The "James H. Shott Endowed Chair in Business" has been established at BSC. The endowed chair will provide a lasting memorial to Mr. James H. Shott, former president of the Daily Telegraph Printing Company and one of the area's outstanding business and community leaders. The establishment of this endowed chair marks the successful completion of a fund-raising program that raised $150,000.
This endowed chair recognizes the lifelong effort of Mr. Shott in his promotion of civic and community improvement projects, such as the annual Community Christmas Tree project for underprivileged children. He played a primary role in the creation of the Area Development Corporation that is designed to attract new business and industry to Bluefield. His efforts also encouraged the establishment of the Mercer County Airport and Bluefield's North Street Post Office.
Mr. Shott was primarily responsible for starting Bluefield's first radio station in 1929 (WHIS-AM) and Bluefield's first television station in 1955 (WHIS-TV). He also helped to bring natural gas from Princeton to Bluefield in the early 1950's.
In an article published in The Observer, Mr. Shott's son, John C. Shott of Bluefield, said that his father was a true entrepreneur and would most certainly endorse the purpose of the endowed chair to encourage excellence in business instruction so that students would be better equipped to find opportunity in our free enterprise system.
BSC Receives IPSI Training Grant
BSC Provost Dr. Betty Rader announced that BSC has been awarded a State grant of $5,000 for Instructional Performance Systems, Inc. (IPSI) training. The grant will be used to train faculty instructional design for developmental education courses, ENGL 098, 099 and MATH 098, 099. It will also focus on the development of a common syllabus for each of these courses that would be implemented in the 1997 Fall semester.
Frank L. Smoot Charitable Foundation Awards Grant to BSC
The Frank L. Smoot Charitable Foundation awarded a $5,000 grant to BSC in May, 1997. The grant will be used for the training of faculty in the development of technical skills to utilize both hardware and software for integrating technology into classroom instruction.
BSC Electrical Engineering Technology Program Receives Gift
Mark Wainwright, president and owner of Wainwright Technical Sales, presented the BSC Engineering Technology program with a state-of-the-art equipment gift. The equipment, whose estimated value is $12,000, is the same type of control system used by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, WV.
Mr. Roy Pruett, BSC assistant professor of electrical engineering technology, accepted the gift on behalf of the college. Mr. Pruett said, "This is an outstanding expression of support from Mr. Wainwright. It will permit our students to have hands-on experience with sophisticated equipment in use in the marketplace. The result will be the development of greater skills and an enhanced opportunity for employment by our graduates."
Mr. Wainwright observed the BSC students participating in the International Society of Measurement and Control worldwide competition in Chicago. He was impressed with the students and their knowledge. The BSC team placed fourth in the world. They are members of the BSC's Appalachian Instrument Society of America. Those students participating in the competition were Bryon Bishop, Kenneth Holt, Sonny Ciampanella, Mike Simmons, Shannon Bowling, Jason Osborne, and James Pruett.
Bell Atlantic Increases Scholarship Support
Bell Atlantic-West Virginia has increased is scholarship support for 1997-98. Mike Newman, external affairs manager, presented a gift of $2,750 to Dr. Robert Moore on May 16. Mr. Newman stated that Bell Atlantic increased its donation because of the increase in costs of student fees and books. This year's recipients are Karen Cox of Princeton, WV, and Jamie Ratliff of Lindside, WV.
American Electric Power Completes Three-year Pledge American Electric Power (AEP) fulfilled its three-year pledge of $6,000 on April 3, 1997. AEP pledged its support during BSC's Centennial Campaign. All funds raised during the campaign are used for scholarship awards.
Citizens Communications To Award Scholarship Funds
Citizens Communications, formerly Citizens TeleCom, has announced its scholarship support for BSC. Rusty Fife, administrator of public affairs, said Citizens Communications will be awarding $5,000 in scholarship funds to BSC for the 1997-98 year.
Consolidation Coal Company Donation Received
BSC received a $5,000 donation from CONSOL, Inc. The donation will be used to award scholarships to students enrolled in the Division of Engineering and Computer Science programs as well as provide faculty development funds for the division. Judson P Kristoff, manager-employee communications, presented a gift to Dr. Robert Moore during BSC's annual job fair in April. CONSOL has supported BSC and its engineering division since 1980 through donations of funds and equipment.
Kelly Dinger Scholarship Established
The members of the Delta Kappa Tau Sorority have established a scholarship in memory of Kelly Dinger, a BSC graduate who was the sorority's advisor. She was also employed at BSC in the Registrar's office. Betty Fox of Ghent, WV, is the first Kelly Dinger Scholarship recipient. Individuals wishing to make a donation to this scholarship fund may send a check payable to Bluefield State College, ATTN: Kelly Dinger Scholarship Fund, 219 Rock Street, Bluefield, WV 24701.
Moose--Bluefield Lodge 1079 Continues Scholarship Support
The Loyal Order of the Moose, Bluefield Lodge 1079, is continuing its commitment of providing scholarships for students of BSC during the fall and spring semesters. A $10,000 donation has been received for the 1997 Fall semester for both traditional and non-traditional students, including several specific academic programs and athletic scholarships.
The Moose Scholarship recipients for the spring semester are: affiliation recipients Jody R. Neal, Amber N. Wagner, Carla Auton, and Kathy J. Kennedy; Non-traditional recipients Crystal L. Green and Franklin J. Patton, Jr; Nursing recipient Shawn D. Lusk; radiologic technology recipient Renea Kennedy; Criminal Justice recipients Lisa L. Walker and John L. Lafferty; tennis and cross country recipients will be announced at a later date.
Pocahontas Electrical and Mechanical Institute donates Scholarships for 1997-98
The Pocahontas Electrical and Mechanical Institute (PEMI) donated $2,000 to BSC for scholarships during the 1997-98 academic year. The recipients must be enrolled in civil, electrical, mechanical or mining engineering technology. This year's recipients are James A. Bailey, electrical; Jeremy A. Burgess, electrical; Michael E. Hess, civil; and Heather L. Wingo, electrical. PEMI established its scholarship fund in May 1975 for the purpose of scholarship awards to BSC students.
VLSI System Technology Training Grant received
BSC has received a state grant of $5,500 to train faculty of the WV Community and Technical Colleges. A workshop will be conducted in August on the use of Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) System Technology. Dr. Shekhar Pradhan, BSC associate professor of electrical engineering technology, will present the workshop.
Creative Retirement Center Hosts Workshops
The Creative Retirement Center of Bluefield State College hosted two workshops for senior citizens in May. A seminar, "Stock Selection: How to Pick the Good Ones," was presented by Anne I. Crowe, assistant vice president of Scott & Stringfellow, Inc., on May 13.
On May 28, Loue Ann Bennett held a "Creative Memories" presentation. Bennett, a Creative Memories consultant, presented different ways to preserve family photographs and explained how to journal the importance of each photo.