Bluefield State College is utilizing distance learning to deliver instruction in 18 courses this semester. BSC significantly augmented its distance learning capabilities with the opening of the June Oblinger Shott Center for Extended Learning during the 1996-97 academic year. The courses provide instruction for students at the College's campuses in Bluefield, Lewisburg, and/or Beckley.

As a "Going The Distance" site, BSC is currently capable of delivering instruction for an associate degree (general education) through distance learning.

During the Fall 1997 semester, Bluefield State will offer 12 interactive video courses, six instructional television courses, and two courses by SATNET.

Plans for the immediate future call for conducting distance learning workshops to train faculty and professional staff in the design and delivery of distance learning courses. The institution's goal is to strengthen its distance learning infrastructure by installing a new interactive video classroom at its Beckley (Harper Industrial Park) campus. BSC will also upgrade our Greenbrier Community College Center electronic classroom to full production capability. BSC is awaiting news on the status of grants that seek funding assistance for installing electronic classrooms in Welch and in Pocahontas County.

Thirteen Bluefield State College Accounting Club students and two BSC accounting faculty donated 330 hours and prepared approximately 350 income tax returns to area residents through this year's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service.

In addition to federal income tax returns, and state tax returns from West Virginia and Virginia, VITA volunteers also assisted in the preparation California, North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, and New York state returns.

The BSC VITA volunteers offered free tax assistance throughout February, March, and April (until the April 15 filing deadline). "Volunteers alerted taxpayers to special credits and deductions with items like credit for the elderly and sale of residence," William Goodman, BSC associate professor of accounting, noted.

"Our students enjoy the satisfaction of helping others, and many people find this service very meaningful because it helps them to complete their tax returns in a way that's comfortable for them," added William Bradberry, BSC assistant professor of accounting.

Student volunteers included Jennifer Cannady, Mike Crum, Michelle Forrest, Kim Hagy, Tricia Higginbotham, Cynthia Higgins, Melissa Johnson, Anita Kennedy, Monica Little, Sibyl Martin, Kris Syres, Janela Walkup, and Susan Brooks.

"These students worked hard and made a great contribution to the College's relations with the community," Goodman observed. "They also put classroom skills to work in a 'real world' type environment."

Students and faculty at the Greenbrier Community College Center of Bluefield State College provided more than 105 hours' free income tax assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program this year.

Leila Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Accounting, notes BSC GCCC students in accounting and business administration prepared 35 federal returns and 45 state returns. Thirty-two returns were filed electronically. "This is our first year to do electronic filing," she said. "I believe it was successful and hope to expand its use next year."

BSC GCCC students and faculty offered VITA services each Saturday, February 8 - April 12.

Bernadette Dragich, associate professor of Nursing at Bluefield State College, was a featured presenter at the recent West Virginia League of Nursing's annual meeting in Parkersburg. Her program, "Nursing Research in West Virginia--Guiding Practice into the Next Millennium," was based upon research she had conducted.

Dragich is a member of the BSC Associate Degree Nursing faculty. She will graduate next month from Virginia Tech with a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies, and is currently a Ph.D. student in Instructional Systems Development at Virginia Tech.

Two students from Bluefield State College's Greenbrier Community College Center have been named to the All-West Virginia Academic Team for Community and Technical Colleges. Diana Green and William Renn, both residents of Ronceverte, were among students honored by West Virginia Governor Cecil Underwood in a ceremony at the State Capitol, April 10.

Green, a business management major, and Penn, who is majoring in criminal justice/corrections, were selected from a pool of candidates nominated by each college with a community & technical college component in the State College System of West Virginia. Their selection was based on academic achievement and leadership qualities.

The academic team is sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society that recognizes extraordinary academic achievement and leadership qualities of students enrolled in two-year programs.

Governor Underwood also proclaimed April "Community College Month" to recognize the many efforts of community and technical colleges in West Virginia.

Representatives of West Virginia University's College of Business and Economics will visit Bluefield State College's sites in Bluefield, Beckley, and Lewisburg later this month to conduct a series of question/answer sessions about the University's Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program. The program will be offered at the BSC sites, beginning this Fall, thanks to a cooperative agreement between Bluefield State College and WVU.

Dr. Paul Speaker, Director of WVU's MBA Programs will meet with individuals interested in the program April 20 (2 p.m.-4 p.m.) at the Brier Inn in Lewisburg, followed by an evening meeting that day (6 p.m.-8 p.m.) at BSC's Beckley Campus in the Harper Industrial Park. He will conduct a meeting at the Tierney Center, Dickason Hall, on BSC's main campus in Bluefield, April 21 (6 p.m.-8 p.m.)

WVU will connect Bluefield State College and its campuses in Bluefield, Lewisburg, and Beckley to its distance learning network. Students will take their courses simultaneously with other students around the state in a two-way interactive electronic classroom setting, according to Dr. Sydney Stern, Dean of the WVU College of Business and Economics.

BSC President Dr. Robert Moore noted, "The Executive M.B.A. from WVU complements BSC's existing offerings at and below the baccalaureate level, via the College network. By providing residents in southeast West Virginia the opportunity to access a top quality master's level program, this cooperative venture augments Bluefield State College's use of technology to meet our goal of expanding access to higher education throughout the region."

Dr. Sudhakar Jamkhandi, Director of the Center for International Understanding at Bluefield State College, will be a featured presenter at the National Association for Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA): Association of International Educators Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, May 20-23. His presentation will be part of the panel discussion, "Have You Heard the News? Publicity=Political Support=Funding."

The NAFSA conference is the largest conference in the field of international education and training, and is expected to attract 4,000 participants from throughout North America, and from 70 countries around the world.

The panel session involving Dr. Jamkhandi will examine ways in which training institutions can work with programming agencies to publicize their activities. "We share the understanding that publicity for training programs leads to political support on an institution, a state, and and a national basis, and this support can lead to funding support," noted Colin Davies, Senior Project Director, United States Agency for International Development Participant Training Program.

Other panel presenters are Jerrold Keilson, Director of Training and Education/World Learning, and Richard Benfield, Coordinator-Europe and NIS/University of Oklahoma.

Dr. Harriet Duncan, professor of nursing at Bluefield State College, has co-authored an article that has been published in the "Journal of Psychosocial Nursing."

Duncan (Ph.D., RN) collaborated with Shirley S. Travis (Ph.D., RN), and William A. McAuley (Ph.D.) in conducting the research, compiling the results, and writing "Mall Walking: An Effective Mental Health Intervention for Older Adults," which was published in the most recent issue of the "Journal of Psychosocial Nursing."

Duncan was also recently honored as one of Virginia Tech's "Outstanding Women Leaders." She was recognized at a reception at the home of Janet Johnson, Dean of the Virginia Tech College of Human Resources, and at a banquet celebrating 75 years of co-education at Virginia Tech. Her biography was included in a book about outstanding women graduates at Virginia Tech.

A record 55 recruiters and 335 students took part in the ninth annual Spring Job Fair at Bluefield State College. The fair is a collaborative project involving BSC, Concord, Bluefield College, Southwest Virginia Community College, and Wytheville Community College.

"This event brings employment opportunities for students approaching graduation, along with recent graduates," noted BSC Director of Placement Tom Harrison. "It also provides a laboratory-type learning experience for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who get meet and talk to prospective employers."

Next year's Spring Job Fair has been tentatively scheduled for March 31, 1998 and April 1, 1998 at Bluefield State College. Businesses and organizations wishing to participate may contact Harrison at (304) 327-4011.

The "James H. Shott Endowed Chair in Business" has been established at Bluefield State College. 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.

Establishment of this endowed chair marks the successful completion of a fund-raising program during which $150,000 was raised. The West Virginia Eminent Scholars Endowment Trust Fund Act permits a specific chair to be established when funds from public and private sources reach $150,000, with one dollar of state funds for each four dollars in private funds raised.

"The James H. Shott Endowed Chair in Business significantly augments our Business Division's ability to attract outstanding faculty and recognize excellence in business instruction," BSC President Dr. Robert Moore noted. "The endowed chair will most certainly enhance teaching in Bluefield State College's business degree programs."

The endowed chair recognizes the lifelong effort of Mr. Shott in his promotion of civic and community improvement projects. He oversaw the annual Community Christmas Tree project, which provided holiday gifts and entertainment for underprivileged area children. He also played a primary role in the creation of the Area Development Corporation, a civic project designed to attract new business and industry to Bluefield. He served as a director of the local Chamber of Commerce, and as a member of the Mercer County Airport Advisory Committee. Mr. Shott's efforts facilitated the establishment of the Mercer County Airport and the North Street Post Office in Bluefield.

Mr. Shott's son, John C. Shott, noted, "My father was a true entrepreneur. He was primarily responsible for starting Bluefield's first radio station (WHIS-AM in 1929), Bluefield's first FM station (WHIS-FM in 1948), Bluefield's first television station (WHIS-TV in 1955) and for bringing natural gas from Princeton to Bluefield in the early 1950's. He would most certainly endorse the purpose of this endowed chair--to encourage excellence in business instruction so that students would be better equipped to find opportunity in our free enterprise system."

The fund-raising effort for the James H. Shott Endowed Chair in Business was coordinated by the BSC Office of Institutional Advancement and Planning.