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Gee says futures of Concord, Bluefield State “very much tied” to WVU

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU President Gordon Gee says Concord University and Bluefield State College are worried the university will swallow them up when WVU Beckley opens but they shouldn’t be unless the schools try to isolate themselves.

“I believe that those two institutions have a future—I believe that their future is very much tied to the university (WVU) though,” Gee said Wednesday on MetroNews Talkline. “I think that the notion of us coming and being partners and creating new programs and access to institutional activities of a larger university are going to be very imperative.”

WVU Beckley is scheduled to open next fall and grow larger in the fall of 2017 when WVU Tech moves from Montgomery to Beckley. WVU Provost Joyce McConnell has spoken with both Concord and Bluefield State about collaboration, Gee said.

“You know that we are going to do everything we possibly can to collaborate and cooperate. We’re not being Godzilla, we’re trying to be the helping hand,” Gee said. “But also those institutions, rather than try to build a wall around themselves, they need to aggressively pursue opportunities with the university.”

Gee offered some advice for the top administrators at the two schools.

“If I were the president of Bluefield or Concord I would have my marching band and my cheerleaders out and I would have been right out there right in front and saying, ‘Let’s work together and let’s do the kinds of things we should be doing,” Gee said.

The walls of separation that have existed among the state’s colleges and universities for years need to be eliminated and the paradigm needs to change and WVU Beckley will provide a good opportunity, Gee said.

“The opportunities for collaboration are very high and any kind of barriers to that should not be created. So (there should be) a partnership on both sides of that issue,” Gee said.

Small tuition-dependent colleges and universities in the United States like Concord and Bluefield State feel the most threatened, Gee said.

“I believe what we have to do is say, ‘Are they serving the community? Are they making a difference? Do they have possibilities?’ And if not, maybe we have to come up with another configuration,” Gee said.

The WVU Board of Governors approved the WVU Tech move to Beckley during a Tuesday meeting.





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