Monday, March 27, 2023 | Watch Video Replay
Prepared remarks by WVU President E. Gordon Gee.

Good morning! I am so pleased to be with you today. And I am especially pleased and surprised to see students in the audience. This is a little early for a Monday morning!

I also was thinking about the last time I gave a formal speech in this room, and I believe it was during New Student Orientation. I told our families we were going to win the national championship in football. Well, I can’t get it right every time … maybe this year!

But all kidding aside, I am truly grateful to be with you today.

According to Tolstoy, “Spring is the time of plans and projects.” Today I will share where we stand as a university, and the plans and projects we have in store.

The state of West Virginia University is strong, and we will be even stronger in the decades to come, thanks to a concerted focus on what matters most.

For years, we have transformed ourselves. Though we have made tremendous strides, we did so within the current construct of higher education. I propose that construct can no longer position us for the future. It will not sustain us to thrive in the imminent landscape. Today we will discuss why we must continue to evolve and how we intend to do so.

It is no secret that West Virginia University is facing challenging times. Indeed, higher education is facing challenging times. We are no different than our peers – only the details within the situation.

And to be frank, we have been facing these headwinds for a long time. If we return to the year 2019 – before the pandemic uprooted our lives – we will recall that we were confronting several difficulties.