Official Newsletter of the Marshall University Foundation and Alumni Association | June 2024

June 2024 Newsletter

The month of May at Marshall University was bustling with exciting events and advancements!

Highlights included the arrival of the Bill Noe Flight School's new helicopter, which promises to enhance aviation training opportunities. Community Cares Week showcased the university's commitment to community engagement and service with many of our alumni chapters stepping up and giving back in their own communities. The Institute for Cyber Security's groundbreaking marked a significant step forward in addressing modern security challenges. Overall, May was a month of innovation, community outreach and progress at Marshall.

Read about all this, and more, in our June newsletter!

Marshall breaks ground on

Institute for Cyber Security

Officials with Marshall University, West Virginia University and the Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network, a component of the United States Cyber Command, among other government, academic and industry partners, broke ground May 17 on the $45-million Marshall University Institute for Cyber Security, located at the corner of Hal Greer Boulevard and Fourth Avenue in Huntington.  

The groundbreaking event symbolizes the initial strides in establishing the National Center of Excellence for Cyber Security in Critical Infrastructure, hailed as the second center of its type in the country on a college campus.

Marshall University President Brad D. Smith said Marshall University and its partners are poised to create one of the world’s most critical centers for cyber security. 

“We stand at a pivotal moment in history for our university, the state of West Virginia, our country and the world as we embark on this transformative journey,” Smith said. “Through this center, we will develop advanced techniques, tools and methodologies to protect infrastructure and assets, as well as educate the next generation of cyber experts.”  

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Community Cares Week a big success

Marshall University’s third annual Community Cares Week: Giving Back to the Herd was a tremendous success, with hundreds of volunteers pitching in to make a positive impact on the university’s campuses and in their hometowns.

The four-day sweat equity event focused on engaging faculty, staff, students, community members, local businesses and alumni chapters to help check off “To Do List” items on campus, while giving back to the university that has invested in them as well. Alumni chapters who were unable to make it back to campus worked on service projects in their own communities.

This year, the volunteer week surpassed last year’s event by more than 50% with a total of 1,088 people who pre-registered or walked up to volunteer, working 3,415.5 service hours. Of those, 785 volunteered on Marshall’s campuses, while 303 volunteered in their hometowns and even around the world through their Marshall alumni affiliations. Approximately 100 staff members working as many as all eight shifts led projects and a dozen staff or cabinet members served lunches and drew raffle prizes each day.

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Marshall unveils helicopter

for aviation program

Marshall University, in collaboration with Airbus Helicopters Inc. and Loft Dynamics, celebrated the arrival of inaugural equipment set to propel the university’s aviation program forward, encompassing rotor-wing education.

In the May 13 ceremony at the Bill Noe Flight School, located at West Virginia International Yeager Airport, the H125 single engine helicopter arrived right on schedule for the unveiling ceremony. The aircraft was piloted by Noe and Nick King, senior manager with Airbus, along with several passengers including Marshall University President Brad D. Smith and university mascot Marco.

“We are incredibly excited to add this amazing aircraft to our aviation program,” Smith said. “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our esteemed partners at Airbus for their unwavering support and collaboration, which have propelled Marshall’s aviation program to soaring heights, making it one of the premier flight schools in the country. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow holds.”

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Join Glenn’s Sporting Goods in celebrating 54 years of serving the Tri-State Area and outfitting herd fans! Join us June 9-17 at 1040 3rd Avenue, Huntington WV to shop our massive Marshall department, including a special discount on select items. You won’t want to miss our biggest sale of the year!

MU PAWS provides wellness on Marshall's Campus

MU PAWS is Marshall's therapy dog program. The team is made up of campus and community members who dedicate their time to providing this resource to Marshall's campus!

The therapy dogs go into classrooms, attend campus events, and have Paw-ffice hours to promote wellness on campus!

To learn more, or to request MU PAWS at your campus event, click here.

ALUMNI CHAPTERS

Chapters participate in Community Cares Week in their local communities

Sporting their Community Cares Week shirts, alumni chapters across the country and even in China completed service projects ranging from cleaning up roadways, parks and pools to collecting items for their local USO.

Check out the video below for more photos from our alumni chapters. We are so proud of our chapters doing good work in the name of Marshall!

FOUNDATION NEWS

Getting the Herd Hired!

Forensic science graduate students' FSAT scores lead nation

Students in Marshall University’s Forensic Science Graduate Program have again achieved the highest collective score nationally on the Forensic Science Aptitude Test (FSAT).

For the test, which is administered by the American Board of Criminalistics, students are required to answer 200 questions in 20 categories covering various crime laboratory disciplines, as well as ethics, law and safety. Marshall’s second-year graduate students have led the nation on this test for 13 of the past 15 years.

“The faculty and staff are incredibly proud of our students and their consistent success on this exam,” said Lauren Waugh, director of Marshall’s Forensic Science Graduate Program. “We are honored to be able to attract students with the knowledge and drive that this particular group has demonstrated. They all had impressive undergraduate careers, have excelled in their classes here, represented the program well at national meetings and have all already had job interviews. This achievement is the icing on the cake for them and for our program.”

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Dr. Vicki Stroeher named Marshall's 29th Distinguished John Deaver Drinko Fellow

Dr. Vicki Stroeher, a professor of music at Marshall University, has been named the university’s 29th Distinguished John Deaver Drinko Fellow.  

The Drinko Fellowship is the university’s highest recognition for faculty and includes a stipend, re-assigned time from teaching and other financial and clerical support for two years. Drinko Fellows undertake research, special projects, or other scholarly pursuits on behalf of the university. 

“It is a great honor to welcome Dr. Vicki Stroeher to the ranks of the Distinguished Drinko Fellows at Marshall,” said Dr. Montserrat Miller, executive director of the Drinko Academy. “She is widely respected for her tireless dedication to our students, for her extensive and consistent service to the institution, and for being a consummate scholar on an international stage. Vicki is a role model for us all. She exemplifies why Marshall remains such a great choice for our students, why it is a great place for faculty to work and why the university was accorded the highly coveted R2 research designation by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.” 

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