February 17, 2023
Update from the President
Dear Wheeling Community,
As our current students head into the halfway mark of the semester, the University is getting ready to welcome a group of prospective students and their families to campus next week. The Admissions Office is putting the final touches on a schedule for the February 24th Accepted Students’ Day. Members of the faculty will be on hand to talk about programs/courses, Student Services will offer insights into campus life, and financial aid will be available to guide families through grants and scholarships available. Students and families can tour the campus to see areas such as the Student Success Center, the new Health Science Simulation Lab, and the residence halls. All of us look forward to welcoming this group of new Cardinals to the University and helping walk them through the final steps of becoming a member of the Wheeling family! The Admissions team continues to process new applications daily and are continuously accepting students from near and far.
Our Admissions Office is now situated on the second floor of the CET building. Having Admissions located just down the hall from Academic Affairs, Financial Aid, the Registrar, and Student Accounts allows the University to have all the key offices related to student enrollment in one centralized location – creating a one-stop shop for prospective students when they visit. I hope this new arrangement makes the admissions process easier and more streamlined for our students and their families.
Dr. John Panagiotou, class of 1990, is currently teaching a course, Christian Theological Ethics, that is very popular with students. Thirty-eight students are enrolled in this class, where Dr. Panagiotou offers ethical perspectives incorporating the Bible and scriptures into the course. The class has students from a variety of majors from Business to Biology to Education. While this course fulfills a student’s theology core requirement, the popularity of the course could be a result of our faculty encouraging students to take the course so they have a grounding in ethics – something more businesses are looking for when hiring. This course teaches students that the decisions they make have moral and ethical implications in real-world settings. Dr. Panagiotou has been a Wheeling University professor since 2021, teaching theology and philosophy courses. I am grateful to him for providing our students with instruction in ethics, which will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
The academic accomplishments of our swimmers have earned the team national recognition. This week, College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) announced that the Wheeling University Swim program has been selected as a Scholar All-American Team. In fact, our Men’s Team had the highest grade point average in the country among Division II teams – with a 3.70 cumulative average. Only 55 men’s teams earned such an honor. The members of the women’s team collectively had a 3.44 GPA and were one of 80 teams recognized by CSCAA as a Scholar All-American Team. The teams had a great year in the pool, but this recognition by CSCAA proves once again our student-athletes are excelling in the classroom. Congratulations to Coach Cory Kephart and the members of the Cardinal Swim teams – you can count yourselves among the best student-athletes in the nation! You can learn more about the Fall 2022-23 CSCAA Scholar All-American Teams on the organization’s website.
The Lenten season begins February 22 when we observe Ash Wednesday. As Christians, Lent is a time of repentance, sacrifice, and prayer. To be better prepared for Jesus’ resurrection on Easter, may we use the 40 days of Lent to pray more, as well as reflect on what it means to be followers of Christ.
With gratitude,
Ginny R. Favede
President, Wheeling University