UC's Intergrative Learning Team is composed of the academic division chairs and the two assistants to the provost. A short bio of each is included here.
J. Wayne Jones, Division Chair of Arts & Sciences
J. Wayne Jones is Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Morris Harvey Division of Arts & Sciences. He has taught at the university level for fifteen years, including stints at Arkansas State University, the University of Arkansas, Southeast Missouri State University, and the University of Georgia. His research interests are in modern America, especially democratic movements as they relate to capitalism and technology. Currently, his book, After 1968, is under contract with the University of Florida Press.
Robert Bliss, Division Chair of Business
Bob Bliss has had an exciting and distinguished career in higher education and business. Beginning as Assistant to the President at Adrian College (Michigan) at the age of 20 he progressed in higher education to increasingly responsible positions at Michigan State University and Northern Michigan University. His success at these institutions led him to the Vice Presidency of the prestigious National Merit Scholarship program where he headed a major fund raising program for that organization, raising approximately $20 million annually for scholarship use. He reached the pinnacle in higher education when he was appointed President of Morris Harvey College, now the University of Charleston. He has served on various boards, including the American Heart Association, Ronald McDonald House, Board of Advisors of Adrian College, WVS University Foundation, WV Mining & Reclamation Association and past President of Berry Hills Country Club.
Karen Merriman, Assistant to the Provost for Curriculum and Instruction
Karen Merriman brings 25+ years of teaching and administrative experience to her role as Assistant to the Provost. She holds a bachelors of science in nursing from Alderson Broaddus College, the master’s of science in nursing with a concentration in education from Bellarmine College, and completion of course work toward her PhD in Educational Leadership from Capella University. She participated in the HERS Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education and in the IRHE Program in Higher Education at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Assessment of student learning through integrated learning assignments, and strategies by which these assessments inform student, course, program, and institutional effectiveness are central to her work. She has made numerous presentations at regional and national conferences sharing her work and that of her colleagues on a variety of topics ranging from design and implementation of first-year programs, developing outcomes-based curricula, and classroom assessment. Karen represented the University as member of the campus team that participated in a three-year Integrated Learning Project sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Laura Festa
