MORGANTOWN, W.Va. —  West Virginia University President Gordon Gee delivered his State of the University address Monday at the College of Law, recalling a productive past and providing an optimistic look to the future.

The last decade of Gee’s leadership has delivered innovation, expansion in medical research and options for the public, record-setting public support, and an increased commitment to student needs.

During that period, the university has had the highest freshman retention rate in the history of WVU of slightly more than 82 percent, an all-time high four-year graduation rate, and falling student debt numbers.

“Reinvention has fortified our university for the future,” Gee said. “More than ever, we are a fiercely land grant university; we are driving force for good for change and opportunity for all West Virginians.”

Gee talked about the importance of the three pillars announced in 2016—education, health, and prosperity—and the fourth added during the pandemic—purpose—and how they have created a path of success for students. He also praised the initiatives spun from that philosophy, like the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative, the TRAIN program through WVU Extension, and the STEAM Technical Assistance Center, that will continue to influence education moving forward.

“As president, I want to leave behind a university that encourages people to pursue their passions and their purpose,” Gee said. “I want to leave behind a university that provides the opportunities to use that purpose to do good in this world.”

He also talked about some of the strategic alignment changes made to create the College of Applied Human Sciences, the College of Creative Arts and Media, and the Division for Land-Grant Engagement and the new opportunities they provide. He also addressed the capitol improvements that have given students and faculty the space and tools for ground-breaking work.

Gee also praised the advancements in medicine at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute and the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.

“Over the past decade they have included a new Agricultural Sciences Building, an advanced engineering research facility, and Reynolds Hall—the pillar of entrepreneurship that houses the John C. Chambers School of Business and Economics.”

Gee said the next president of the institution will have to be equal parts higher education executive, public advocate, and bellwether of change.

“The American University has lost the trust of the American people, and any president that comes in here is going to have to spend a lot of time regaining that trust,” Gee said. “By talking to people, by listening to people, by doing a number of things internally that give us a much stronger position in the public eye.”

West Virginia University’s vice president and executive dean for Health Sciences, Dr. Clay Marsh, who was also appointed the COVID-19/Coronavirus Czar weeks into the pandemic, said Gee is an amazingly agile thinker and remarkably resilient and positive person who cannot be replaced.

“He was the perfect president at the perfect time,” Dr. Marsh said. “Now, our challenge is to find somebody that can extend the impact and legacy he’s created, and I’m very optimistic about that.”

Current state senator, WVU alumni, and WVU Student Body President from 1985-86, Mike Oliverio, R, Monongalia 13, said he is willing to help the next university settle into the position when that announcement is made.

“I look forward to working with him or her in providing them background information based on my years associated with the university dating back to being a student body president and a legislator for several decades,” Oliverio said. “I just hope we can find somebody who has a passion for West Virginia University and for higher education.”

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