State’s Two Major Universities Offer Administrative Support To Communities Facing Water Issues

The West Virginia Grant Resource Centers at Marshall University and West Virginia University (WVU) will help West Virginia communities pursue funding for critical water and wastewater infrastructure.  

The initiative was announced by Gov. Patrick Morrisey earlier this week in Beckley with a $145 million state investment in water infrastructure, and the goal of leveraging an additional $450 million in federal and private funding.  

“When our communities need expertise, capacity and partnership, Marshall is ready to answer the call,” Marshall President Brad D. Smith said. “We appreciate the governor’s confidence in Marshall and are proud to partner with the state, our friends at WVU, local communities and regional experts to translate local priorities into meaningful solutions and strategic investment.” 

As communities prepare applications for competitive funding, the Grant Resource Centers will leverage university expertise to help communities develop stronger projects and compete for federal and discretionary funding.  

A joint Universities United project, the Grant Centers helps groups across West Virginia maximize state, federal, and private dollars by supporting and guiding grant writing.  

Liz Vitullo, assistant vice president for Economic Innovation at WVU and co-founder of the West Virginia Grant Resource Centers, said the Grant Centers project development expertise can translate local priorities into competitive funding opportunities.   

“The Grant Centers expand local capacity and increase West Virginia’s competitiveness for discretionary funding by helping communities submit stronger, more strategic applications,” Vitullo said. “The Grant Centers will help map out state and federal funding, support grant writing, offer training sessions, and develop strategic and attractive grant applications. The Centers will hire a dedicated grant writer to support these efforts.”