KEYSER, W. Va. — Dr. Matthew Hottle, PhD, RN, has been selected to chair the Keyser Campus of the WVU School of Nursing, located at WVU Potomac State College. He brings nearly two decades of nursing experience to the role, as well as department chair experience from a local community college.
“I want to get my footing and continue learning, but then I also want to build,” Hottle said. “That’s my goal: To build on the foundation Dr. (April) Shapiro put in place.”
When Shapiro, the first chairperson for the Keyser Campus, announced her upcoming retirement in May, Dean Tara Hulsey selected Hottle to become Shapiro’s successor. She worked closely with Hottle to mentor him and prepare him for the administrative position.
“Matthew brings a very down-to-earth feel,” Shapiro said. “He’s very organized and very structured, and the way he relates to students is amazing.”
Hottle first earned his associate’s degree in nursing at Fairmont State, and he worked on a medical-surgical floor of Garrett Regional Medical Center following graduation. He then worked in the intensive care unit and the emergency room. During that time, he became interested in teaching as he precepted nursing students from Allegheny College of Maryland.
He decided to pursue his master’s degree in nursing and started teaching at the Garrett Campus of Allegheny College. He became the coordinator for that two-year program, where he taught a variety of nursing courses, including med-surg and pediatrics.
Shapiro recruited him to work for the Keyser Campus in roughly 2019, inviting him to tour the campus and simulation lab.
“The potential to work with WVU really caught my attention,” Hottle said. Since joining the Keyser Campus team, Hottle also earned his PhD.
“I’m a first-generation college student, so I never thought I would have a bachelor’s, master’s and a PhD,” Hottle said. “As a young boy in rural West Virginia, I would have never imagined this would have been an opportunity for me. With the help of WVU, especially through financial assistance, it became a possibility.”
His goals as Keyser Campus Chair are to expand the campus — both to allow more space for faculty and to expand program numbers. He would also like to continue working with Dr. Diana Niland on bolstering the health and wellness of rural West Virginia.
Hottle co-chairs the Potomac State College Faith Community Health and Wellness Student Organization and engages in the faith community external to the school. He also participates in research activities, including an ongoing study with palliative care in heart failure patients.
“I feel a lot of support from our other campus locations and their chairs,” Hottle said. “I’m very appreciative of that, and I really feel connected across the School of Nursing.”
He said he hopes to lead by example, both for faculty and students at the Keyser Campus.
“I’m a firm believer that there’s more caught than taught. I want to make sure our faculty are demonstrating the value of RNs, so our students can see us moving forward in our learning, continuing education, and that they can aspire to do that as well.”
-WVU-
MEDIA CONTACT:
Wendy Holdren
Director of Communications and Marketing
WVU School of Nursing
304-581-1772; wendy.holdren@hsc.wvu.edu