West Virginia Wesleyan College welcomes new faculty members to campus

West Virginia Wesleyan College has announced the addition of eight new faculty members to fill key roles in the College, including a new associate provost. These hires aim to enhance the institution’s mission of providing outstanding education and experiences for its students. Below are brief biographies of some of the new faculty members and their accomplishments.

Dr. Christine Schimmel

Dr. Christine Schimmel serves as the Associate Provost for the College and Practicum & Internship Coordinator for the new Master’s in Mental Health Counseling Program. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in education from Glenville State University, a Master’s in school counseling from West Virginia University and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a cognate in school counseling from Marshall University. Schimmel has authored over five textbooks on training school and mental health counselors, focusing on counseling children and adolescents and group counseling. Her work includes more than 15 peer-reviewed publications on counseling-related topics. She is currently co-principal investigator on federal grants with SAMHSA and the U.S. Department of Education. With over 25 years of experience teaching and training counselors in West Virginia, Schimmel expressed her enthusiasm about joining the College and contributing to the training of future clinicians at West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Dr. Kimberly White

Dr. Kimberly White is the Director of the School of Nursing, chairperson of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program, and an associate professor. She holds multiple certifications, including an ADN from Davis and Elkins, a BSN from Alderson Broaddus, an MSN in Nursing Administration from Marshall University, and a Ph.D. in nursing education from Capella University. White has conducted research on faculty experiences with integrating emotional intelligence into nursing curricula.

Sandra Oster

Sandra Oster joins the nursing faculty, bringing her BSN and MSN from Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She has 14 years of experience teaching Pediatrics and Mother/Baby, following her career as a NICU nurse.

Jessica Riffee

Jessica Riffee is an Assistant Professor in Health Science. She earned both her Bachelor of Science and Master’s in Education degrees in exercise science from Fairmont State University and is working towards her Ph.D. in Coaching and Teaching Studies at West Virginia University. Riffee has published numerous abstracts on public health issues, physical activity and exercise psychology. She has extensive experience in mentoring, course development, curriculum design, accreditation activities and service-based research.

John Biola, Michael Lynch, Olabanji Olatinwo and Robert Parker are also joining West Virginia Wesleyan College this semester.