Marshall’s Mid-Ohio Valley Center Set to Expand

By Darst, Paul

POINT PLEASANT – Twelve years ago, a small group of students started their college careers in a few rooms in the back of People’s Bank in Point Pleasant.

In those days, the offerings at the new Marshall University Mid- Ohio Valley Center were few, but it offered local students a chance many would never have had: to take college classes and earn degrees.

“In 1994, we had a suite in the bank where we offered 11 courses,” said Homer Preece, director of the center, “It’s grown every single semester.”

Seven years ago, the center moved from the bank to anew building located on Sandhill-Letart Road just north of Point Pleasant. Construction crews now are putting the finishing touches on an 8,100 square-foot addition to the facility. Students and faculty are scheduled to begin using the new area during the spring 2007 semester.

Needed Space

The project will add to the existing 16,000 square feet of space that has been used for classes since 2000, Preece said. And, with more and more students enrolling, it comes along at just the right time.

“We started on it in late May,” he said. “… When they told me they’d have it finished by the fall, I didn’t think it was possible. But they did it.”

The addition contains four state-of-the-art classrooms, faculty offices, a student commons area, three labs, including a large lab for the nursing program and storage space.

The labs in particular will allow for program expansion at the center, Preece said.

“We want to expand our integrated science offerings,” he said.

Despite the additional space, classes at the center will remain small, Preece said.

“I won’t go over 30,” he said. “I believe we need to keep classes small. A lot of our students are intimidated about taking college classes. We need to take care of them and give them more personalized attention.”

Opening Doors

Campuses like the Mid-Ohio Valley Center bring higher education to the doorsteps of a lot of students who otherwise might not have the opportunities to earn degrees. Richard Baird, of Gallipolis Ferry, is scheduled to graduate this month with a degree in information technology .

“Had there not been something available locally, I don’t think I would be where I am now,” Baird said. “I would have had to quit work to take classes.”

Baird now serves as the center’s information technology consultant and plans to join the adjunct faculty next spring, he said.

“I’ll be working for someone I really believe in,” Baird said.

At the Mid-Ohio Valley Center, most of the students tend to be a bit older than those on the main campus, Preece said.

“Most of them are non-traditional students – 35 to 45 years old,” he said. “We have some who are 18 years old, and we’re starting to get more. The biggest reason (younger students) come here is the expense. They can live at home and save money on room and board.”

Although the nursing program is popular, it is not the one most in demand, Preece said. That distinction goes to the university’s Regents Bachelor of Arts program, he said.

Bright Future

Officials at the center are looking forward to more growth in the future, said Donovan Combs, dean of the Marshall School of Extended Education.

“We’re looking at future growth potential,” he said. “We’re further increasing our potential to provide additional educational opportunities for the community. It could lead to clinical applications.”

U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., already has helped the center acquire $250,000 in federal money for tech nology upgrades, and is working on more.

“I was proud to secure $300,000 in the House appropriations process to help the Mid-Ohio Valley Center add a clinic for use by medical and nursing students,” she said. “The funding has been approved on the House side and is awaiting Senate action.”

The center plays an important role in the Mid-Ohio Valley, Capito said.

“Marshall’s Mid-Ohio Valley campus offers a number of programs that play a critical role in educating the work force needed to drive our economy in the future,” she said. “A large part of strengthening and growing our economy lies in providing our future work force with the best educational tools and training possible, and the Mid-Ohio Valley campus helps us reach that goal.”

The center has a good working relationship with the main campus, Preece said. Distance learning classes, which Preece calls his “pride and joy,” do not just originate in Huntington. Some are broadcast from Point Pleasant to other Marshall campuses, he said.

Students and faculty in Point Pleasant do not think they are missing anything by not being located on the main campus, Preece said.

“We don’t feel like we’re a second cousin,” Preece said. “We feel like we are Marshall. The students feel the same way.”

Copyright State Journal Corporation Dec 01, 2006

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