CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia State University President Ericke Cage sent a letter to students and faculty outlining changes coming to the university.
“These changes are designed to further enhance institutional effectiveness, reduce cost, and set the tone for our ongoing enterprise-wide transformation work,” Cage said in part of the letter.
Cage appeared on MetroNews Midday Wednesday to further discuss the changes. He says there’s no stone that will be unturned in this process.
“We are literally looking at every single thing that we do at West Virginia State University from the top to the bottom,” Cage said on MetroNews Midday Wednesday. “We’re looking for opportunities to gain efficiencies, opportunities to right-size the university in a way that helps to make sure that we are staying true to our teaching and learning mission. We’re making sure that we are realigning ourselves so that we are providing our students with the education that prepares them for the 21st century economy and making sure that we continue to hold our commitment to the community in the Kanawha Valley and across the state.”
“This is changing and this is difficult, but this is necessary,” Cage continued.
To start, WVSU will be cutting its number of vice presidents from seven to four. According to the letter, the university’s leadership team will now consist of: the President; the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs; the Senior Vice President for Strategic Finance, Operations, & Chief Innovation Officer; the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs; and the Vice President for University Advancement.
Cage says making changes at the top first was the right thing to do.
“It sets the tone to let the university community know that the folks at the top of the institution are serious and we’re taking action to move us forward,” Cage said.
Athletics:
Cage said during his interview Wednesday that the university fully stands behind its athletic programs and student athletes, but athletics, in general, is not exempt to changes.
“The truth of the matter is that we are looking at every aspect of our university, and that means athletics as well,” Cage said. “There are going to have to be opportunities to identity cost-savings in athletics, so we’re going to have to have a tough look at our portfolio.
Cage continued by saying the university won’t turn its backs on athletics, either.
“Does that mean that mean that we’re going to walk away from the progress that we’ve built? No, we’re not going to do that because we have commitments. Commitments to our student athletes, commitments to our coaches, commitments to the Mountain East Conference that we have every intention to continue to withhold, but we are going to look for areas to reduce cost.”
Cage was then asked if any athletic programs would be cut completely during the process.
“I’m not in a position to answer that question directly,” Cage said.
Agriculture:
Another talking point with the announcement of university-wide changes was the school’s agricultural research.
Cage says agriculture is the heartbeat of the institution, and he doesn’t expect any aspects to lose funding or be cut.
“Agriculture is central to the work that we do. We have a long history of agricultural research and education at our institution, so what we’re really going to be doing during this period of transformation and change is leaning into our mission,” Cage said. “This period that we’re going through is not just about reducing costs, it’s also about reallocating resources to those areas where we anticipate to see future growth and agriculture is one of those spaces. I don’t see any impact on the work we’re doing in that area.”
WVSU broke ground on a $50 million agriculture lab last fall.