WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., May 26, 2016 — West Liberty University honored its dedicated staff and faculty as 10 members of the campus community reach retirement at the end of the current fiscal year.
JoAnn Angius, Mary Blair, David Blowers, Jennifer Cross, Sandy Czernek, Michele DeRita, Dr. Susan Herrick, Dr. John P. McCullough, Earl Nicodemus and Richard Price were honored with a reception at the Boyle Conference Center, hosted by President Dr. Stephen Greiner.
“Our employees are the backbone of our success and I’m pleased to personally thank them for their service to West Liberty University, its students and staff. We wish them all the very best in their future,” Greiner said.
From left, Dr. Susan Herrick, Jennifer Cross, David Blowers, Michele DeRita, Earl Nicodemus, Mary Blair, JoAnn Angius and President Stephen Greiner. Three retirees, Sandy Czernek, Dr. John McCullough and Richard Price are absent from the photo.
He then presented each retiree with a framed certificate detailing their years of service. Afterwards the retirees and guests enjoyed refreshments along with memories and more congratulations.
Angius, a resident of Wheeling, retired from the Department of Journalism, Communications Studies and Visual Arts as senior administrative secretary. She served for 40 years at the time of her retirement.
Blair, a resident of Wheeling, served for 44 years and at the time of her retirement, was the administrative secretary for the Sarah Whitaker Glass School of Dental Hygiene. She began her employment in the business office as the business manager’s secretary, then moved into the payroll office for 32 years. She also served on the Board of Governors as the staff representative for several terms.
Blowers, a resident of Triadelphia, served seven years at the university. Instrumental in the development of student internships for the Physician Assistant (PA) master’s degree program, he served as clinical coordinator of the PA program, housed in Campbell Hall of Health Sciences. Blowers established the connection between the PA program and the regional medical community, including hospitals, clinics, doctor practices and other medical entities across the country.
Cross, a resident of Wheeling, served the university for 37 years and at the time of her retirement was staff librarian at the Paul N. Elbin Library. She has served on many committees over the years including the staff development and staff council. Cross also was the inaugural recipient of the classified employee of the year award.
Czernek, a resident of Wheeling, was an instructor of history in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences since 2008. She began her career at WLU as a senior adjunct in 2004. Students honored Czernek with the Professor of the Year Award twice during her time of service, most recently in spring 2014.
DeRita, a resident of Wellsburg, served West Liberty for nearly 30 years and at the time of her retirement was the Senior Human Resources Representative, responsible for new hires, employee benefits and changes of employee status duties. Over the years, she served on numerous employee committees and councils.
Herrick, a resident of West Liberty, retired as a professor of sociology after 21 years of service. She also previously served as vice chair and secretary of Faculty Senate, and also served as a representative on the West Virginia Advisory Council of Faculty. Herrick also served as the faculty sponsor of the Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Chi national honor society.
McCullough, a 45-year employee who resides in Triadelphia, was named President Emeritus after serving as interim president during 2015. Prior to that, he served as executive assistant to the president for several years. McCullough previously served as interim president on two other occasions, in 2001 and again from 2005-2007. Before that, he served as provost and vice president of academic affairs for 11 years. Prior to that he was dean of the School of Business Administration for nearly 16 years. Dr. McCullough also was a professor of management.
Nicodemus, a resident of West Liberty, retires after 40 years of service in the College of Education. As an Instructional Technology instructor, he assisted future teachers in the use of technology as it grew into a classroom fixture. He also served as departmental chair and director of Teacher’s Education for 10 years and was instrumental in the start-up of the Master of Education degree program. He remains active in local history and the WLU Toastmasters Club.
Price, a resident of Wellsburg and graduate of WLU, retired after 17 years of service. At the time of his retirement he was an instructor of Physical Education in the Department of Health and Human Performance. Price also was an assistant wrestling coach for Hilltopper Athletics starting in the 1990s under legendary Coach Vince Monseau and is a member of the WLU Hall of Fame, class of 2006.
For more information, please visit westliberty.edu or call 1.866.WESTLIB.
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