MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University President Michael Benson filled the State of the University address with accomplishments of students and faculty and set the “Strategic Compass” to guide the institution into the next era.
The “Strategic Compass” is the method to align institution priorities across all campuses, colleges, and schools to keep the focus on growth and student success.
“We’re now moving forward with the next steps of implementation of our priority areas,” Benson said. “Education, discovery, health, service, and experiences are all focused on student success.”
Benson said the future will include programs like Applied AI and Data Analytics, Robotics, Engineering, Environmental Energy & Land Management, and Exercise Physiology. The focus of the future depends on the needs of industry and where the interest and job growth are in the economy.
“To attract students and ensure their success, we’re investing in high-quality programs, offering experiential learning in areas of growing industry interest with capacity for growth that help differentiate us from our competitors,” Benson said.
A goal for the coming months will be to expand the WVU Express program. The program will directly admit qualifying high school seniors from Kanawha and Monongalia Counties. In the first week of the program, more than 30 have taken advantage of the fee-free method of entry to the institution.
“The first file of applicants sent to our admissions office came from five of the eight Kanawha County Scholls and totals 32 students already,” Benson said. “Our goal is to expand the WVU Express in the coming months and years to have an impact on the entire state.”
Benson said they want to be sure to take care of the staff and faculty that help the students achieve their academic goals. The details of the program have not been released, but Benson said the Board of Governors has approved the budget for the program.
“In the coming months we’ll launch an employee compensation plan for faculty and staff across the university system that recognizes performance,” Benson said. “This year’s budget includes $10 million to support employee compensation, and this plan does just that.”
During the next legislative session Benson said they will ask lawmakers to support the research efforts of the only R-1 institution in the state.
“One of our singular successes at the legislature last session was securing $35 million in state support for the expansion of the health sciences infrastructure,” Benson said. “Part of this year’s request will include state support for our research mission across campus.”