Christina Lavorata serves as Fairmont State University’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. She earned an Ed D in Curriculum and Instruction from West Virginia University, an MA in Elementary Education with Reading Emphasis from WVU, and a BA from Fairmont State College in Elementary Education with Social Studies concentration. She previously served Fairmont State University as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and as Professor of Education.
Lavorata is the past president and vice-president of the West Virginia Association of Academic Administrators and currently serves as the organization’s treasurer. While teaching in Marion County Public Schools, she was named Language Arts Teacher of the Year and County Teacher of the Year.
Chris enjoys participating in Fairmont State Fine Arts activities and has performed with the Collegiate Singers and in Town and Gown productions of The Sound of Music and Oklahoma! She has served on the boards of two United Way agencies: Literacy Volunteers and The Connecting Link.
John Lympany began his tenure as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Fairmont State in August 2014. John previously served as Chief Information Officer at Berea College, as Executive Director for IT at St. Bonaventure University, and as Associate Vice President for IT at Spalding University. Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Systems and Procedures at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where he oversaw a unique team of technical staff and work flow specialists engaged in process improvement activities across academic and administrative services.
John earned an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at Spalding University with a research emphasis in instructional technology and blended learning. He maintains a blog at johnlympany.com that covers current topics involving technology and learning in higher education. John also earned his M.Ed. in Education Administration with a research emphasis in enrollment management at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a B.S. in Accounting with additional course work in management information systems at the Pennsylvania State University.
John served in various capacities on strategic planning and institutional assessment committees, co-authored an institutional assessment plan, oversaw institutional benchmarking and peer review, led research on the scholarship of teaching and learning and collaborated with faculty engaged in blended learning among other activities.
John’s son, Michael, attends Fairmont State and is pursuing various educational interests.
Ann Mazza serves as Associate Vice President - University Communications. She provides leadership, vision and administrative supervision for communications, marketing, public relations and creative services for Fairmont State across a variety of cross-functional areas, as well as supporting the President. Mazza has more than 18 years of experience in strategic communications, crisis communications, marketing and public relations. She previously served as Marketing Director for the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences-West Virginia and as Field Marketer/Sports Marketing SME for AT&T Wireless-West Virginia/Ohio Valley.
Mazza graduated from Concord College in Athens, West Virginia, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, with an emphasis in English/Education. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications from West Virginia University, in 2000. She is a member of PRSA. She is active in the community, currently serving as a Board member and past-President of Sacred Heart Children’s Foundation and as a Board member of the YMCA-Harrison County.
Tim Oxley was appointed Interim Vice President for Institutional Assessment and Effectiveness in July, 2015. Tim joined Fairmont State University in January 2002 as Director of the Gaston Caperton Center in Clarksburg, and in April 2003, became Assistance Vice President for Academic Services assuming additional administrative responsibilities with the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center in Bridgeport. In August 2008, Tim joined the FSU School of Business as a faculty member and MBA Program Director, and in October 2012, he was appointed Associate Dean of the School. Prior to joining Fairmont State, he last served as Director of Sponsored Programs and Executive Director of the Research and Development Corporation at Concord University where he was employed for nearly 10 years. He has served as an adjunct faculty member for Glenville State College, Concord University, Pierpont Community & Technical College, Fairmont State University, and was a charter faculty member of the WV Remote Online Collaborative Knowledge System (ROCKS) program.
Tim has been active in various committees and campus activities including service as Chair of the General Studies Committee, a Criterion Committee Chair for the 2012 Reaccreditation Self-Study, and as a member of the Graduate Studies Council and Dean’s Council. Tim represents President Rose on the Region 6 Planning and Development Council, and has served on several non-profit boards. He currently serves as a board member and Treasurer of The Connecting Link, Inc.
Tim received the School of Business Professor of the Year Award for 2011-2012, the University’s Faculty Recognition Award for 2012-2013, and is an honorary member of Delta Mu Delta, International Honor Society in Business. He holds a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration, an Education Specialist degree in Leadership Studies, and a MS in Management from Marshall University, as well as a BS degree from Concord University. Tim brought 16 years of professional and administrative service in community and economic development in West Virginia to his higher education career.
He and his wife, Greta, live in Bridgeport. They have four sons – two of whom are FSU alumni, and two grandchildren.
Debbie McCardle Stiles accepted the appointment of Interim Vice President for Administrative & Fiscal Affairs/CFO to begin July 1, 2015. Debbie is a graduate of Fairmont State with degrees in Retail Management and Business Administration. In December of 2004, she received her Executive Master of Business Administration from West Virginia University.
Debbie first accepted full-time employment with the University in March of 1980 and has served in many roles within the Finance area since that time. During her career, she was heavily involved in the conversion to new or updated financial systems including CUFS, Advantage, FIMS, EPICS, Banner Finance, and OASIS. Her knowledge of the institution’s budget, purchasing, and hiring processes permitted a smooth transition to the responsibilities of the VP position.
Her role as Budget Director allowed her to experience the thought behind the planning process for the use of institutional budget dollars to enhance not only the educational experience of our students but the recruitment, admission, registration, and retention of those students as well. She has a great appreciation for the need to maintain our physical plant, be current in educational offerings of our library services, and stay up-to-date with all aspects of information technology from desk-top computers to data storage and security details. Opportunities offered by adjunct faculty teaching engagements have given her insight into the classroom educational scene, compliance with academic regulations and policies and teacher-student interaction. During the separation of the community & technical college component from the four-year school, Debbie held leadership roles in converting the financial information from one reporting structure into two separate structures.
Debbie has been involved with several committees and participated in Leadership Fairmont State and Leadership Marion.
With almost 40 years of experience in higher education, Widney is an experienced supervisor and budget manager, having served as Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships at West Virginia University and before that as Director of Financial Aid at Fairmont State.
Widney provides leadership, vision, and administrative supervision for operations including financial aid; recruitment and admissions; registration and records; and student services. She participates in the formulation and success of FSU’s enrollment goals; develops and implements strong financial aid programs for students; implements student services policies which foster student learning and support FSU’s educational programs; and works collaboratively with the Pierpont Community & Technical College Associate Vice President for Administration in planning and implementing programs and services that serve the diverse needs of FSU and Pierpont students.
Widney served as Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships at West Virginia University from 2004 to 2012. At Fairmont State, she was Director of Financial Aid at Fairmont from 1999 to 2003, Associate Director of Financial Aid from 1995 to 1999, and a Financial Aid Counselor from 1991 to 1995. Before coming to Fairmont State, Widney worked in financial aid at LaSalle University in Philadelphia. She has been a member of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Financial Aid Advisory Board since 2009; an active member of the West Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators since 1991; an active member of the Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators since 1997; an active member of the Coalition of State University Aid Administrators since 2004; and a member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.