EDITOR’S NOTE: LTTEs regarding WVU Academic Transformation
From now until Aug. 31, we will open letters to the editor to WVU alumni and current and former staff and faculty, including those who live out of state, for any who would like to comment on WVU’s Academic Transformation. EMAIL submissions to opinion@dominionpost.com. MAIL submissions to: The Dominion Post, 1251 Earl L. Core Road, Morgantown, WV 26505. INCLUDE your name, hometown and phone number for confirmation. Letters should not exceed 300 words. Out-of-state alumni should include their graduation year and degree. Staff/faculty should include their position and years of service.
WVU’s long decline aligns with Gee’s tenure
My name is Mateo Fuentes, and I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in printmaking from West Virginia University in 2019. I am writing this letter to express my profound concern about the proposed cuts to faculty and programs at WVU.
The recent developments surrounding these cuts have left me questioning the direction the university is taking. I want to address concerns about the leadership under Gordon Greed’s tenure as president of WVU.
While he has been in this position, there has been a consistent increase in tuition, accompanied by the expansion of administrative roles, which raises questions about the allocation of resources.
I am left wondering whether the administration and board of governors will take measures to address the financial situation they’ve played a role in creating. Will there be a reevaluation of all upper-level administration’s salaries and positions? Is there a plan to address the budget deficit that reflects accountability from those at the helm? These questions are particularly pertinent considering the extension of Gordon Greed’s contract, coupled with accolades from the BOG describing him as a top university leader.
Gordon Greed’s leadership has coincided with a decline in WVU’s performance, as evidenced by the financial turmoil and proposed cuts. It’s important to note that his departure from Ohio State University due to comments about other academic programs raises concerns about his leadership style. Additionally, his stance on transitions contradicts his situation of receiving substantial compensation until 2025.
The cuts appear to reflect a shift towards prioritizing select programs over a holistic education experience. Moving away from the true essence of a comprehensive university could undermine the institution’s legacy — making WVU into a glorified trade school or, more accurately, a sports program that offers degrees, too.
West Virginia University’s legacy is built on academic excellence and the growth of its students. I hope the leadership will actively engage with the concerns of students, faculty and alumni to ensure a brighter future for all.
Mateo Fuentes
Morgantown
WVU limits opportunities for future W.Va. students
I’ve always been a foreign language guy. Even before my bachelor’s in German at West Virginia University, I discovered at the age of 12 a lifelong passion for learning German. At WVU, I found a place to advance that passion into a career and a life abroad.
My time at WVU was dominated by the World Languages Department. My interest in German began to mature as I dove into the rich cultural history of the beating heart of Europe.
My first language-related job, teaching third-semester German to undergraduates, was where I found my drive to teach. My master’s in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) made a hard-working English teacher out of me. French, linguistics, even Chinese — all sorts of disciplines taught masterfully at WVU have brought me expertise, maturity and insight. A world-class service that even a poor West Virginia boy like me could afford.
What would the me-12-years-younger do? How would he reacting to WVU’s decision to cut world languages — a profitable department, mind you — at his state’s premier public institution of higher education? Would he continue going to his own state’s university and miss out on the subject he excels in? Or would he move out of West Virginia for college, paying prohibitively expensive out-of-state tuition? When he begins work down the line, will he say with pride that he’s from West Virginia, or will he just mention another state?
What I do know is how he would feel. Heartbroken, lost and crushed.
Football games, enrollment numbers — they all come and go. The chance to study your passion? That stays with you for life.
Dominic Carcione
Fulda, Germany
B.A. German Studies (2014)
M.A. TESOL (2016)
Despite claims, students find languages invaluable
As someone who earned his Ph.D in history from West Virginia University in 2000 and as a 1991 masters holder from The Ohio State University when E. Gordon Gee was president of that institution, I am appalled at the virtual evisceration of world languages and the liberal arts as a whole at the flagship institution of the state.
As a professor with over 30 years of experience, I can tell you that, despite claims to the contrary, students find languages invaluable in myriad professions, and as we become a more global society, investment in languages is imperative.
As an historian, I could not have taught the wide range of courses that I have, or inspired my students to pursue the discipline in their own right, without this education. Even those who went into business, law, medicine and engineering still appreciated my instruction and took to heart and practice my emphasis on language study.
Consider that every discipline in our curricula from grade school to the universities is united, much like the palm of a hand affords individual action as well as collective movement, yet still holds every digit together.
James R. Weiss
Salem, Mass.
Auditing language class changed man’s life path
Almost 50 years ago, as a young faculty member in the Department of Anatomy (HSC), I decided to research the anatomical aspects of Michelangelo’s art during an upcoming sabbatical in Italy.
The first step was to audit two courses in Italian language in the then-Department of Foreign Languages at WVU.
It was a decision that has proved very profitable in the ensuing years: two half-hour videos on Michelangelo (on public stations); one book and 20 published papers on Michelangelo and related arts in appropriate professional journals; and 18 other papers on relatively unrelated topics.
All of which are a result of that modest beginning.
Deleting teaching foreign languages at WVU is certainly not a wise decision.
Rumy Hilloowala
Professor Emeritus, Division of Anatomy (HSC), 53 years
Morgantown
Without language, global participation is limited
As an alumnus of the WVU World Languages Department, I am outraged at President Gee’s decision to dissolve this department.
As a professor of German, my career has been profoundly shaped by WVU. Gee’s unprecedented move shows utter disrespect for the department’s faculty, employees and students and ultimately weakens WVU, its research profile and the academic potential of its students and all learners in the Mountain State.
As a Research 1 category institution and the state’s most important university, WVU not only plays a central role in educating its students, but also K-12 teachers throughout the state. Eliminating the opportunity to study other languages for these students diminishes their future, education and even salary potential.
How will future WVU graduates (and the companies that hire them) be prepared for global challenges and endeavors in an international economy? How can students with no language skills engage with research and scholars from other countries or conduct research there? How can they compete for international scholarships and internships? Where will future language teachers (including ESL) at the K-12 level come from — and how can future seniors competitively apply for college if they’ve had no language instruction? How can WVU students interested in other cultures (as their first or second major) pursue their aspirations? Will they cut their dreams short or simply take them (and their tuition dollars) elsewhere?
It’s almost as if Gee assumes these students shouldn’t participate, compete and thrive on a global scale and should just stay put. West Virginians don’t need people making this assumption about them.
Gee even suggests students can learn languages using an app. This statement betrays both a profound misunderstanding of, as well as sheer contempt for, language study, language education professionals and the entire project of higher education.
Mountaineers deserve better. Reverse this decision and restore world languages!
Nikhil Sathe
B.A.s German and Geography, 1991
Athens, Ohio
Before I am an academic, I am a West Virginian
The thing that makes me the saddest of all is that before I am a mathematician, an academic or a student, I am a West Virginian.
This is going to decimate an already ridiculed, deprived, isolated state. No other college/university in West Virginia offers a Ph.D. in math. So, if you want to receive your doctorate in math, you have to go to another state. Pay out of state tuition. Move your entire life. I would not and could not do that.
My life is just … West Virginia. I would not be Dr. B without the opportunities provided at WVU, because I am a West Virginian. This applies to any of the programs special to WVU that are being cut. Don’t even get me started on world languages. Saying that they will outsource it to other schools and pay those professors instead of professors that would be here in West Virginia? Enriching the culture and providing face-to-face instruction to and truly caring about thousands of students? (Don’t believe those small numbers — thousands of students take language and linguistic courses, not just majors.) Online instructors in different states and apps won’t care about West Virginia students.
I’m mad about all of this, but I’m so deeply sad for West Virginia and what will happen to it. No one in the administration really cares about West Virginia.
Krista Kay Bresock
B.S. Psychology (2004)
B.S. Math (2006)
M.S. Math (2008)
Ph.D. Math (2022)
WVU Math Faculty, 10 years
Fairmont
