West Liberty Board Of Governors Calls For Unity, Professionalism In Wake Of Faculty Survey Controversy

West Liberty University’s Board of Governors met Friday to discuss the school’s president, W. Franklin Evans, after he was publicly censured last fall following at least one instance of plagiarism in a speech.

After a two hour executive session, the board said it would conclude the president’s first year assessment by the middle of June.

The board also said it expects staff, faculty and the president to work together to foster unity and professionalism.

Recently, a faculty survey, that was intended to be internal, was provided to the Charleston Gazette-Mail anonymously. The survey found that more than 80 percent of the 149 respondents are not confident in the president’s integrity.

Evans has fired back on the survey saying it was poorly constructed and unfairly distributed. He also said his continued criticism is race related. Evans is the university’s first Black president.

The board of governors issued a statement Friday:

“As we move forward, we expect our faculty and staff to be professional, unified and work together to achieve our mission. We also expect our president to lead us and unify the campus. The board of governors is solely responsible for the president’s performance, and while we value the feedback from all constituents – and respect that – that input is a portion of the president’s assessment.”

Last week, West Liberty’s president and staff requested a one-on-one interview with West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Listen to that conversation here.