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The Transformation Plan is Ruining WVU's Reputation

The Transformation Plan - how it was developed, rolled out, but especially its content - is ruining the good name and reputation of West Virginia University. Professors, Students and Academic Professionals - at WVU and everywhere - agree: the Transformation Plan doesn't help, but instead hurts higher education.

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West Virginia University wants to eliminate tenure and restrict faculty speech. Not on our watch.

Fire. Jessie Appleby. November 16, 2022. Link

 

WVU faculty question how university got in financial bind and why academics could be cut

Metro News. Brad McElhinny. June 5, 2023, Link

 

“Inconceivable” WVU Plan to Shut Down Language Department Could have detrimental impact on faculty, students, professors say.
Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Aug 8, 2023. Link

 

Colleges Spend Like There’s No Tomorrow. ‘These Places Are Just Devouring Money.’
Students foot the bill for flagship state universities that pour money into new buildings and programs with little pushback

The Wall Street Journal. Melissa Korn, Andrea Fuller, Jennifer S. Forsyth. Aug. 10, 2023. Link

 

The Evisceration of a Public University: West Virginia University is being gutted, and it’s a preview for what’s in store for higher education.

The Nation. Lisa Corrigan. August 16, 2023. Link

 

Proposed Program Cuts at West Virginia University "Alarming"

American Association of University Professors. August 17, 2023. Link

 

WVU must involve faculty when making academic cuts, AAUP says: The organization criticized a lack of faculty input in the university’s decision-making and urged leadership to affirm its dedication to shared governance.

Higher Ed Dive. Laura Spitalniak. Aug. 18, 2023. Link

 

Slashing Its Budget, West Virginia University Asks, What Is Essential? The state’s flagship school will no longer teach world languages or creative writing — a sign, its president says, of the future at many public universities.
New York Times. Anemona Hartocollis. Aug 18, 2023. Link

 

WVU’s plan to cut foreign languages, other programs draws disbelief: Academic overhaul at West Virginia University, in response to budget deficit, outrages faculty and students.

Washington Post. Nick Anderson. August 18, 2023. Link

 

Scholars See Dangerous Precedent in West Virginia U.’s Plan to Cut Foreign Languages.
Chronicle of Higher Education. Emma Pettit. AUGUST 18, 2023. Link

Everyone at West Virginia University Knew Something Was Up. I Hate That We Were Right. The student population got smaller and smaller while fancy new buildings appeared.
Slate. MYYA HELM AUG 18, 2023. Link

 

What Just Happened at West Virginia University Should Worry All of Us.

The New York Times. Leif Weatherby - New York University. Aug. 20, 2023. Link

West Virginia Says It’s Too Poor To Support Its Only Major University

FORBES. Steven Salzberg. Aug 21, 2023. Link

 

AFT’s Weingarten Writes to West Virginia University Board of Governors to Push Back on Ruinous Cuts to Program and Staff: ‘The scope and nature of these cuts raise fundamental questions about WVU’s commitment to its students, its surrounding community and the state’

American Federation of Teachers. Randi Weingarten. August 23, 2023. Link

 

Mountaineer Blues: West Virginia University’s Crisis portends the demise of higher education as we know it.
City Journal. Paul du Quenoy. Aug 24, 2023. Link

 

West Virginia University Banked on Growth. It Backfired. The state flagship, like other universities, faces a deficit and major cuts after years of excessive spending.

The Wall Street Journal. Melissa Korn and  Kris Maher, Aug. 28, 2023. Link

 

Capture the Flagship West Virginia University dismantles itself.
The Baffler. Dennis M. Hogan, August 30, 2023. Link

 

A Flagship Research University… Without Language Degrees or Math Ph.D.s? Some of West Virginia University’s proposed program cuts appear unprecedented, or close to it, for an institution of its kind. Department appeals and student protests seem to be having little effect so far.
Inside Higher Ed. Ryan Quinn. August 31, 2023. Link

 

West Virginia's foreign language cuts could be a "blueprint" for higher ed attacks
Jennifer A. Kingson. Sept 3, 2023. Link

 

Facing program cuts and layoffs, WVU faculty overwhelmingly pass ‘no confidence’ vote in Gee

West Virginia Watch. AMELIA FERRELL KNISELY - SEPTEMBER 6, 2023. Link

 

An Open Letter from Faculty at West Virginia University. The crisis here spells disaster for the future of public education. 

The Boston Review. Rose Casey, Jessica Wilkerson, Johanna Winant. September 7, 2023. Link

 

West Virginia Budget Cuts Are a Taste of Higher Ed’s Future. Gordon Gee is only slightly ahead of his time. A baby bust will mean far fewer students in coming years.
Wall Street Journal. James Piereson and Naomi Schaefer Riley.  Sept. 14, 2023. Link

 

AAUP Calls Out Lack of Faculty Involvement as WVU Board Votes on Massive Program Cuts: Urges Academic Due Process

American Association of University Professors. Michael DeCesare-AAUP. September 14, 2023.  Link

 

West Virginia University makes wide-ranging cuts to academic programs and faculty
Associated Press. LEAH WILLINGHAM AND JOHN RABY. September 15, 2023. Link

 

Despite National Pushback, West Virginia Will Cut Faculty, Programs A month of intense public and on-campus pressure did not dissuade the Board of Governors from siding with the administration to slash programs and positions.

Inside Higher Ed. Ryan Quinn. September 15, 2023. Link

 

The Cuts At West Virginia University: Trend Setter Or Outlier?

FORBES. Michael T. Nietzel-president emeritus of Missouri State University. Sep 18, 2023.Link
 

What the Cuts at West Virginia University Could Mean for Appalachia
NonProfit Quarterly. Alison Stine. October 10, 2023 Link


Students protest West Virginia Univ. budget cuts targeting academic programs and jobs
PBS. Oct 31, 2023. Hari Sreenivasan. Christina Romano Link  

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