Horace Belmear welcomes NAACP chair Julian Bond, keynote speaker at WVU’s Martin Luther King Commemoration Program. Belmear, a longtime student advocate, recently received WVU’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award for his substantial contribution to civil rights, humanitarianism, and social action.

During winter break, 16 students traveled to the Aysen region of Patagonia, Chile, as part of the 6-credit WVU Adventure Patagonia program. The trip included a variety of adventure-based activities, such as fly-fishing, trekking, kayaking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. A similar 3-credit program is being planned for spring break.

Dana Brooks, dean of the College of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, received one of five Living the Dream awards from the West Virginia Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission. The awards are given to those who best exemplify the principles and ideals of Dr. King in his pursuit for social change.

From cheers to tears, emotions ran high as the WVU community gathered to watch President Barack Obama’s historic inauguration on a big-screen TV in the Mountainlair. “It’s overwhelming. It makes you want to sing, it makes you want to dance – it’s just glorious,” said freshman Ashley Burris.

The P.I. Reed School of Journalism founded West Virginia Uncovered in fall 2008. Faculty and students, like graduate student Jessica Rhodes, produce multimedia packages for small rural newspapers and conduct new-media training for West Virginia journalists. The project is funded by grants from the WVU Faculty Senate and the McCormick Foundation.