News for WVU Potomac State College

Katrina Roxas

Students receiving the American FFA Degree this fall at the 94th National FFA Convention and Expo, in Indianapolis, Ind. included from left: Lucas Moreland an agriculture and extension education major from Hampshire County;  Ethan Kile, an animal science major from Pendleton County; Hunter Turner an agriculture and extension education major from Pendleton County; Trina Mallow, an agribusiness management major from Pendleton County.; Kaley Sponaugle, a biology major from Pendleton County; and Shelby Ward, a pre-veterinary major from Roane County.

Bayfield Brass

Internationally known in life and afterlife, Frederick Douglass was an author, orator, abolitionist, suffragist and American reformist.  The history and placement of Douglass in the growing academic field of Appalachian Studies has not been aptly considered, nor recognized – until now.

A presentation of the history involving Douglass and his involvement in West Virginia history will be presented on Wednesday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 7 p.m., in the Davis Conference Center on the campus of WVU Potomac State College.  This event is free and open to the public.

The Potomac State College Alumni Association will once again participate in Giving Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. 

The Alumni Association is dedicated to fostering the traditions and growth of WVU Potomac State College and the connectivity of its alumni. We strive to promote a lasting relationship among alumni, students, faculty, staff, administration, and friends of the College. The Alumni Association supports the College’s educational mission, preserves its heritage, promotes its advancement, and prepares for its future.

Jordan Graham

If members of the community have copies of the missing chapters from a 1930s title, The History of the Potomac State School or the entire work which they are willing to temporarily lend for photocopying, please contact Mary F. Shipper Librarian Nick Gardner at 304-788-6901 or at ngardner@mail.wvu.edu.

Nikki Cannon

While overseeing a historical document preservation project with students at the Mary F. Shipper Library on the West Virginia University Potomac State College campus, Nick Gardner, who serves as a librarian, noticed that chapters were missing from a 1930s title, The History of the Potomac State School.

The book was created as a collective effort by freshmen composition students and supervised by Elizabeth Sexton during the 1935 spring semester. The book summarized the history of the Keyser and Mineral County areas, as well as the history of the school from its founding to the then-present era of the 1930s. Detailed information was included about the grounds and buildings, different academic departments and the extracurricular activities of students. Joseph Stayman, campus president at the time, provided access to his personal office files from which students drew much of their information, along with many primary sources housed in the student newspaper office and the library. The students also interviewed townspeople and former students to help fill in their research gaps. 

Ryan Gibson