West Virginia University’s purchase of the Mountain State University campus in Beckley has cast a shadow on WVU’s Institute of Technology in Montgomery.
The two campuses are approximately 40 miles apart, with 1,200 students attending WVU Tech.
A 2011 state audit found major financial and enrollment problems as well as infrastructure and student life issues at WVU Tech. The latter included a lack of student access to wireless Internet on campus.
The audit led to the elimination of the school’s football program later that year. WVU Tech also has addressed some of its shortcomings.
West Virginia President E. Gordon Gee called Tech’s future existence “very secure,” but he wouldn’t tell The Charleston Daily Mail whether it will remain in Montgomery.