Marks’ presentation followed a social hour and buffet dinner at the Wheeling Artisan Center, during which owners of small and family businesses took the opportunity to interact and share experiences.  Marks told the group he had talked to several attendees who said they were already benefiting from the evening, just from the discussions with their peers.

Marks suggested that small business owners needed to stay informed about political issues and changes in laws, utilize the efficiency of cloud technology, choose reliable economic metrics to follow regularly, and, drawing a chuckle from the crowd, “Have dinner with your accountant.”  Changes in tax laws are coming and are significant, he added, and small business owners need to be prepared.

The program was the kick-off membership catalyst for the Small and Family Business Program, which Center for Entrepreneurship Director Carrie White hopes will serve the needs of the small business community, from start-ups to long-established firms.  “It is part of the university’s mission to be a major player in helping this region grow and prosper economically.  What better place to be involved than in helping small and family businesses, the real backbone of our local economy, as well as the biggest employers in the U.S.?” she said.

Dean Loren Wenzel of the Gary E. West College of Business told attendees that the university can help in many ways, such as offering regular speakers like Marks, workshops and seminars, mentoring and even consultation services.

Les DeFelice, founder and chief executive officer of DeFelice Care, Inc. in Wheeling, is the chairman of the program’s advisory board. He said, “We are asking our friends and neighbors in the small business community to get involved by joining with us to generate ideas and help develop programs that really make a difference to small business bottom lines.”

The small business program is the outgrowth of an overall emphasis on entrepreneurship begun by WLU President Robin C. Capehart.  He noted that he has always believed the university had a responsibility to nurture the spark of entrepreneurship in every student, regardless of his or her major. As an illustration, he described how he had met a WLU student who wanted to be an artist but felt that being an art teacher was her only option.

“With an emphasis on entrepreneurship education,” says Capehart, “we can teach her both how to be a good artist and how to turn that passion into profit by starting a new business.”

For more information on the program and how to become a part of the Small and Family Business program, contact White at cwhite@westiberty.edu or DeFelice at lesd@defelicecare.com, or call (304) 336-8053.

Representing four centuries of music – from the Renaissance to the present – in three languages, these singers from the Netherlands are widely regarded as one of the top a cappella ensembles in the world. Quink also acts as an ambassador for new Dutch music. The group is comprised of Marjon Strijk, soprano; Elsbeth Gerritsen, alto; Harry van Berne, tenor; and Kees Jan de Koning, bass.

Quink’s first U.S. tour in 1985 was so artistically successful that the group now returns each season. Recent reviewers have praised the quartet’s “superb balance, intonation and musicianship.” Their sound, another reviewer wrote, “is full, rich and colorful.”

Their current U.S. tour includes universities and churches in Mississippi, Alabama, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Other performances in America have included residencies at Dartmouth and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and concerts in Spievy Hall, Atlanta; Interlochen Center for the Arts, Michigan; Houston Friends of Chamber Music, Texas; University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; and the famed Chautauqua Institution, New York.

For more information, contact Prof. Matthew D. Harder, chair of the WLU Music Department, at mharder@westliberty.edu.

Last year, he and co-author Dan Mistich presented a paper, “Poststructural Prudence: Rethinking Phronesis Through Derrida,” at the National Communication Association’s convention in New Orleans. The research examined the works of Aristotle and the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. During the spring semester, he will present papers at the Appalachian Studies Association conference, the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association’s national conference and at the Rhetoric Society of America’s meeting.

“Participating in scholarship,” McCullough said, “makes me a better teacher. It helps me become more familiar with the literature and subjects the students will be studying.”

In addition to presenting their research at professional conferences, McCullough and Mistich have co-authored a chapter of a soon-to-be-published anthology about pop culture novelist, philosopher and essayist Chuck Klosterman, “Chuck Klosterman and Philosophy,” edited by Seth Vannatta and published by Open Court.

“The chapter we have written is, ‘Is that what you really want?’” McCullough explained. “It is about desire in Klosterman’s writings and how desire is communicated.”

In his third year of teaching at WLU, McCullough earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Marshall University.

Organizers currently are seeking qualified individuals to teach courses at the Community University and would welcome ideas for educational offerings presented in any of the following formats:

• Single lecture/discussion (1.5 – 2 hours)
• Four-week course (1.5 -2 hours per session)
• Six- or eight-week course (1.5 -2 hours per session)
• Flexible schedule allowing the presenter to instruct the course at any time during the term. For example, the course could be offered in a one-week period during the term meeting every day

The Community University is an educational organization with volunteer presenters designed to engage older adults as lifelong learners. Community University programs will be shaped by the presenters’ and learners’ interests and will include topics from the arts and literature, sciences and technology, history, religion, business and commerce, current events and other suggested topics (excluding arts and crafts activities).

Community University courses will be offered in three terms annually, beginning in March 2012: spring, summer and fall. The classes will be held at the WLU Highlands Center near Wheeling or the West Virginia University Extension Service-Marshall County office, Fourth Street Extension (126 Barn Dr.), Moundsville, W.Va.

The Community University wants to hear from anyone willing to share his or her knowledge, experience and passions in a particular educational area. Those interested in teaching a class should contact Community University staff with the following information: Name, address and contact information; a brief description of the topic to be offered as an educational session; whether the proposed session would encompass one or multiple sessions, including number of weeks the proposed class would meet; a brief description of the submitter’s experience in the topic area; whether specific supplies or equipment would be needed in teaching the course; and the preferred days and location for teaching the course.

Proposals should be mailed to Community University at West Liberty, WLU Highlands Center, 355 Wharton Circle, Suite 200, Triadelphia, W.Va. 26059. A member of the Community University staff will be in touch within a week of receiving proposals. For more information contact the Community University office at (304) 217-2800, extension 2, or by E-mail attmichaud@westliberty.edu or jknierim@westliberty.edu.

In his monthly campus report to faculty, staff and students, Capehart noted that enrollment for the current semester is 2,521, which is up 4.8 percent from last spring. He added that the number of in-state freshmen accepted for the fall semester is up 22.6 percent.

“These figures are very encouraging,” he said, “and reflect the recruiting efforts of the admissions counselors under Executive Director of Enrollment Services Scott Cook, as well as the good work of all of our faculty and staff. All of our employees who do their jobs well, who work with and help our students demonstrate that we are a student-friendly institution offering a high quality education.”

Capehart also acknowledged three members of faculty for outstanding academic achievements. Angela Rehbein, assistant professor of English, will be presenting a scholarly paper at the American Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies in March. Joe Horzempa, assistant professor of biology, has secured a $250,000 grant for research into vaccines. Communications instructorRyan McCullough presented research at the National Communication Association’s convention in November.

The president also noted that WLU’s College of Education has received full accreditation for the next eight years from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Jeff Knierim, vice president for community engagement, explained that the new Community University is seeking qualified volunteer presenters to share their knowledge and passion with the older adult “life-long learners” who will attend classes at WLU’s Highlands Center and the West Virginia University Extension Office facility in Moundsville. Courses are slated to begin in March. For more information, contact Knierim by E-mail at jknierim@westliberty.edu.

Members of the West Liberty University community gather in Blatnik Hall to participate in the statewide celebration of Physical Activity Day. West Virginians throughout the state supported the effort to fight obesity through fun activities like the dance step “Cupid Shuffle.”

West Liberty University students, faculty and staff joined the rest of West Virginia in participating in the “Cupid Shuffle” in celebration of W.Va. Physical Activity Day. Led by health education instructor Melissa Hudson, the group learned the steps, kicks and turns of the dance and had a lot of fun in the process.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin designated Jan. 19 as Physical Activity Day to encourage state residents to become more active and to fight obesity. The event was part of the state Department of Education’s Let’s Move! West Virginia Active Schools project. Tens of thousands of children and adults throughout the state – including the governor – took part.

Hudson noted that activities like the Cupid Shuffle provide 10-15 minutes of exercise. “Physical activity minutes are easy to accumulate throughout the day,” she added.

Organizers currently are seeking qualified individuals to teach courses at the Community University and would welcome ideas for educational offerings presented in any of the following formats:

• Single lecture/discussion (1.5 – 2 hours)
• Four-week course (1.5 -2 hours per session)
• Six- or eight-week course (1.5 -2 hours per session)
• Flexible schedule allowing the presenter to instruct the course at any time during the term. For example, the course could be offered in a one-week period during the term meeting every day

The Community University is an educational organization with volunteer presenters designed to engage older adults as lifelong learners. Community University programs will be shaped by the presenters’ and learners’ interests and will include topics from the arts and literature, sciences and technology, history, religion, business and commerce, current events and other suggested topics (excluding arts and crafts activities).

Community University courses will be offered in three terms annually, beginning in March 2012: spring, summer and fall. The classes will be held at the WLU Highlands Center near Wheeling or the West Virginia University Extension Service-Marshall County office, Fourth Street Extension (126 Barn Dr.), Moundsville, W.Va.

The Community University wants to hear from anyone willing to share his or her knowledge, experience and passions in a particular educational area. Those interested in teaching a class should contact Community University staff with the following information: Name, address and contact information; a brief description of the topic to be offered as an educational session; whether the proposed session would encompass one or multiple sessions, including number of weeks the proposed class would meet; a brief description of the submitter’s experience in the topic area; whether specific supplies or equipment would be needed in teaching the course; and the preferred days and location for teaching the course.

Proposals should be mailed to Community University at West Liberty, WLU Highlands Center, 355 Wharton Circle, Suite 200, Triadelphia, W.Va. 26059. A member of the Community University staff will be in touch within a week of receiving proposals. For more information contact the Community University office at (304) 217-2800, extension 2, or by E-mail at tmichaud@westliberty.edu or jknierim@westliberty.edu.

The club meets on the first and third Mondays of each month at 6 p.m. at the WLU Highlands Center.

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Founded in October 1924, the organization currently has more than 270,000 members in 13,000 clubs in 116 countries. Each week, Toastmasters helps more than a quarter million people of every ethnicity, education and profession build their competence in communication so they can gain the confidence to lead others.

For more information, contact Knierim at (304) 336-8301 or by E-mail at jknierim@westliberty.edu.

In his monthly campus report to faculty, staff and students, Capehart noted that enrollment for the current semester is 2,521, which is up 4.8 percent from last spring. He added that the number of in-state freshmen accepted for the fall semester is up 22.6 percent.

“These figures are very encouraging,” he said, “and reflect the recruiting efforts of the admissions counselors under Executive Director of Enrollment Services Scott Cook, as well as the good work of all of our faculty and staff. All of our employees who do their jobs well, who work with and help our students demonstrate that we are a student-friendly institution offering a high quality education.”

Capehart also acknowledged three members of faculty for outstanding academic achievements. Angela Rehbein, assistant professor of English, will be presenting a scholarly paper at the American Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies in March. Joe Horzempa, assistant professor of biology, has secured a $250,000 grant for research into vaccines. Communications instructor Ryan McCullough presented research at the National Communication Association’s convention in November.

The president also noted that WLU’s College of Education has received full accreditation for the next eight years from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Jeff Knierim, vice president for community engagement, explained that the new Community University is seeking qualified volunteer presenters to share their knowledge and passion with the older adult “life-long learners” who will attend classes at WLU’s Highlands Center and the West Virginia University Extension Office facility in Moundsville. Courses are slated to begin in March. For more information, contact Knierim by E-mail at jknierim@westliberty.edu.