As we close in on the midpoint of the spring semester, President Michael T. Benson is checking in with faculty and staff across the WVU System.
Dear Colleagues,
March Madness can take many forms — from the basketball court to the academic rush of the season as we work toward the March 14-22 Spring Recess.
Like so many of you, we’re setting a fast pace at Stewart Hall.
We’re taking steps to prepare for the national search for the next vice president for Research which will launch on April 1 with incoming Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beverly Wendland chairing the search committee.
Though she won’t officially take over the Office of the Provost until July 1, Beverly attended her first Board of Governors meeting last Friday (Feb. 20) and joined me at the women’s basketball game to celebrate a win on Saturday (Feb. 21). She is going to be a wonderful addition to our leadership team.
A highlight for both of us was heading over to the student section after the final buzzer sounded Saturday to sing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with our Mountaineer Maniacs. This song serves as such a unifying anthem — unique to our institution — and I love that it brings us all together on so many occasions in a myriad of settings.
This Friday (Feb. 27), I’ll be going back into the classroom when I teach a West Virginia history lesson to more than 200 eighth grade students at Mountaineer Middle School in Morgantown following an invitation from Principal Mike Rogers.
I’m looking forward to the middle school visit, which follows recent high school stops at Morgantown, University, East Fairmont, Fairmont Senior and North Marion. The University’s connections to these schools in Monongalia County and Marion County are vital and my team intends to continue to work to build those relationships.
Also, if you’d like to hear from some talented (hopefully) future Mountaineers, I encourage you to listen to “The Lincoln WildCAST.” I was recently a guest on the show with some impressive seventh and eighth graders at Lincoln Middle School in Harrison County. It was a lot of fun. These students asked some terrific questions and I was honored to be on their podcast.
If you’re available, please make plans to join me at noon Friday (Feb. 27) in the Downtown Library, Milano Reading Room, for a presentation from McKay Coppins, titled “The Temptations of Power: A Washington Reporter’s Lessons on Leadership.”
My son, Sam Benson, national politics reporter at Politico, will introduce Coppins who is an award-winning journalist for The Atlantic and a New York Times bestselling author. The Department of Political Science is co-sponsoring the event. RSVP here.
We’re now just more than two weeks away from the end of the 2026 Regular Legislative Session in Charleston. Our Government Relations team continues to work diligently on behalf of the entire WVU System each day in the halls of the State Capitol.
There is a lot of activity going on in Charleston and you can keep up with the latest developments in “Under the Dome.”
Here are some additional updates:
• Many thanks to those who turned out for the return of the Hardesty Festival of Ideas Feb. 16-18, including former University President David Hardesty and Susan Hardesty who created the original speaker series.
Panel discussions covered timely topics of the ethics of artificial intelligence and its implications on society, business and innovation, and understanding West Virginia politics. There is so much potential for this series and we look forward to many more thought-provoking discussions in the future.
• The ninth annual Day of Giving — my first — is scheduled for March 25 and we’re putting the focus on giving for unrestricted scholarships for students and innovation grant funding to support the Strategic Compass.
• Coming up in next month’s column, we’ll have more details to share about the final leg of the “Welcome Home Tour.” So far, I have officially visited 35 West Virginia counties as president and the plan is to get to the remaining 20 before May Commencement which is approaching quickly. We will cover a lot of miles to spread the good news about West Virginia’s University.
Following Presidents Day and as we prepare for the blooming of spring soon, a quote from President Abraham Lincoln comes to mind, one which speaks to the restlessness many of us may be feeling through the cold winter months.
“A man watches his pear tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls into his lap.”
Let’s bring patience and perseverance to the pursuit of our goals.
Let’s take on challenges together.
Let’s look ahead with optimism to the coming season of renewal and growth.
Let’s Go!
Michael T. Benson
President and Professor of History
West Virginia University
The Benson Connection is a regular ENews column for faculty and staff from the University’s 27th president.