Four substantial donations are helping West Virginia University equip teachers with a deeper understanding of economic principles. The giftsin support of WVU s special summer program called Industrial Economics, Environment, and Education (IEEE) in West Virginiatotal $30,000.
The program received $10,000 gifts from MeadWestvaco and the Myles Family Foundation, and $5,000 gifts from Trus Joist and Weyerhauser.
Since its inception in 1991, IEEE has hosted over 340 primary and secondary school teachers from all of West Virginias 55 counties, introducing teachers to economics using the Mountain States forest products industry as a model.
Co-sponsored by WVU s Division of Forestry and College of Business and Economics with support from the West Virginia Department of Education and Davis and Elkins College, the program examines forest management, harvesting and manufacturing to give a real-life basis for recognizing the economic impact of natural resource use.
The course consists of three inter-related phases,said Joe McNeel, director of the Division and professor of forestry in the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences.The first addresses economic concepts developed during classroom activities, followed by experiential learning via industrial tours, and finally an application component where participating teachers develop materials for classroom use in primary and secondary schools across the state.
Russ Sobel, an award-winning professor in WVU s College of Business and Economics and director of the WVU Entrepreneurship Center and James Clark Coffman Distinguished Chair, lead the summer course.
The course relies on a wide variety of learning approaches including lectures, discussions, field trips to forest industry sites, and exercises involving development of classroom materials,Sobel said.
McNeel noted that generous private support helps WVU conduct the course free of charge to teachers, improving the quality of economic and forestry education in primary and secondary schools as a result.
MeadWestvaco, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., is a global packaging company that delivers high-value packaging solutions and products to the worlds most recognized companies in the food and beverage, media and entertainment, personal care, cosmetic and healthcare industries.
The Myles Family Foundation has previously made a donation of $100,000 to the WVU Forestry Endowment Fund to create the George A. Myles Scholarship for deserving forestry students. George Myles was an outstanding alumnus of WVU s forestry program.
Weyerhaeuser Company is an international forest products company with annual sales of $22.6 billion. The company was founded in 1900 and currently employs about 54,000 people in 19 countries. It has ranked in the Fortune 200 since 1956.
Its subsidiary, Trus Joist, manufactures a variety of engineered lumber products for
structural framing and industrial applications. Trus Joists engineered lumber is used worldwide for residential housing construction, industrial applications and light commercial construction.
The gifts were made through the WVU Foundation, a private non-profit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts for the benefit of WVU .