A spin-off of a highly successful public school and college partnership program that significantly improved the reading comprehension level of elementary students is now being implemented at the Child Development Center of West Virginia.

Fifteen members of the Student Education Association (SEA) at West Virginia Wesleyan College volunteer most every day at the Center, bringing literature to life. The interactive Read Aloud program includes exciting stories with props. The student volunteers work with small groups of four children often "acting out" the stories.

"There is no question that this program is the favorite activity among our four and five-year old children, " remarks Chuck Loudin '95, director of the Child Development Center. "The program reinforces reading activities, language development, and enhances social development. The children are exposed to good role models. The pre-school children love college students and I know they gain professional experience that will help them in the future."

Megan Belden, a senior elementary education major from Forestville, MD, coordinates the project. Loudin has high praise for her work. "Megan is highly organized and she has recruited a committed group of volunteers who need little direction," says Loudin.

"This program has been a wonderful opportunity for all of the student volunteers," notes Belden. "The teachers are great resources for us and the program really allows each of us to receive "hands-on" experience. We also love working with the children."

The interactive Read Aloud program began at Central Elementary School, Buckhannon, two years ago. After receiving a $1,000 grant from the West Virginia Education Association and the West Virginia Foundation for the Improvement and for Education (WVFIE), the SEA purchased 85 books.

Each Central third grade student was tested to determine oral reading levels, word recognition, and reading comprehension skills. The SEA used a reading method called the Neurological Impress Method (NIM) which was designed to build confidence, help kids hear the words they see in print, improve language fluency and reading comprehension. Each student demonstrated significant improvement in identifying graded word lists, oral reading skills, and reading comprehension skills.

SEA decided to use the reading books purchased from the WVFIE grant to create Reading Resource Kits (which included a children's book, props for the story with manipulatives). This interactive Read Aloud program was presented at Academy Grade School, again with very positive results. However, there were not enough books with Resource Kits to continue at Academy, which is why the program moved to the Child Development Center this year.

Wesleyan's group also coordinates a tutoring program at the Stockert Youth Center and participates in a number of public school education programs throughout the semester. For more information about Wesleyan's Student Education Association, please contact the advisor, Carol Means, associate professor of education, at (304) 473-8500 or e-mail means@wvwc.edu.

Lifelong Learning from Your Library: Online News
The OrangeLine Online continues its series on assisting alumni with its educational initiative.

As one year turns into the next, some of us make New Year's Resolutions, and some look back on the accomplishments and memories of the year just past. This time of year also brings with it the growing realization that tax time will soon be upon us.

Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library has links to useful sites for that inevitable event. Under the Electronic Resources tab, you will see a section called Online Tax Forms. Included here are links to Federal Tax Forms from the IRS, West Virginia State Tax Forms from the State Tax Department, and from the Federation of Tax Administrators we include a site from which you can retrieve these forms for any state.

If you need more information about taxation, click on Resources by Subject on the Library Webpage, choose Business and Economics, go to the Internet Resources that are listed there. Under the heading of Tax Analysis, you will find more than twenty sites that deal with tax issues.

We can't take the sting out of the event, but we can make it a bit easier to find the necessary forms.

Happy New Year from your friends at the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library.

Alumnus Shares Professional Experiences with Students

Christopher E. Lynch '87, Senior Vice President for Western Hemisphere New Business Development at JPMorgan Investor Services, returned to Wesleyan's campus for the MBA Executive Lecture Series on November 7, to speak about his experiences in establishing JPMorgan's offshore funds business in Dublin, Ireland. Lynch met with over one hundred business and economics students and also talked about the three years he was responsible for sales, marketing, and product development for JPMorgan's offshore fund business services in London.

"It is always great to have a former student return and share his professional story with us," notes Anthony Gum, associate professor of business and economics. "Chris's remarks were wonderful because his professional practices are the same basic concepts we teach in the classroom."

Lynch's return trip to Wesleyan was an eventful one. When his airplane flight from New York was cancelled, he rented a car and drove late into the night so he could meet with students and faculty.

Chris's career at JP Morgan began as an entry level accountant. "I was very well prepared for my first professional experience," remarks Lynch. "I quickly learned that I could compete with anyone in the business field and there is no doubt that Wesleyan has played a key role in my professional success."

"We were all grateful that Chris came and shared his experiences with us," says Danny Golden, a senior business administration major. "All of the students were impressed with his expertise and genuine love for Wesleyan. He not only provided interesting lectures, but patiently answered questions for every student. Chris is a living example of how a Wesleyan education is out there playing a major role in one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world. He motivated all of us to maximize our education here because there are no limits in what we can do."

In his current role at JPMorgan in New York City, Lynch covers all market segments including financial institutions, corporate pensions, the public sector, endowments, and foundations. Previously, Chris was the division executive responsible for Institutional Asset Services, the unit within Investor Services that delivers services to middle market companies and non profits. Prior to that position, Lynch was responsible for the relationship management group for JPMorgan's Boston-based fund services organization.

Before moving to Boston, Chris was based in London for three years where he was responsible for the sales, marketing, and product development for JPMorgan's offshore fund services business. He joined JPMorgan in 1989, where he was responsible for establishing JPMorgan's offshore funds business in Dublin. He worked closely with government and regulatory concerns over three and a half years to create a competitive financial services environment for the benefit of global fund management groups. Lynch has served on several boards across JPMorgan, including Chairman and President of Chase Wyoming, Director of JPMorgan Chase Illinois, Director of JPMorgan Cayman Bank and Trust Company, and Director of JPMorgan Chase Ireland.

Chris holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Wesleyan.

New Student Leaders Elected

Wesleyan’s Community Council is one of the more unique college governing bodies in the nation. The group consists of students, faculty, administration, and staff and meets bi-monthly throughout the academic year.

Zac Morton, a junior business administration major from Houston, PA, has been elected President of the Community Council. He will begin his term of office in January.

Hannah Christian, a junior nursing major from Wana, WV, was elected Vice-President. Other newly elected officers include Katie Oreskovich, a junior music major from Westville, IL, as secretary, and Tiffany Boeltz, a junior biology major from Pittsburgh, PA, as treasurer.

Keehner Named Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Julia A. Keehner, who was named Vice President for Student Affairs at West Virginia Wesleyan in August has also been appointed Vice President for Enrollment Management. In this expanded role, Keehner will be responsible for all student life area functions as well as the Office of Admission. ...[more]


Students Place First in Music Competitions
Junior music education major, Adam Loudin of Buckhannon, placed first in the WVMTA Mountain State Collegiate Brass Competition in Fairmont in November. In addition, senior music major, Sarah Nale of Bridgeport, placed first in the Mountain State Collegiate Voice Competition and Danielle Jones of Elkins, sophomore music major, placed first in the Mountain State Collegiate Organ Competition. ...[more]