Potomac State College of West Virginia University

Potomac State College of West Virginia University is a junior college affiliated with West Virginia University and located in Keyser, West Virginia. West Virginia's only residential junior college, its location in Keyser is approximately 90 miles (140 km) away from WVU's main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Potomac State College offers more than 50 two-year associate degree programs that students have the option to complete at WVU Morgantown or WVU Beckley. Potomac State students may also earn a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Business Management, Computer Information Systems, Criminal Justice, Nursing (BSN), Regents Bachelor of Arts, and Sustainable Agriculture Entrepreneurship (SAGE) on the Keyser campus.

Potomac State College
Viewed from US 220 in January 2014
Established1901[1]
PresidentJennifer E. Orlikoff[2]
DeanGregory S. Ochoa (Academic Affairs)
Location
Keyser
,
West Virginia
,
United States

39°26′19″N 78°58′56″W
CampusTown, 18 acres (7.3 ha) [3]
NicknameCatamounts
Websitewww.potomacstatecollege.edu

History
College campus showing on the left Memorial Residence Hall and Davis Residence Hall on the right

The school was founded in 1901 as the sub-collegiate Keyser Preparatory Branch of West Virginia University by an act of the legislature at the urging of Mineral County Delegate Francis M. Reynolds, who was concerned about the quality of secondary education in the area.[4] The bill provided an appropriation of $20,000 for buildings and empowered the governor to appoint a Board of Regents to govern the school.[5]

Colonel Thomas Beall Davis, a local businessman, donated more than 16 acres of land as a site for the new school. That location, formerly Fort Fuller (also known as Fort Kelly), was a critical fortress in maintaining open roads leading to the South Branch and Shenandoah Valleys and in retaining Union control of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) during the American Civil War; the railroad was a major supply route for the Union Army. Two notable figures who commanded Fort Fuller were Major Lew Wallace, who later wrote the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, and Major Benjamin Harrison, the future 23rd President of the United States. The land on which the school is built came to be known as Fort Hill.[5]

When it opened its doors for classes in October 1902 as the newly renamed West Virginia Preparatory School, the institution consisted of a multi-purpose administration building fronted by a four-sided clock tower. The building housed offices, classrooms, the library, and gymnasium. Lloyd F. Friend was appointed principal and teacher and was joined by four other teachers.

Eventually, what became Potomac State College evolved into a full junior college, taking students from the local area and also students from elsewhere in the state who did not meet the full admission requirements for the main campus. Potomac State has since largely moved out of its remedial role, offering many courses that directly transfer to the main campus with partial credit.

Affiliation with WVU
College library in January 2014

After decades as a regional campus of West Virginia University, Potomac State College became an integrated division of the University on July 1, 2005.[6] Many non-academic services at Potomac State have now come under the control of its main campus.

Athletics

Potomac State College athletic teams are known as the Catamounts,[7] named after the cougar and mountain lions that once roamed the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia. Potomac State is a member of the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference, super-entity of the Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association (PCAA), in partnership with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and competes against other two-year colleges throughout the eastern United States. In October 2013, Catamounts Soccer was ranked 9th in NJCAA Division III. Catamounts Baseball competed in the NJCAA Division I World Series as the 2011 Eastern District Champions.[8] In 2013, the baseball team finished the season ranked 19th in Division I. In March 2014, Catamounts Men's Basketball won their regional championship, which qualified them for the 16-team NJCAA Division II National Championship Tournament. The "Cats" won a game before being eliminated. In 2019 the Men's Lacrosse team finished the season ranked 10th in the nation.[9]

Administration Building, photographed in 2017

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Dave Roberts was assistant baseball coach at Potomac State in the 1990s.[10]

See also

References
  1. "A Century of Excellence". Potomac State College of West Virginia University. Archived from the original on 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  2. "Administration". Potomac State College of West Virginia University. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  3. "About Potomac State College". Potomac State College of West Virginia University. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  4. "WVU Potomac State College | Keyser Campus | A Century of Excellence". www.potomacstatecollege.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  5. Courrier, Dinah W. (2001). Potomac State College. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia. ISBN 0-7385-0621-4. OCLC 50045255.
  6. Announcement of Potomac State College's change of status.
  7. "Athletics". Potomac State College of West Virginia University. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-04-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "NJCAA". NJCAA.
  10. "Dave Roberts | Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org.
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