About Concord University
For more than 150 years, Concord University has served the southern region of West Virginia, southwest Virginia and beyond, educating teachers, business leaders, scientists, social workers, as well as future medical and legal professionals. With a 14:1 student to faculty ratio and over 70 programs of study, Concord provides you with a quality education no matter what you choose.
Featured Stories
Assistant Professor/Training Manager
Dr. Samantha Byrd began at Concord as an adjunct professor in the Masters of Social Work program in 2020, and was advanced to a full-time position in 2022. She received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Concord in 2016, and her Masters of Social Work degree in 2018, also from Concord. She went on to the University of Kentucky to earn her Doctor of Social Work degree in 2023. Dr. Byrd has practice experience in child and adolescent mental health, grant management, and foster parent training. She is certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) interventions. In addition to teaching, Samantha volunteers in the counseling center at Concord, and provides community service in various ways. She founded and manages a foster closet and foster parent support group, and serves on the board of directors for Child Protect of Mercer County. She says of her most memorable experience at CU, “Since starting in academia, I have had the pleasure of working in different capacities with some of the professors and mentors I had during my time as a student at CU. It is incredible to see how everyone comes together behind the scenes to support students in various ways.”
Dr. Samantha Byrd, DSW, MSW, LGSW, '16 '18
Assistant Professor/Training Manager
Josie Crawford '24
Biology Major with Biomedical Sciences Emphasis
Shannon Phipps
Nursing Major with Psychology Minor
Dr. Thomas McKenna
Professor of Philosophy and History
Professor of History
“When I came to interview at Concord, I fell in love with the natural beauty of the region and the friendly people at Concord and in the surrounding area.” More than just teaching about the past, Dr. Berkey wants to teach his students how to think like historians do – evaluating evidence, making sense of conflicting information, reading sources closely and carefully, and asking critical questions of those sources. “These are skills that will be helpful to students regardless of their career path,” he says. As a department, Dr. Berkey and the faculty are working to give students more choices and flexibility by trying to offer all courses online and in the classroom setting.
