BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – After spending the last year leading Wesleyan’s strategic efforts to expand diversity, equity and inclusion on West Virginia Wesleyan College’s campus, Dedriell Taylor, Ed.D., has accepted a new challenge to steer the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.

President of WVWC Joel Thierstein, J.D., Ph.D., announced Taylor as the Chief Institutional Advancement and Development Officer effective Feb. 1.

One of Taylor’s first projects will be to spearhead the annual WVWC Day of Giving March 1. The Office of Development and Alumni Relations is also in the midst of its McCuskey Hall Challenge Campaign to meet a challenge grant from The Reeves Foundation before May 31. Funds will be used to renovate McCuskey Hall which opened in 1958 and is named for Wesleyan’s eighth president, Dr. Roy J. McCuskey. 

“We are excited about Dr. Taylor joining us as Chief Institutional Advancement and Development Officer,” Thierstein said. “She brings an incredible network of statewide connections to the role.”

Taylor’s career has included roles in higher education, state government and the nonprofit sector. Prior to arriving at West Virginia Wesleyan College in 2021, Taylor served as Director of Philanthropy for the West Virginia’s Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council. She has served in a host of capacities at Bluefield State College, West Virginia State University and the University of Charleston. 

Taylor added, “I am honored to have the opportunity and to be a part of a passionate team working to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our students, alumni and friends.”

A Beckley, West Virginia native, Taylor earned her Doctor of Education and Master of Science in Management from Marshall University. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from West Virginia University.