West Virginia State University News April 18, 2016 West Virginia State Students Take Part in Innovative U.S. State Department Briefing West Virginia State University (WVSU) political science students received real world insight on Thursday, April 14, into issues affecting the Middle East during an innovative new type of briefing delivered to them by U.S. State Department officials. Using Google Hangouts, students in Dr. Ginta T. Palubinskas Comparative Politics of the Arab Middle East class were able to carry on an interactive conversation with State Department officials from Washington D.C. Appearing on a large television monitor inside a conference room in Ferrell Hall, Paul Watzlavick, U.S. State Department spokesperson for the Bureau of Near East Affairs, delivered a briefing to the students on timely issues affecting the Middle East and then fielded questions. WVSU is one of the first universities in the country to participate in this State Department initiative, and Palubinskas said she hopes it becomes a regular component of her courses. "We hope to make briefings like this both a regular part of our Comparative Politics courses, as well as to organize larger events that include the broader University community," said Palubinskas, an associate professor of political science. "This provides our students with additional opportunities to connect theory with practice, as well as to help WVSU to build a working relationship with the U.S. Department of State." The University of Albany in Albany, Ga., also participated in Thursday's briefing. The U.S. State Department's mission is to shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world and foster conditions for stability and progress for the benefit of the American people and people everywhere. For more information, visit www.state.gov<http://www.state.gov> SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-592-4820 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.