The highest level of research funding in the history of West Virginia University was announced Wednesday (July 11) during the first meeting of the new Board of Governors.

The 15-member panel, appointed last week by Gov. Bob Wise, met via conference call to hear a report from President David C. Hardesty Jr., elect officers and act on several key issues, including the acquisition of property in Sunnyside and Downtown Morgantown.

“Maintaining and growing a major research university is of great importance to this state and to this nation,”Hardesty said.”We are doing that at WVU , and I am pleased to announce that in the fiscal year just ending, funding for sponsored projects and research hit the highest levels of funding in our history at $88.7 million.”

Sixty percent of that funding came from federal sources, 24 percent from private funds and 15 percent from the state, he added, with the School of Medicine and College of Engineering bringing in 41 percent of the total.

This figure, he said, is up 14 percent over the previous highest level of research funding$79 millionin 1993 when WVU received funding to build the NASA IV &V facility in Fairmont. Last year, WVU received about $77 million in basic and applied research and sponsored awards.

Dr. John Weete, associate provost for research and president of the WVU Research Corp., also announced the news to his board members this week.

“I attribute this increased level of funding to hard work by a lot of people at this University,”Dr. Weete said.”The infrastructure has changed, and the faculty and administration are working across discipline lines to build interdisciplinary programs and to form government/industry partnerships that are mutually beneficial.”

Weete cited key partnerships WVU has with the West Virginia Army National Guard to collaborate in a national training center for homeland defense and an expanding relationship with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in the development of carbon materials from coal. He also noted research in biometrics and forensic science and progressive work in the neurosciences as hot new fields of exploration for faculty researchers.

“WVUs success in attracting funding for research initiatives really translates into successes for the state, both in prestige and economic development,”Weete noted.

Master Plan

In other business, the board approved the acquisition of two propertiesseven parcels of land in Sunnyside for $1.1 million, plus the first right of refusal on six adjoining parcels; and the Masonic Lodge at the corner of High and Willey Streets in Downtown Morgantown for a cost of $405,000.

The Sunnyside property, to the north of the Downtown Campus near the new life sciences building, would be converted into a surface lot for parking by midway through the fall semester, said Vice President Scott Kelley. He said the purchase and demolition of these older rental units would”change the dynamics of that part of town and campus”in the years to come, tying in with the intent of the WVU master plan.

Already, he noted, new private apartments are springing up in the area and”transforming the face of Sunnyside.”

The property WVU plans to purchase is owned by William Morlino.

Purchasing the Masonic Lodge near the entrance to the Downtown Campus would also require demolishing the building and putting in surface parking, Kelley said.

“We see this property as a potential entry point to campus, possibly creating some green space, signage and future campus expansion,”he noted.

Both projects are being funded from capital reserves set aside for parking and property acquisitions.

President Hardesty said these acquisitions are consistent with some of the findings and recommendations of the housing task force, which he recently co-chaired with Mayor Frank Scafella.

“This development represents the City, the University and landlords working together,”he noted.

The board also:

• Unanimously elected the following slate of officersVaughn L. Kiger, Morgantown, chairman; Curtis Hank Barnette, Bethlehem, Pa., vice chairman; and Cathy M. Armstrong, Wheeling, secretary.

• Appointed committee chairsThomas E. Potter, Charleston, Academic Affairs; T. Joseph Lopez, Arlington, Va., Business Affairs; Terry T. Jones, Morgantown, University Relations; Douglas J. Leech, Morgantown, Student Affairs.

• Reaffirmed the appointment of Cathy M. Armstrong to the board of the West Virginia United Health System, Inc.

• Approved County Extension Service appointments.