West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES AND DESIGN

GUIDING THEM OUT OF DARKNESS Casting all doubts aside, one former Marine discovers restorative healing through a unique bond with his service dog.

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LETTER from the Dean Hello, friends!

We’re still unpacking boxes, and the enthusiasm and energy from our September opening of the new Agricultural Sciences Building has yet to settle.

We were so excited to see our many friends, alumni, students, faculty and staff join us to celebrate the beginning of a new era in our already rich history.

If you were unable to be here, please take a peek at the retrospective that we have in this edition of the Davis College Magazine. For me, this edition is a reflection on the forward-thinking, stellar research and science, outstanding faculty and students, supportive alumni and friends, and new endeavors that make your College special and exceptional.

While we are blessed to have our new space, it’s the faculty, staff and students who will make this place a home and who will put our College at the forefront of advances in food production, community development, design, natural resources, and so much more. The new Agricultural Sciences Building is the fourth home of the College, moving from Woodburn Hall in 1921 to Oglebay Hall, then to the old Agricultural Sciences Building in 1962, and into this new building in 2016! We must now also turn our attention to improved facilities for the Natural Resource and Design centers of the College.

I think it is important to remember, and a point of pride, that we were the founding college of this great land-grant university.

We came first! And as we near the new year, 2017 will mark the 150th anniversary of WVU, the Davis College and our land-grant heritage.

We intend to celebrate this anniversary milestone, and set the course for the next 150 years!

While this is a great time to look back on those years and accomplishments, it’s also a time to examine our future. We are recruiting the best and brightest students from around the state and around the nation and world.

They come here brimming with enthusiasm and a determination to make the world a better place. I like to say that our students are “people of purpose” — they come here to study to do something bigger than themselves — to serve and to enable. They’re good people preparing to do important work. And we are continuing and pushing forward on cutting-edge research and brilliant teaching with outstanding faculty and staff. The people of this College exceed expectations.

In this edition of the magazine, you will learn about the Hardwood Research Trust, a donor-funded trust to promote research that will assist our state in finding new markets for timber. You will be introduced to several new faculty who are examining everything from diabetes to the scent of plants. And you will learn about some of our successful graduates who are making their mark in fashion design.

There is so much to tell!

We hope you’ll come see us, that you’ll encourage others to send their daughters and sons here to study and that you’ll let us know what you’re thinking. Go ‘Eers!

My best,

Dan Robison Dean

FALL 2016 E. Gordon Gee President, West Virginia University Joyce McConnell Provost Sharon L. Martin Vice President for University Relations Daniel J. Robison Dean and Publisher Michael Esposito Executive Creative Director Angela Caudill Director, UR-Design Graham Curry Art Director, UR-Design Tricia Dunn Sheree Wentz Magazine Designers Julie Cryser Nikky Luna Mikenna Pierotti Lindsay Willey Contributing Writers Brian Persinger M.G. Ellis Scott Lituchy Jennifer Shephard Lindsay Willey Nicholas Morales Photographers Kathy Deweese Director, University Content ADDRESS WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design Office of the Dean P.O. Box 6108 Morgantown, WV 26506-6108 daviscomm@mail.wvu.edu www. davis.wvu.edu CHANGE OF ADDRESS WVU Foundation P.O. Box 1650 Morgantown, WV 26507-1650 Fax: 304-284-4001 Email: info@wvuf.org www.mountaineerconnection.com

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CONTENTS Fall 2016

NATURAL RESOURCES

AGRICULTURE

DESIGN

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Making a Mark

Restoring Hope

The Sharpie Concept

A father-and-son duo — both WVU grads — are doing their part to advance hardwood research efforts in West Virginia.

Former U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Bradley Knox discovers the healing power of a service dog.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 02 Around the College 04 Marsh and Pingree Dye Professorship 06 Student Research 08 Building Dedication 28 Study Abroad

More than 300 people gathered on Friday, September 9, to celebrate the opening of the Davis College’s most recent addition to its collective “home” — the new Agricultural Sciences Building.

30 I nternational Service-Learning 32 Scholarship Support 34 O utstanding Faculty 36 Alumni Success 41 Q&A with Marlon Knights

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Snapshot

Students in the Landscape Architecture program embrace a new perspective as they collaborate with others on a community design project.

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Around the College

Honoring WVU’s Best JENNIFER SHEPHARD

West Virginia University honored Joginder “Jo” Nath, professor emeritus of genetics and developmental biology, with induction into the 2016 Order of Vandalia.

Nath, along with three other longtime WVU supporters, were inducted on June 4, 2016.

The WVU Order of Vandalia is WVU’s highest honor, recognizing tireless supporters of the University.

Appalachian Foodshed Project Cheryl Brown, associate professor of agricultural and resource economics, has been working with peers at Virginia Tech and North Carolina State on a more than $2 million project called the Appalachian Foodshed Project (AFP). The AFP, which concluded this year, was funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Healing Waters John Todd, a pioneer in the field of ecological design and engineering for nearly five decades, conducted this year's E. Lynn Miller Lecture in Landscape Architecture on April 28. His presentation covered everything from learning how to clean up toxic compounds threatening water tables and recycling purified sewage to solving problems of humanity.

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Thriving Under Pressure 2

Our wildlife and fisheries resources faculty members are thriving under pressure.

They were ranked ninth in research publications per faculty member in a recent benchmarking survey by Purdue University. Not only did the survey results place the WVU program ahead of peer institutions like Ohio State University, Virginia Tech and Penn State, but it ranked first among included Big 12 institutions. The survey examined several benchmarks — including number of publications produced and annual citation rates — for 437 faculty at 33 research-extensive universities belonging to the National Association of University Fisheries and Wildlife Programs.

NICHOLAS MORALES

The AFP focused on the following areas: the need for fresh produce by those in rural food deserts who have limited access to healthy foods; the potential for fruit and vegetable production in West Virginia; the potential economic impacts from increases in jobs and the agricultural economy; and the impact of farmers markets on emergency food systems.

Congratulations, Class of 2016

Maximizing Efficiency

On Friday, May 13, 2016, the WVU Davis College held its 147th Commencement ceremony, during which more than 300 graduates walked across the platform to receive their degrees.

In an effort to minimize the risks of adverse health effects, the Food and Drug Administration has proposed a set of standards with specific procedures and guidelines for safe growing, harvesting, packing, and storage of fresh produce intended for direct human consumption. Within those standards are regulations pertaining to microbial quality of irrigation water.

But, how economically efficient are those regulations?

J. Alison Brown, professor of biology at Wingate University and WVU Davis College alumna, presented the commencement address.

BRIAN PERSINGER

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With the help of a $400,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, Levan Elbakidze, assistant professor of agricultural and resource economics, will examine the economic efficiency of microbial irrigation water quality rules in terms of achieving desired food safety improvement at lowest cost to consumers and producers.

Looking in All Directions

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DAVID MAYES

Last semester, the WVU Davis College welcomed Prema Arasu as its inaugural Davis-Michael Distinguished Lecturer and keynote speaker for its annual graduate research conference.

Arasu, a leader in biomedical research, public policy and global health, is a professor of parasitology and infectious diseases at Kansas State University.

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Ray Marsh and Arthur Pingree Dye Professorship

Michael Gutensohn, assistant professor of horticulture, is fascinated by the scent of plants and how it can be used to better protect them from hostile insects.

WRITTEN BY LINDSAY WILLEY

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As a high school student in Germany, Michael Gutensohn’s interest in plant biology was cultivated by exceptional high school biology and chemistry teachers, as well as his parents who let him grow vegetables and fruits in a corner of the backyard.

That love and curiosity for understanding how plants work propelled him through college and two postdoctoral positions and is, ultimately, what continues to drive him as a professor and researcher at West Virginia University.

His tenacity was rewarded earlier this year when he was awarded the Ray Marsh and Arthur Pingree Dye Professorship, the first named professorship in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design Division of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Tom and Sue Tatterson, alumni and ardent supporters of the WVU Davis College, created the inaugural professorship which honors their favorite professors, the ones who aided in their education and guided them through their careers.

The five-year professorship seeks to advance teaching, research and service by providing a broad range of support to an outstanding faculty member in the College’s Division of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Among the newest faculty members in the division, Gutensohn was shocked to learn he would be the first recipient of the professorship.

“To be honest, in the first moment when I heard about it, I was quite overwhelmed,” he said. “I had not expected that I would be the first recipient, and I am sure each and all of my colleagues would deserve this award for their hard and good work. I feel very honored and I am sure this will help me to establish a productive research program over the next five years.”

His research centers on the biosynthesis, biological function and application of plant volatiles.

In other words, he's interested in the scent of flowers, the flavor of fruits and how they help attract pollinators and defend against pests.

“Plant volatiles are not only important for the scent of flowers or the flavor of fruits that we humans enjoy,” he said.

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“They are also very important for the attraction of pollinators which, in many crops, determine the yield and quality of fruits, as well as the defense of plants against pests by either repelling the pest or attracting enemies of the pest.”

Ultimately, Gutensohn wants to improve these volatiles so that farmers can produce good tasting fruits of high quality as well as crop plants that are better protected against pests, allowing them to be grown in more sustainable ways.

Given the relationships plants have with insects — both beneficial and harmful — Gutensohn knows it's important for him to take a collaborative approach to research.

That's why he's teamed up with Yong-Lak Park, associate professor of entomology, to explore ways to protect cultivated tomato plants from aphids — small, soft-bodied insects that suck sap from the plant stems.

While the aphids and their feeding practices are not necessarily dangerous to the plants, they do transmit viruses that can be detrimental.

“Cultivated tomatoes are the result of long lines of breeding," he said. "When you select genes for one thing you're inevitably counter-selecting for others. For a long time, breeding was focused on obtaining the best yields and other agro-economic traits, but wasn't necessarily targeted toward beneficial or antagonistic plant-insect interactions.”

Somewhere along the way, the traits that help protect the plants from pests like aphids have gotten lost in the breeding process.

In an effort to reintroduce them, Gutensohn is observing how wild tomato plants protect themselves from the insects.

“Wild plants are constantly under selection pressure,” he explained. “They have to maintain everything it takes to defend themselves. So, if you think about it, these plants are potentially a good source for finding these traits and then eventually bringing them back into cultivated plants.”

Wild tomato plants are chemically quite different with respect to their scents — especially on the leaf surface, which is an aphid’s initial point of contact with the plant.

His research methods include engineering the cultivated

BRIAN PERSINGER

̏ Plant volatiles are not only important for the scent of flowers or the flavor of fruits that we humans enjoy.

They are also very important for the attraction of pollinators.˝ - MICHAEL GUTENSOHN

Michael Gutensohn conducts his research on native tomato plants in the WVU Greenhouse.

an electronic penetration graph which utilizes a fine gold wire attached to the insect’s body with special glue.

A small voltage is applied to the plant via an electrode placed in the pot.

“When aphids penetrate the plant surface with their mouth, current will flow through the circuit and a series of waveforms are produced,” Park explained. “By measuring changes in resistance in the plant, the detailed feeding behavior inside the plant tissue can be monitored, and we will know where insects are feeding regarding the location of cells with terpenes.”

Although the information is useful immediately with respect to tomato plants, the potential long-term benefits to other crops are what is most important to the researchers.

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tomato plants by inserting specific terpenes, products of plant metabolism in the wild tomato plant, into different tissues or cell types within the plant parts.

Those plant tissues include trichomes, the abundant hairlike structures covering the plants, the first layer of cells, and the part of the plant’s vascular system that transports sugars.

“Something new we’re doing here is considering the feeding behavior of these insects,” he said. “We know they take time to orient themselves on the plant and probe plant tissues to see if the taste is suitable. By introducing these compounds into different places where they are tasting, will they become repelled or intoxicated, forcing the feeding to stop?”

That’s where Park’s expertise comes into play.

He’ll monitor the feeding behaviors of the aphids using

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Student Research

Joseph McFadden and a team of students spent the summer conducting research at DoVan Farms.

Rising to the Challenge WRITTEN BY LINDSAY WILLEY PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIAN PERSINGER

As someone who embodies the land-grant mission, Joseph McFadden understands the importance of conducting cutting-edge research and serving as a mentor for students.

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Joseph McFadden isn’t afraid of a challenge. When he came to West Virginia University in 2012, the assistant professor of biochemistry was well aware of the challenges he would face if he wanted to implement large-scale, competitive dairy science research projects.

At the time, WVU’s dairy herd consisted of only 45 cows.

With a keen interest in studying insulin resistance in dairy cows, McFadden wanted to ensure access to a large pool of cows for three reasons — having the ability to define distinct treatment groups, to identify appropriate experimental subjects and to ensure the completion of the experiment within a limited window of time.

McFadden set out to partner with a commercial farm that could provide the necessary animal resources.

He wrote letters. He made telephone calls — many of which went unreturned. The silence was almost deafening.

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That’s when DoVan Farms came into the picture.

A third-generation family farm in western Pennsylvania, DoVan Farms is comprised of over 1,000 acres of hay and corn. It’s also home to 700 dairy cows.

According to McFadden, the farm’s owners Dave and Connie Van Gilder were initially concerned about how the research would interfere with normal farm operations; however, the forward-thinking farmers were open to the idea, especially if it could ultimately benefit their cows and the farm as a whole.

As a researcher whose ultimate goal is to contribute discoveries that improve animal health and performance, that was music to McFadden’s ears.

“I have a lot of respect for the Van Gilder family, and I am most appreciative of their involvement,” he said. “Certainly, our intensive involvement could be seen as a potential risk for their herd production; I believe they recognize the potential value of acquiring new information that may improve their herd health and performance. I believe our relationship has lasted because it is built on open communication, mutual trust and creative problem-solving.”

Equal parts researcher and teacher, McFadden also saw this as the perfect opportunity to provide his students with intensive, hands-on research experience; however, with DoVan Farms located a little over 70 miles from WVU’s Morgantown campus, he knew he'd have to be strategic when setting up studies.

“Students are essential members of our research team,” he said. “Performing intensive metabolism research off-campus presents unique challenges that can only be managed by a dedicated group of talented and enthusiastic students.”

To overcome the logistical challenge, the most efficient solution was to set up the research projects to run from May to August. This would allow student researchers to live at the farm, provide daily care for the dairy cows, interact with dairy producers and manage all aspects of the research.

“For the past three years, the Van Gilders have given us free rein to take over part of the farm each summer,” McFadden said.

This summer's project was the result of a $500,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to investigate the mechanisms that cause insulin resistance in overweight dairy cows transitioning from gestation to lactation.

In addition to helping dairy farmers improve cow health by reducing incidents of metabolic disease, this research could also lead to a better understanding of type 2 diabetes in humans.

“To be able to study something that has a dual purpose is really special because we can combat problems that develop in humans and cows,” said McFadden.

“I have received a lot of positive feedback from the external community in response to what we are doing.”

For this particular project, McFadden provided research opportunities for 11 WVU students, including Amanda Davis, a Salem, West Virginia, native pursuing a doctoral degree in nutritional biochemistry.

As one of the project leaders, Davis said the role has helped her become a more decisive leader and afforded her

the opportunity to become a mentor. Those are all key qualities for someone who ultimately wants to become a teacher and competitive researcher.

She believes wholeheartedly in undergraduate research opportunities and knows those students participating in this project are extremely fortunate.

"They get to see everything involved in running a complex research project like this one including grant writing, finding a facility, developing experimental techniques, ordering supplies, finding volunteers or funding for undergraduate workers," she said.

Mary Clapham and Mary Coleman, students participating in the study, couldn't agree more.

For Mary Coleman, a senior animal and nutritional sciences major, participating in undergraduate research wasn’t initially on her - JOSEPH MCFADDEN radar; however, after some encouragement from her adviser, she approached McFadden about working in his lab.

“I kind of figured I’d work on one study and be done, which is funny to think about now,” she said. “A couple of the graduate students mentioned the opportunity to spend the summer at DoVan and Dr. McFadden helped me apply for a spot in WVU’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE). The rest, as they say, is history. I’m so thankful to Dr. McFadden and to SURE for the opportunity to be involved in such an amazing project.”

“ To be able to study something that has a dual purpose is really special because we can combat problems that develop in humans and cows.”

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Dignitaries from across the campus and state helped cut the ribbon during the dedication ceremony.

From ‘moving forward’ to ‘moving in’ WRITTEN BY NIKKY LUNA PHOTOGRAPHS BY M.G. ELLIS

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university further embraces the state of West Virginia and all the good things that we can contribute toward our shared future,” said Davis College Dean Daniel J. Robison.

West Virginia State Treasurer John Perdue, who is also chair of the Davis College Visiting Committee, acknowledged the role the new facility will fulfill in continuing to develop successful graduates.

“This is a very meaningful day for all of us,” he said. “I am in awe of this new facility. The opportunities it will afford its students will be bountiful.”

Also attending the ceremony were West Virginia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Walt Helmick; WVU Extension Service Dean and Director Steve Bonanno; the WVU Board of Governors and Chairman Tom Flaherty; and WVU Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Joyce McConnell.

This new addition to Evansdale Campus is part of WVU's multi-year $159.5 million building plan, approved in June 2011 by the WVU Board of Governors.

LINDSAY WILLEY

On Friday, September 9, 2016, the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design began a new chapter as it formally dedicated the new Agricultural Sciences Building.

“The new Agricultural Sciences Building and the revitalized Evansdale Campus are ushering in a new era,” President E. Gordon Gee told the more than 300 students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends gathered for the ceremony. “It is an era of cutting-edge learning and discovery for 21st century Mountaineers. And, true to our land-grant heritage, it is an era of redoubled service to West Virginia and the world.”

The special occasion was marked by a ribbon-cutting and the inclusion of live music, provided by Davis College alumnus Nat Frederick, food, and building demonstrations and tours.

“This new building, which is truly state-of-the-art and, without a doubt, the most advanced academic building of its kind, is a historic turning point toward the future of food, clothing and shelter – the fundamentals of life – as the

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“ The new Agricultural Sciences Building and the revitalized Evansdale Campus are ushering in a new era.

It is an era of cutting-edge learning and discovery for 21st century Mountaineers.�

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- PRESIDENT E. GORDON GEE

he new facility is a five-story building with 207,000 T gross square feet located adjacent to the site of the original Agricultural Sciences Building that was completed in 1961. It has an unfinished space of 11,000 square feet for future completion.

29 x 16 = 460

The New Agricultural Sciences Building

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While nearly all students in the Davis College will attend classes, labs or participate in other programs in the new building, the facility primarily houses the School of Agriculture and Food; programs from the School of Design and Community Development; programs from the School of Natural Resources; specialists and staff in the WVU Extension Service Agriculture and Natural Resources Unit; and the Administration offices.

Customized finishing touches throughout the building include a handmade quilt hung on the wall of the main lobby and custom wood furniture. The quilt was made by interior design alumna Pamela Mann and the furniture was provided by Gat Creek, a West Virginia-based furniture manufacturer that works exclusively with locally sourced domestic hardwoods.

Building architect: HOK, a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm.

Building contractor: PJ Dick, a construction company headquartered in Pittsburgh.

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WVU Design and Construction continues to oversee the overall scope of the project as many of the final details are completed.

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Construction was completed earlier this summer, and faculty, staff and students began occupying the space in August 2016.

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The nearly 12 million acres of green, lush forests in West Virginia provide more than a scenic backdrop for tourism magazines and wedding photos – more than $4 billion in economic impact from timber alone, as a matter of fact.

Richard (Dick) and Floyd Bowlby want to figure out how to turn water into wine, or in the case of West Virginia’s timberland, turn poor-quality hardwoods and waste products left behind after logging into cash and increase the timber industry’s economic impact.

Hardwood Research Trust adds value to timber industry

WRITTEN BY JULIE CRYSER

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JENNIFER SHEPHARD

“We have a tremendous resource out here, and if you can increase the value of it, it will impact everyone in the state,” Dick Bowlby said.

So in 2011, the Bowlbys invested more than a half million dollars, matched by the West Virginia Research Trust Fund made available by the West Virginia Legislature, to develop the Hardwood Research Trust in the WVU Davis College School of Natural Resources. At just over $1 million, the funds, invested through the WVU Foundation and State, produce about $40,000 annually for hardwood research. And now the Bowlbys are hopeful that other timber industry leaders will make additional investments in hardwood research through the trust.

While forestry has always been a part of West Virginia’s natural resource economy, the downturn in the economy in 2008 and 2009 hit the wood manufacturing industry hard.

The Hardwood Research Trust (HRT) is aimed at finding innovative ways to improve the value of poor-quality Appalachian hardwoods and give industry a place to bring problems and together — with WVU researchers — develop solutions.

And the HRT also wants to find ways to keep the industry chugging along, even in economic downturns.

That’s where the Bowlbys see opportunity in hardwood waste and low-quality timber.

Due to species mix and market demand, West Virginia has a large volume of timber that has little or no value. Hardwood forest products are continuing to lose market share to plastic in housing products, such as molding and flooring, and industrial products, such as pallets.

“We’re losing markets if you look around,” Dick Bowlby said, pointing to more and more plastic products, such as architectural wood work and flooring in the fast food industry, made to look like wood.

At the same time, West Virginia is growing more timber every year. In 1949 timber stocks were 18 billion board feet. Today timber stocks are

“ WE NEED WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY TO HELP LEAD THE WAY IN ESTABLISHING WAYS TO IMPROVE THE VALUE OF APPALACHIAN HARDWOOD TIMBER.” — Floyd Bowlby more than 76 billion board feet.

And timber is West Virginia’s only renewable natural resource.

“There’s a lot of timber just left in the woods,” said Floyd Bowlby. “Lowgrade timber won’t pay for its way out of the woods. It’s a tremendous resource we’re leaving out there.

Loggers, sawmills and especially us as land owners will all benefit if we find other markets for this waste.”

Dick and Floyd know the industry like the backs of their hands. Dick graduated from WVU as a forester in 1950. Floyd graduated from WVU with a forestry degree and a master’s in business administration in 1982 but has worked with his father in the industry for most of his career.

Dick helped to build Burke, Parsons & Bowlby, which went public in 1970, selling cribbing blocks, roof caps, wedges and other treated timber, mostly for the mining industry. The

company experienced tremendous growth, diversifying into railroad ties and timbers, fence post and wood highway materials. They built six plants in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky, as well as one in Chile. Stella-Jones, a Canadian and European company that produces railroad ties and timbers and utility poles, acquired the company in 2008 Dick saw firsthand the importance of research on the timber industry when, about 20 years ago, many railroads were turning to concrete to replace wood railroad ties in highdecay areas. Research conducted at Mississippi State to treat the ties with borate increased the life of wooden crossties by nearly 50 percent, bringing the industry back to purchasing hardwood crossties.

“We would really be hurting without the crosstie business in West Virginia,” said Dick Bowlby, whose family owns

Dick and Floyd Bowlby standing in their family-owned hardwood forest in Roane County, West Virginia.

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“ WHILE WEST VIRGINIA'S FORESTS ARE STILL PRODUCING MORE WOOD THAN IS REMOVED, SOME LESS-DESIRABLE SPECIES ARE BECOMING MORE COMMON."

Under the direction of Jamie Schuler, students collect diameter growth data in the WVU Research Forest.

— Jamie Schuler

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more than 6,000 acres and leases another 1,000 acres of timberland in the state. West Virginia sells about 1 million crossties annually.

But historically, in West Virginia, the wood manufacturing industry has never been good at getting together to find new markets or to work together to find ways to improve the economic outlook for timber, the two contend.

“The fragmentation of our forest products industry has led to very little research and breakthroughs of highvalue hardwood timber products in the past,” Floyd Bowlby said. “We need West Virginia University to help lead the way in establishing ways to improve the value of Appalachian hardwood timber.”

The HRT began its research in 2013 and has examined the market potential and acceptance of low-value, low quality, Appalachian hardwoods in the manufacturing of cross-laminated timbers (CLT) in the Appalachian region. Dave

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DeVallance, a WVU associate professor of wood science and technology, is leading the CLT research team.

“CLTs have the potential to completely change residential and commercial building practices and can be made using low-grade Appalachian hardwoods. The HRT has allowed us to develop and build the newest and largest CLT press in the eastern United States and will put WVU at the forefront of CLT research and development,” said Shawn Grushecky.

The HRT is administered by Grushecky, a WVU School of Natural Resources research associate and assistant director of the Appalachian Hardwood Center. The Center actively manages the HRT by developing partnerships between WVU researchers and industry partners.

“The HRT provides a wonderful opportunity to quickly develop research collaborations between natural resourcebased businesses and WVU researchers,”

Grushecky said. “Many times, it becomes difficult for WVU researchers to completely understand what is needed in the industrial sector. The HRT forces significant interaction between them and those producing the wood products used by consumers.”

The HRT also allows funding risk to be reduced. Projects supported by the HRT might not make it through traditional government channels because of their risk but can be supported by the HRT. The HRT represents a tremendous opportunity in this regard, Grushecky said.

In 2014, the HRT partnered with Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Incorporated (AHMI) to further each group’s research agenda. The funding for the project is being used to collect data on already installed woodlots to determine the impact of fertilizers on those stocks. AHMI put in about $10,000 on the project, which was matched by the trust.

M.G. ELLIS

Students in the WVU School of Natural Resources researching traditional filter sock medium specifications to control sediment transport.

is removed, some less-desirable species are becoming more common.

The state’s forest-wide census data show that non-oaks are accounting for greater proportions of the total volume growth and are more common in the smaller diameter classes, which indicates a possible shift in species composition as oaks are harvested,” he said.

A strength of this program is the forest industry collaboration, Schuler said. Undergraduate and graduate students working on these projects understand and appreciate the fact that these research activities are providing solutions that forest landowners and wood processing companies can use to sustainably manage our forest resources and maximize the benefits obtained from them.

“Without support from the HRT, funding for these applied research projects would be difficult to obtain,”

Schuler added. “Furthermore, the HRT funds have been used to leverage existing funding and garner additional matching funds from other forest industry-focused associations.”

Just this year, Noble Energy invested $25,000 to match $25,000 from the HRT to help with a research project to develop an understanding of traditional filter sock medium specifications and to compare the effectiveness of woods-run material versus traditionally composted wood chips in controlling sediment transport.

They also want to examine if industries would be willing to use woods-run material in filter socks, especially around deep shale drilling operations.

“These projects and others will continue generating research opportunities for WVU, as well as leading to economic opportunities for the state of West Virginia,” Floyd Bowlby said.

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“My project focuses on regeneration potential of seedlings following harvesting,” said Jamie Schuler, an assistant professor in silviculture.

“In many cases, low-value species outcompete seedlings of desirable species. The intent of this project is to assess whether easily applied treatments — fertilization and weed control — to individual seedlings can improve their probabilities of long-term growth and survival.”

Although the HRT is a relatively new program, it has tremendous potential to improve the quality and value of Appalachian hardwoods in the state, Schuler said. West Virginia is a major contributor to the forest products industry. Funding from the HRT is used to address questions related to using this resource in a sustainable and efficient manner, he added.

“While West Virginia’s forests are still producing more wood than

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WRITTEN BY NIKKY LUNA

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For Bradley Knox, former United States Marine Corps corporal and recent graduate of West Virginia University, hope was running out.

“I had written off the possibility of any human helping me. And I didn’t think an animal would come close to being able to help me,” said Knox, when asked about his early expectations of the service dog training program, coordinated by Hearts of Gold and the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.

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" THE BEST FEELING I GOT WAS WHEN I REALIZED THAT IT WAS MY PRESENCE – IT WAS ME – THAT BECAME THE REWARD AFTER AWHILE." - BRADLEY KNOX

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SCOTT LITUCHY

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JENNIFER SHEPHARD

Knox, who graduated in December 2015 from the WVU Regents Bachelor of Arts program, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after fulfilling his four-year active duty contract that included deployments to Afghanistan in 2008 and 2010.

“I learned about the service dog training program through a friend,” Knox explained.

“She knew I was in the military and not having the best time dealing with it.”

From volatile sleep patterns caused by nightmares to feeling paralyzed by stress and anxiety in a crowded supermarket, the manifestation of Knox’s

PTSD symptoms, which he had been experiencing for more than half a year, had reached its peak.

“I’d be in a grocery store just holding my breath, anticipating some goof ball doing something that would harm me,” he described. “I’d just stop and leave the cart – a half-full cart. I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I quit.’”

Knox also suffered from physiological symptoms.

“For about eight months, my eye was constantly twitching,” he said. “From the time I’d wake up in the morning, it would start twitching and never stop.”

“ WE LIKE TO LET STUDENT-VETERANS KNOW THAT THEY CAN COME TO WVU, PARTICIPATE IN THE COURSE AND TRAIN A DOG, AND POTENTIALLY WALK AWAY WITH THAT SAME DOG.” FAL L 2 0 1 6

- JEAN MEADE

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After months of trying to cope with these life-disrupting symptoms, Knox had reached the point of surrender.

“I didn’t think there was anything that was going to stop this,” he said. “It was about that time that I started thinking, ‘maybe prescription drugs were going to be the answer.”

But that was not a route Knox wanted to take. And fortunately, he wouldn’t have to.

After learning about the program, Knox met with Jean Meade and Lindsay Parenti. Meade is an adjunct professor of animal and nutritional sciences in the WVU Davis College and co-founder of the Human-Animal Bond, the nonprofit that facilitates the Hearts of Gold program through WVU. Parenti serves as director of program operations for Hearts of Gold and is a board certified behavior analyst in the WVU Davis College.

They convinced him to give the program a chance and paired him up with Dally, a German shepherd going through the service dog training program

Bradley and Dally at their home in Richmond, Virginia.

SCOTT LITUCHY JENNIFER SHEPHARD

Students working with their four-legged classmates in the service dog training facility.

GUNNER BREED: Golden Retriever GRAD DATE: August 2017

ABBEY BREED: Great Pyrenees/ Lab Mix GRAD DATE: Anytime now

LADY BREED: German Shepherd GRAD DATE: Released due to medical reasons

SASHA BREED: Boxer/Lab Mix GRAD DATE: July 2016

RYDER BREED: Great Pyrenees/ Lab Mix GRAD DATE: August 2017

LIBBY BREED: Golden Retriever GRAD DATE: Anytime now

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at the time. Their training together would not only open Knox’s eyes to the potential impact a service dog could have on his life, but it would also expedite a potentially lengthy process required to get a service dog.

“A veteran who needs a service dog can be on a wait-list for up two years, on average,” said Meade. “So we like to let student-veterans know that they can come to WVU, participate in the course and train a dog, and potentially walk away with that same dog.”

This outcome is among many other valuable incentives of the program and one that was not anticipated when Meade first integrated the course into the WVU pre-veterinarian program nearly 10 years ago. At that time, her focus was primarily on addressing curricular needs.

“I saw the need for preveterinary students to have a handson canine course,” Meade said.

“Additionally, I wanted to address an area that is a deficit in veterinary training – animal behavior.”

The service dog training program evolved, advancing through research collaborations with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and expanding through critical financial support from organizations like the William F. and Lynn D. Gauss Foundation and SneeReinhardt Charitable Foundation.

The program currently consists of three courses in the WVU Davis College — an introductory course followed by two advanced courses.

Knox enrolled in an introductory course during the summer 2014 semester. His strong ability as a trainer and the fast-forming connection between he and Dally solidified the decision to pair her with him.

“They worked really well together from the start,” said Parenti. “The improvement in Dally’s general behavior after being placed with Bradley was astounding. Before Bradley came into the picture, Dally had issues with other dogs, but after he started working with her, those issues disappeared.”

MEET THE MUTTS

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“ PROVIDING A SERVICE DOG TO VETERANS WITH PTSD GIVES THEM SOME HOPE BY GIVING THEM SOMETHING THAT DEPENDS ON THEM EVERY DAY. "

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- LINDSAY PARENTI

20

SCOTT LITUCHY

The strong bond between the two was apparent.

“I remember seeing the connection they had every time I saw them together,” Parenti recalled. “Dally would just gaze at him constantly. She looked at him as if he were her entire world.”

Knox soon learned that he had, indeed, become her entire world, and that realization began to reshape his own world.

As he continued to work with her, Knox began to realize that Dally actually wanted to listen to him. It wasn’t just about earning treats as a reward for obedience. Rather, she wanted to listen to him because she wanted to make him happy. And making him happy meant that she would earn the ultimate reward: his companionship.

“The best feeling I got was when I realized that it was my presence — it was me — that became the reward after awhile,” he said. “My playing with her and giving her attention was the treat.”

About midway through the course, Knox started taking Dally home with him, and it was from that point on when he could really see the difference in her behaviors — and his.

"The first big change in me that I noticed was that I was sleeping better,” Knox recalled, adding, with a chuckle, “I was probably looking a little healthier, too.”

Another area where Knox noticed a dramatic change in his behavior was in public.

“Going out in public to really heavily trafficked stores is where she is most beneficial,” Knox said. “I’m no longer concerned with what other people are doing; before, I was overwhelmed with everybody around me.”

Knox also noted that about a month after having Dally, his eye stopped twitching.

STRENGTHENING THE PROGRAM

The majority of the training takes place in the service dog training facility located on the WVU Davis College Animal Sciences Farm in Morgantown. In 2015, a grant from the William F. and Lynn D. Gauss Foundation, combined with the work of many volunteers, made facility upgrades possible.

Later that year, a grant from the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation provided funding to support the purchase of five service dogs.

In terms of Dally’s behavior, the few “bad habits” she had – like chewing up her toys when Knox would leave the house and playfully biting him when he would return — started to diminish after she realized that her home was now with Knox and his fiancée Launa.

“A lot of her behaviors that weren’t so acceptable of a service dog started to subside,” Knox said. “It was very apparent that it was me she was always waiting for. She was always wanting to appease me and make sure that I was happy. And I only wanted to make sure she was happy.”

This codependence is one of the reasons why a service dog can have such a transformative impact on the life of a veteran who has PTSD. “Providing a service dog to veterans with PTSD gives them some hope by giving them something that depends on them every day,” said Parenti. “I think it also provides some of the structure that became so ingrained in them from the military, so this helps them transition back to civilian life.”

Thanks to Dally and the unique bond she shares with Knox, transitioning back into civilian life has become much easier for him.

“She makes me feel like I have someone — a support group — that cares about me,” said Knox. “There’s a bond there … I trust her.”

In addition to their unique bond, Knox credits their reciprocal relationship as being at the heart of why he has benefited so much from this experience.

“Dally depends on me, and it’s in this codependence where she provides the service without even knowing she’s doing it.”

VETERANS TO VETERANS

In 2013, WVU and Hearts of Gold partnered with the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Morgantown, to create the Veterans to Veterans Dog Program, an outreach initiative that gives veteran inmates the chance to train service dogs for other veterans with PTSD. To date, more than 60 veteran inmates have participated, in some tangible way, in the program. For trainers, the dogs live with them 24/7.

WVU THERAPY DOGS

In addition to placing service dogs with veterans, the program also produces therapy dogs that serve WVU students.

Over the past few years, therapy dogs have been placed in the following areas at WVU: the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources; College of Business and Economics; College of Education and Human Resources; Honors College; Reed College of Media; and WELLWVU’s Students’ Center of Health.

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THE SHARPIE CONCEPT

R WRITTEN BY NIKKY LUNA

For landscape architecture majors Rachel Dapper and Zack Grossl, the motto below is more than just a proverbial affirmation, it’s now an application in their approach to design.

Dapper and Grossl, both juniors in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, have recently learned to embrace this concept thanks to a collaborative, servicelearning experience and an opportunity to reshape the landscape for one of West Virginia’s most widely visited events, the State Fair of West Virginia.

"Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. beginning makes the conditions perfect."

- alan cohen

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Inviting a fresh perspective

During the spring 2016 semester, the WVU Davis College landscape architecture program was invited to assist with the design process of a newly established main entrance for the State Fair, located in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

“It’s great to have fresh ideas,” said Kelly Collins, chief executive officer of the State Fair of West Virginia. “Those of us who work for the State Fair see the grounds all the time, and, although we sometimes joke about it, it really is tough to come up with creative ideas when you’re staring at the same area day after day.”

The specific area Collins references is a 1.3-acre site alongside U.S. 219 South that serves as the State Fair’s main entryway. Just last year, the State Fair celebrated the grand opening of the space – an area that became more defined with the completion of a much-needed pedestrian tunnel that now leads visitors under the highway. The new entryway was dedicated as the future site of “Tomblin Plaza,” honoring West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, who was instrumental in advancing the project.

As the Board of Directors for the State Fair of West Virginia tried to envision how the space could be best used, they knew it ultimately needed to epitomize the unique spirit of West Virginia.

“Given that this is the site of our annual State Fair, we wanted to ensure this space reflects the state’s values, traditions and character,” Collins said. “And equally important was creating an area that would be functional, yet a comfortable and welcoming place for our fairgoers.”

Taking a participatory approach

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To answer the challenge of designing a space that would meaningfully characterize the state and address practical issues such as circulation, event choreography and service areas, Peter Butler, associate professor of landscape architecture, organized an on-campus, student-alumni charrette.

“Our goal was to enable the State Fair Board to think more broadly about the potential uses of that space,” Butler said. “When you have a community group that’s working to create the best possible plan for a space, they may not have the skills to illustrate their ideas.”

“So that’s one of the goals of the charrette,” continued Butler, “for us, as landscape architects – both practitioners and students – to bring our ideas together, resulting in various design concepts that can then be used to inspire the overall plan.”

In addition to contributing to the overall master design, the charrette gave student participants the opportunity to engage in a real-world experience.

“In a studio setting, we’ll spend up to six weeks on a project, rigorously going through the different elements of the process and various iterations,” said Butler. “So getting our students — especially the sophomores, who have never experienced this before — working on a team alongside a practitioner, who is also an alum of the program, is an invaluable part of the process. It forces them to draw a design quickly, just as they might have to for a client.”

Dapper and Grossl wholeheartedly agree.

“The project was especially interesting because of the input of our alumni,” said Dapper. “We divided into four teams, then each team was paired with an alum. We all just sat down and got to work immediately. Our group’s sketch only took about an hour – no upfront work, we just came in with our ideas and started putting them on paper.”

Grossl, who was on a separate team from Dapper, experienced a similar outcome.

“It was really eye-opening to see how professionals worked,” he said. “They weren’t trying to hardline anything.

They would just get all the ideas on paper first, and then work on refining them.”

This new approach to the design process has enhanced Grossl’s skills and strengthened his ability to more fully develop his design concepts.

“I could always come up with a basic idea, but I could never push it to the next level very quickly,” he said. “I loved the way we just put every little idea out on the table, too – no holding back.”

Embracing the "sharpie concept"

In addition to not holding back, the process also trained student participants not to worry about making mistakes during the process.

“When I used to come up with ideas, I’d carefully sketch them out using a pencil and piece of paper,” said Grossl.

The professionals took a much different approach.

“They would take a sharpie, a piece of trace paper, and just start putting their ideas out there,” Grossl said. “The alum we worked with, Rob – he would take his Sharpie and, sometimes, draw a line, then look at it and say, ‘nope!’ and would just draw another one right over top.”

The uninhibited feeling that comes from working with an inerasable tool is inexplicable, but effective.

“It’s hard to explain, but it really helped the ideas flow better using a Sharpie,” said Grossl.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

Students in the LA Design 251 Studio working alongside alumni during the spring charrette.

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Focusing on one centralized thought

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WVU alumnus Rob Dinsmore, landscape architect at Chapman Technical Group in St. Albans, West Virginia, could readily see the shift in the students’ approach to the design process as the charrette progressed. Contributing to that shift was his inquisitive approach that encouraged them to stay focused on the client’s needs.

“When we first started looking at their design concepts, I would point out good ideas right away and then ask, ‘what component from the project scope drove this design decision?’” said Dinsmore.

“Once we started evaluating their design concepts based on that centralized thought, the students really started rolling and came up with some great ideas,” he said. “From my

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end, that was pretty cool to see their thought process evolve.”

Dapper is confident the charrette brought forth her best ideas.

“Normally, when I spend a long time thinking about a design, the idea just gets more muddled in my head,” she said. “I know we couldn’t have done this project as well or as quickly without that experience.”

Enhancing the state through service-learning

After the teams submitted the design concepts to the State Fair Board of Directors, it was evident that the work put into the charrette was a worthwhile investment of time and talent.

“The four different designs actually opened our eyes to new ways of accomplishing some very specific

objectives we have for this area,” said Jerry Cook, chairman of the State Fair Board.

A customized seating area, which made use of a previously underutilized space; a unique water feature; a pedestrian walkway with pavers; and an overall state park theme are among the student design concepts that have been incorporated into Tomblin Plaza.

“The function of our student designs was to help the State Fair Board think more broadly about the potential uses of this unique space,” said Butler. “I feel like our students and alumni successfully fulfilled their role, and we are excited to see the State Fair move forward so quickly in developing – what we hope will be – a really great space for the State of Fair of West Virginia and the many other events hosted on that site.”

DESIGN PROJECT BOARD: LA 251, A SERVICE-LEARNING COURSE CONCEPT STATEMENT The students who worked on this project were enrolled in a second-year landscape architecture (LA) course for sophomores.

The class, LA 251, is a designated service-learning course.

SPRING 2016 CHARRETTE ELEMENTS: THE WVU ALUMNI PARTICIPANTS

Service-learning and community design work are curriculum cornerstones within the WVU LA program. Engaged scholarship and working with community members or organizations that may lack the financial capacity to hire professional landscape architects give WVU LA students an opportunity to fulfill an important role.

ob Dinsmore ’10 R Chapman Technical Group Saint Albans, W.Va. M. Juliana Lloreda ’13 Mills Group Morgantown, W.Va.

As a land-grant institution, West Virginia University continually seeks ways to serve the community through service-learning.

Colin McCardle ’14 Triad Engineering Morgantown, W.Va.

PERSPECTIVE 1: RACHEL DAPPER

Dapper is a first-generation college student from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, who initially started out majoring in engineering at WVU. In her opinion, the most valuable thing about the WVU LA program is the faculty. “I can walk into any one of our faculty offices and have a 10-minute conversation with any of them. The people in the program are really close-knit, and that’s definitely special at a big university.”

Cassidy Michaux ’13 LandDesign Washington, D.C. Chris Young ’14 LandDesign Washington, D.C.

THE WVU DAVIS COLLEGE PARTICIPANTS

PERSPECTIVE 2: ZACK GROSSL

Following the advice of his mom and sister, he started out in pre-pharmacy, but after realizing pretty quickly that chemistry wasn’t his thing, Grossl came across the landscape architecture program online. It piqued his interest, so he did some research, met with Professor Butler, and was enrolled in the program by the spring of his freshman year. As a Greenbrier County native, Grossl felt particularly connected to the Tomblin Plaza project.

LA Design 251 Studio (29 undergraduate students, plus several graduate students) Peter Butler Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Shan Jiang Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture

PERSPECTIVE 3: THE STATE FAIR OF WEST VIRGINIA

Lisa Orr Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture

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MATTHEW SCARFO

tefania Staniscia S Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture

The 92nd annual State Fair of West Virginia was held August 12-21, 2016, during which the new Tomblin Plaza was dedicated. The organization also has a State Governor-appointed Advisory Board, of which WVU Davis College Dean Daniel Robison is a member. Pictured here is one of the design concepts proposed by WVU landscape architecture students - a raised seating area, made complete by rocking chairs and picnic tables.

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Study Abroad

Growing a Partnership WRITTEN BY MIKENNA PIEROTTI

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In less than three years, this groundbreaking exchange program between WVU and the Universidad Nacional de Asuncion in Paraguay has already transformed lives. And it’s only just begun.

For Gerard D'Souza, director of the Division of Resource Economics and Management and professor of agricultural and resource economics in the Davis College, Paraguay, a small, landlocked country tucked between Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia in the heart of South America, was more of a vague idea than a physical place he could imagine himself in. “For me it was one of those faraway places I heard about but had no idea what it would really be like,” he said.

But when he arrived in the capital of Asuncion in October 2013 to give

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a series of lectures at the Universidad Nacional de Asuncion (UNA) as part of the Fulbright Senior Specialist program, the little nation quickly came into vibrant, transformative focus.

“The region is picturesque and full of natural wonders like the Iguazu Falls, which are even bigger and more impressive than Niagara Falls.

And there are beautiful rivers and mountains. Even so, the people have a saying that there’s not much to see in Paraguay, but there’s a lot to feel. They really live that example,” D’Souza said.

Although Paraguay just recently emerged from military rule with the fair and free election of their first civilian president in 1993, the country seemed poised to take on a new role in the region.

“It’s a young country, but the people are so warm and inviting. They treated me

like a rock star. They held native dances for me. I had my own translator. Being in a country where I knew absolutely no one — that made a huge difference. It ended up being one of the best professional and personal experiences of my life.”

After just 15 days in Paraguay, during which D’Souza lectured on everything from economics to sustainability, he returned to WVU with the seed of an idea already planted in his mind. The friends and connections he made there soon manifested into a mission to create a new partnership, an invaluable exchange of ideas and people between the two universities.

“The timing was right and the chemistry was right. They have a great thirst for knowledge and new ideas.

When I lectured there, I introduced the idea of Paraguay becoming the renewable energy capital of the Americas by 2020. They liked that idea so much, I started investigating a faculty and student exchange program.”

D’Souza contacted the WVU Office of International Programs to get the ball rolling. And by June 2014 a group of scholars from Paraguay arrived to finalize a Memorandum of Understanding between WVU and the national university in Asuncion. A year later, in March 2015,

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

George Lies, grants administrator in the Office of International Programs, and D’Souza worked together to write a grant proposal for the program. That proposal would win WVU a $24,888 award for Innovative Ventures for Student Mobility in the Americas, part of President Obama’s 100,000 Strong in the Americas program, an education initiative that aims to exchange 100,000 students between the U.S. and Latin American universities by 2020.

Since then, 19 WVU and UNA students have become part of the program. Each group lives with host families, visits with university faculty, sits in on lectures, and participates in unique cultural activities and

“ Working with the Paraguayan ambassador, we’re trying to lay the groundwork for more research in areas like energy and healthcare.” sightseeing. And there have been numerous faculty exchange visits and visits by administration to develop curricular and cultural activities both for WVU students who study abroad in Paraguay and students from UNA who come to WVU. Research, Lies said, is another long-term goal.

“Working with the Paraguayan ambassador, we’re trying to lay the groundwork for more research in areas like energy and healthcare. We’re working toward more exchange of faculty and graduate students,” Lies said.

WVU faculty of health sciences and world languages have also visited Asuncion to plan a long-term collaboration. D’Souza said, seeing the life-changing experiences students and faculty get from exploring and becoming immersed in another country and culture are one of the biggest payoffs of his efforts. And he has big hopes for expanding the program’s reach.

His current goal is to increase the number of students participating and the length of their stays. “I would like to see our students going down there for semesterlong study — at least 10 a year from WVU and 10 Paraguayan students coming here.”

CTOBER 2013 O Gerard D’Souza, professor of agricultural and resource economics, visits the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (UNA) in Paraguay as part of the Fulbright Scholar Specialist award program.

J UNE 2014 Scholars from Asunción visit WVU. WVU signs a Memorandum of Understanding with UNA to begin an exchange program.

ARCH 2015 M D’Souza and George Lies, grants administrator in International Programs, develop a grant proposal for the program.

PRIL-MAY 2015 A Davis College and International Programs win a grant under the 100,000 Strong in the Americas program, funding a new project titled Innovative Ventures for Student Mobility in the Americas.

OVEMBER 2015 N First four WVU students visit UNA and five Paraguayan students from UNA visit WVU. Among the WVU students is Aisury Vasquez.

ARCH 2016 M German Rojas, Paraguay’s ambassador to the United States, and Leslie Bassett, the U.S. ambassador to Paraguay, visit WVU. And six UNA students visit WVU for two weeks.

PRIL 2016 A First WVU Health Sciences Center medical rotation of four students to Paraguay.

AY 2016 M Six Paraguayan exchange students visit WVU for nine days.

EPTEMBER 2016 S Aisury Vasquez returns to Paraguay as part of the Peace Corps Master’s program at WVU. She will be a farm management extensionist in Paraguay for 27 months, helping small farmers raise their standard of living.

ND OF YEAR E Three more WVU students will visit Paraguay. Plans to send a WVU team to Asuncion in 2017 and to develop faculty-led cultural and language programs for 2017 and 2018 are being discussed.

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Although currently the grant only funds short-term exchanges, Lies said the long-term goal is to inspire even more immersive, in-depth exchanges for both students and faculty. “We used the short-term approach to show students in both locations what the other place had to offer, and to encourage longterm semester exchanges under the agreement,” he said.

Students like Aisury Vasquez, who traveled to Paraguay with the first cohort in November 2015 as a graduate coordinator assisting D’Souza and fell in love with the country so completely she decided to return to Paraguay as part of the WVU Peace Corps Master’s International program, a professional science master’s degree in sustainable forestry and natural resource management, in September 2016.

“My first experience in Paraguay was beyond fantastic. I was able to stay with UNA professor Lidia Rosa and her family.

This allowed me to explore Paraguayan culture on a deeper level. I want to explore more of the countryside, get to know the people and help a community in any way I am able,” she said.

As a farm management extensionist, Vasquez will be working with farm families in Paraguay on everything from soil and natural resource management to income generation and assurance of food availability. “I will identify their needs and assist them in creating permanent programs that can live on after my two years are up.”

And she will act as something of a guide, an inspiration, to U.S. and WVU students who arrive for their own Paraguayan journeys. “My hope is that with already-made connections, I’ll be better able to serve my Peace Corps community as well as be a connecting point for students traveling from WVU to UNA in the future,” she said. “Not many people have the opportunity I have been given. I want to learn as much from my host community as they learn from me.”

The Road to Partnership

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International Service-Learning

WRITTEN BY MIKENNA PIEROTTI

An Educational Journey Add 2,305 miles, a handful of young people, two island nations and 16 days immersed in a new culture and what do you get?

The opportunity for students to grow as global citizens.

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The back of Paw Prints Veterinary Clinic in Morgantown is full to bursting on this early summer day in 2016. A handful of students in scrubs, a pair of graduate students and a gaggle of veterinary technicians and assistants are looking on as George Seiler, managing veterinarian at the clinic, demonstrates how to sedate and intubate a young female dog who’s about to be spayed. Some of the students are giggling nervously, but most are riveted to this very handson lesson.

“For most of these students, this is the first time they’ve been involved in a spay or neuter procedure,” said veterinary technician Carly Protzman. A moment later, Seiler asks several students to assist. A few brave hands shoot up.

None of the undergraduate students will take part in the actual surgery, which happens in an adjoining surgical room.

But the experience of assisting — and getting outside their comfort zones — will serve them well this summer, when they embark on a service-learning experience where they will be volunteering at a spay and neuter clinic, among many other experiences, more than 2,300 miles away in the Caribbean.

Taylor Rhodes, Gabbrial Conley, Kelsey VanSickle and Curtis Patton — a graduate of the agribusiness management and rural development program, a forest resources management major, an agriculture and extension education major, and an animal and nutritional sciences major — are preparing to spend 16 days in Trinidad and Tobago learning new cultures, exploring an exotic landscape and, of course, experiencing animal medicine and agricultural business practices abroad. “I’m just looking forward to the whole thing. I want to see and do everything I can,” Rhodes said.

Marlon Knights, associate professor of animal and nutritional sciences and a native of Trinidad, oversees the students’ prep work at the local vet’s office. “One thing I always stress to my students is that I believe research should always have a positive impact. It’s one thing to discover something, but how will it translate into helping someone?”

Knights will not only be chaperoning these students on their summer excursion to the Caribbean, he will be leading their entire experiential education — along with animal physiology graduate student Ashleigh Nabers — as he has since the program’s beginnings in 2012. “I began this trip partly as a way of reconnecting and maintaining my connection to my home. I wanted to bring what I learned back to my colleagues there and share their knowledge with my students.”

It started as a service trip with just a few students, but it has since evolved into a study abroad program tailored

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to pre-vet students and animal science majors — a program that offers students invaluable cultural as well as hands-on education. “Study-abroad courses increase our students’ knowledge of the world and their ability to communicate and work among diverse populations, stimulates the development of new business or development ideas, [and] enhances students’ awareness of global issues and their ability to compete globally,” Knights says.

Knights’ study-abroad, service-based course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience with everything from animal health and disease to service learning and development activities. In past years, students have visited governmental and non-governmental farms and zoos; accompanied government and university veterinary and health professionals on service calls; participated in farm tours and student practical exercises; and taken in local culture on the islands’ famous beaches and historical sites.

Service-learning opportunities during the trip run the gamut, from book drives in rural communities to environmental enhancement projects.

In 2016, after a significant amount of preparation, this handful of students embarked on their Trinidad and Tobago study abroad experience and came back with a wealth of knowledge. The students’ itinerary included everything from a behind-the-scenes zoo experience to a visit at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary. For Kelsey VanSickle, assisting in a local spay/ neuter clinic was one of her most memorable experiences.

But interacting with the people also gave her a completely new perspective.

As for the trip overall, she would recommend it to any student with a passion for animals and a desire to experience other cultures. “My advice to students considering going on the trip would be to do everything you can. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful landscapes, experiencing the culture and trying new things. It was a wonderful experience.”

“My favorite part of the trip was really getting to experience the Trinidadian culture, the people there, and of course the food,” says graduate student Nabers. She will never forget how quickly she felt welcomed by the people she met. “The biggest lesson I learned is that people, wherever they are in the world, have the same basic needs, and that based on location, some of those needs are met, some are not and some are met with a different approach than what I’m accustomed to.” Her advice to students considering the trip next year? “If they are truly wanting to experience something great, they should go for it. Just bring extra bug spray.”

- MARLON KNIGHTS

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JENNIFER SHEPHARD

“ I began this trip partly as a way of reconnecting and maintaining my connection to my home. I wanted to bring what I learned back to my colleagues there and share their knowledge with my students.”

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$540,000

in scholarships has been awarded to

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-

$2 million endowed undergraduate and graduate value-added experience dollars

30+ funds

225

students College-wide for 2016-2017

93

endowed College-wide scholarships available

for undergraduate and graduate value-added experiences

of this total, more than 50 are school-specific scholarships

SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES

SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD

SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

$20,000

TOTAL DOLLARS RAISED SINCE 2007 UNDERGRAD STUDENT EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

$17.8 IN MILLIONS

to attend conferences and develop research awarded to

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PROFESSIONAL AND GRADUATE STUDENT EDUCATION

$1.4

students in the 2016-17 year

The WVU Davis College awarded more than a halfmillion dollars in scholarships for the current academic year.

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL AID

$400 MILLION FEDERAL/ STATE/ INSTITUTIONAL

$20 MILLION TO INCOMING FRESHMEN

ENROLLMENT 2016 - 2017

2,103

TOTAL DAVIS ENROLLMENT

1,846

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

first-time freshmen

new graduate students

257

GRADUATE STUDENTS

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new transfer students

BRIAN PERSINGER

Inspiring women in a male-dominated field.

WRITTEN BY JULIE CRYSER

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Mary Beth Adams’ parents made her get a job when she was 14 years old, so she chose to work with the Youth Conservation Corps on a wildlife refuge for the summer. That’s when she decided she wanted to study forestry. There was no turning back for this Seymour, Indiana, girl.

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“I enjoyed just knowing how the world works and what things are called,” she recalled. “I remember my first soil pit and discovering a fragipan, a cemented layer in the soil. It’s a funny word, you have to admit.”

Now Adams serves as a mentor for young women entering a maledominated field. She took a sabbatical in 2012 from her job as a research soil scientist with the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, to be a visiting research associate professor with the WVU Davis School of Natural Resources, becoming a mentor to many and helping to forge new relationships across the WVU campus.

“She’s helping our faculty, particularly our new faculty, by introducing them to seasoned researchers from different colleges

and departments across WVU, like biology, geography and soil science,” said Professor and former WVU School of Natural Resources Director Joseph McNeel. “She is really focused on collaboration and new opportunities.”

McNeel said she has especially had a major impact as a mentor to women in the field.

“She has worked to make people more aware of special events that address women’s issues. She is a strong supporter of Association for Women in Science programs and provides details of special events sponsored by that professional association to the faculty on a regular basis,” he said.

Adams has taken Charlene Kelly, a new faculty member in the School of Natural Resources, under her wing and worked with her to identify and

Outstanding Faculty apply for grants and contracts. “She has also introduced Dr. Kelly to a number of scientists on campus who could be possible collaborators with her,” McNeel said.

Kelly agrees.

and land use on managing forests and range lands.

It was McNeel, after a tour of the Fernow Experiment Forest near Parsons, where Adams conducts most of her long-term research, who asked

“ She’s helping our faculty, particularly our new faculty, by introducing them to seasoned researchers from different colleges and departments across WVU, like biology, geography, and soil science. She is really focused on collaboration and new opportunities.”

- JOSEPH MCNEEL

Adams to strengthen the already strong relationship that the Forest Service had with WVU through engagement with her.

“She adds a completely new dimension to our forestry ‘toolkit’ as a forest soils specialist,” McNeel said.

In 2012 she lived at the WVU Research Forest and wrote grants, conducted studies and guest lectured

“ I tend to be a little more high energy and full of curiosity, and the faculty and students at WVU have high energy and curiosity, too.” - MARY BETH ADAMS for a semester as a visiting research associate. That relationship continues today, with Adams working with graduate students, engaging with faculty and enabling relationships. Last semester she worked with young faculty and students to do a seminar series at the Forest Service lab in Morgantown.

“It’s been a really good collaborative relationship,” Adams said.

“I tend to be a little more high energy and full of curiosity, and the faculty and students at WVU have high energy and curiosity too.”

Adams also serves as a liaison with the Fernow Experimental Forest outside of Parsons, 4,700 acres of federal research forest set aside in 1934 with long-term research projects that date back to 1948.

historically male-dominated field and encourage younger females to find their confidence and know that they, too, can belong and have an important voice in their science,” said Kelly.

Adams had a tremendous influence on Kelly’s career, serving as her Ph.D. advisor, and even now mentoring her as a new female faculty member in the School of Natural Resources.

“She provided excellent opportunity to work at the Fernow Experimental Forest, always providing great insight into the projects, and still allowing for a great deal of academic freedom to explore the science on my own terms,” Kelly said. “She continues to be an instrumental and vocal supporter of my work and capabilities.”

DAVIS .W VU. E DU

“Having Beth as a mentor was truly inspirational, especially during national scientific conferences to watch as she interacted and led the conversations with other soil scientists and ecologists at the top of their field,” Kelly said.

“She and her colleagues have opened a lot of doors and minds for aspiring scientists in the field.”

Adams is a two-time graduate of Purdue, having received both her bachelor’s and master’s there in forestry and soil science, and she completed her studies with a doctorate from North Carolina State.

Most recently, she received the Purdue University 2016 Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award.

She did her postdoctorate work at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee, studying the carbon economy of plants.

Her sense of discovery, however, and her knack for organizing didn’t stop after earning her degrees.

“One of the most satisfying things that I have done is help to create a network of experimental forests and ranges in the Forest Service,” she said.

The Forest Service has more than 80 experimental forests and ranges, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the people who run them had ever gotten together to develop a network to better address big-scale questions. And it was because of Adams and a few of her colleagues. Now the group is looking at the effect of climate change

“We measure everything,” said Adams, who has experiments at the Fernow Experimental Forest that started 25 years ago.

Her research includes a Long-Term Soil Productivity study, which is part of a networked study being conducted in the U.S. and Canada.

“I specialize in long-term research,” Adams said. “It’s important to do these long-term experiments, and it’s important to make sure they are done right.”

For Adams, being a woman in forestry and soil science with a successful research program makes her “a little unusual.”

“My thing is to make sure that somebody pays attention to the women in natural resources,” she said.

She tries to mentor young women, volunteers as a mentor at WVU and at Purdue and tries to ensure that women in her sector get the attention they deserve.

“I hope to carry forward her abilities as a female mentor in a

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Alumni Success

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It’s 6:30 a.m. on a Monday. Nicole Molinaro is up before her alarm has even sounded. She’s furiously typing on her laptop from her home office in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, responding to emails from three of the nine clients she juggles.

About seven hours away, in Charleston, West Virginia, Holly Corey is also up before the sun, getting in her daily workout. She knows she has to put the time in now if she wants to feel energized and focused throughout the day, which will be split between meetings with wholesalers and cutting patterns for an order of eight sparkly, leopard-print leotards.

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WRITTEN BY NIKKY LUNA PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIAN PERSINGER

Although hours apart, and having never met before, Molinaro and Corey have a lot in common. Both are recent graduates from the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. Their personal passions led both to the Davis College.

And each was driven to launch her own unique business.

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THE STORY OF WELSH WEAR

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It didn’t take Molinaro long to land a great job after graduating with her bachelor’s in agribusiness management and minors in public relations and equine studies. For about a year she worked as the marketing director for Devon Horse Show, the oldest and largest outdoor multibreed horse show in the country. And that one year was all it took to convince her that she wanted to be her own boss.

So, Molinaro launched out on her own, starting her own media company, Gianni Equi Media (GEM). The focus for GEM is building brand awareness for businesses in the equine and agricultural industries.

Soon after GEM was established, Molinaro, who grew up riding and showing horses, came to the realization that there was a shared style preference between equestrians and many non-equestrians in terms of apparel. Both groups gravitated toward preppy-style clothing.

“My dad and my brother would come to all my shows with my mom and me,” said Molinaro. “But there wasn’t apparel for them to buy that really bridged the gap between the riders and non-riders.”

And it was that notion that fueled the family discussion from which Welsh Wear was born.

“Although this whole idea was sparked by my experience in the horse industry, it really kind of came out of nowhere,” Molinaro recalled. “We talked about it as a family, and I decided to try something that will offer clothing and accessories for dads, moms, siblings and for the actual riders.”

From that informal family conversation emerged a business plan, formulated by Molinaro and her brother, Rick Molinaro.

They are the sole Welsh Wear owners and executives, with Nicole Molinaro at the helm as president, and Rick Molinaro, a junior advertising major at the University of Alabama, as vice president of product development.

The Molinaros liken Welsh Wear’s style to some of the other well-known preppy brands, like Vineyard Vines and Southern Tide. Rick Molinaro determines which items are selling well in stores in the south, and they take that into consideration as they design their items.

Welsh Wear has a prominent online presence, with a vibrant online retail store and multiple social media accounts.

For the Molinaros, achieving wide-scale brand recognition is the main objective.

“I think the ultimate goal is to be out somewhere and see someone we don’t know wearing our brand – someone with whom we have no connection,” said Rick Molinaro. “We just want to see it really take off, and I think we’re getting there.”

Nicole Molinaro also shared their goal of growing the retail store market, from additional tack shops to beach town boutiques. And, like her brother, she hopes to see Welsh Wear really “take off,” but with an added desire.

“I hope to reach the point where I come to Morgantown and, just walking down High Street, I see five different people wearing Welsh Wear,” she said. “Whether it’s from the ‘Wild and Wonderful Morgantown’ collection, or just the regular Welsh Wear line, I’d love to see alums and students connect with our brand – then I’ll really feel like I’ve succeeded.”

Rick and Nicole Molinaro modeling some popular Welsh Wear items.

THE STORY OF HOLLY COREY

Holly Corey and a few of her "Holly Corey Girls," who strive to serve as positive role models for other young girls.

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At five years old, Holly Corey would always choose drawing paper and crayons over any toy.

“I would design and sketch my gymnastics leotards,” she said. “And although I never met my great-grandmother, I’ve been told many stories about how she was a seamstress in Italy who would sew clothing for wealthy families. She was allowed to take home the families’ old clothing, which she would repurpose for her own family.”

For the next 20 years, Corey’s love for fashion only grew, and she did everything she could to build her skills and sharpen her designer instincts.

After graduating in 2012 from the WVU Davis College with her bachelor’s in fashion, dress and merchandising, Corey moved to New York City, one of the most well-known fashion capitals of the world. This had become a familiar place, as she had just completed her three-month WVU internship in NYC, working with Mandy Coon, designer of the widely recognized bunny bag, and experiencing the city’s premier fashion event of the year: New York Fashion Week.

Corey landed a full-time job in the Garment District of Manhattan, working for The RealReal, a San Francisco-based authenticated luxury consignment company.

“I needed a ‘regular job’ to pay the bills,” said Corey. “I didn’t really enjoy it, but it gave me the opportunity to continue interning with Mandy Coon and other designers after I was done with the workday. It was a great learning experience.”

After two years of living and learning as much as she could in New York, Corey decided it was time to move on. So, after a one-year stint in Pittsburgh, where she gained valuable experience working in alterations, Corey made her way back to West Virginia, returning to her Charleston roots.

“My plan was to move to New York and stay there permanently,” Corey said. “But after two years, I just didn’t love it as much. It felt so ‘cold’ at times, with so much cement. West Virginia is so pretty. And it is, after all, where I initially found my inspiration.”

It was that inspiration that led Corey to starting her own company. The challenge for her was determining what she wanted to sell.

“Working in New York opened my eyes to the struggles, risks and the high cost to open and maintain your own fashion design business,” Corey explained. “So I decided not to pursue the typical high fashion route.”

Drawing from her own childhood experiences, which revolved around gymnastics and dance, Corey decided to launch Holly Corey, an activewear clothing company with an online retail store that specializes in dance, gymnastics, yoga and Pilates.

Corey aimed to create functional, yet affordable, pieces that give athletes the confidence to achieve their full potential.

“As a former competitive gymnast and dancer, I know how important having the right clothing can be to performance,” she said.

Also key to performance is positive self-image, and Corey makes that a primary focus.

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“A lot of children are so self-conscious, even at such a young age,” Corey said. “So I wanted to create relatable pieces that are fun and make them look forward to every practice and competition. It is spandex, after all, and it can be tough to wear!”

Each piece is designed with a specific sport in mind. Corey personally designs, patterns, cuts and sews each item to

“ The relationships I built with my professors… have been so incredibly valuable.

The connections from those relationships have helped tremendously since I started my own businesses.” ensure utmost quality. Her goal is to provide her clients, who range from wholesalers to individual buyers, with unique items in limited quantities.

In terms of the journey ahead, this is just the beginning for the Holly Corey company. Eventually, Corey would like to expand the business, reaching a point where she can partner with clothing manufacturers. And her ultimate goal: arrive at a place where she is able to financially give back to her community.

“I would love to sponsor young girls and give them the opportunity to experience gymnastics and dance,” said Corey.

“Both sports can teach fundamental qualities of hard work and drive that can be applied to their future endeavors.”

A COMMON (GOLD AND BLUE) THREAD

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Despite their unique journeys and seemingly juxtaposed academic degrees, Molinaro and Corey have much in common — and far more than just their entrepreneurial pursuits in the world of fashion design and merchandising. In short, both attribute their success to the people within the WVU Davis College.

“The relationships I built with my professors — especially Crystal Smith, a teaching associate professor who was and continues to be a huge source of support — have been so incredibly valuable,” said Nicole Molinaro. “The connections from those relationships have helped tremendously since I started my own businesses.”

Corey can relate.

“Nora MacDonald, professor of fashion, dress and merchandising, challenged me to think functionally outside the box and provided me with honest guidance,” she said. “I was able to find a connection with all of my professors, who acted as mentors and earnestly showed how much they want to guide us toward a successful career.”

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Tips from the entrepreneurs HOLLY COREY

In fashion design you must learn every aspect of construction of your product. Examine your strengths and weaknesses. Love and learn from every job, internship and course you take. Listen to those with experience and never stop your professional growth.

Nicole Molinaro

Talk to the professors. I’ve reached out to a handful of them throughout my process of starting up my businesses. I wish I would have decided to do this while I was in school so I could have started the process of talking with them earlier.

If you’re thinking of starting your own business while you’re still a student, talk to the professors now, while you’re there. WVU is one of the best places you can be to help you launch your idea.

Rick Molinaro

Don’t be afraid to mess up. You’re going to mess up. It’s a learning experience — one that you need to go through in order to learn and see what works and doesn’t work.

Learn as you go, and you’ll continue to get better.

BLAKE WIEDERSEIM

Hi! I’m a Welsh corgi and proud to be the inspiration for the Welsh Wear logo. Nicole Molinaro noticed there were a lot of ‘my types’ running around horse farms, so it only seemed appropriate to liken the logo after me! In the spirit of advicegiving, I’ll offer the following: Always take time to “Enjoy the Little Things in Life!”

The Last Word with Marlon Knights WRITTEN BY MIKENNA PIEROTTI

Marlon Knights draws on his upbringing and education in Trinidad and Tobago to give his students the ultimate hands-on experience during an annual study abroad excursion in his native Caribbean. Here, he explains the importance of encouraging and leading students as they explore the world and the role of research in bettering the lives of agricultural producers around the world.

Q A

Tell me about your background and how that informed your educational journey.

I grew up in a small rural village in Trinidad. We had small sugarcane, cocoa and coffee estates and reared a few goats, pigs and chickens. So I developed a love for agriculture and animal science specifically early on. After completing college and my master’s, I was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to pursue my Ph.D. and decided WVU was the best fit for my research interests. After completing my Ph.D., I went to Michigan State University for my postdoc, then came back to WVU briefly before moving back to the Caribbean to develop and lead programs in agriculture and biosciences. I later invited my WVU Ph.D. adviser and some colleagues to conduct training in the Caribbean, and there my mentor convinced me to apply for a vacant position at WVU.

What are you most passionate about in your research and teaching?

What do you hope your students learn from the experience?

The world is now a global village, and your career can take you to any location in this global village. Students need the ability to work in diverse environments, learn different approaches to doing things and understand different systems of production.

They need to understand and live among different people and see how others adapt to limitations and still accomplish great things. I wanted my students to recognize that our dreams and aspirations are quite similar. The goals of the farm producer in the Midwestern United States are the same as a producer in Trinidad.

They want to see their land produce. They want to keep their families happy and comfortable.

This is part of helping students develop a sense of integrity.

I ask them, 'why are they studying this field?' It's great to do something for the money, but if there are ways we could contribute to the welfare of animals and people and improve the lives of humans in general, isn’t that our responsibility?

Getting students to see and understand the big picture.

Why are the things we are learning or researching important, and what is the impact on society and on humanity as a whole? I love to infuse experiences and current events into my teaching and research.

And I want my research to have measurable impact on our stakeholders. I believe, as a land-grant, historically agricultural college, agricultural producers are our stakeholders. Our research and teaching efforts, in a sense, should be geared toward improving their livelihoods - through technology, marketing, or productivity in the local community and nationally.

What has been most memorable about visiting the Caribbean with students?

JENNIFER SHEPHERD

The unique, firsthand learning experiences.

When they encounter something for the first time, that could be as simple as harvesting a cocoa pod and realizing that’s the source of your chocolate, or seeing how coffee beans are grown and realizing that’s where Starbucks comes from. And, of course, the interaction with others — other students, other cultures and other professionals.

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