MORGANTOWN — The WVU Board of Governors heard an update on the search for a new president on Friday.
BOG vice-chair and Presidential Search Committee chair Patrice Harris told the board that the listening session phase wrapped up on Sept. 13. There were 34 sessions, including nine for the faculty, six for staff, four for students and four open community sessions.
Sept 13 was also the last day for the online survey, she said, which received nearly 1,200 responses. Alumni was the single largest group responding to the survey, providing about 43% of the responses. Faculty and students were second and third, at about 19% and 24%. respectively.
“It is safe to say we provided ample opportunity for input,” she said.
The sessions and survey yielded a list of qualities people want to see in the next president, she said. They want someone with a vision for WVU as an R1 research institution and land-grant university.
They want someone with a strong financial background and financial management experience, critical thinking and analytical skills, communication skills, team management skills, and an understanding of WVU’s role in the state and Appalachia in general.
The BOG will review and endorse a finalized leadership profile to put out to market during a special meeting to be held the week of Oct. 7, she said.
She reminded the board that candidate screening and initial interviews will take place this fall and into winter 2025. Finalist interviews will take place next spring, with an announcement of the choice to follow. Current WVU President Gordon Gee will retire June 30, 2025.
In other board news, Provost Maryanne Reed told the members that preliminary numbers show freshman retention at an all-time high, at 83.2%. This meets the five-year goal WVU set for itself in 2019 and puts it in line with some of its Big 12 peers.
Final retention numbers will be shared after they are presented to the Higher Education Policy Commission in October, she said.
This was Reed’s final presentation to the board. She will retire at the end of the year, and in October moves to a transition role, working with the president’s office to prepare for her successor and closing out projects in the provost’s office.
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