Without faculty West Virginia University, cannot achieve any of its lofty goals for the future, President Jim Clements told the WVU Faculty Senate during his State of the University address Monday in Morgantown.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Without faculty, West Virginia University cannot achieve any of its lofty goals for the future, President Jim Clements told the WVU Faculty Senate during his State of the University address Monday in Morgantown.
Therefore, he announced plans to hire 100 new faculty members over the next three years.
Clements gave the address at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy on the Evansdale campus. It was broadcast live on the Internet.
"Our peers have several hundred more faculty than we do," Clements said.
WVU has about 1,800 full-time faculty members. Because there are fewer professors on the Morgantown campus than at comparable universities nationwide, professors are more stressed and experience a greater workload and high student-to-teacher ratios, he said.
Bringing in new faculty is one key to reaching a Carnegie "very-high" classification for research, a goal Clements first announced for WVU when he was named president in the spring.
WVU Provost Michele Wheatley and Health Sciences Chancellor Chris Colenda will oversee the effort to hire new faculty.
Also, Clements noted that WVU must increase its number of doctorate-level programs, another area where peer institutions have the advantage.
Still, the university faces a couple of daunting challenges, Clements said. Although Morgantown is prospering in a weakened economy, the university's students, their parents and donors face financial hardships, he said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Without faculty, West Virginia University cannot achieve any of its lofty goals for the future, President Jim Clements told the WVU Faculty Senate during his State of the University address Monday in Morgantown.
Therefore, he announced plans to hire 100 new faculty members over the next three years.
Clements gave the address at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy on the Evansdale campus. It was broadcast live on the Internet.
"Our peers have several hundred more faculty than we do," Clements said.
WVU has about 1,800 full-time faculty members. Because there are fewer professors on the Morgantown campus than at comparable universities nationwide, professors are more stressed and experience a greater workload and high student-to-teacher ratios, he said.
Bringing in new faculty is one key to reaching a Carnegie "very-high" classification for research, a goal Clements first announced for WVU when he was named president in the spring.
WVU Provost Michele Wheatley and Health Sciences Chancellor Chris Colenda will oversee the effort to hire new faculty.
Also, Clements noted that WVU must increase its number of doctorate-level programs, another area where peer institutions have the advantage.
Still, the university faces a couple of daunting challenges, Clements said. Although Morgantown is prospering in a weakened economy, the university's students, their parents and donors face financial hardships, he said.
Meanwhile, Clements said that within the next four years 48 percent of the university's tenured faculty members and 42 percent of its classified staff would be eligible to retire.
To compete with other colleges and universities in a similar situation, WVU must offer competitive salaries and benefits, he said.
For WVU students, Clements spoke about a new health and wellness center and said detailed plans would be coming in the next few months.
Colleen Harshbarger, director of Health and Wellness Promotion at WVU, said a new facility would house Student Health, the Carruth Center for psychological and psychiatric services and Health and Wellness Promotion under one roof.
Currently, those health services are scattered across the campus.
Although plans are not finalized, Harshbarger hears that a new facility might go up near the Student Recreation Center on the Evansdale campus.
Clements also announced a $1.5 million commitment to improve and expand space for intramurals, club sports and recreational programs. WVU student leaders are helping to secure private commitments for the same effort, he said.
Citing the university's growth over the past 10 years in the forensic sciences, Clements asked faculty members to think about other new academic programs for the university. Many of the jobs most in demand these days did not even exist 10 years ago, he said.
Reach Davin White at davinwh...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1254.
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