Beth King has been appointed as director of the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins after serving in the post on an interim basis.
The Augusta staff has recently taken on the duty of organizing monthly square dances in Elkins. In addition, they have secured coordinators and instructors for the 2015 summer sessions, and are making final plans for the annual Augusta Festival.
King began her employment at Davis & Elkins in March 2013, assisting the College in strengthening its cultural arts programming.
Before joining D&E, King served as executive director of the Randolph County Community Arts Center (RCCAC) for more than seven years. In this role, she developed a program that served more than 600 students; recruited and scheduled a roster of more than two dozen music and arts educators; organized and developed 12 art exhibits per year; and organized and ran a yearly concert series of more than 20 acts.
Prior to being named executive director of the RCCAC, King served the Center as both arts coordinator and class coordinator. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and Bachelor of Arts in journalism degree from the University of Georgia, and worked as an elementary art teacher for many years prior to relocating to Elkins. She has volunteered in a variety of capacities for both local and regional organizations.
King is married to Dr. Bill King, chair of the Division of Humanities at Davis & Elkins.
A Center of Excellence for more than 40 years, the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College offers several week-long programs featuring instruction in many traditions of music, dance, craft and folklore. Concerts, dances, a summer festival and other heritage arts events are part of the Augusta experience. The Augusta Heritage Center is also home to significant collections of field recordings, oral histories, photographs, instruments and Appalachian art.
Programs offered by the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College are presented with financial support from the WV Division of Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts.
Related to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Davis & Elkins College is located in Elkins, 2 hours east of Charleston, 3 hours south of Pittsburgh and 4 hours west of Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit the College website at www.dewv.edu or call 304-637-1243.
