Shepherdstown resident is appointed to education post

Jenny Allen
CHARLESTON – Jenny Allen of Shepherdstown recently was appointed to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission by Gov. Joe Manchin.
Manchin said that Allen, with a background in community development and education, is ideally suited to help advocate the Commission’s goals of improving academic and economic opportunities for West Virginian residents.
“I am pleased that Ms. Allen is willing to selflessly give her time to advance higher education in West Virginia,” Manchin said. “Her work in the Eastern Panhandle, especially with Shepherd University, has contributed importantly to the economic growth of the local community – and it’s a promising signal of the dedication I know she’ll demonstrate as a member of the Commission.”
“On behalf of the Commission, I am pleased to welcome Ms. Allen and look forward to working with her in the months and years to come to advance colleges access opportunities for all West Virginians,” Brian Noland, the commission’s chancellor, added.
Allen has served as vice chair of the nearly-completed $20 million Create the Future campaign for Shepherd University, the institution’s first comprehensive fundraising initiative. She is vice president of the board of the Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherd University – a significant driver of the Eastern Panhandle’s economy that brings thousands of visitors to West Virginia each summer – and a past member of the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation board.
Since 2006, she has been a trustee of North Country School and Camp Treetops in Lake Placid, N.Y. Allen earned a bachelor of art degree from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., an master of art degree from the University of Georgia and recently completed the Executive Certificate program in Nonprofit Management at Georgetown University.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work with the commission and Chancellor Noland to increase access to an affordable, high quality college education for young people in the Eastern Panhandle and across West Virginia,” Allen said.
She added that she is excited to support the state’s four-year schools in their efforts toward achieving educational excellence and retaining students through to graduation.
“Investing in education and in our young people can only make our state stronger and more competitive,” Allen said.
The Commission is responsible for developing, establishing and overseeing the implementation of a public policy agenda for the state’s four-year colleges and universities. It is charged with oversight of higher education institutions to ensure they are accomplishing their missions and implementing the provisions set by state statute.
Allen joins nine other commission members; six of whom are appointed by the governor and three ex-officio members including the secretary of Education and the Arts, state Superintendent of Schools and chair of the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education.
More information about the commission visit www.hepc.wvnet.edu.