Sen. Shelley Moore Capito visited Shepherd on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, allowing President Mary J.C. Hendrix and members of her Executive Leadership Team to thank Capito for supporting $6.9 million in congressionally directed spending to benefit the University.
Pictured (front row, l. to r.) Dr. Mary J.C. Hendrix, Shepherd president; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia; Dr. Kelly Hart, vice president, Enrollment Management; and Dr. Ben Martz, dean, College of Business, second row, Dana Costa, executive director, University Communications; Dr. Chiquita Howard Bostic, associate vice president, Office for Diversity and Equity, and chair, Department of Sociology, Criminology, and Criminal Justice; Sonya Sholley, associate vice president, Strategic Initiatives and Presidential Operations; Joseph Dagg, chief information officer; Dr. Stephen Spencer, provost and vice president, Academic Affairs, third row, Holly Morgan Frye, vice president, Division of Student Affairs, and director of community relations; Dr. Richard Stevens, dean, School of Graduate and Professional Studies; Alan Perdue, general counsel; Dr. Marie DeWalt, associate vice president, Human Resources; and Chauncey Winbush, vice president, Athletics.
The projects that Capito supported through congressionally directed spending funds awarded to Shepherd include:
- $111,000 for dual enrollment hub sites through the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration. The money will allow Shepherd to offer students, especially those in rural areas, remote dual enrollment courses so they can start earning credits toward an advanced degree while still in high school.
- $36,000 through the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for equipment technology upgrades. The money will fund new equipment, technology, and software that will improve access to education for those who may encounter mental or physical learning barriers or whose first language is not English.
- $4 million to the Shepherd University Police Department for campus security upgrades through the Subcommittee on Commerce, Science, and Justice. The money will allow the police department to purchase and install an integrated security camera system across campus and purchase additional vehicles, a communication system, an integrated locking system, and other improvements.
- $135,000 through the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for technology and equipment to improve broadband access. Shepherd is coordinating with nearby community colleges and universities to identify opportunities to connect to Internet2, a not-for-profit consortium devoted to building the next generation of internet based on fiber optics. Internet2 was founded by the nation’s leading higher education institutions in 1996 and is made up of universities, corporations, and governments from the United States and more than 100 other countries, and serves 317 U.S. universities, 60 government agencies, and 43 regional and state education networks.
- $1.475 million for building demolition and $936,000 for a gateway entrance through the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development for an East Campus improvement project. The money will be used to tear down Turner and Kenamond halls and have other work done to create a new gateway entrance to the university.
- $70,000 for the Stubblefield Institute’s ListenLearnEngage Initiative to support an interdisciplinary program to prepare Shepherd students to shape and debate public policies and to fulfill community leadership rules. Initially targeting nursing, social work, and education majors, this project is managed by The Bonnie and Bill Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications.
Projects in congressionally directed spending draft appropriation bills:
- $1,422,000 to create an Agricultural Innovation Center Small Business Incubator at Tabler Farm. This project will develop new agricultural production systems to demonstrate and train beginning farmers in innovative small-scale agriculture and provide the infrastructure necessary to establish an agricultural business incubator at Tabler Farm with access to arable land and focused training in agricultural entrepreneurship.
- $609,000 to revitalize facilities and equipment in the Department of Chemistry. This project would revitalize the Chemistry Department labs and classrooms to meet current scientific methods and pedagogy.
- $657,000 for a teacher professional development program, including stipends. This funding would establish a professional development series for high school teachers focused on using writing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- $20,000 for special education curriculum development, including stipends. This funding would develop the curriculum and courses necessary to offer a special education endorsement for Elementary and Secondary Education majors.