MONTGOMERY, W.Va. — WVU Tech Campus President Carolyn Long told the crowd gathered Saturday for Tech’s 118th commencement ceremony it was a bitter-sweet day because it was the last commencement on the Montgomery campus.
“We’ll miss this place too but we’re confident in our future as an institution because this is about the students,” Long said.
WVU Tech completes the move to its Beckley campus this summer.
During his remarks, Student Government Association President Rob Leibel urged the graduates to be open to the idea of what the Beckley campus will mean to the future of the university.
“You can say it’s not the same and realistically it won’t be but being open to the possibilities will help us with the change of the future,” Leibel said.
Long also had a special thank-you for Tech’s faculty.
“This hasn’t been easy and hasn’t been easy on some quiet days. I’m not sure we’ve had any quiet days this year…but you’ve made it,” Long said.
1981 Tech graduate, Weirton native Bruce Wiegmann, a NASA aerospace engineer, delivered the commencement address focused on how to be flexible and how to learn from change.
Approximately 150 of the 180 graduates took part in the ceremony.
Tech will leave the Montgomery campus by June 30.