News Archive

Monday, October 16, 2023

The Westminster College School of Music invites all high school orchestras and individual high school string players to join current Westminster students at String Festival Day on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Will W. Orr Auditorium.

Monday, October 16, 2023

Westminster College students involved in the Buzzfeed cluster course served as video volunteers for the Bags & Blessings 5K Run/Walk in Beaver County in September.

Runners and walkers of the event—which was sponsored by Bags & Blessings, a non-profit charity established to help bring hope and love to those undergoing cancer treatments—shared with students their stories about why they were participating.

The recorded interviews will be shared with Bags & Blessings for use on social media.

“I thought this experience was very heartwarming and it was super interesting to hear from the participants of the race. Hearing stories of what some of those people have overcome and faced in their lives is truly amazing,” said Adam Coppins, a junior environmental studies major from Lewiston, N.Y.

Students worked under the guidance of Bradley Weaver, lecturer in Westminster’s School of Communication and an instructor in the Buzzfeed cluster course, which links environmental science and digital social media courses.

“I was very proud to see our students follow the protocols we mapped out in class about being empathic, understanding boundaries, asking open-ended questions and being supportive in recruiting people to share their reasons for running and supporting the organization,” Weaver said.

The project will connect to environmental science later this semester, when students will help bottle Westminster Bee Company’s honey harvest and share with Bags & Blessings to be included in care packages for cancer patients. Students will deliver the honey and conduct another set of interviews with volunteers.

The idea for this cluster course is attributed to Dr. Patrick Krantz, associate professor for the environment and director of the outdoor laboratory, and Dr. Terri Lennox, professor of computer science emerita.

Krantz said incorporating the honey element into the cluster course was inspired by a friend undergoing chemotherapy.

The raw, local honey produced at Westminster’s apiary is free from harmful chemicals and safe for patients undergoing treatment, Krantz said.

To learn more about the Buzzfeed cluster course, please contact Weaver at weaverbl@westminster.edu.

Monday, October 9, 2023

Westminster College political science alumna Anne Tillie '17 has been named to Crain's Cleveland Business' "Twenty in Their 20s" list. Tillie went into public service after graduating from Westminster and is currently project coordinator for the City of Cleveland.

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Westminster College will host its Fall Open House from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 21. The event is open to high school and transfer students who are interested in attending or learning more about Westminster College.

The visit will consist of tours of the campus with student guides who can give their input on their personal campus experiences. Students and their families will also hear from faculty and staff about majors and academic opportunities and will be provided with information about scholarships and the admission process with financial aid. 

In addition, there will be same day admission decisions for those entering fall 2024.

To register for the event, please click here. For more information, please contact the Office of Admissions at 724-946-7100.

Thursday, October 5, 2023

A Westminster College junior biochemistry major spent 10 weeks this past summer working on computational simulations of the histone mRNA degradation complex at Duquesne University.

Gabriella Hunter from New Baltimore, Mich., was chosen to participate in the Integrated Computational and Experimental Chemistry National Science Foundation-Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) Program.

Hunter worked in the biochemistry lab on the project “Role of 3'hExo in Histone mRNA Degradation” alongside Duquesne faculty members Dr. Rita Mihailescu and Dr. Jeffrey Evanseck, Westminster College Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. Patrick Lackey, and graduate students Caylee Cunningham and Adam Kensinger.

The team worked on creating a better understanding of the degradation process and learning the roles of every structure involved, testing to see how the 3’hExo interacts with the mRNA when it is degrading it.

Hunter says that Westminster College prepared her well for this opportunity, as she was already familiar with the techniques and lab equipment she was using. She was also confident in her understanding of chemistry and biology that was critical to her research.

Lackey, Hunter’s campus mentor, was an integral part of Hunter’s experience.

“He helped explain a lot of background information and aided me along with the presentations we had to do, but he also let me figure things out on my own. That really made the experience interesting, because I could be independent as I learned a lot from doing it on my own,” Hunter said.

At the conclusion of the program, which ran from May 22 to July 28, Hunter presented her research poster at the Duquesne University’s Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Hunter’s future plans include pursuing a career in research and going to graduate school to eventually work as a chemist in formulation or research in the development of cosmetics.

The Integrated Computational and Experimental Chemistry NSF-REU Program is made possible through the collaboration of the U.S. Department of Defense's Awards to Stimulate and Support Undergraduate Research Education (ASSURE) program and the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) program.

For more information about Westminster’s biochemistry program, click here.

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Westminster College welcomed three new faculty members to the campus community for the 2023-24 academic year. Joining the College this fall are Dr. Andrew Bain in the School of Social Sciences, Martha McGrath-Brown in the School of Business and Dr. David Lehman in the School of Arts and Humanities.

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Matt Lewis, senior columnist for The Daily Beast, will deliver the keynote speech at Westminster College’s 22nd Mock Convention at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, in the Will W. Orr Auditorium on Westminster’s campus.

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

High school students interested in studying music are invited to participate in Westminster College’s Music Major for a Day events on Monday, Oct. 9, and Tuesday, Oct. 10.

The event is hosted by Westminster’s School of Music and gives students a glimpse into the campus life of a music major. Each day will have a specific focus of interest. High school sophomores, juniors and seniors are encouraged to attend campus events on one or both days. Attendees will be paired with a current college student to shadow for the day and there will opportunities to play or sing with ensemble rehearsals.

The Oct. 9 event will concentrate on woodwinds, brass and percussion. On Oct. 10, strings, voice and keyboard will be highlighted. Both days will provide opportunities to attend classes, participate in rehearsals, and meet with faculty and current students. 

The event is free and lunch will be provided to all attending. Same day admissions will be available to students interested in applying to Westminster for fall 2024.

Westminster is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music. To register, visit www.westminster.edu/music.

For more information, please contact Dr. Timothy Winfield, chair of Westminster’s School of Music and associate professor of music, at 724-946-7274 or winfietd@westminster.edu.
 

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Westminster College is encouraging students to make connections with members of the local region through a new community engagement initiative, Beyond the Quad.

Friday, September 29, 2023

An article penned by two alumni and a professor from Westminster College’s biochemistry program has been published in RNA Biology, a leading peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of ribonucleic acid research.