The VISTA Collaborative at WVU calls on the University community to help develop, enhance and sustain engagement programs and to strengthen and supplement efforts to recruit, educate and graduate students in higher education.
Leveraging University resources to improve outcomes in the community and strengthen student success is the mission of The VISTA Collaborative. We are leading the way in developing higher education as a hub for the AmeriCorps VISTA program, which exists to build the capacity of educational institutions and nonprofit organizations to fight poverty in America.
We are always seeking WVU faculty and programs that can use the skills of an AmeriCorps VISTA member to achieve these goals, and this year, we have a special focus on collaborations that can serve to increase minority recruitment and retention in STEM fields, tackle the most difficult issues currently facing West Virginia’s impoverished communities and dismantle the many barriers that stand in the way of student success.
This year, the primary focus of new VISTA projects must be either:
Strengthening opportunities for minority students (including those considered minorities based upon sex, ethnicity, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or first-generation college status), especially but not limited to those students in STEM majors, or
Tackling the most difficult issues facing West Virginia’s impoverished communities (including addiction, rural development, food access, energy sources, etc.)
VISTA members will be awarded to WVU, WVU Beckley, WVU Keyser, and Extension Service departments, colleges, and programs, including non-academic departments and programs. Only eight more member positions are available, and they fill quickly; therefore, this is a competitive process.
For more information, contact Kristi Wood-Turner at kwood@mail.wvu.edu.