Change by its very nature is not easy. It involves stepping out of familiarity and stability into uncertainty and action.
Today, the country’s higher education system is in the midst of a profound transformation. Longstanding models, academic approaches and assumptions are being tested.
At West Virginia State University we are embracing this new reality.
Founded in 1891, our university was established as a beacon of hope and a pathway to prosperity for those who previously did not have access to advanced education in our state. For 134 years we have provided thousands of students with the tools they need to succeed in their lives and careers and in turn to make a dramatic mark on the state of West Virginia. We are proud of that legacy, and we are committed to carrying it forward.
The school that was founded on the banks of the Kanawha River in 1891 looks very different from the school that we are today. Just as the school that we will become in the future will look very different than who we are now. That is the nature of growth.
If you look around the nation you will see that higher education is at a crossroads. The enrollment cliff is here with fewer students in the education pipeline choosing to pursue a traditional four-year bachelor’s degree.
For those who have been unwilling or unable to adapt, they have faced the market driven consequences. Some colleges and universities have been forced to close, while others have had to undertake massive shifts resulting in thousands of layoffs and the reduction of degree programs that no longer had sufficient enrollment to support them.
For a land-grant university like West Virginia State this has already meant an in-depth examination of the way that we conduct our work on a daily basis.
We have already made the tough but necessary decisions to eliminate some long-standing degree programs that no longer had sufficient enrollment. This has meant a shift of effort and resources to programs that the job market demands like cybersecurity, nursing, and education. We will likely see more shifts in the months and years ahead as we continue to adapt to the needs of our students and the workforce. Such changes will be necessary to keep us on a long term path of growth and viability.
Last spring, we made the difficult decision to reduce the number of senior executives at the university, while also implementing a 5% pay reduction for the university’s top administrators to reduce cost and to clearly signal that transformational change requires shared sacrifice across the university. We also instituted a hiring freeze for non-essential positions that remains in effect.
As we go through the upcoming year, right-sizing and restructuring of the university will continue. We will approach these decisions with transparency taking into account the human impact and the overall needs of the university.
Even amid these immense challenges, WVSU continues to rise. We have already received positive endorsements of the actions that we are undertaking. Fiscal year 2025 was the largest fundraising year ever in our history with over 1,000 donors contributing more than $11.6 million to the university.
Recently, with $1 million in support from Google’s Cybersecurity Clinics Fund, we opened the WVSU Cybersecurity Clinic, the first and only clinic of its type in West Virginia designed to provide free digital security services to under-resourced organizations. And earlier this summer, we expanded our global reach by formalizing a partnership with Egypt’s Academy of Scientific Research and Technology co-establishing a joint international platform focused on enhancing agricultural resilience, food security and genomic innovation.
Innovations like these will be what drive West Virginia State University and institutions of higher education into the future as all colleges and universities are facing considerable pressures to meet both work force demands and economic realities.
This is a watershed moment in higher education in our country. Those institutions that are willing to adapt will rise to meet the demands of a changing world, while those who cannot will get swept away into history.
At West Virginia State University, we are rising to meet this moment and we will continue to be a beacon of hope and a pathway to prosperity for the next 134 years and beyond.
The path ahead will likely be unfamiliar, and at times uncomfortable, but that is the nature of meaningful transformation.
This is our moment to lead, to reimagine, and to reaffirm the profound role that institutions like West Virginia State University play in shaping our state, our country, and our world.
