West Virginia University President Gordon Gee asserted WVU’s university-wide restructuring resulting in wide-ranging cuts to faculty, staff and programs has been “immensely successful†in a presentation before the state House Finance Committee on Nov. 1, 2023.
West Virginia University’s president declared the institution-wide restructuring that resulted in wide-ranging faculty and program cuts “immensely successful†before a panel of state lawmakers Wednesday, even as the school’s chief financial officer reported an unsettled 2025 budget.
WVU President Gordon Gee praised his administration’s “Academic Transformation†restructuring that included 28 program and 143 faculty cuts approved in September in a budget presentation before the state House Finance Committee.
West Virginia University President Gordon Gee asserted WVU’s university-wide restructuring resulting in wide-ranging cuts to faculty, staff and programs has been “immensely successful†in a presentation before the state House Finance Committee on Nov. 1, 2023.
WVU Faculty Senate video broadcast
“I think it has been immensely successful even though it has been painful and it has caused considerable angst among certain parts of the institution,†Gee said of the restructuring. “But change is imperative, and I believe very strongly that by leading change, we have set a standard for what the future of the university will be like.â€
Gee’s comment followed a report from WVU Chief Financial Officer Paula Congelio that administrators’ expectation of saving $22 million from the restructuring by 2026 isn’t enough to avoid uncertainty over the 2025 budget.
Congelio said WVU hasn’t “permanently balanced our plans†for its 2025 budget, citing proposed increase in Public Employees Insurance Agency-related expenses and inflation.
WVU Provost Maryanne Reed said during a Jan. 8 Faculty Senate meeting that savings from the restructuring may not be enough to prevent further eliminations after a 2023 that brought roughly 300 cuts to faculty and staff.
Congelio, on Wednesday, said she couldn’t answer when asked by state Del. Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, how much WVU’s debt service totaled.
WVU’s outstanding debt from bonds and privately issued debt and capital leases totaled roughly $877.5 million as of June 30. Approximately $147.3 million — or 17% — of that amount was issued since a December 2020 call from Gee to lower costs that the administration has since identified as the start of the school’s restructuring process.
The figures were reported in WVU’s fiscal year 2024 debt service and debt portfolio.
State appropriations were higher in FY 2013 than FY 2024
Congelio’s PowerPoint presentation showed the $156 million in state appropriations for WVU for fiscal year 2024 were lower than the $175 million allotted for fiscal year 2013, not including a special $50 million appropriation for the WVU Cancer Institute.
State appropriations comprised 15% of WVU’s total revenues for fiscal year 2023, Congelio’s presentation indicated, with net tuition and fees comprising the largest piece of the pie at 32%.
Congelio said WVU would need an additional $16 million to cover a 5% pay raise for state employees proposed by Gov. Jim Justice.
Congelio said total enrollment declined roughly 2.7% from fall 2022 to fall 2023 — a trend Gee predicted WVU would reverse.
“We think it will be stable and grow,†Gee said. “Yes, we do. We believe that we will start growing our enrollment because we’re creating programs that will be very attractive.â€
In 2014, Gee set a goal to raise enrollment to 40,000 students. It hovered just above 27,000, as of last fall.
House Finance Committee members were complimentary toward Gee and Congelio, approving of the administration’s leadership despite signs of mass disapproval among faculty and staff.
In September, the University Assembly approved a vote of no confidence in Gee by a 797-100 tally. The Faculty Senate Office-convened assembly voted 747-79 in favor of freezing the university’s academic restructuring.
In October, the WVU Staff Council released results of a classified staff survey indicating 64% of respondents reported having a “negative†or “very negative†opinion of the university’s “Transformation†process.
The Staff Council represents classified staff, with state code requiring members from five sectors:
Administrative/managerial
Professional/nonteaching
Paraprofessional
Secretarial/clerical
Physical plant/maintenance
The council includes administrative assistants, trades specialists and maintenance and campus service workers.
The survey drew 198 participants, representing 13% of classified staff across all campuses, according to the Staff Council. Roughly 86% of respondents were from WVU’s main campus in Morgantown.
The House Finance Committee also received a budget presentation from Marshall University President Brad D. Smith and senior vice president of finance Matt Tidd.
Smith noted Marshall reversed a 13-year enrollment decline this past fall and said the university is in the “programming phase†and closing out the search for an executive director to lead a program supported by a $45 million state appropriation approved in August.
That appropriation was for a new cybersecurity center.
