University faculty, students, WVU Extension agents, administrators and others have made 14 trips to Washington since February to advocate for federal funding for WVU research with members of the state’s congressional delegation, and Associate Vice President for Research Development Sheena Murphy with the WVU Research Office said those efforts will continue.
“Throughout the visits to the delegation, people from President Gordon Gee to our undergraduate students have been sharing the critical need for continued support of programs that include scientific research as well as 4-H and student aid. They’re ensuring our representatives are informed about the impact of federal support on the research we do here and on our communities,” Murphy said.
“Most of the federal funding WVU receives goes to staff and student salaries, so not only does it drive the University’s research effort, it also stays local,” she added. “Because those dollars end up reaching small local businesses like grocery stores and restaurants, cuts to WVU research funding will be felt by the local and state economy. We’re aware of those ripple effects and are working to convey to the delegation the full repercussions of changes to federal research funding.”
Selected recent outreach efforts include:
Ming Lei, vice dean of research, WVU Health Sciences School of Medicine, joined by research officers of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and Marshall University, advocating for robust funding for the National Institutes of Health Institutional Development Award and Established Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research under the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Energy, Department of Defense and Department of Agriculture.
Pedro Mago, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, as part of the American Society of Engineering Education annual meeting, advocating for NSF, DOD and other science agency support.
Members of the WVU Student Government Association advocating for support for college affordability, student mental health and food insecurity, including SGA Vice President Abigail Browning, Legislative Affairs Officer Logan Pierce and At-large Senator Shelby Davis.
Melanie Page, associate vice president for creative and scholarly activities, WVU Research Office, advocating for NASA Space Grant and NASA EPSCoR support for education, research and public outreach activities in space, aeronautics and earth system sciences, and sharing those programs’ impacts on learners from K-12 to graduate education.
WVU Industrial Extension representatives Staci Miller, director, and David Carrick, associate director, as part of the American Small Manufacturers Association, advocating for funding support in helping West Virginia small and medium-sized manufacturers thrive.
A coalition of representatives from WVU Extension, 4-H and the WVU Small Farm Center shared the impact of Smith-Lever funds on every county in West Virginia, including Jorge Atiles, associate vice president and dean of the WVU Division for Land-Grant Engagement and others.
Members of the Association of American Cancer Institutes advocating for National Cancer Institute funding for advancements in cancer prevention, detection and treatment, including Dr. Hannah W. Hazard-Jenkins, executive chair and director, WVU Cancer Institute.
An undergraduate student group supported by the WVU Office of Undergraduate Research and the WVU ASPIRE Office, sharing the probable impacts recommended funding cuts could have on undergraduate researchers’ futures, including biomedical engineering student Christopher Smith, from Point Pleasant, a Goldwater Scholar and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow; data science student Grady King, from Morgantown, a Goldwater Scholar; and biology student Ella Moats, from Morgantown, a Goldwater nominee.
These visits supplement the overall advocacy work of the WVU Office of Federal Relations, based in Washington, which is in constant contact with the West Virginia delegation offices on a wide range of federal funding, policy and legislative matters of importance to the University.
The Office of Federal Relations also works closely on strategy and advocacy with other higher education organizations, including the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Association of American Medical Colleges.