Office of the Dean

Welcome  to the School of Education, Health and Human Performance at Fairmont State University. 

From our beginnings as the first private normal school in West Virginia in 1865, Fairmont State has been committed to the preparation and support of professionals who are ready to make a difference in the lives of those they serve, and in the communities in which they live. Our commitment is embodied most importantly in the work of our graduates, who are educated in rigorous academic programs and who enter their professional work ready to meet the challenges of their day.  Today that commitment means preparing educators who are responsive to the needs for all learers, and who engage in reflective practice.  They have the knowledge, skills and professional dispositions to be educators in a work shaped by increasing diversity, rapidly changing technology and the opportunities to be found of a creativity-driven economy.

We embrace our responsibility to do what we can do to enhance the educational, civic and economic life of children, families and communities in West Virginia.  We equally embrace the possibilities we can help to create for our program candidates and graduates wherever they may go, and for all communities with whom we partner in an increasingly globalizing world.

Building on our history, the School of Education, Health and Human Performance prepares program candidates and partners with schools, agencies, and communities to impact the world through:

• Classroom educators who create innovative, challenging and engaging learning experiences for all of our children;
• Teacher leaders who help bring collaborative skills and build innovative and creative professional communities central to learning in the new economy;
• Special educators who ensure that learning is a right and should be an opportunity for all children;
• Reading professionals who understand that reading is the foundation for all learning, and that literacy is the first and most important civil right;
• Professionals in instructional technology, digital media, and online learning who are changing what, where, how, and with whom we learn;
• Health education, physical education, and exercise science professionals who know that fitness and wellness are cornerstones to the richest quality of life; and,
• Leaders in outdoor recreation who embrace the central importance of our geography, landscape and natural resources to life in West Virginia.

Please take a moment to explore our academic programs and the centers, engagement and outreach initiatives that support and enhance the experiences of our sudents, our professional partners, and our communities.

Sincerely,

Dr. Van O. Dempsey III
Dean, School of Education, Health and Human Performance