Assistant Vice President for Health Sciences
Ann Chester, Ph.D.
is the founder and director of Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) a campus/community
partnership program initiated in 1994 which reaches out to 9th-12th grade
under-represented students across West Virginia and supports them towards
college and professional school. A
distinctive piece of HSTA is its students’ development of research projects
that examine and address health issues faced by their communities. These
projects form the core of the HSTA experience and drive the academic learning
the program promotes. The projects turn HSTA students into community advocates
who address health and social issues at home even as they prepare to move on to
college and beyond. In addition, Chester leads the WV Health Careers
Opportunity Program which carries on the work of HSTA at the college
level. Dr. Chester is a founder and Deputy Director of the West Virginia
University National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health (COEWH). She helped originate “Women on Wellness” a
one-day wellness retreat promoting exercise, nutrition and mental health that
has been delivered to over 600 participants in small groups around West
Virginia. Through the enjoyable experience at WOW retreats that help women
develop their own road map to personal wellness, she promotes women’s health,
family health, and ultimately community health. Dr. Chester’s work has been
recognized nationally and regionally for years.
Most recently, in 2015 and 2016, she was nominated for the national
Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering
Mentoring by WVU leadership. She was
recognized with the Ethel and Gerry Heebink Award for Distinguished Service to
WVU (2015), the WVU Mary Catherine Buswell Award for Outstanding Service for
Women (2016) and the Women in Science and Health Advanced Career Award (2017).For hobbies, she snow boards, golfs, bikes,
runs half marathons and visits her 3 grandchildren with her husband.
Download Ann Chester's presentation from Academic Media Day.