WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. — West Liberty University’s Board of Governors is coming out in support of the institution’s president, Dr. W. Franklin Evans, and his disapproval of the talks between officials from Bluefield State College (BSC) and the City of Wheeling to bring a BSC branch campus to the city.
Evans made his stance known on March 10 in a public joint statement with the presidents of Wheeling University and West Virginia Northern Community College in response to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement between the city and BSC to study the feasibility of having a school at the former Ohio Valley Medical Center property downtown.
Board chairman Rich Lucas said the board unanimously supported a motion during a recent board meeting to release its own statement on the situation which came out Wednesday. He said the board supports Evans’ stance that the three higher education entities in the greater Wheeling area are doing what is in the best interest in local students and universities.
“Let’s make sure the world knows that our board is 100 percent behind our new president,” Lucas told MetroNews.
Evans statement last month on the MOU read as such:
“I stand in solidarity with the other leaders of our local colleges and universities in this matter. We are confident that our three institutions are equipped to provide the educational needs of this region with quality programs that meet the demands of our regional employers.
“There is a process that must be followed to ensure that the expansion of programs by public institutions of higher learning in the state of West Virginia are needed and successful. This process is proper and is the only way to achieve approval of such expansion.”
The situation got personal on March 16 when West Virginia Northern Community College (WVNCC) President Daniel Mosser blasted Wheeling leaders during a city council meeting with allegations of a personal deal with BSC President Robin Capehart and not disclosing terms of a lease agreement.
Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, Vice Mayor Chad Thalman, and City Manager Robert Herron released a joint statement on March 19, denying all allegations and asked Mosser or the other area college leaders to come forward with any evidence. Officials also expressed disappointment in the actions of Mosser, Evans and Favede during the meeting.
In the city council meeting where Mosser spoke, Evans and Wheeling University President Ginny Favede signed up to speak in the three-minute time period allowed for public comment. Evans spoke for one minute then he and Favede yielded the entirety of their time to Mosser. Mosser went on to make his allegations about the city and BSC.
Lucas told MetroNews that Evans has expressed no personal feelings between the parties because Evans is not sure how there could be any considering he came to West Liberty in January of this year. Lucas believed that the city council meeting was one of the first public events in Wheeling that Evans had attended.
“He (Evans) said ‘there’s no possible way this could be personal because I don’t know any of these gentlemen or ladies. I’ve never met City Manager (Bob) Herron, I’ve never met Mayor (Elliott),” Lucas said.
Brent Benjamin, executive vice president and general counsel for BSC had previously told MetroNews the plan for the college, which has its main campus in Mercer County, is to have three accredited programs in Wheeling. The programs planned include two-year degrees in civil engineering technology, electrical engineering technology and mechanical engineering technology with in-person courses in January 2022.
The decision would ultimately come down to the WV Higher Education Policy Commission later this month.
Capehart, the former president of West Liberty and well known in the Wheeling area, has been in the Upper Ohio Valley holding meetings with business leaders to determine what they would want to be offered. Lucas said there is no bad blood between Capehart and his former institution.
Lucas said he anticipates moving forward and continuing the strong working relationship between the city and West Liberty.
“West Liberty University appreciates the City of Wheeling and its city council, city manager and they’ll work towards an amicable ending,” Lucas said.