A new $160,000 grant from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission will fund three years of a student research program at Shepherd University in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle.
A new grant from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) is furthering student research in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle.
The Shepherd Opportunity to Attract Research Students (SOARS) program pairs students with university faculty for summer research projects, providing them a stipend for their work.
A new HEPC grant of more than $160,000 will allow the program to continue for the next three years.
Participants in the program select a scientific research project they want to work on alongside a professor, receiving mentorship over the course of the summer.
At summer’s end, students have the opportunity to present their research. Later, they complete a capstone project from their findings.
This marks the fifth cycle of the SOARS program, which welcomes 30 students in each round of the grant.
“Students who are paid on the SOARS grant in the summer have extra hours and bits and pieces that they can do,” said Robert Warburton, dean of Shepherd’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Nursing, in a Monday press release.
“That means they get extra experience, and the faculty advisor gets assistants working in the lab, which is also important because the faculty must be able to do research because of their professional development requirements,” he said. “It’s a win on both sides.”
Fewer college students than anticipated will be eligible for Pell Grants this year after a miscalculation from education officials. Last week, Congress passed a bill rectifying the error, but reducing student eligibility for the program.
Fewer college students may be eligible for federal financial aid this year than initially anticipated, following a miscalculation from education officials.
Three years ago, the U.S. Department of Education began to overhaul its Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The FAFSA determines how much federal and state aid college students are eligible for based on factors like household income and assets, but has long been criticized as overly complicated.
The overhaul slashed the number of FAFSA questions by about two-thirds. It also allowed students to submit financial data through the Internal Revenue Service directly, instead of reporting it themselves.
Additionally, the change reconfigured the FAFSA eligibility formula, expanding federal aid eligibility to more students. These adjustments initially brought a three-month delay to this year’s FAFSA process.
But that delay only grew when, in January, education officials discovered a miscalculation in the new aid formula overstated how many students qualify for a federal grant called the Pell Grant by at least 100,000.
The Pell Grant provides low-income students thousands of tuition dollars that they are not required to repay.
In the weeks following the discovery, lawmakers have scrambled to fix the FAFSA process so students can receive financial aid information before making college decisions.
On Thursday, the United States Congress passed a resolution that corrected the formula error, reducing the number of students who will be eligible for federal grants in the year ahead.
Some Democratic lawmakers expressed concern in reducing financial aid eligibility. However, several Republican lawmakers said the resolution passed last week preserves the integrity of the FAFSA process.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., expressed support for the formula fix in a press release Monday. She said it ensured this year’s federal aid distribution adheres to the law, and that it will end the repeated FAFSA delays.
“I was proud to help author a fix to the FAFSA Simplification Act,” she said. “I am hopeful that this fix will sustain and shore up the Pell Grant program for the future.”
The Department of Education plans to help colleges and universities process FAFSA information this month. West Virginia University and many other state institutions across the country have delayed application deadlines because of the complications.
Inside the Appalachian mountains of Institute, West Virginia lies one of the nation’s leading public institutions of higher education for African Americans. In 1891, West Virginia State University (WVSU) was founded, and it is full of rich history and cultural traditions. One of the school’s biggest traditions each year is Homecoming. The annual week-long celebration is filled with on- and off-campus activities. The step show is always a crowd favorite.
This story originally aired in the Feb. 25, 2024 episode of Inside Appalachia.
Inside the Appalachian mountains of Institute, West Virginia lies one of the nation’s leading public institutions of higher education for African Americans. In 1891, West Virginia State University (WVSU) was founded, and it is full of rich history and cultural traditions. One of the school’s biggest traditions each year is Homecoming. The annual week-long celebration is filled with on- and off-campus activities. The step show is always a crowd favorite.
Folkways Reporter Traci Phillips recently attended the 2023 West Virginia State University Homecoming step show with her 11-year-old daughter, Jayli, and has this story of a tradition that is common at most Homecomings at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
Inside the old WVSU gymnasium, the space is filled with sounds of clapping, stomping, chanting, music and audience enthusiasm. Members of the public are in the bleachers surrounding the basketball court where the stage is set up.
College students representing each Greek organization on campus take turns entering the gym to a selected song or chant. Along with the undergrads are alumni from the 1960s through present day. After their grand entrance, the students take to the stage and perform a three- to five-minute routine. Everyone wears Greek paraphernalia — hats, boots, pins and sweatshirts — in their organization’s colors.
“You got Delta Sigma Theta walking out right now,” Jayli announces.
Delta Sigma Theta, a sorority that was founded in 1913, is just one of the sororities that is stepping today. As an HBCU graduate and Delta member myself, I thought it was important for my daughter, Jayli, to know this history and to experience this culture. Her being here is a rite of passage. Both of Jayli’s grandmothers are WVSU graduates. I am hoping she will one day attend an HBCU and be a Delta, too.
“Let’s see, I think they are about to stomp and clap again,” Jayli says. “I think they’re all helping each other out. That’s what I see.”
This is all part of a long tradition at HBCUs. The Homecoming step show is a way for African American fraternities and sororities to express love and pride for their respective organizations to a broader community. It is also a way for alumni and community members to reunite.
Kenny Hale of Charleston, West Virginia is at the step show today. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and was initiated during the 1970s at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.
“Homecoming is when you see all this crowd come in and you get to see the people you knew and went to school with,” Hale says. “And just the enthusiasm that an HBCU brings with the power and the fellowship of scholarly people.”
Addison Hall of Cincinnati, Ohio is an alumni of WVSU and is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. He says the Homecoming step show is a reunion.
“It’s a lot of people that you haven’t seen in a while showing back up, being in the same space that y’all shared and created all these memories at,” Hall says.
Members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity performing during the 2023 WVSU Homecoming step show.
Photo Credit: Traci Phillips/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Shanequa Smith is from New York. She went to WVSU and now lives in Charleston, West Virginia. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
“I’m Greek, and so it’s just a joyous time, and stepping is part of our history. It goes way back. And so this is a part of that, where we get to stay connected,” Smith says. “And it’s always good to see different people actually taking up that throne of stepping.”
The origin and roots of stepping stems from African cultural traditions. Stepping can be described as a synchronized movement using stomping and clapping. During the 20th century, America’s Black fraternities and sororities played a unique part in the reemergence of stepping on college campuses. Almost three million members strong, America’s nine Black sororities and fraternities are part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, also known as the Divine Nine.
Up next to perform is Alpha Kappa Alpha, a sorority that was founded in 1908.
“They are walking out with little kids and everybody’s holding up their pinky for the AKAs,” Jayli says. “They are rockin’ this … They have a brown outfit with their state facts on it.”
One of today’s performers is Ashlyn Bell, a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority member from Charleston, West Virginia. Bell is a junior majoring in elementary education. She says part of why she joined a sorority was her memories of going to step shows.
“Growing up in West Virginia, I came to Homecoming all the time and I just always seen the community. Actually, my mom is a Delta, so I’m a legacy. And we would come down and watch the step shows and I just remember really enjoying it,” Bell says. “It was lit, it was just over-the-top loud. I just thought it was so fun and so cool. Just couldn’t keep my eyes off what they were doing, how they’re moving with their hands, and jumping and screaming. I just thought it was amazing.”
This year, Bell performed by herself, representing her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. She came out to the 1970s hit song, “Got To Be Real” by Cheryl Lynn, and early 2000s hit song “Knuck If You Buck” by Crime Mobb, doing a move called “the duck.” To do the duck, Bell says you have to, “bend your knees, hands out, head turned slightly up just a little bit. You know, you just lean into it.”
Bell wears black shorts, a red vest with Delta designs on it, sunglasses and spray-painted red boots. “The boots are actually traditional, something that past Alpha Delta chapter members have done for the step show,” Bell says. “So I’m gonna continue the tradition.”
Ashlyn Bell poses before her performance at the WVSU Homecoming step show. Her hand signal represents the shape of the letter “D” for Delta in the Greek alphabet.
Photo courtesy of Kristy Lyles-Bell
Clothing and Greek paraphernalia are a big part of the step show. Debra Hart is the director of Equity Programs at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and was initiated during the 1970s on the campus of West Virginia State University.
“When we crossed line in 1976, we all had to get a white suit made with a red shirt. And we got gloves and we got boots to match,” Hart says. “All 12 of us had a cane, and we were going to tap the canes and cross them back and forth.”
Kids are also a part of the community at Homecoming. Hart says she remembers going to a step show as young as eight years old.
“My grandmother would dress us in black and gold, because we’re all going to State’s Homecoming. When I was ten years old, I remember aggravating my family to stay for the step show,” Hart says.
Folkways Reporter Traci Phillips (back middle), poses with her family during the West Virginia State University step show. Family members include (from left to right): Brother, Danny Adkins — member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity — and his daughter, Ellie Adkins; son, True Phillips; and daughter, Jayli Phillips.
Photo courtesy of LaQwanza Jackson
After the step show, I asked my daughter, Jayli, what she thought of her experience.
“I thought the step show was really empowering and motivating. The people out there stepping looked really good,” Jayli says. “I loved it, it looked like a fun thing to do. I can’t wait to get there and do it myself one day.”
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This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project, a partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia and the Folklife Program of the West Virginia Humanities Council.
The Folkways Reporting Project is made possible in part with support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts and culture.
On this West Virginia Morning, lung cancer and smoking rates in the state lag behind the rest of the country and aren’t showing any signs of improvement, according to a new report.
On this West Virginia Morning, lung cancer and smoking rates in the state lag behind the rest of the country and aren’t showing any signs of improvement, according to a new report. Emily Rice has more.
Also, in this show, colleges and universities in the state are working to face enrollment challenges head on. One element in that effort is the statewide “Gear Up” program, encouraging high school seniors to get ready for college and careers. Randy Yohe has more.
And Tuesday marked the 53rd anniversary of the Marshall University plane crash. Seventy-five people, football team players, coaches, staff, supporters and the flight crew perished returning from an away game at East Carolina. Every year, on this day, Marshall remembers the 75. Randy Yohe has our story.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Rebecca Pruett, of Bluefield, will travel to Mobile, Ala., to compete for college scholarships. Pruett graduated in May from Princeton Senior High School.
Pruett will meet 49 women representing other states to compete for $150,000 in cash scholarships.
The young women will participate in workshops meant to prepare them for success after high school. The program focuses on developing self-confidence, public speaking and community involvement during the three-night scholarship competition.
Participants will be evaluated in five categories – scholastics, interview, fitness, talent and self-expression.
The Distinguished Young Women program, formerly America’s Junior Miss, was developed during the 1950’s, when scholarships for women were scarce.
The national winner will spend next year representing the Distinguished Young Women program across the country through appearances. During the appearances, the representative will encourage young people to stay healthy, stay in school, and participate in community service.
The winners will be announced next week. The national representative will be named on Saturday, June 25.
The news that Brad Smith will become Marshall’s next president sparked high interest across the state as the corporate CEO returns home to helm his alma mater.
Community leaders in the Huntington area say they are optimistic for the future of the University.
“I’m a bit biased because I was on the Presidential Search Committee,” said Tracy Christofero, who serves as chair of Marshall University’s Faculty Senate, “What I like about him as a candidate is that he knows Marshall, he knows the environment. He knows the culture of West Virginia, and I believe he has always had the best interest of the university and the region at heart.”
Cathay Burns, Executive Director of the Huntington Municipal Development Authority, said that Brad Smith has been an advocate for revitalization by facilitating economic growth. She said Smith’s selection can create dual connectivities — “not only for the students, but also for business leaders and economic development leaders in the region. And not just the community, but the entire region, the entire state and the surrounding states.”
Huntington Mayor Steve Williams was similarly hopeful that Smith’s corporate leadership background will help him to shape a strong mindset for the future of the state. “Frankly, I can’t be more thrilled for Huntington and for the state of West Virginia that we have him right here to be able to help us create a culture of entrepreneurship,” Williams said.
Having Smith as Marshall’s president means his skills and knowledge can be passed down to students in the region, Williams said. He thinks Smith has the ability, “to lead, to teach, and also to reinforce that we can compete with anybody.”
Marshall University Photos
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Marshall University Photos
Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert hugging his successor Brad Smith
Despite the warm reception from community leaders and faculty, some students have expressed concern over Smith’s background outside of academia. Student body president Alyssa Parks said students are slowly warming up to the new president despite some initial hesitancy.
“Brad has been really open to talking to anyone who has had any concerns. I think that’s a really great quality in him. He’s open to tough conversations. He’s open to criticism,” Parks said. “Once he gets into the office, he can start talking to people and people really get to know him.”
The hiring model of selecting a non-academic to lead a public institution isn’t new, Christofero said. “Some percent of the universities now are run by people with non-traditional backgrounds in academia.”
Christofero doesn’t see Smith’s background as being a hindrance if he has the right people around him. “As long as we have a strong provost, that’s really who takes care of the academic side. Theoretically, the president certainly needs to deal with our donors and all of the university, the legislators, fundraising and promoting Marshall to help increase enrollment.”
