In his first State of the University Address, new WVU President Michael Benson told the university community that he wants us to "think big" with where the university will go. His dream is to get WVU into the Association of American Universities (AAU), the home of the premier research universities in North America. Over 60% of the research spending in the United States goes to this club of elite institutions. Multiple fellow Big 12 schools (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Kansas, Utah, fellow regional schools (Carnegie Mellon, Ohio State, Rutgers, Pitt, Penn State, Virginia), and other former athletic conference mates (Miami, South Florida) are all in this club. Why not us? 

Our state legislature/leadership has not been fully supportive of WVU in recent years with regard to funding. Changes to the state's higher ed funding formula helped steer which programs were cut in 2023, when WVU needed to fix a budget hole. Governor Jim Justice initially vetoed $2 million of research money for the Rockefeller Institute. If all of us in this state want the best for our flagship university and for us to get a chance to follow through on true ambition for the school, Governor Morrisey and legislative leadership need to back WVU with the resources they provide to make a robust academic powerhouse and to assist with gaining additional federal research grants from the Trump Administration. 

Sign and share this petition to say you see this as an priority for the future of education and development of our great state!