FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The Fairmont State University Board of Governors met Thursday and discussed an enrollment forecast and retention rates.
Fairmont State President Mike Davis told the BOG the most recent commencement exercises included the largest number of students since the spring of 2021, with 454. If positive trends continue, Davis said the possibility of adding a third ceremony in the near future. Current enrollment is about 3,100 undergraduate and 250 graduate students.
“When I first got here we went down from three to two ceremonies, and we’re getting pretty close to having to go back up to three,” Davis said. “Once we hit 5,000, we’ll have to do four ceremonies; we might have to look at having one Friday night, but that’s an exciting problem to solve.”
BOG Vice Chair Lance Puccio said freshman applications and deposits for the fall semester are slightly up from last year, and the number of inquiries from prospective students is up significantly. The numbers of students seeking to transfer are steady, and the out-of-state new student numbers are climbing.
The current numbers show nearly three quarters of freshman students are returning for their second year at Fairmont State University.
“First time freshman cohort retention rates are continuing to improve over the last three years,” Puccio said. “First-to-second-year retention has grown to over 70 percent.”
Davis said the campus is hosting the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2026 Civil Engineering Student Championships. This is the first time the competition will be held in the state of West Virginia and will include students, faculty, judges, and spectators from all over the world.
“Over 600 people are here from around the world, so we’re really excited to be hosting them, and everybody I’ve talked to says they’re having a fantastic experience.”
Davis also briefed the BOG about the status of the structures at 1114, 1116, and 1120 Locust Ave., damaged in the 2025 Father’s Day floods, and they will become the property of Fairmont State University. The structures will be demolished sometime this fall to make way for the development of Locust Avenue and a gateway into the campus.
“It’s a little under four acres across the street, and we have an RFP out for the demolition and have another one for the P-3,” Davis said. “So, we’re excited about making that progress.”
Davis also introduced Bryan Spitzer, the new director of athletics, to the board. The hire allows Greg Bamberger to transition into the position of vice president of athletics in order to manage the future vision of Fighting Falcon athletics.
“We’re excited about being able to really do some of the athletic implementation planning once that is approved,” Davis said. “But we’re excited to have Brian working on the day-to-day operations and team success and Greg focus on some of the more large strategic pieces.”