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Research. Engagement. Action.

At the heart of CAHS research is a commitment to engage in work that strengthens our communities, families and individuals in West Virginia and beyond. Our faculty and students engage in collaborations and partnerships from the local level to the global level to study today's most pressing educational and social challenges we face. Through their work, our faculty advance knowledge and impact theory, policy and practice across the applied human sciences.

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Monthly Digest


              A student sits with a virtual reality headset with fall foliage in the background.

WVU using virtual reality technology to innovate training for clinical rehabilitation and mental health counselors

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

In 2019, even before the pandemic and many lives and professions turned into hybrid worlds, Margaret Glenn and her colleagues were investigating the use of novel technologies in simulation education. Glenn readily admits she was not familiar with much of the technology that existed then but saw a presentation about how immersive videos could help people expand their experience of different subject matter via a virtual reality headset. Five years later, WVU is leading the way in the field of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling with its innovative use of virtual reality technology.

Read More: WVU using virtual reality technology to innovate training for clinical rehabilitation and mental health counselors

              Young child in a green t-shirt sifting through freshly picked blueberries.

Center for ActiveWV receives funding to improve nutrition and physical activity

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

The Center for ActiveWV in the West Virginia University College of Applied Human Sciences is pleased to announce the receipt of a $768,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's High Obesity Program. The grant, awarded under a five-year cooperative agreement, will support the growth of CAHS's existing HOP grant and the implementation of the Be Wild, Be Wonderful, Be Healthy: Expanded program.

Read More: Center for ActiveWV receives funding to improve nutrition and physical activity

              Three children playing soccer outside in a park.

Center for ActiveWV earns grant from CDC to address pressing health challenges for schools and students

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

The Center for ActiveWV in the West Virginia University College of Applied Human Sciences received $390,000 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the first year of a five-year cooperative agreement for its WV Healthy Schools in Action project. The initiative, which aims to address the pressing health challenges faced by West Virginia schools and students, is anticipated to have $1.95 million in funding over five years.

Read More: Center for ActiveWV earns grant from CDC to address pressing health challenges for schools and students

              A desk that shows two phones on with applications running.

WVU research shows students with disabilities will benefit from COVID-19's fast-tracking of app-based learning

Thursday, April 20, 2023

After COVID-19 moved classes online in 2020, a West Virginia University expert in adapted physical activity discovered that apps aren’t created equal when it comes to accessibility.

Read More: WVU research shows students with disabilities will benefit from COVID-19's fast-tracking of app-based learning

Research Week

Check out the discovery and innovation being done in the College of Applied Human Sciences.

Explore The Research

ENGAGING OUR COMMUNITIES

Center for ActiveWV

Be Wild. Be Wonderful. Be Active. The Center for ActiveWV aims to improve the health and quality of life for WV children and adults through increased access to physical activity. Through collaboration, research, policy, and practice, the Center supports community-based efforts to increase physical activity levels in WV schools, communities, and health care settings.

Learn More: Center for ActiveWV

Center for the Future of Land-Grant Education

The Center for the Future of Land-Grant Education is the nation’s only higher education research center focused solely on land-grant institutions. The Center’s research and outreach efforts seek to understand and impact higher education policies and practices, student access and success, community engagement and economic development, and leadership.

Learn More : Center for the Future of Land-Grant Education

Center for Applied Coaching and Sport Sciences

The Center for Applied Coaching and Sport Science (CACSS) was built on the vision: Every person an athlete. Every athlete trained by a quality coach. Every coach enlightened by the best science and best practice. Through its research and outreach, the Center works to improve access to and the experiences associated with youth sport in America.

Learn More : Center for Applied Coaching and Sport Sciences

WVU Nursery School

The WVU Nursery School provides local children with a thriving educational environment that fosters innovation, creativity, and lots of fun using project-based learning and play. The Nursery School provides observational and practicum experiences for WVU students seeking careers in early childhood education.

Learn More : WVU Nursery School

FIT Publishing and the International Center for Performance Excellence

FiT Publishing is an international publisher in the sport sciences and operates under the division of the International Center for Performance Excellence (ICPE) in the College of Applied Human Sciences. Through disseminating educational products, FIT supports ICPE’s mission to promote awareness at the local, national, and international levels of the values and benefits of engaging in sport and physical activity.

Learn More about FIT Publishing

Job Accommodation Network

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) provides free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. Working toward practical solutions that benefit both employer and employee, JAN helps people with disabilities enhance their employability, and shows employers how to capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities add to the workplace.

Learn More: Job Accommodation Network l

Office of Research and Engagement

The goal of the CAHS Office of Research and Engagement is to build, sustain, and support a college-wide research community in which faculty, staff, and students across departments and areas of expertise give and receive support around our individual and collective research endeavors. There are both large and small things that can contribute to building such a college-wide research community, and the focus of our office is to support these efforts. From conception of ideas, to grant writing, to research dissemination—we are here to help!

Learn more about the CAHS Research Office