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Cassandra Bolyard Whyte is an American higher education administrator, teacher, and educational researcher. She is recognized for publication and leadership in the areas of higher education management, improving academic performance of students, campus planning and safety, predicting educational trends in. colleges and universities, and encouraging creativity in curriculum development. She is also experienced in helping facilitate campus architectural planning to meet educational vision and programming as well as higher education human resources management and motivation.


Career information

Over several decades, Cassandra Whyte has worked as an administrator and/or member of the faculty at private and public
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...
institutions in the United States. She has worked many years at West Virginia State University (WVSU) where she has served on the faculty and worked as Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Planning and Special Projects, Vice President for Administrative Services, Acting Vice President for Student Affairs, and in other leadership capacities. At WVSU she has worked at the Executive and Cabinet level for much of her tenure there and currently her major focus is on her faculty role. WVSU is a public, HBCU 1890
land-grant university A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Signed by Abraha ...
. Whyte also taught at the graduate level at Oregon State University and at the former West Virginia College of Graduate Studies. Previously, she served a decade at Davis and Elkins College (D & E), where she was on the faculty and a key participant in the strategic redesign of their academic curriculum to "Alternative Futures" that incorporated relevance and creativity with time-honored studies. The schedule was modified to include a winter term between fall and spring semesters which emphasized learning survival skills and independent study. Davis and Elkins College &Eis a private, church affiliated liberal arts college. Dr. Whyte also taught in corrections facilities. Additionally, she administratively supervised the WVSU Public Safety Department of trained and certified law enforcement officers for twenty-four years during her cabinet tenure of supervising various departments.


Research and publications

In 1978, Whyte received a national
educational research Educational research refers to the systematic collection and analysis of data related to the field of education. Research may involve a variety of methods and various aspects of education including student learning, teaching methods, teacher tra ...
award from Oregon State University (OSU) and taught in their summer graduate education program that same year. The research dealt with
Locus of Control Locus of control is the degree to which people believe that they, as opposed to external forces (beyond their influence), have control over the outcome of events in their lives. The concept was developed by Julian B. Rotter in 1954, and has sinc ...
and getting students pursuing higher education to accept responsibility for their behavior in regard to improvement of academic performance. Her publications range from juried professional journals to a Jossey-Bass Publishers ''New Directions'' sourcebook chapter. In 2002, Whyte was a member of a round table program held at Oxford University in England, where she presented a paper focusing upon the financial and technology future of higher education for the 21st Century. A salient project she helped develop and lead at Davis and Elkins College (D & E), the
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...
Program, received international notice in ''The Christian Science Monitor'', in the early 1970s. The program emphasized group and individual counseling focusing upon accepting personal responsibility for educational performance and use of pragmatic approaches to motivate students to do their best work. During the later 1980s, Whyte collected data suggesting how important
information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology syste ...
, also known as
educational technology Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refe ...
, would become for higher education into the future. Eventually, early versions of computer-assisted learning experiences for students reinforced the locus of control concept as successful students were somewhat self-motivated during the process of technology-based interactive activities. Into the 21st-century, the e-learning and personal computer-assisted learning devices were to be more frequently used by students and educators and more sophisticated institutional data collections became required. Also in that decade, Whyte researched and published about the focus of new student orientation programming to help with retention and in 2007 the international National Orientation Directors Association Journal editors reprinted the article in a 30th anniversary issue.


Campus planning activities

At West Virginia State University, working with a dedicated team, Whyte was able to draw upon artistic training from earlier educational attainments, interaction with colleagues and architects, along with educational and business experience, to help develop and cooperatively implement ''The WVSU Campus Master Plan'' for the University. This is a plan for future campus facility and property development to safely accommodate educational programming needs and visions.


Biographic information

Cassandra Sue Bolyard Whyte was born in Grafton, West Virginia to Roy Everett Bolyard (1901–1983) and Georgia Ellen Deavers Bolyard (1909–1994) in 1947. In 1973, Dr. Whyte married William Rowland Whyte, Jr., a career corrections professional and educator. Their daughter, Jennifer Nicole Whyte Onks, married Brian Edward Onks, and their children are Thomas William Onks and Tyler Austin Onks. Cassandra Bolyard Whyte had three siblings: Eldora Marie Bolyard Nuzum, married Jack Robert Nuzum; Vonda Jean Bolyard Norris married Clyde Dale Norris; and Robert Glen Bolyard married Jacqueline Westfall Bolyard. Whyte earned her Doctorate in Education (Ed. D) from West Virginia University in 1975 where she also earned a master's degree (M.A.). Prior to that she earned a bachelor's degree from what is now Fairmont State University (FSU). Over the years she did advanced study and workshops at other higher education institutions such as the University of Virginia, Marietta College, and other schools. Whyte has been a
Licensed Professional Counselor Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) is a licensure for mental health professionals in some countries. In the US, licensed professional counselors (or in some states, "licensed clinical mental health counselors" or "licensed clinical profession ...
(LPC) in the state of West Virginia and maintained a teaching certification. Her interest in
educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in ...
, or how students learn and effectiveness of educational interventions, has been apparent in all of her work.


Educational Philosophy

Focusing upon opportunities which encourage individuals to accept responsibility for their education and lives has been an important focus of Whyte's research, teaching, counseling, and administrative style. This locus of control identification promotes confidence for student and employee performance in individual and team projects. Research and practice by Whyte indicate that through ownership of individual actions, there is greater opportunity to develop creative and entrepreneurial problem solving habits resulting in more frequent successes in school, work, and life endeavors. Her work corroborates theories of
Julian Rotter Julian B. Rotter (October 22, 1916 – January 6, 2014) was an American psychologist known for developing social learning theory and research into locus of control. He was a faculty member at Ohio State University and then the University of Conne ...
in the academic setting.- Whyte, Cassandra Bolyard, "Effective Counseling Methods for High-Risk College Freshmen", ''Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance'', 10, 4, January 1978, 198-200.


Sources

*Bolyard, Cassandra, (Whyte) "Creativity: An Integral Part of the Secondary School Curriculum",''Education'', 94, 2, November/December 1973, 190–192 * Whyte, Cassandra Bolyard, "Effective Counseling Methods for High-Risk College Freshmen", ''Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance'', 10, 4, January 1978, 198–200 *King, Michael,''Fatherhood 101-Bonding Types and Building Long-Term Relationships'', Clear View Press, Inc, Palm Coast, Florida, Testimonial pages, 2008, 1–2 *Lauridsen Kurt and Whyte, Cassandra B. (1985) An Integrated Counseling and Learning Assistance Center-Chapter for New Directions Sourcebook. Jossey-Bass, Inc. 1985 *Driggs, Jody and Dittoe, William, et al., "West Virginia State University 2006 Campus Master Plan", Silling Associates, (also Educational Facilities Consultants, LLC), Charleston, West Virginia, 2006. 1–57 *Frost, John and (Whyte) Bolyard, Cassandra (1972)"Low-Achieving Freshmen Aided". ''The Christian Science Monitor'', May 20, 1972 *King, Michael, ''Fatherhood 101-Bonding Types and Building Long-Term Relationships'', Clear View Press, Inc, Palm Coast, Florida, Testimonial pages, 2008, 1–2 *Pellegrin, Amy, Herod, Rebecca Thompkins, FSU Maroon & White Editorial Board, "Fairmont State Alumni Shaping West Virginia", ''Maroon & White'', Fairmont State University Foundation, Fairmont, WV, 21, Winter, 2007, 3 *Ross, Thomas Richard, ''The Diamond Jubilee History of Davis & Elkins College'', Davis and Elkins College, Elkins, West Virginia. 1980 *Rotter, J. B. ''Social Learning and Clinical Psychology''. Prentice-Hall, 1954 *''The 2006 West Virginia State University Campus Master Plan'', Silling Associates, et al., Charleston, WV, 2006 *Whyte,Cassandra B. and Whyte,William R. 1982."Accelerated Programs Behind Prison Walls". College Student Journal. 16.(1).70–74 *Whyte, Cassandra B. "An Additional Look at Orientation Programs Nationally" Journal of the National Orientation Directors Association. (Reprint of 1986 article for 30th Anniversary Edition). Fall. 15. (1) 2007. 71–77 *(Whyte), Cassandra Bolyard, "Creativity: An Integral Part of the Secondary School Curriculum",''Education'', 94, 2, November/December 1973, 190–192 * Whyte, Cassandra Bolyard, "Effective Counseling Methods for High-Risk College Freshmen", ''Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance'', 10,4, January 1978, 198–200 *Whyte, Cassandra B., "High-Risk College Freshmen and Locus of Control", ''Humanist Educator'',correction in following issue, 16, 1977, 2–5 *Whyte, Cassandra Bolyard, "Perceptions about Campus Law Enforcement and Safety", The West Virginia Mental Health Journal,1994–95, WVMHCA, West Virginia, 1–19 *Whyte, Cassandra Bolyard, "Student Affairs-The Future", ''Journal of College Student Development'', 30, January 1989, 86-89.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whyte, Cassandra B. American women academics American academic administrators Educators from West Virginia 1947 births Living people People from Grafton, West Virginia West Virginia University alumni West Virginia State University faculty Women academic administrators 21st-century American women