Dr. Karen R. Pettito, current assistant professor of educational technology and assistant vice president for Information Technology at West Virginia Wesleyan, has accepted a new position with the College as associate professor of education, effective June 1, 2006.

“I am looking forward to working with the education students at Wesleyan,” remarked Dr. Petitto. “These students are highly motivated and will then move on to enhance the educational experience of K-12 students in their future classrooms.  This position offers me the opportunity to make a significant impact on the teaching and learning process.”

She will replace Dr. Thomas Williams, professor of education, who retired this spring.

Dr. Petitto has been employed at Wesleyan since 1992 when she accepted the position of assistant professor of Family and Consumer Affairs. In that role, she emerged as a key advocate and spokesperson for Wesleyan’s information technology program. She was the College’s only instructional technology specialist since the position was established full time in 1997.  Her work with the information technology program earned her recognition as a presenter at national conferences for the American Association of Higher Education, the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the Eastern Communication Association, and the Council of Independent College’s National Technology Workshop.

She is a Stonewood native and a graduate of Roosevelt-Wilson High School in Clarksburg, WV. She earned degrees from Fairmont State University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and earned her doctorate in technology education from West Virginia University in 2003.

She recently co-authored a lead article in EDUCAUSE’s most rigorous scholarly journal and has completed consulting responsibilities on enhancing teaching-learning effectiveness with technology at colleges and universities throughout the region.  Also, Petitto has led workshops for Wake Forest University’s International Center for Computer Enhanced Learning and the Appalachian College Association.

Dr. Petitto and her husband Michael live in West Milford on the West Fork River. They have four children, Aaron (11), Sarah (10), Annie (8), and Maggie (7).