Personnel Biographies
Michele Wheatly
As the Provost of West Virginia University, Dr. Michele G. Wheatly is the Chief Academic Officer responsible for the administration of all academic policies, programs, facilities, and budgetary matters except for programs reporting through the Chancellor of the Health Sciences Center. A major initiative of her first year as Provost was leading the university-wide strategic planning process along with Chancellor Chris Colenda. The plan was endorsed in early 2011 by the WVU Board of Governors.
Dr. Wheatly now works closely with the Office of Strategic Planning—which she helped found—and with the university’s full academic administration to align hiring priorities, student recruitment strategies, and campus programming decisions with the goals of the WVU strategic plan. She also chairs the University Planning committee that prioritizes funding decisions at the University.
A current major focus of the Provost’s Office is WVU’s 2014 reaffirmation of accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Dr. Wheatly has convened a campus-wide committee to plan for the comprehensive evaluation process and is working closely with them to ensure that WVU comes through our reaffirmation with flying colors.
At the highest levels of academic administration, Dr. Wheatly has recently brought in a new Associate Provost for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Dr. John Campbell, to guide the university to new heights of technological productivity. She is also currently seeking an Associate Provost for Outreach and Engagement, who will assist her office in achieving the strategic plan goal to “enhance the well-being and quality of life of the people of West Virginia,” and a new permanent Dean of Libraries. Dr. Wheatly has been active in supporting international partnerships between WVU and other institutions. She visited institutions in Harbin, Beijing, and Shanghai, China in the summer of 2012 and has hosted visitors from institutions around the world.
She chairs the internal advisory board for the University’s NSF ADVANCE grant, which aims to increase the number of women faculty in STEM fields at WVU. Together with Maryanne Reed, Dean of WVU’s Isaac Perley School of Journalism, Dr. Wheatly is the architect of the Women’s Leadership Initiative at WVU. This program offers executive coaching to successful women leaders on campus and mentoring to early-career women in all fields. There are currently 75 participants from across main campus.
Dr. Wheatly is also an active presence in the academic community outside of WVU. She was recently named to the Executive Committee for the APLU Council on Academic Affairs and will begin serving in 2014. She meets regularly with her counterparts in the Big 12 and she will present on the success of the WVU Women’s Leadership Initiative at the American Council of Education’s annual meeting in March 2013.
Prior to joining WVU in January 2010, Dr. Wheatly was Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and a professor of Biological Sciences at Wright State University. She began her research career and ascended the academic ranks at the University of Florida. Wheatly’s research has focused on comparative physiology, most recently using a crustacean model to understand the logic of epithelial calcium transport. She has been the principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on approximately $21.5 million in grants with 24 years of continuous NSF funding as PI.
Dr. Wheatly has written or contributed to more than 100 refereed journal articles and book chapters. Academic courses that she has taught at all levels have included biology, marine animal physiology, women in science, and human-computer interaction.
Assisted by:
Ann Claycomb
Executive Assistant to the Provost
Office of the Provost
304-293-5701
Ann.Claycomb@mail.wvu.edu
Russell Dean
Dr. Russ Dean is the Senior Associate Provost at West Virginia University, where he serves as the Provost’s chief deputy, and is responsible for academic budget and facilities planning for all general University academic units. Dr. Dean also serves as chair of the Information Technology Oversight Committee, vice chair of the Budget and Capital Planning Committees, and co-chair of the Enrollment Management Council. Dean holds the academic rank of professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
Assisted by:
Ann Claycomb
Executive Assistant to the Provost
Office of the Provost
304-293-5701
Ann.Claycomb@mail.wvu.edu
C.B. Wilson
Dr. C. B. Wilson is Associate Provost for Academic Personnel at West Virginia University, where he is the Provost’s principal deputy in all matters involving faculty appointments, evaluation, promotion, and tenure. Dr. Wilson is also responsible for matters relating to university faculty awards, sabbatical leaves, and a variety of professional development programs. He is also active on the board of Arts Monongahela, chairs the Greater Morgantown Arts Collaborative, and has served on the board of the Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Assisted by:
Shirley Nichter
Office Administrator
Office of the Provost
304-293-2021
Shirley.Nichter@mail.wvu.edu
Katherine Karraker
Dr. Katherine Karraker is the Interim Associate Provost for Graduate Academic Affairs at West Virginia University. Her responsibilities include providing oversight for graduate and professional programs, recommending and implementing policy, organizing program reviews and assessment, facilitating graduate student recruitment, retention, and timely degree completion, and managing fellowship, tuition waiver, and professional development programs for graduate students. Dr. Karraker is also a Professor of Psychology.
Assisted by:
Tammy Smith
Administrative Assistant
Office of Graduate Education and Life
304-293-7173
TaSmith@mail.wvu.edu
Elizabeth Dooley
Dr. Elizabeth A. Dooley is Associate Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, and is responsible for providing leadership to the University’s undergraduate academic programs and modes of instruction; leading the institution’s Student Learning Outcomes Assessment; leading the development and implementation of student retention efforts; overseeing the Board of Governor’s program reviews; supervising the Undergraduate Academic Services Center, Center for Civic Engagement, Military Science and Aerospace Studies. Dr. Dooley is also responsible for preparing the annual Higher Education Policy Commission Compact is the lead and contact person for the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement Initiative. Dr. Dooley also serves as the Chair of the WVU Assessment Council, and is a Professor of Special Education and Curriculum & Instruction at the College of Human Resources and Education.
Assisted by:
Shirley Robinson
Administrative Assistant
Office of the Provost
304-293-2641
Shirley.Robinson@mail.wvu.edu
John Campbell
Dr. John P. Campbell is Associate Provost for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. In this role, John is responsible for providing institution-wide leadership to the University’s technology infrastructure. John’s efforts focus on leading the institution’s strategic and resource planning as well as service delivery. Prior to his appointment at WVU, he was the Associate Vice President for Academic Technologies at Purdue University. His responsibilities focused on the support, empowerment, and enhancement of faculty efforts in research and teaching/learning. During the past ten years, John has examined methods to use academic analytics to identify students at risk within courses. He was the founder of the Signals project which has been featured on NBC and in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Signals project has also been awarded the 2012 Noel-Levitz Retention Award, the 2011 Digital Educational Achievement Award, and the 2011 Campus Technology Innovators Award for Teaching and Learning. His doctorate was earned at Purdue University in Higher Education Administration.
Assisted by:
Stacey Kearns
Office Administrator
Information Technology
304-293-4873
Stacey.Kearns@mail.wvu.edu
Steve Robinson
Dr. Steve Robinson is the University Registrar at West Virginia University. In this role, Dr. Robinson oversees graduation/degree audit, registration, grading and all academic record-keeping for WVU. Prior to his appointment at WVU, he was University Registrar at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and an Associate Registrar at the University of Alabama. His professional experience also includes significant work in academic advising at both the University of Alabama and East Tennessee State University. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from West Virginia University. His doctorate was earned at the University of Alabama in Higher Education Administration.
Assisted by:
Jennifer Schuler
Administrative Assistant
Office of the University Registrar
304-293-0169
Jennifer.Schuler@mail.wvu.edu
Michael Lastinger
Dr. Michael Lastinger is Associate Provost for International Academic Affairs at West Virginia University, where he coordinates international programs, including partnerships and linkages, study abroad, international grants, curriculum development, and international research initiatives. Dr. Lastinger is also an Associate Professor of Foreign Languages, as which he teaches Nineteenth-Century French culture, French Literature, and French Civilization. He currently sits on the steering committee of the West Virginia Consortium for the Internationalization of Higher Education, on the executive council of the West Virginia Consortium for Faculty and Course Development in International Studies (FACDIS), and is active on the Sister Cities Committee for Morgantown, West Virginia.
Assisted by:
Rebecca Digman
Program Assistant II
Office of International Programs
304-293-6955×33160
Rebecca.Digman@mail.wvu.edu
Dr. Nigel Clark
Dr. Nigel Clark is the Associate Vice President for Academic Strategic Planning. Dr. Clark has extensive experience developing and managing large-scale funded research programs a proven capacity for organizing relevant stakeholders. He has over 25 years of research experience in alternative fuels, energy efficient transportation and mobile source emissions characterization and reduction. He served for five years as director of the West Virginia University Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions and holds the George B. Berry Chair of Engineering. Dr. Clark served on the West Virginia University Board of Governors from 2009 to 2011 and has chaired the Faculty Senate. In 2010 he chaired the Strategic Planning Council to set the direction for the institution for the decade.
Brenda Thompson
Brenda Thompson is the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at West Virginia University. Thompson oversees the areas of Admissions, Recruitment, Financial Aid, Scholarships, New Student Orientation and Student Systems Management and serves as the co-chair of the Enrollment Management Council at WVU. A long-time employee of West Virginia University, Brenda spent nearly 20 years working through various positions in the Office of Financial Aid where she was last employed as the Director. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Concord University and a Masters in Business Administration from Marshall University (formerly the WV College of Graduate Studies).
Assisted by:
Sue Davis
Office Administrator
Enrollment Management and Services
304-293-3837
Sue.Davis@mail.wvu.edu