West Virginia Universitys Board of Governors on Friday (Sept. 8) named a 17-person presidential search committee and authorized an expansion to the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.
The panel also approved the transfer of a one-third acre parcel of land to the city of Morgantown for a new fire station and a new teaching specialization in autism in the College of Human Resources and Education, among other action items.
Presidential search gets under way
BOG Chairman Stephen Goodwin will chair the search committee for a new WVU president, which gets under way this fall. The panel will consist of representatives from WVU faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters. WVU President David C. Hardesty, Jr. announced last month his plan to retire effective Sept. 20, 2007. (See separate story for full details.)
Cancer Center to expand, property transferred for fire station
At the WVU Hospitals, a new 73,000-square-foot addition will expand the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center patient care areas. The board approved the project Friday, and site work is expected to begin in October with a completion date projected for early 2008.
The $17 million project will result in a more spacious facility, featuring a clinic double the size of the existing one, with expanded waiting areas and a patient library. West Virginians won’t have to leave the state to access the latest treatments under study as the expansion will include a new clinical research unit that will allow for more Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, said Vice President for Health Sciences Robert DAlessandri.
The board also entered into an agreement to transfer approximately one-third of an acre of landoff Van Voorhis Road near WVU s Fieldcrest Hallto the city of Morgantown for a new north end fire station, pending approval by the West Virginia Board of Public Works.
The station is to be constructed on the WVU parcel and an adjoining parcel owned by the Monongalia County Commission.
New specialization will aid the autistic
With the state and nation seeing a dramatic increase in the number of children with autism spectrum disorder, WVU s board also approved a new teaching specialization in autism for grades K-6 and 5-Adult to fill the school systemsneed for teachers certified in this special area.
The masters degree program will be part of the existing graduate degree programs in special education through WVU s College of Human Resources and Education. Preliminary approval has been granted by the West Virginia Department of Education, but final approval is pending.
More state funding sought
In other business, Vice President for Finance and Administration Narvel Weese reported on WVU s budget request to the state Higher Education Policy Commission, as requested by Chancellor Brian Noland in July.
Weese said WVU and its regional campuses are requesting $28 million to support mission-related projects and initiativesprimarily faculty and staff salary increases and funds to support the research enterprise and capital projects.
WVU has managed to grow enrollment, research, academic and student life programsand fund salary increasesdespite operating with approximately the same state appropriations as 10 years ago.
However, those successes have come as a result of tuition and fee revenues, he added, in order to manage the loss of state dollars.
WVUs ability to support salary increases and to meet other basic operating costs has been dependent on students and parents who are willing to pay higher tuition,Weese said.WVU will be limited in its ability to support these costs in the future if tuition is the sole source of funding for such increases. Therefore, to a large extent, WVU s ability to support basic operating costs and to retain and recruit employees in the future is linked to increases in state dollars.
WVU s request to HEPC will also include additional funds to keep pace with inflationary and fixed cost increases and funds to support enrollment growth, Weese added.
WVU s faculty and staff representatives on the board, Michael Lastinger and Paul Martinelli, also gave reports, each calling for additional state support for salary increases for the states higher education employees.
Lastinger noted that faculty salaries are at 77 percent of peer averages, and advocated for additional state dollars to supplement WVU revenue that is dedicated to salary improvement packages.
Research update
Vice President for Research and Economic Development John Weete submitted his annual report to the board as well, saying site preparation work continues on the WVU Research Park off Route 705.
Negotiations were completed with R.E. Michel Co. for the exchange of its property adjacent to the Research Park for University property on the Mileground. Site preparation is under way, and construction of the new Michel building will begin soon. This exchange clears the way for completing the entry intersection into the park.
Weete also reported that the WVU Business Incubator, housed in the Chestnut Ridge Research Building, is at capacity with seven resident companies and five virtual companies. Several of the start-up companies have licensed technologies at WVU .
Other highlights of Weetes report:
a 16 percent increase in research funding from the 2005 fiscal year and the highest amount in the history of the University
a 55 percent increase in technology transfer activities compared to the 2005 fiscal year, including 55 invention disclosures received, 11 U.S. patent
applications filed, 19 license agreements negotiated and three start-up companies formed
Other business:
The boards audit committee noted the establishment this week of a WVU system for reporting ethical misconduct confidentially, underscoring the institutions commitment to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act governing corporate accountability. EthicsLine will enable employees to either call toll-free or go online to report possible violations of University policies in the areas of accounting and financial matters, research and information technology.
In other action, the BOG OK d:
an administrative change for the child development /family studies program from the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences to the College of Human Resources and Education, effective July 2007
President Hardestys goals for 2006-2007
a new bachelors degree in business administration at WVU Parkersburg
the naming of the Presidents Home at WVU Institute of Technology in honor of a loyal friend and supporter, to be announced at a later date
new members of the Board of Advisers for the Community and Technical College and WVU Institute of Technology, among other items.
The next Board of Governors meeting is set for Nov. 10.