West Virginia State University Story Archives - Page 2 of 11

University Leaders Call On Business Community For Help

The role of education in the state’s business future was a key talking point at this week’s West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Business Summit.

The role of education in the state’s business future was a key talking point at this week’s West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Business Summit. Marshall University President Brad Smith and West Virginia University President Gordon Gee opened the summit by announcing a program to try and keep college graduates in the state.

Immediately after the announcement, Smith discussed how higher education is fueling West Virginia’s economy and on Thursday Gee was joined by Marty Roth, president of the University of Charleston, to discuss investments in the state’s next generation.

On Friday, presidents from the state’s smaller schools such as Glenville State University, WVU Tech and Mountwest Community & Technical College came together to discuss how higher education is driving change in West Virginia.

Ericke Cage, president of West Virginia State University, addressed the question of whether higher education still matters moving forward.

“There’s only one way that a self-described small town, country boy from southern Virginia is able to sit on the stage today and be the president of one of West Virginia’s great institutions, and that is through the transformative power of education,” Cage said. “Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, higher education still remains the greatest platform for social and economic mobility in our country.”

Sarah Armstrong Tucker, chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission called on the assembled business community to stand with higher education and its role in the state’s future job market.

“When I go out and I talk to students in K-12, not once do they tell me I’m choosing what I want to do for my future because of the football team,” Tucker said. “They tell me that they want a job. They want a job that will pay them enough money that they will be better off than their families were. They want security. They want to know that they will be able to feed their children. And that’s where we need you.”

WVSU Holds Archaeological Field School In Malden

The historic Hale House in Malden is the site of WVSU’s archaeological field school.

West Virginia State University (WVSU) is having its archaeological field school at the historic Hale House in Malden in eastern Kanawha County. For four weeks, students have been digging up West Virginia history for their History 399 class.

“We do a field school which is a learning experience for the students,” said Michael Workman, class instructor. “They learn some of the basic techniques of archaeology. This is, however, historical archaeology and that we use not only what we can dig, but also historical records.”

Student Keyira Curtis (left) and field coordinator Carl Demuth look at plans for the day.

*Credit: Jack Bailey/West Virginia State University*

WVSU students and faculty sit down for a meeting about the dig site.

*Credit: Jack Bailey/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

The Hale House is believed to have once been the house of Kanawha Valley politician, Dr. John Hale. Hale was the owner of the largest salt works in North America, supplying salt to the thriving meat packing center of Cincinnati. After the collapse of the salt business in the 1870s, he ventured into brick making machinery, the Bank of the West in Charleston, which he helped organize, as well as the city’s first gas company.

The archaeological dig project came about after a chance meeting with Bob Maslowski, a consultant, and Lewis Payne at Dickinson Salt-Works.

“We came up with the idea of getting a field school started at Dickinson Salt Works and maybe, have it turn into a long-term project,” said Maslowski “As it turned out, this particular site came up and we decided to start the excavations here, at the Hale House. We thought originally that it was occupied by John Hale who was a famous historian and salt maker and we haven’t been able to substantiate that, but it is one of the early houses in Malden and in the Kanawha Valley.”

Hale helped initiate the move of the state capitol to Charleston in 1870 and headed a group of investors who built the capitol building in 1871. Hale also became the mayor of Charleston that same year.

Students search for lost items from Kanawha Valley history.

*Credit: Jack Bailey/West Virginia State University*

Carl Demuth is the field coordinator for the project and an adjunct professor at Marshall University. He said it is important for students to learn about the lives of people in history.

“There’s not many other opportunities you have to be the first person to hold something that no one else has touched in fifty, a hundred, two hundred, a thousand years, and that’s what a lot of these students are doing,” Demuth said. “Working with these students lets them have the chance to embrace their own heritage and history in a way that’s a little bit different and, you know, that’s really why I’m out here.”

How SNAP Has Changed Lives And An Archaeological Dig At WVSU, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, SNAP is a federal nutrition program – the name stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It used to be called food stamps. The program started as a pilot project in the 1960s in McDowell County. Trey Kay learns more about the program that some say has changed lives.

On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia is one of the top recipients for food aid of any state. SNAP is a federal nutrition program – the name stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It used to be called food stamps. The program started as a pilot project in the 1960s in McDowell County.

Since then, it’s reduced poverty and hunger across the nation, but it gets caught up in political debates and election cycles. On the next Us & Them podcast, host Trey Kay learns more about a program that some say has changed lives.

Also, in this show, West Virginia State University (WVSU) is holding its archaeological field school at the historic Hale House in Malden. Delaney Wells reports.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and produced this episode.

Teresa Wills is our host.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

New West Virginia State University President Inaugurated

On his inauguration day, West Virginia State University President Ericke Cage spoke of preparing students for a new global economy.

Cage joined the university in July 2021 as vice president and chief of staff and was subsequently appointed by the WVSU Board of Governors as the university’s chief operating officer on July 30, 2021.

Speaking before his Thursday investiture ceremony on WVSU’s Institute campus, Cage said he would double down on the historically black university’s history of excellence in education. He said a key was ensuring that curriculum aligns with the needs of an advancing workforce.

“We’re certainly going to be responsive to the needs of this new environment,” Cage said. “We’re going to look at how we’re delivering courses, what type of courses we’re delivering, ensuring that we’re meeting the needs of this workforce and the needs of our students.”

Representatives from universities throughout the state joined in the pomp and circumstance of the investiture. Marshall President Brad Smith described the bond among West Virginia’s institutions of higher education.

“Our universities are an ecosystem, we complement each other,” Smith said. “We all share the same common goal – to prepare our youth for the next chapter of the economy and the next chapter of society. So working with West Virginia State University has been Marshall University’s privilege.”

Leaders from universities around the state attended Cage’s inauguration. Credit: Randy Yohe/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

WVSU was among the state institutions opposed to Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, also known as campus carry, allowing the concealed carry of firearms on school grounds. Cage said the school has comprehensive plans in place in terms of implementation.

“We are in the process of setting up a task force because we have a year to implement it,” he said. “The taskforce will include stakeholders from across the campus. We want folks to come to the table and talk about how we can best implement this, making sure that we have the tools in place to ensure that we’re keeping our community safe.”

Cage said when it comes to educating students for a productive future, he takes great pride in the school’s legacy as a historically black college or university (HBCU).

“It’s the basis upon which we were founded. It’s really about access and inclusion,” Cage said. “Since 1954, West Virginia State University has transitioned into what we fondly call a living laboratory of human relations. Our student body is wildly diverse, and we take great pride in that. I think our HBCU heritage will continue to inform our commitment to access and inclusion to a higher education degree.”

The new president is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in leadership studies. He holds a doctorate from the Rutgers University Law School and a masters of law degree in litigation and dispute resolution from George Washington University. He is also a graduate of the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College and the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

A WVSU press release when Cage was named president noted that under his leadership, the university was able to obtain historic levels of state funding for its land-grant programs and Healthy Grandfamilies program during the 2022 state legislative session.

Cage becomes West Virginia State University’s 13th President.

Union Carbide, DEP Agreement To Lower Emissions In Institute

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has signed an agreement with Union Carbide Corporation to further reduce ethylene oxide emissions at its facility in Institute, Kanawha County.

Scott Mandirola, deputy cabinet secretary for the DEP said this agreement establishes new requirements above and beyond state and federal regulations.

“The new regulations are expected to identify and fix leaks 50 to 1,000 times lower than what was required by current regulation,” Mandirola said.

The agreement also requires a site-specific screening program for railcars containing ethylene oxide in its service.

Mandirola said Union Carbide will continue to work with the DEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop improved monitoring for ethylene oxide emissions around the facility.

“The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection conducted a short term ethylene oxide air monitoring project in 2022,” said Mandirola. “Which sampled seven sites in and around the chemical facility in Institute in South Charleston over four 24 hour periods.”

A public meeting on the final report will be held Thursday, March 2, from 6-8 p.m. at the Wilson Union Hall on campus at West Virginia State University.

The agency’s final report on the project is now available on the DEP’s website.

West Virginia State University Appoints New Vice President

West Virginia State University (WVSU) has appointed Eric Jackson as its vice president and chief of staff. The announcement was made Thursday.

“Eric has been an integral part of my administration during my interim presidency, and his vision and leadership have been key to many of the successes we have already achieved,” said WVSU President Ericke Cage. “He will play a vital role as we continue the work of moving WVSU forward in the weeks and months ahead.”

Jackson has been with WVSU since 2007. He has served as director of Title III Programs and Budget Office, and since last fall, he has been the university’s interim chief of staff.

Jackson also chairs the university’s COVID-19 Task Force.

In his new role as vice president, Jackson will serve as liaison to the WVSU Board of Governors and to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. He will be in charge of staff within WVSU’s president’s office and handle policy matters.

Jackson has a bachelor’s degree in English from WVSU and master’s degrees in public administration and business administration from Strayer University.

Jackson will begin his new role at West Virginia State starting on July 1.