WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., May 17, 2023 — West Liberty University’s College of Education and Human Performance was well-represented at a recent statewide literacy initiative by Dr. Angela Curfman, associate professor of Teacher Education.

“I was invited and pleased to take part in the speaking opportunity to address the important topic of diversity in children’s literature,” said Dr. Angela Curfman, who presented the lecture for those attending the program, sponsored by a grant through West Virginia University and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

The Speaker’s Series audience was an online presentation and consisted of current classroom teachers, reading specialists and both undergraduate and graduate students. About 32 individuals attended the lecture.

The series takes place every semester and the topic for this presentation was “More than One Story Matters: Diverse Representation in Children’s Literature.”

“We discussed teacher perceptions of diverse representation in children’s literature and implications for pre/in-service educators,” Curfman explained.

Curfman has a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction with a minor in literacy, from West Virginia University. Curfman earned a master’s in education, with a minor in elementary reading and literacy at Walden University and a bachelor’s in education, with a minor in elementary education at Ohio University.

A member of WLU’s faculty since 2017, Curfman also serves on the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) Leaders of Literacy Advisory Council and is the current vice-president of the West Virginia Reading Association.

About WLU’s College of Education and Human Performance
Established as West Liberty Academy in 1837, the preparation of teachers was WLU’s original purpose. It was chartered as the West Liberty Normal School in 1870, was renamed West Liberty State Teachers College in 1931, and was accredited in 1937 by the American Association of Teachers Colleges.

As the institution grew, it became West Liberty State College and in 2009, it earned university status. This was the same year WLU’s first master’s degree program began, in education. The College of Education and Human Performance remains a regional leader in providing an affordable education for professional educators.