Fairmont State University is a public university located in Fairmont, West Virginia, United States with regional campuses in nearby Harrison County, the Gaston Caperton Center in Clarksburg and the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center in Bridgeport and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) which recently merged with the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
History
Fairmont State University’s roots reach back to the formation of public education in the state of West Virginia. The first private normal school in West Virginia was established to train teachers in Fairmont in 1865 by John N. Boyd, the school’s first principal. It was known as the West Virginia Normal School at Fairmont.
On February 27, 1867, it was purchased by the State from the Regency of the West Virginia Normal School (formed as a joint stock company in 1866) and became a branch of the State Normal School of Marshall College. Construction began on a brick building on the northwest corner of Adams and Quincy streets later that year.
From 1867 to 1892 the school was known variously as Fairmont Normal School, the Fairmont Branch of the West Virginia Normal School, the Branch of the West Virginia Normal School at Fairmont, a branch of the West Virginia State Normal School of Marshall College, but most commonly as Fairmont State Normal School (FSNS). By 1892 the designation of "branch" had fallen into disuse by FSNS.
In 1893, the school moved into a new building at Second Street and Fairmont Avenue and, in 1917, to its current location in the building (now known as Hardway Hall in honor of former president Wendell G. Hardway) which sits on a hill overlooking Locust Avenue.
Hardway Hall, originally known as Fairmont Normal School Administration Building, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
In 1923, Fairmont State Normal School first offered a four-year bachelor's degree program in education, making the school a college. It was renamed Fairmont State Teachers College in 1931 and Fairmont State College in 1943. On April 7, 2004, Governor Bob Wise signed legislation changing its name to Fairmont State University.
Today, with an enrollment of 4,200, Fairmont State offers more than 80 baccalaureate degrees in business, education, engineering and technology, fine arts, liberal arts, and nursing and allied health administration with graduate programs in architecture, education, teaching, business, and criminal justice.
Community and Technical College
In 1974, a community college component was founded. This became independently accredited as Fairmont State Community and Technical College in 2003. In 2006, Fairmont State was given direction by the State of West Virginia to split with the community and technical college, which then became known as Pierpont Community and Technical College. While both institutions still operate on the Fairmont campus, since 2008, they are recognized as independent institutions and offer completely separate degree programs; Pierpont focuses more on two-year technical associate's programs, while Fairmont State's main focus is on four-year baccalaureate degrees and masters programs.
Athletics
Fairmont State's athletic teams, known as the Falcons (alternately as Fighting Falcons, or Lady Falcons for women's teams), compete in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and field teams in 16 sports including football, men's and women's basketball, women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's golf, acrobatics and tumbling, baseball, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's cross country.
In 2017, the men's basketball team was ranked #3 in the final NABC Coaches Poll. In post-season play, the Falcons captured the NCAA Atlantic Region title and earned the top-seed in the NCAA Elite Eight tournament eventually losing to Northwest Missouri State in the tournament final on March 25, 2017 by a score of 71-61.
Traditions
The Victory Bell
In 1940, the Letterman's Association (now the Fairmont State Athletic Association) presented the college with a "Victory Bell" from a Monongahela oil barge. Nicknamed "Old Boaz" - in honor of Boaz Fleming, the founding father of Fairmont - students would ring the bell after athletic team victories.
During World War II, the Victory Bell was declared silent and was not rung again until Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) on May 8, 1945. It was rung for that victory and for the Americans still fighting in the South Pacific.
The exact date unknown (likely the late 1960s), the tradition shifted from ringing to painting the bell by various fraternities, sororities, and other campus organizations - its clapper and handle removed.
Originally located adjacent to Hardway Hall, the bell now stands in front of the Education Building.
Honor societies
- Alpha Phi Sigma (Criminal Justice)
- Alpha Psi Omega (Dramatics) founded at the college in 1925 by professor Paul F. Opp.
- Beta Beta Beta (Biology)
- Delta Sigma Rho (Forensics)
- Epsilon Pi Tau (Technology)
- Family & Consumer Science Honor Society
- Kappa Delta Pi (Education)
- Kappa Kappa Psi (Band)
- Kappa Pi (Art)
- Nursing Honorary
- Phi Alpha Theta (History)
- Phi Theta Kappa
- Pi Gamma Mu (Social Science)
- Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science)
- Psi Chi (Psychology)
- Sigma Alpha Iota (Music)
- Sigma Tau Delta (English)
- Society for Collegiate Journalists
Social organizations
- Inter-Panhellenic Council
- Inter-Fraternity Council
- Women’s Panhellenic Council
- Dutch Simmons Appreciation Club
- Student Graphics Organization
- Alpha Eta Rho
- Alpha Sigma Tau
- Delta Xi Omicron (local)
- Delta Zeta
- Sigma Sigma Sigma
- Sigma Pi
- Sigma Omega Beta (local)
- Phi Sigma Phi
- Tau Beta Iota (local)
- Tau Kappa Epsilon
- Student Accountant Society
- Model United Nations
- Model Arab League
- College Republicans
Notable alumni
- Perry Baker, former Arena Football League player and current U.S. international rugby sevens player.
- Wendell R. Beitzel, member of Maryland House of Delegates.
- George C. Edwards, member of Maryland State Senate
- Leroy Loggins, American professional basketball player in Australia
- John Hite, member of the Fairmont State Basketball Team, once scored 158 points in a single game.
- Herbert Morrison, radio reporter whose voice is heard in the footage of the Hindenburg Disaster.
- Debbie Phelps, educator, author, as well as the mother of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.
- Ira E. Robinson, West Virginia politician and judge, first chairman of the Federal Radio Commission
- Richard Louis Skinner, former Inspector General, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Bill Stewart, former head football coach at West Virginia University
Notable faculty
- Ruth Ann Musick, noted folklorist and author
See also
- Helen Whitney
- Luella Mundel
References
External links
- Official university site
- Official Pierpont Community & Technical College site
- Official athletics site