State of the Campus: From a Record Year to the Challenges Ahead

September 9, 2002
Remarks by David C. Hardesty Jr., President, West Virginia University

The timing of this State of the Campus finds us at an important crossroads.

We can look back and see that West Virginia University has remained true to its mission and traditions, while at the same time responding to new knowledge and technologies.

WVU remains a best buy.

Our alumni and donor support have increased, in part, because of what our graduates have been able to accomplish.

And, we continue to be counted among the more prestigious research universities in the country.

We can also look ahead and see several tough challenges in light of the predicted state budget cuts. They can either constrain us or compel us to focus on our strengths and continue the impressive course of growth we have charted.

I will present to you a strategic direction that envisions taking our University to the next level in quality.

I base many of my thoughts today on feedback from the college and school visits that I have been making the past few months with Provost Lang.

These sessions have given me a renewed insight into the remarkable work of our faculty and furthered my resolve to supporting the quality of this university.

As I have reported to you before, there is no other institution in the state that matches the breadth, depth or mission of WVU.

Very few are as effectively serving their states.

We are a university that strives daily to advance knowledge in our fields and the image of West Virginia on many national fronts.

We are among only 11 institutions across America that balance being a comprehensive, research, land-grant university with a comprehensive health sciences enterprise.

Today I can report to you that the state of our campus is stronger than ever.

To evidence this, I will share with you a snapshot of where we are, a context for where we propose to go and how we might get there.

Accomplishments

Today, we can celebrate three major records in the same year:

  • Record enrollment
  • Record research and sponsored program funding
  • Record private support and disbursements to the University

Enrollment:

This fall, we have achieved a record high freshman enrollment.

You might recall that in 1995 we stood at the beginning of a 20-year decline in the number of high school graduates.

With roughly 60% of our student body coming from West Virginia high schools, this trend had the potential to manifest in a major budget crisis for the campus.

The opposite has occurred. We can see the impact by calculating what our enrollment would be today if the yield of high school graduates had stayed at the 1994-95 rate.

We would be down about 2,000 students. In contrast, we increased the percentage of West Virginians choosing WVU and are up about 1,500 total students since 1995.

Translated into real dollars, the positive impact is extraordinary.

This year we also have a record high of enrollments in technology-enhanced distance learning courses. This fall, the offerings were increased by 20 classes and are reaching an additional 423 students.

Overall, the enrollment this year looks like it will be the highest ever for WVU.

Our mix of students is still about 61% in-state and 39% out-of-state, including international students.

It?s important to note that we are serving not just more students, but more West Virginia students than ever before.

Despite the declining number of graduates from West Virginia high schools, the number of new in-state freshmen was five times the number of new out-of-state freshmen last year.

The early signs are positive for the PROMISE scholarship implemented by Governor Bob Wise. About 60% of our first-time West Virginia freshmen are here as PROMISE scholars.

In part because of PROMISE, and in part because of our improving reputation around the state and nation, this year?s freshmen continue a pattern of increasing academic credentials among our incoming students.

First-year in-state students have about a 3.5 average GPA and a 23 ACT average score. Non-resident freshmen average a 3.23 GPA and a 22.7 ACT. These represent increases for both resident and non-resident cohorts.

What is important about the upward trend of the incoming students? scores and GPA is that we have matriculated the largest freshman class without compromising, and indeed strengthening the academic quality of this institution.

We have seen this same trend of improvement on campus over the last several years, as the number of academic suspensions after the first semester has gone down and the number of students living in our residence halls and earning over a 2.0 has continuously increased.

There are many reasons for these improvements, and I want to underscore two of the most important.

First, WVU has truly become a more student-centered university.

For years, while others discussed what it meant to be student-centered, WVU put students at the core of our learning environment and we invested heavily in cultural change.

We now offer a student experience that rivals small private institutions, and at the same time we offer the academic opportunities and quality that can only come from a major comprehensive research university.

For example:

In a recently released national survey of 58 research extensive universities, WVU residence halls were rated:

  • #1 out of all research extensive universities for availability of programs.
  • #2 for availability for availability of cultural programs.
  • #1 in conveying the consequences of alcohol and drug abuse.

Yet another sign of the improvements in the residence halls are the many upperclassmen who have chosen to remain living in campus housing.

I want to thank everyone who has been involved in building our hallmark student experience here at WVU.

I am encouraged by the students of today-the group called the Millennials.

Our students are focused on academics and expect us to challenge them.

Keep in mind this is the generation that has grown up in a country where high educational standards were the mantra and where technology was widely available during all 12 years of their public schooling.

This generation is also exhibiting some of the strongest family values seen in decades. Perhaps this is one of the many reasons the Mountaineer Parents Club continues to be such a noticeable and highly successful differential for WVU.

Beyond our wildest predictions, we now stand more than 11,000 families strong.

The second important reason for our growth in enrollment is our faculty.

I hear over and over from students how a member of the faculty inspired them to pursue a certain career, encouraged them to follow their dream, or afforded them the opportunity to get involved in research and then land a job because of that experience.

Our current students provide the strongest testament to the quality of education at WVU and they most often express it through their experiences with faculty.

Their stories provide the best kind of recruiting an institution can have (you will hear some of them later).

Record Research

Enrollment was just one record this year.

We also reached an all-time high in sponsored projects.

We had hoped to top $100 million by 2003, and WVU?s principle investigators exceeded that goal by bringing in $134 million this year alone.

So many deserve acknowledgement for this-the principle investigators, the student research assistants, the staff who facilitate the business side, major campus academic leaders, Dr. Weete, and our many partners in government and industry.

The research agenda here is so extensive that it is difficult to capture and convey its full reach.

Of course, not all of our research is funded, nor should it be, but all of it-in its many forms-brings national prestige to WVU and to West Virginia.

Consider the following examples:

  • For the second year in a row, WVU has received a COBRE grant from the National Institute of Health. Last year, the NIH designated WVU a Center of Excellence for Biomedical Research in neurosciences and this year, an $11 million grant to the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center made WVU one of 7 Centers of Excellence nationally.
  • The Department of Political Science was ranked 8th nationally for research publications.
  • The Department of Psychology was ranked 4th worldwide in research productivity
  • Faculty research in the field of proteomics has led to the start-up company Protea, now located in Morgantown.
  • The Industries of the Future program led in West Virginia by WVU won another national award from the Department of Energy and over the past five years has brought $16.5 million in federal projects to 35 West Virginia companies.
  • As a result of our faculty?s established record in vehicle propulsion research, WVU has been awarded a Graduate Automotive Technology Education Program by the U.S. Department of Energy-a highly competitive national honor that enhances course offerings to graduate students.
  • WVU researchers developed a model program for reducing smoking among teenagers. The “Not on Tobacco” program was adopted nationwide by the American Lung Association.

What?s particularly important about the research we do at WVU is that our students are involved ? they are right at the heart it.

This is so vital for student scholars, and we are providing more and more opportunities at the undergraduate level.

I am particularly pleased to echo the recent announcement that the Honors Program and the WVU Research Corporation have developed a new web system for linking undergraduates with faculty mentors who are willing to supervise research projects.

Another important trend is the increase in technology transfer.

Since the Office of Technology Transfer was established in 1999, the numbers of patent applications, license agreements, and U.S. patents for faculty research have increased dramatically.

We are committed to continue supporting faculty in the process of commercializing their discoveries and increasing the economic impact of their work in West Virginia.

To further link faculty research and state economic development efforts, WVU?s research and technology park is soon to be a reality.

It will be an important partnership between entrepreneurs, industry, and WVU researchers. Already, several companies are lined up to build in the park when the infrastructure is completed later this year.

There?s a Japanese riddle that asks ?Who must do the difficult things?? and the answer is ?Those who can.?

Transforming West Virginia?s economy is a difficult task.

WVU is among a few entities with significant potential to help. The Legislature recognized this in Senate Bills 653 and 703.

We are continually pushing ourselves to meet these responsibilities inherent in our land-grant mission, doing everything from service learning projects in 50 of the 55 counties to spinning off companies for the private sector.

The last time we officially calculated our direct economic impact, just by the main campus, it measured $1.3 billion.

This was in 1997, prior to the record enrollment and research of subsequent years, so it is safe to assume that WVU?s economic impact is much greater today.

It is interesting to point out that our Bureau of Business and Economic Research just calculated the increase of 1,000 students at $18 million of positive impact on the local community and an additional $1 million into the state tax base.

Our regional campuses support the economy in their own areas as well. WVU Parkersburg, for example, impacts the Mid-Ohio Valley?s economy by more than $52 million, according to a recent study by the College?s Business and Economics Division.

WVU Tech and Potomac State College carry the same importance in their regions.

Record Private Giving

A third record was achieved this year in private giving.

The WVU Foundation set records with $57.4 million in gifts and $36.7 million in disbursements to the University.

Shortly after arriving on campus, I announced that we would enter a capital campaign for West Virginia University.

In the first three years of the Campaign, $225.8 million dollars has been raised.

With more than a year to go, we should actually exceed our original goal of $250 million-remarkable given the unexpected turns in the markets.

I am especially pleased that we have had 20,333 donors this past year who chose to give to WVU and 60% of them have been our own alumni.

Once again, I want to thank the faculty and the staff here and those who have gone before you.

All have touched our alumni in ways that have prompted them to give us their personal resources. They are attempting to put a value on the invaluable opportunities provided to them by the faculty and staff of WVU.

It is equally important to note that the other 40% of the donors are not alumni, but became supportive of our work through connections they have established with people here at WVU.

And, our own faculty and staff have given.

For example, your generosity to the library, and a match from the WVU Research Corporation generated a total endowment of $1.5 million.

No matter how many plaque unveilings or ?thank you? ceremonies I attend, I am always humbled by the fact that a person is willing to give his or her own savings to us simply because they believe in West Virginia University.

What a powerful message.

Whether the gift is large or small, it is a sign that others have confidence in what we are doing-in what you are doing.

Under the campaign, support has been spread to vital areas of the University:

  • $21 million of campaign donations have been directed to faculty development.
    • 31 new chairs and professorships have been established so far.
  • $33.7 million new dollars for student support and provided 261 new scholarship funds-many funds support multiple scholarships.
  • $92.6 million for academic research and initiatives
  • $24.8 million of the campaign has supported campus development and technology.
  • $31.8 million for the 21st Century Fund

Private support is more important than ever. We should all be grateful and humbled at the show of confidence in WVU over this past year.

The generosity and loyalty of our donors hold the promise of exceptional progress far beyond any of our tenures.

Strategic Investments

These records in enrollment, research funding, and private giving have brought us needed revenue to channel important investments back into the quality of the University.

I want to highlight several of these accomplishments:

  • Investments in employees:
    • Since 1996, we have invested $38 million in faculty and staff salaries.
    • We have met our pledge to move salaries to 90% of the SREB for faculty and to fully fund the 1994 classified employee salary schedule.
    • For 2002-03, we will put an additional $4 million into salaries,
    • Salaries are important for recruitment and retention of faculty and staff. And, we have recognized the need for larger faculty start-up packages and are doing what we can to remain competitive in this regard.
    • In a time of great uncertainty in other sectors like health care and business, we have tried to make WVU a stable and progressive place to work.
    • Our benefits remain strong, we have become more family friendly, and this is still a place where one can build a fulfilling lifetime career.
  • Investments in capital projects:
    • In addition to investing in people, WVU understands that academic quality relies, in part, on superior facilities.
    • Anyone walking around campus can see the fruits of our commitment to a world-class learning environment.
    • Library:
      • The first announced building project of my administration was the library. We knew that this was a cornerstone in building the University?s competitiveness over the next several decades.
      • The spectacular addition to the Wise library is now complete. Usage is up and feedback from students, faculty, and staff has been universally positive.
      • The final renovations to Old Wise Library will be complete by spring 2003.
    • Student Recreation Center:
      • There has been no question about the positive impact of the Student Recreation Center. It is proving to be a significant reason students decide to attend WVU, and it is an important place for students to spend free time and meet friends while they are here.
      • The building itself has already won 4 design awards, but the most important sign of its quality is the overwhelmingly positive feedback from users, who visited it 600,000 times in the past year and set a daily attendance record of 4,363 this Fall.
    • Life Sciences:
      • The new Life Sciences building opened in August 2002 to house the Departments of Biology and Psychology.
      • The building is physically impressive, but its best features are carefully designed laboratory and classroom space. The academic collaborations between biology and psychology have been strong, but the new possibilities are truly exciting.
    • One Waterfront:
      • All of our new buildings have had a vital purpose and One Waterfront is no exception.
      • In this case, it got us out of leased space-a mandate from the Legislature.
      • And, most importantly, it is saving us money because our lease payment is fixed for thirty years at a lower cost than our previous lease, and at the end of amortization WVU will own the building as a state asset.
    • Other capital projects:
      • There are numerous other projects underway, including the major renovations at the Creative Arts Center and particularly its theaters.
      • There are also several million dollars invested in projects that you do not readily see, but which are important to maintaining and improving existing buildings-projects like HVAC repairs, boiler rooms, and re-caulking and coating the stadium.
    • Health Sciences:
      • The Health Sciences campus is now moving dirt on an extensive facilities master plan that will include the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, an expansion of the Cancer Center, and new clinical and treatment spaces.
  • Investments In Technology:
    • A third major area in which we have invested is technology.
    • Technology has and is continuing to grow exponentially. We face the constant challenge of how to become a more technologically advanced university given our resource constraints.
    • To this end, Provost Lang?s office made a significant investment this year by providing $1.5 million to purchase new computers for the faculty.
    • Y2K is a distant memory to most, which demonstrates the importance of the preparation that our staff did to secure the University?s administrative systems.
    • Not only did we stabilize these systems and integrate the regional campuses into one financial and human resources system, we have since upgraded the network resulting in nearly 100% functioning.
    • Other examples of investments include new labs, campus wiring, integrating the administrative systems of the regional campuses, and the launching of the Mountaineer Information Xpress? or MIX? as an internal student/faculty web platform.

The Challenges Ahead

For all we have accomplished over the last several years, we cannot lose sight of the significant challenge that was posed to us in 1995 by Senate Bill 547.

At that time, the task of reallocating $38 million out of our campus operating budgets seemed daunting ($32 million on this campus alone).

While many aspects of implementing the legislation were difficult, in the end, the accomplishments I just highlighted show that we did become a stronger and more focused institution through the process.

We set three important records in the same year and managed to invest and reallocate at the same time.

We will need to hold ourselves to the same standard of quality as we face this newest financial challenge.

In 1995, I used the analogy that the sun is shining but the river is rising. Today, despite our extraordinary achievements this year, we are again at the edge of another significant financial challenge-its forces are national, as are the impacts.

Across the country 40 to 46 states are in a budget crisis.

Governor Wise has announced a projected budget shortfall of $200 million for our state. Others have already announced or are currently facing shortfalls of 2, 3, even 4 and 5 times that of West Virginia?s.

But in economies of scale, $200 million is significant in West Virginia and the ultimate impact on WVU is shaped by several things outside the scope of our control.

More and more there are competing priorities with education and particularly higher education. In 1970, states spent 25% of their budget on higher education, but spending decreased to 14% of the budget by 2000.

What?s more alarming is that 1995 began the trend of spending more on prisons than on higher education.

Second, large institutions like WVU are receiving a disproportionately lower share of funding increases. This is the malady of flagship institutions across the country, recently profiled in the Chronicle of Higher Education. While most flagships are facing this challenge, it does not mean we should accept it in West Virginia.

Consider that from 1996 to 2000, WVU’s appropriations grew 10.5%.

Appropriations for all other public institutions in West Virginia grew 19.4%.

Compare this to the fact that FTE’s during the same period at WVU grew 4.82%, but just 3.06% at all of the other public institutions.

This translates to about a $6.8 million gap for WVU between what we would have received if funded at the average growth and what was actually appropriated.

There are many reasons for this, mostly predicated on a growing national assumption that large universities have more capacity to generate their own funding.

The truth is that private and sponsored project dollars are designated for specific uses. If state appropriations-which form the operating budget-are reduced, so is the capacity for flagships to leverage for extramural funding.

At WVU, for example, we return more than $10 for every $1 dollar the state invests. When dollars are taken from appropriations, this same kind of multiplier works in the opposite direction.

Third, with the decline in state support most public institutions have increased their dependence on tuition and fees. Over the last few years, tuition at some public colleges and universities has increased by as much as 40%.

This creates a tension between the transfer of burden to students and the pressure to remain accessible, especially at land-grant institutions.

As we face this upcoming budget shortfall, several issues are clear:

  • In West Virginia, there will be pressure to raise tuition and pressure to keep it down.
  • At the state and institution level, we cannot grow across the board, nor can we cut across the board.
  • We will need to be flexible and act with speed so that we can leverage partnerships that help us continue along the path of quality and growth.

When the state?s gap in revenue projections and spending was announced this summer as $200 million, the senior leadership began looking at various scenarios relative to WVU.

I appreciate that Governor Wise has openly shared the budget forecast to give state agencies time to prepare.

But this early in the process, the exact nature of the budget problem is uncertain, and we may not know more until well into the Legislative session.

A number of circumstances have the potential to mitigate the shortfall.

For example, we do not yet know how the burden will be distributed among the state?s spending agencies-the more that participate, the less our institutional impact.

Additionally, it looks like some taxes may be considered by the Legislature to increase revenues. If enacted, these could help offset the state?s increased expenditure obligations.

Whatever magnitude the shortfall ends up to be, we do not see this as a one-time gap between expenses and revenues, but a structural change in how we are funded.

Concomitantly, we do not see this as an across the board cut here on campus or something we can resolve just by cutting back on travel or supplies for a year.

Therefore we must begin to plan for how we will strategically reduce costs and at the same time make investments to generate resources.

Strategic Direction

Over the last several weeks, we have developed the consensus among the vice presidents that we will need to attack this budget reduction on several fronts.

We will look to each of you for suggestions and ideas on ways to operate your units and the University more efficiently.

Several general strategies are already apparent.

First, we will need to find cost savings by:

  • consolidating functions across departments, colleges, vice president areas, and campuses
  • centralizing some processes
  • decentralizing others

We will need to:

  • eliminate some programs
  • continue to standardize as we have in the past with email and telephone systems.

And we will:

  • seek policy reforms that can give us flexibility to reduce administrative costs

We will need to look for partnerships with business, government, entrepreneurs, schools, and venture capitalists.

We will need to make investments that help us grow in critical areas or can strengthen our capacity to leverage additional dollars.

And, we will need to consider tuition increases. I am convinced that people want good degrees not cheap degrees. If the quality is here, our enrollment will hold its own.

Perhaps the one overarching strategy that we will need is focus. We will need to focus on our core mission and weigh our decisions against it.

We will need to get better and better at some things and stop doing others.

We may have to stop doing some good things, but we will also need to add programs that align with the core mission.

We did this under Senate Bill 547.

Consider that Forensic Identification was not even a major when the bill passed in 1995.

Through partnerships and interdisciplinary teaching and research, the Forensics program is now larger than some long-standing departments.

Moreover, WVU has emerged as a world leader in biometrics, heading the National Science Foundation?s only government and industry center on biometric research.

I ask you: What programs should be relatively more important over the next five to ten years?

We will need to envision these and make sure we are proactive even during a time when we are pushed to be reactive.

The projected 10% reduction in state appropriations is serious and if it remains this large, or gets larger, we will face difficult decisions.

The people at Health Sciences can speak to this-as they are already in the early stages of a very significant budget challenge being driven by national health care and insurance issues.

But in times like these-which come and go over the years-we cannot compromise on the quality in our core mission.

I remain as committed to being student-centered as I was the day I came here as president.

I believe we have gained enormous traction in enrollment and have improved the quality of our degrees enormously.

Our institution has built this student-centered culture while also setting a record for research.

Without question, we have done this on the strength of our faculty and staff.

Therefore, I want to reaffirm our commitment to hiring the best-qualified faculty and staff.

I have heard you during the college visits, and I understand the link between salaries, recruitment, and retention of high quality, highly productive faculty and staff.

The quality of this institution cannot afford a hiatus from salary improvements.

We face an upstream swim over the next few years, but we will I believe get stronger, just as we have since 1995.

We will not sacrifice quality; we will strengthen it.

We must remain a doctoral research university-extensive.

And, we must remain student-centered.

We cannot be satisfied with just planning to survive a budget cut.

We slow our momentum at our own peril. There are only two ways to go-forward or backwards. There is no place-holding-no keeping even.

With faculty and staff back on campus this fall, we can begin our work in earnest.

You will be hearing more in the weeks to come about how you can participate in this process and I urge you to do so.

Close

Before I close, I would like to direct your thoughts once again to our mission. Educating students is our reason for being; it is what separates us from all other kinds of organizations.

With this in mind, we hold true to our vision at WVU. We are a learning community meeting the changing needs of West Virginia and the nation through teaching, research, service and technology.

This is the essence of a comprehensive, research, land-grant institution.

In this video clip you are about to view, notice the many ways our students live out this vision. First, we’ll give you a quick view of last year.

But then listen as our students testify to the paramount importance of your role.

[VIDEO-students talking about teaching, research, service, technology and the role of faculty in their lives.]

No one video or speech can encompass all the many accomplishments of the University and its faculty and staff.

But I hope that hearing from students, in their own words, about the quality of education they are receiving gives you a sense of your value-to WVU and in the lives of thousands of young people.

To share more about the University?s progress, we are making available several printed pieces that I hope you will pick up in the lobby on your way out.

These include:

  • a new research publication
  • a set of ?brag cards? that the colleges and schools helped us to prepare to promote their strengths
  • a short summary of WVU facts
  • and a flyer about the University?s upcoming September 11 observances.

Students worked over the summer to plan Sept. 11 activities that they would find meaningful and helpful.

Last year, when we gathered for this speech, none of us could guess how profoundly our world would change within 24 hours.

In the past year, we have each struggled individually to find meaning in the face of tragedy.

Nietzche emphasized the importance of finding meaning and purpose in adversity when he said that ?he who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.?

In the past year, many of you have used your role as educators and your sensitivity to help students make sense of this tragedy and its aftermath.

I hope that you will continue to do so as our campus observes this anniversary.

During the next few years, we will continue to navigate challenges, including this latest financial one.

I will not forget, and I urge you to remember, that we must stay focused on what is important-the quality of education that students receive and the significance of our contributions to society through service and scholarship.

Thank you. Best wishes for another successful professional year.