regional WVU campus, Parkersburg also delivers two WVU degrees: a Regents Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. There are approximately 200 full-time and part-time faculty, 100 staff and 3,500 students on the Parkersburg campus.