To mark the start of a new academic year, President Michael T. Benson is launching the University-wide Mountaineer Monday initiative to celebrate Mountaineer pride.
Dear Colleagues,
How wonderful it is to be back in touch with all of you via The Benson Connection as we welcome our students and begin a new year.
This is my 25th fall semester as a University president and my second leading West Virginia University, and I’m invigorated and inspired as we move forward with Mountaineer momentum.
I measure the past year through the people I’ve met, including our dedicated faculty, staff, students, retirees, and the many others with stakes in our collective future.
My hope is that we will continue to lead with pride, empower through education, transform lives, stake our claim, grow our reach, and outperform our competition, showing what can be accomplished through collaboration in service to West Virginia and the world.
To exemplify that, today (Aug. 17) is our first Mountaineer Monday — the starting line for a new tradition designed to bring us all together in gold and blue to celebrate what makes us Mountaineers.
As Mountaineers, we’re part of something bigger than our individual selves and, because of that, I’m inviting everyone to get involved by donning WVU gear or gold and blue every Monday to help make Mountaineer Monday a new WVU tradition.
Whether you’re teaching, supporting students, conducting research, or serving our communities, let’s show what it means to be part of Mountaineer Nation. Wear your gold and blue, encourage your colleagues to join you, and help us bring Mountaineer Monday to life.
We’re going to have more Mountaineer Monday momentum and moments throughout the semester, including branded giveaways and opportunities to share our successes, so keep an eye out in ENews and on social media for more ways to celebrate.
For Mountaineer Monday and other content, follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X as we show and tell everyone why it’s great to be a Mountaineer — wherever you may be.
Recently, I visited the Jerry West Statue outside the Hope Coliseum which brought to mind one of “The Logo’s” most famous quotes: “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.”
How we approach each day — no matter the challenges — makes a difference for our students, our community, and the University as a whole.
Here are a few additional updates:
• Over the summer months, we officially welcomed several new University leaders: Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beverly Wendland, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Chris Kabourek, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Linda and Don Brodie Dean Clayton Thyne, and WVU Libraries and Press Dean Mark Paris.
We also extend a heartfelt “welcome” to all new faculty and staff. Each hire represents a step forward for the University.
• As part of a powerful new academic partnership, the application period is open until Wednesday, Sept. 30, for grant awards available through the Johns Hopkins University-WVU Research Collaborative.
The research collaboration provides seed funding to help faculty teams develop innovative research programs, generate preliminary data, and position themselves for competitive external funding while fostering long-term partnerships between the two institutions.
Find more information about the application process.
• I’m looking forward to getting back to class with a course about World War I. It’s gratifying to be surrounded by my fellow faculty members in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Department of History.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn,” is a quote often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, one of our Founding Fathers. I want my students to understand the indelible through line from the history they’re studying to today.
• We would like to sincerely thank those of you who are volunteering your time and energy to support Welcome Week activities for our students. I’ve enjoyed being out with you during move-in, and at events like Midnight Mountaineer, the Student Organization Fair, and Sunday Night Lights.
Today’s (Aug. 17) Academic Day Sessions will be especially important for our students, and tonight (Aug. 17), we’ll host students for the Mountaineer Midway and Movie —including a Ferris wheel — starting at 6 p.m. in front of the Life Sciences Building on the Downtown area of campus.
Let’s start this semester strong.
Let’s push ourselves to always keep learning and improving.
Let’s amplify our gold and blue pride.
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.