American Electric Power Foundation makes major donation to WVSU
1/24/2013
Contact: Dr. Donna M. Simon
(304) 766-3363
dsimon@wvstateu.edu
Jan. 24, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
American Electric Power Foundation makes major donation to WVSU
to support energy, science and math education
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – American Electric Power (AEP) Foundation has donated $300,000 to West Virginia State University (WVSU) to help establish a new program designed to increase interest among young people in energy, science and math.
The donation will establish the WVSU AEP Foundation Full STEAM (Science, Technology, Education, Agriculture and Mathematics) Ahead Program.
The new program will have three key objectives:
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Increase awareness of and desire to participate in the STEAM fields through outreach to K-12 youth in West Virginia;
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Establish early college research participation opportunities for undergraduate students through the creation new internships for freshmen and sophomores;
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Establish a faculty research position to support increased focus on bioenergy and bioremediation, increasing undergraduate research opportunities, and providing academic programming through integrated research and educational activities.
The AEP Foundation Full STEAM Ahead Program aligns closely with the company’s goals of improving lives by supporting access to higher education, protecting the environment, and aiding in the provision of health and public safety services to the community, said Appalachian Power President and COO Charles Patton.
“We are extremely appreciative of this generous gift from the AEP Foundation,” said WVSU President Brian O. Hemphill. “West Virginia State University has a long history of serving as an economic engine in the Kanawha Valley. This substantial donation from the AEP Foundation will assist the University in continuing to respond to the educational and workforce development needs of the 21
st century in West Virginia.”
Officials from AEP presented the $300,000 donation to WVSU officials today at the conclusion of the University’s regularly scheduled Board of Governor’s meeting.
West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.
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