Sue Day-Perroots has been named interim dean of WVU Extension for one year pending a national search for the position.
Sue Day-Perroots has been named interim dean of WVU Extension for one year pending a national search for the position.

WVU Extension Service interim dean focused on land-grant mission, outreach

Sue Day-Perroots is no stranger to West Virginia University and the State of West Virginia. After 34 years of service in key roles at the University, she retired as associate provost in 2017. When President Gordon Gee presented her with an opportunity to return “home” to lead WVU Extension Service, she jumped at the chance to bring her trademark energy, enthusiasm and focus on results to the role.

Day-Perroots, who was named interim dean for one year, effective May 15, will lead efforts to prioritize WVU Extension Service programs and strengthen WVU’s land-grant mission to the state. She will work with WVU Extension Service faculty and staff to ensure programs and outcomes align with the needs of communities in the state. She also will focus on strengthening relationships and partnerships with state and community leaders, corporate partners, constituents and national partners.

“West Virginia is my home, and I want to see our state and its people thrive,” Day-Perroots said. “The work of WVU Extension Service is vital to our state, and it is important that we focus on and adapt to the changing needs of West Virginia. To do that, we must listen to the voices of those we serve to ensure we are addressing both challenges and opportunities.”

Day-Perroots is already listening. She launched a survey to encourage feedback and ideas from people throughout the state and country, including employees, community leaders, volunteers, retirees and others who have used WVU Extension’s services. She also has been visiting county WVU Extension offices and communities throughout the state to hear from her fellow West Virginians and will continue her travels through the summer.

“Sue has an indefatigable spirit and energy, which will be immensely important as she helps the Extension Service continue to evolve into the modern version of itself,” Gee said. “As I often say, the Extension Service is a front door to West Virginia University in all 55 counties and an important link in fulfilling our land-grant mission.”

During her career at WVU, Day-Perroots focused on improving access to education for students and adults and became known as an out-of-the-box thinker who is adept at managing change. Her first role at the University in 1983 was to coordinate student teacher field placements and teach English and language arts education courses in what was then the College of Human Resources and Education, now the College of Education and Human Services. In 1988, as part of WVU Extension Service, she was awarded one of seven Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants to launch Bridging the Gap, a statewide program delivering undergraduate courses via satellite uplinks.

Day-Perroots’ interest in and commitment to access to higher education led her to the role of director of Extended Learning in 1993. (This unit was reconfigured in 2015 as Online Learning and Continuing Professional Education.) In this role, she expanded programs off-campus and pioneered online courses at the University. In 2001, she was named dean of Extended Learning (now WVU Online) and developed a successful entrepreneurial model for both off-campus and online delivery and summer sessions. This model brought in significant revenue while also enabling thousands of place-bound adults to earn WVU degrees. Day-Perroots was awarded the prestigious American Distance Education Consortium Irving Award for Outstanding Leadership in 2012.

In keeping with her commitment to the university’s land grant mission, Day-Perroots envisioned an even more comprehensive unit to serve students and faculty in creative ways. In 2013, she was named associate vice president for academic innovation, a new role that encompassed the innovative programming she had developed, including statewide outreach to students in kindergarten through grade 12 and a centralized resource for all WVU teachers, WVU’s Teaching and Learning Commons.

As associate provost, Day-Perroots realigned multiple units to focus on student retention and program assessment. At President E. Gordon Gee’s urging, she and her team designed a new WVU 101 Orientation class to build upon experiential learning, collegiate success and discipline-based programs. In 2016, she instituted a major-mapping program that synthesized academic coursework, career planning and student engagement to create a quality undergraduate experience.

Day-Perroots teamed with the university’s academic advising programs to create a living and learning community for first-generation students, and led efforts to harmonize courses across WVU’s Morgantown campus, Potomac State College and the West Virginia University Institute of Technology.

“Sue Day-Peroots started her career in Extension and returns to it now with years of experience as an extremely talented and innovative higher education leader,” WVU Provost Joyce McConnell said. “With Sue’s passion for the land-grant mission and commitment to the State of West Virginia, she is perfect to lead Extension forward.”

Day-Perroots replaces WVU Extension Dean and Director Steve Bonanno, who retired in May after a 37-year career with the Extension Service. The Office of the Provost anticipates launching a national search for a Dean and Director of the WVU Extension Service in Fall 2019 to have the role filled permanently by July 2020.

Featured

SHOPS & SERVICES

Buckhannon City Council approves $6.5 million-dollar budget prioritizing public safety, infrastructure

BUCKHANNON – City council passed the largest budget in Buckhannon’s history Tuesday, with the two largest allocations once again earmarked for public safety operations and infrastructure maintenance, respectively. At its March 14 meeting – rescheduled from March 16 due to […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

Police arrest man they say was the driver in 2022 pursuit that ended in a wreck with two people ejected

BUCKHANNON – A Rock Cave man was arrested for allegedly fleeing from police officers in a vehicle, injuring himself and a passenger. Elijah Carpenter, 27, of Rock Cave was arrested Thursday for fleeing from an officer and fleeing or attempting […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

SHOPS & SERVICES

Upshur County Sports Calendar

MONDAY (March 20) Baseball Softball Tennis TUESDAY (March 21) Baseball Softball Tennis WEDNESDAY (March 22) Lacrosse Tennis THURSDAY (March 23) Baseball Lacrosse Softball Tennis FRIDAY (March 24) Baseball Lacrosse Tennis Track and Field SATURDAY (March

WVWC Track - Wesleyan Sports

Wesleyan track and field teams find success at WVU meet

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia Wesleyan men’s and women’s track & field teams competed at West Virginia University this weekend at the Stan Romanoski Open. The Bobcats had five individual event winners and one

Three Lady Bucs earn Big 10 All-Conference basketball honors

TENNERTON – The Buckhannon-Upshur Lady Bucs landed three players on the 2022-23 Big 10 All-Conference basketball team that was selected by the conference’s coaches. Senior forward/center Kendall Currence and junior guard Kenna Maxwell were named

Lacrosse Bucs fall in debut to Morgantown, 14-2

TENNERTON – The Buckhannon-Upshur boy’s lacrosse team opened their 2023 campaign at home Wednesday with the Morgantown Mohigans at Freal “Red” Crites Memorial Stadium. The Bucs dropped a 14-2 decision as the Mohigans stymied the B-U offense most of the […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

SHOPS & SERVICES