All too often, we don’t pay much attention to the men and women behind the WVU curtain, but we need to take a closer look now.
On June 29, Gov. Jim Justice appointed his right-hand man, Bray Cary, to the West Virginia University Board of Governors, pending state Senate approval.
We’ve previously reported on the WVU Board of Governors’ meetings, but you may not be sure what exactly the BOG does. According to WVU’s website, the BOG’s powers and duties include “the control, supervision and management of the financial, business and education policies and affairs of West Virginia University” as well as appointing the university’s president. The board also manages all personnel matters and reviews all WVU’s course offerings. Members are appointed by the governor.
They are the men and women behind the proverbial curtain.
A seat on the board gives an individual a great deal of power over the state’s flagship university — and one of the primary economic drivers in this state. And we’re not sure Cary is the best man to fill such a prominent position.
Our first concern is the manner of his appointment. Cary has become Justice’s right-hand man, most recently holding the title of senior advisor. Once a staunch critic of Justice when he was on the campaign trail, Cary became a trusted ally when he and Justice bonded over the Roads to Prosperity project, and Cary later became a “citizen volunteer” with the governor’s office. Cary’s closeness to the governor and his large stake in natural gas giant EQT prompted the state Legislature to update and pass the Ethics Act in 2018.
It seems Justice is handing the BOG membership to his good buddy without considering if Cary is a good fit. Justice has made some good appointments in the past, but with Cary, it looks like Justice turned to the guy standing next to him and said, “I’ll get you this job if you want it.” It doesn’t appear any effort was made to find, interview and then engage the best candidate for the job.
We also have to consider Justice appointed Elmer F. Coppoolse, the chief operating officer of The Greenbrier, to the WVU BOG as well. The connection there is obvious. Between Coppoolse and now Cary, it’s starting to look like Justice is stacking arguably the most powerful group at the university with his cronies.
Our second concern is Cary’s place in a slew of conflict-of-interest controversies.
Cary had served on the WVU Foundation board of directors prior to his company, West Virginia Media Holdings, receiving a nearly $8 million investment from the foundation in 2001. WVU Foundation later had to sell its stock in WVMH for a loss in 2008. It was speculated Oliver Luck’s close friendship with Cary was the driving force behind WVMH receiving the contract for the “Bob Huggins Show” without competing bids being considered in 2010 and IMG College receiving multimedia and athletic sponsorship rights in 2013. Luck said at the time, Cary was part of the “IMG team.” At the time of the investment and the contract, several stakeholders in West Virginia Media Holdings were members of WVU Foundation and the WVU BOG, and Cary sat in on at least one meeting. We’ve already mentioned how Cary’s stakes in EQT led the Legislature to pass a law preventing him from personally benefiting from his new position.
In situations such as these, the appearance of impropriety is often more significant than any actual wrongdoing. And right now, it appears Justice is guilty of cronyism, and it appears Cary is not the best fit for WVU’s Board of Governors. We hope the Senate considers Cary’s qualifications more closely than Justice did.
