Universities are a boon to the local economy. But West Virginia University goes beyond that.
“The university firmly believes that as a land grant institution, we are absolutely committed to the quality of life and the economic future of the state,” said WVU President E. Gordon Gee.
The two-time WVU president should know. He has served as president at other colleges across the country, including Brown, Vanderbilt, and Ohio State.
“There is no university in this country that has a more direct relationship between the economic future of the state and the role of the university itself,” Gee said. By that I mean that as a university and as a healthcare system, we are the largest employer in the country. We are the largest business development program in the country. We do more than almost anyone to attract business and industry.”
It’s not about hitting the chest, but that’s what the university should be doing. And if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be doing the work they were supposed to be, Gee said.
“West Virginia faces tremendous challenges. But right now, I can tell you it’s a tremendous opportunity,” Gee said. “I’ve never felt as confident about West Virginia’s future as I do right now.”
After retiring from the military as Major General and Adjutant General, West Virginia Joint Forces Headquarters-West Virginia, James Hoyer joined WVU as Vice President of Economic Innovation.
Nothing WVU does to help the economy is magical, Hoyer said. He cites practical things like building networks, partnerships and getting organizations to synchronize their efforts.
“We are a small country and we know each other. But we’re not very good at synchronizing and coordinating our efforts sometimes,” Hoyer said. “And that takes us off in different directions.”
Such efforts may even benefit national security. For example, Hoyer cited the Water Research Institute and its research on the recovery of rare earth elements from acid mine drainage. Rare earth elements are needed for technology development.
Gee has had two opportunities to observe and lead WVU’s Land Grant Mission. He was initially President of the WVU from 1981-1985. In 2014 he took over the presidency again.
There is “absolutely” a difference in the way WVU is affecting the economy now compared to the 1980s, Gee said.
“We’re much more committed. We are much more demanding. We’re a lot more present,” Gee said. “And of course the economy has changed [compared] until I was here for the first time.”
Back then, the state was basically a coal economy. Now it’s an all-encompassing energy economy, including coal, oil, gas, wind, solar, and battery manufacturing.
“So there’s been a pretty dramatic shift in terms of the portfolio of economic activity in the state,” Gee said. “I have to say that we are a much more diversified state today than when I first came here.”
Gee said healthcare is also an important part of the economy. He compared it to a tent pole.
“Without a healthy West Virginia, without healthy West Virginians, quality education and job creation is not possible,” Gee said.
To that end, WVU Medicine, WVU’s medical arm, has hired over 1,500 doctors and bought 24 hospitals across the state, Gee said. The newest member of the WVU Medicine Community is Welch Community Hospital in McDowell County — one of the hardest-hit areas in the state.
“To make sure we have excellent healthcare, we’re doing it statewide — we’re creating that critical access to hospitals,” Gee said. “The goal is to provide excellent health care to every citizen of the state.”
Additionally, signature programs have been built in neuroscience, cardiac care and child health, Gee said.
“And now we’re going to focus on cancer,” he said. “As a university, we consider healthcare to be one of our main goals.”
The quality of health care in the state has improved significantly in every respect, Gee said.
Aside from its land-grant mission, WVU’s existence as a place of higher education brings many benefits to Morgantown and the greater Northcentral West Virginia region, said John Deskins, associate dean for public relations and engagement, director of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research.
The operations at WVU’s main campus and hospital alone are an enormous undertaking, Deskins said. University purchases such as food, electricity and paper create economic benefits for the suppliers.
There are also WVU employees who spend their money in the community at entertainment venues, restaurants, housing and businesses, Deskins said.
“And that creates additional economic implications. It’s like an economic multiplier — it’s kind of a term economists use,” he said. “The initial spending is part of the economy, but that spending creates a kind of ripple effect to create even more economic activity.”
A study a few years ago quantified the direct impact and the spillover impact, Deskins said.
“Because WVU is so big, especially when you count the hospitals, we found that for North Central West Virginia, we thought that only in a very direct sense did this multiplier effect…we estimated that WVU was actually over 20% of the jobs.” supports North Central West Virginia,” said Deskins.
Take the large number of restaurants Morgantown has, for example, some of which might not exist without the spending of WVU staff and students, Deskins said.
Part of what makes WVU such a powerful economic force is the dynamism it offers, Deskins said.
“We actually have a virtuous cycle,” Deskins said. “We have a place where there is this strong, fundamental part of the economy. And that strong fundamental part means workers are here. Workers tend to be younger, healthier, more educated and better prepared for the world of work. This makes the area more attractive for economic development due to these positive dynamics.”
He continued, “And so other companies are coming here to capitalize on this momentum. Because they know people are moving here. They know that the community is becoming more attractive and worth living in. Because of this positive dynamic, it is easier to attract employees here.”
WVU also offers synergies to some local businesses or government agencies that could help bring them to Morgantown.
“Something like NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health… or that [National] Energy Technology Laboratory or some of the other types of research or engineering facilities that are in the Morgantown area,” Deskins said. “These things are here because of synergies with WVU. So they are obviously not WVU themselves, but they have settled here because they can enjoy these positive effects of being so close to WVU.”
There is also an effort by WVU to retain out-of-state students in West Virginia.
“We love our students who come from somewhere else,” Gee said. “And they love West Virginia. We’ve done so many different surveys that show our West Virginia University students would stay here and stay with us if there were jobs for them.”
He said that’s one of the reasons why WVU is so focused on growing the economy – to keep the best and brightest.
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