“We are thrilled that Samantha has accepted our call to this important work in Morgantown, and indeed the state,” said Tina Vial, president of the Westminster Foundation, which provides fulltime Presbyterian campus ministry at WVU and Marshall, and supports other campus ministries at Shepherd University, West Liberty University, Fairmont State University, West Virginia Institute of Technology, Concord University and Glenville State College as well as a collaborative relationship with Davis & Elkins College, the only Presbyterian affiliated college in
the state.

“Our search was a long one, but we have no doubt that Samantha is the person God has chosen to lead this ministry,” Vial said.

Coggins, a native of Fredericksburg, Va., where she attended The Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg, holds a
Bachelor of Arts degree in English language and literature from the University of Virginia, a Master of Arts in arts journalism from Syracuse University and a Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

She will begin her duties Jan. 13.
"As 2021 begins, I'm moved by the opportunity to walk alongside students and those in the WVU community spiritually, as a Presbyterian pastor,” Coggins said. “While we continue dealing with our context of coronavirus, and
ponder what it means to do so as people of faith, I'm eager to begin forging strong connections with students and pastor colleagues in Morgantown.”
Coggins will be ordained as a minister of Word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at a time to be set later. She and her husband, Joel, are expecting their first child in February.
For more than a century, The Westminster Foundation has provided or supported faith communities for college and
university students on or near campuses in West Virginia; helped congregations fulfill their baptismal covenant with college and university students; and given witness on campuses to the Christian faith grounded in the Reformed tradition, while respecting and building ecumenical and interfaith relationships.