MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Clay Marsh, M.D., WVU’s vice president and executive dean for Health Sciences, said it’s exciting to be back at his alma mater.
The 1985 WVU medical school graduate will complete the first week in his new role Friday.
“My job is to try to bring the absolute best people from within to rise them up in the organization and let them become the leaders they’re growing to be and to recruit people from outside to help facilitate and increase the talent pool,” said Marsh.
Marsh oversees five schools, dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health, and numerous allied health programs and clinical operations around the state.
“There are so many little stories about things people have done really selflessly to help other people that I see as very special and they really don’t,” said Marsh as he described the colleagues he’s met since starting his job February 15. “That to me really exemplifies the fiber of the people in this state and the reason why I know we’re going to be able to do great things here.”
Marsh’s professional experience includes time spent as a clinician, academician, researcher, innovator, department chair and senior administrator. Marsh’s higher education experience includes beginning as a clinical instructor at Ohio State and working his way to full professor, investigators and on to senior level positions.
His push is in preventative health care.
“We want to create the environment that makes it easier for people to live long and well preventing failure, preventing disease. But, also, we know there’s always going to be people who have illness or disease; and we want to make sure we have the absolute best people to take care of them too,” Marsh explained.
Marsh is the son of late Charleston Gazette editor and former MetroNews Talkline co-host Don Marsh. His mother, Jerry Marsh, still lives in Charleston.