CHARLESTON, W.Va — West Virginia Higher Education Chancellor Dr. Paul Hill is excited about the possibility of the state hosting a presidential or vice presidential debate in 2016. West Virginia and West Virginia State universities would co-host the event to be held at the Clay Center in Charleston.
Last week they submitted a 200-page plus application to the commission in charge of debates, and are waiting for an answer.
WVU and WVSU are the two land grant institutions in West Virginia. Hill said feedback should be coming soon and hosting the debate is a real possibility.
“I think we can expect some reviews from that commission to prepare us and maybe actually land the presidential debates right here in Charleston,” he said. “Very exciting stuff and very nice opportunity to showcase our two land grant universities, West Virginia State and WVU.”
Hill also said it would be a fantastic opportunity for students to follow the debate, be tuned into national issues, and to get an up close political science lesson. He said the group had been working hard to make this happen, but a lot of work still has to be done.
“These types of things take a lot of work going in and there’s still a lot of work to do,” he said. “I commend this group for coming together to try to make this possible.”
Hill said that so far feedback from Washington had been very positive and so he was hopeful that hosting a debate in the state capital could be a reality.