Preface – this is my second column submitted through the Dominion Post Community Advisory Board and was first published there on Monday, August 17th.  It concerns the change in perspective between the appointments of Mike Garrison, Peter McGrath, and James Clements, and how the current search for a Health Sciences Chancellor & academic provost are ongoing.

In composing this, I hated spending so much of my word count revisiting the old wounds of the Garrison era.  As much as I hate to admit it, though, the entire affair became a case study on how not to make a political appointment and how not to make critical decisions while in office.  We may all want to forget it ever happened, but doing so would be as grievous a mistake as those that installed Garrison into office.

Not only has the search for new administrators been more open, but so has the search committee.  Joe Manchin and the WVU Board of Governors pretty much handpicked Garrison over the dissent of other constituent groups.  Since then, a wide search committee membership that includes faculty, students, staff, and others has been appointed for each effort, and it looks like the revamped methods are paying off.

Don’t get me wrong – a part of these appointments are always going to have a political component of some sort.  All we can ask of those in charge is to not let the political aspects override all the other criteria determined.

Yesterday Dr. Chris Colenda, the Dean of Medicine of Texas A&M, was named to be the new Chancellor of HSC.  As with the other appointments since the Garrison era, Dr. Colenda seemed to be a well-qualified candidate (as were the other finalists) and we wish him the best.  More information on him and the other candidates is here.

As Morgantown, West Virginia University, and nearly 30,000 students reunite for another school year, what is notable about this summer in particular is the lack of excitement-filled headlines regarding the administration of the University and its individual schools. It seems like a long time has passed since each sunrise greeted us with another shocking, tantalizing, or controversial headline about the search, selection, and administration of Mike Garrison. It didn’t matter in the least whether we as citizens thought the selection process was proper or not, whether or not we thought he was qualified, or to what degree the Heather Bresch degree scandal was or was not relevant. The Garrison administration stayed in the news pretty much all day, every day for well over a year.

Following Garrison’s resignation, the search for an interim president and subsequent full-time replacement were put squarely in the public square. There really was no choice in the matter – one of the biggest accusations aired during coverage of the Garrison administration was that his selection was a matter of internal politics instead of being judged on his qualifications alongside the other two finalists. As a result, one of the biggest changes in the selection process for the next two presidents was an unrelenting effort to make sure all final candidates were publicly vetted. At the end, most of us felt we had a good understanding of both Peter McGrath and James Clements when they moved into Stewart Hall.

WVU is now currently searching for a new Chancellor for the Health Sciences Center and a new academic provost (the last one, Gerald Lang, being a victim of the Garrison/Bresch fallout). By most appearances everything seems to be going smoothly. The inflammatory headlines and sensationalist stories are nowhere to be found, and are replaced this time by publicly available information about the search progress. The University has detailed information about both searches posted on their website front page (http://www.wvu.edu), including finalist information, search committee membership, job qualification criteria, details on specific leadership and organizational attributes the finalists must be able to manage, and other details I do not remember being shared.

By observing these changes some folks may feel that I am breaking open previously healed wounds and bringing the past back into focus, which is not my intent. Instead, I commend the WVU administration and the Board of Governors for showing they took the controversy as a learning opportunity. While I am not dialed in to the actual constituents affected by the open positions, I prefer informational accounts of the searches rather than sharp-tongued opinion pieces. This more-refined process shows that all sides have learned from the past, and this is ultimately how institutions of all sizes show progress.

Preface – I am serving a one-year term on the Advisory Board for the Dominion Post, our local newspaper.  We meet monthly and discuss things happening in Morgantown and how the Post covers them, as well as other items regarding the paper itself.  An additional requirement is to write a column every so often about local issues & topics to be published on the Opinion Page.  Since I have been blog-deficient this spring, I’m getting back on track by posting my first column that appeared in today’s (June 1) Dominion Post.  (Reprinted with permission from my editor.)

The background for this column covers two subjects.  First off, and the most obvious, is why we chose Morgantown when we left Charlotte, NC in search of a home closer to our families after Garrett’s birth.  Besides being the place where we met and where we liked visiting time & time again, the amenities listed did play a part – by living in Morgantown as opposed to many other places in WV, we still had access to shopping, restaurants, and entertainment that we had in Charlotte.  The other subject is a rebuttal to the criticism that is often leveled in personal & group conversations about town, Letters to the Editor, callers to local radio shows, and other bully pulpits.  “Traffic is terrible!”  “Students are crass animals!”  “The city is corrupt!”  While there are valid examples to support these and other charges, I look back on my experience living and visiting other cities both large and small.  Morgantown should be be so lucky to have the problems we have on the scale in which they exist – for instance, a ten minute commute from Cheat Lake to Mylan pales in comparison to cities with a real rush hour.  My goal was to get people to realize that things aren’t so bad here after all.   

Five years ago I returned to the town I call home to raise my family, and if all goes well I will spend my remaining years here. I’ve been asked by many folks “Why Morgantown”, and, aside from personal reasons, my answer is usually the same – Morgantown truly is unique in America for the things we can provide that other towns of similar stature can’t. Sometimes living within an environment for so long can blind us to the positives of our town, so I’d like to take a moment and remind everyone that things here aren’t so bad.

Morgantown still retains its small town charm despite housing a major university, being the fastest growing city in West Virginia, and having job seekers chasing low unemployment numbers. We have many wonderful tree-lined neighborhoods where children can play. Our downtown streets are thriving with an eclectic mix of shopping and dining during a time where many other cities struggle with the disappearance of their own downtowns. We can go to any number of businesses or recreational places and see neighbors, teachers, doctors, pastors, youth coaches, public figures, and others every day.

We also cannot forget that WVU provides us with far more than increased traffic and loud parties nine months of the year. Many major retailers and restaurants provide goods and services that other towns our size cannot support. We have the opportunity to witness the highest levels of collegiate athletics and enroll in nationally accredited courses to pursue higher education. We benefit from the numerous community outreach programs different departments hold, and there is a large portion of the student body available for assisting various non-profits in the city. Whether charities need fundraising help or manpower for an event, a great number of student groups are willing to help.

Morgantown also benefits from being in close proximity to many larger cities. Pittsburgh is just over an hour away and helps to fill in some of the amenities a smaller city lacks. More extensive shopping, dining, museums, professional sports, and recreation are available with a small time investment, as well as potential employment in the metropolitan area. Other metropolitan areas are a morning’s drive away.

I’m not out to whitewash the problems we face. Traffic may be irritating at times, although having lived and visited far larger cities, our traffic doesn’t bother me. College students might be a bit unruly occasionally and student rentals may encroach on neighborhoods. Relationships between various local governments and private entities can be strained and our infrastructure is limited by geological reality, but these are problems similar to what other areas face.

I, however, cannot think of a better place to call home than Morgantown.