Free Republic

West Virginia has no time to lose. Its 55-percent labor-force participation rate is better only than Mississippi’s. Life expectancy is under 73 years, again placing West Virginia in second-to-worst place among U.S. states. Median family income is also near the bottom, whatever family size we compare. Economic development is our best way out, and the surest path to that result is education reform. It’s not a matter of sending more high schoolers to a four-year college program. While it’s true that completing college—indeed, having any college education regardless of completion—is positively correlated with higher income, artificially increasing access is not...

When the public votes down a school tax levy, the protocol is for the school superintendent to threaten to eliminate sports and shutter schools. Then the school boards hold levy elections until the public finally passes one. Then the school board and its superintendent go on their merry way and back to ignoring the public. Where do you think Mel Brooks came up with the idea of Sheriff Bart holding himself hostage in Blazing Saddles? The Sheriff Bart model applies to higher education, which faces cutbacks as fewer young Americans are enrolling in college because people with degrees have flooded...

In the face of shrinking enrollment and a $45 million budget deficit, West Virginia University (WVU) has made the responsible decision to cut many low-productivity programs across the institution. Its actions should be a model for struggling universities across the country. The cuts are part of WVU’s Academic Transformation efforts, which began in 2021. The program is intended to “align our resources to support and invest in areas of growth and opportunity and identify areas where we can have greater impact and be more effective.” Since then, several programs across the campus have been recommended for elimination by the Provost’s...

West Virginia University Health System announced last August 23rd that it will require all of its clinical and non-clinical staff to be fully vaccinated with both doses of the COVID-19 two-dose series by the end of October. WVHA President Jim Kaufman said that they’re very concerned about the workforce – in fact, that’s one of their biggest challenges. “At the same time, we know that getting our healthcare teams vaccinated will allow us to serve all West Virginians and protect our staff,” Kaufman added. The employees that are not vaccinated or didn’t obtain an approved exemption on the 14th day...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia University has launched a housing program for students to room together on campus regardless of sex, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. WVU's True Colors community also supports students who are transgender or gender non-conforming in choosing a roommate of any gender. The gender-neutral community isn't intended for romantic couples.

Dr. Bryan Calhoun, vice chairman of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at West Virginia University, explains why abortionists should have admitting privileges. We commonly (I personally probably at least weekly) see patients at Women’s and Children’s Hospital in our emergency room or ultrasound center with complications from abortions at the centers in Charleston: so much for “safe and legal.” These patients are told to come to our hospital because the abortion clinic providers do not have hospital privileges to care for their patients, so we must treat them as emergency “drop ins.… No other medical providers are allowed to care...

Rod Hundley, basketball’s irrepressible Hot Rod, who parlayed showmanship on the court with flair at the microphone to become a fan favorite for more than half a century, died on Friday at his home near Phoenix. He was 80. Hundley was an electrifying presence at West Virginia University, played for the Lakers and stamped his persona on broadcasting, mostly for the New Orleans Jazz. “Nobody did the things I did on the court and nobody has done them since,” Hundley said of his collegiate exploits in “Hot Rod Hundley: You Gotta Love It Baby!” (2012), written with Tom McEachin. “I’d...

Starting next year, West Virginia University will require all students to be covered under healthcare before they can attend class, and is suggesting that students sign up for Obamacare. An email circulated by Ken Gray, the university’s vice president for student affairs, and addressed to”WVU Parents, Students, and Families” states: “Beginning academic year 2014-15, all WVU students will be required to have health care coverage. Many universities around the country use this model to ensure that students are protected against unforeseen and catastrophic medical expenses.” The email stresses that “Because health problems can interfere with academic success, West Virginia University...

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia - The West Virginia University Police Department is investigating an incident that may have involved WVU students. Video of a car being flipped is going around the Internet. The video first showed up on Instagram Sunday morning and was deleted. The video was then added by a third party to YouTube with 'WVU Car Flip' as the title

After rumbling 99 yards for a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the second quarter, West Virginia safety Darwin Cook banged into Obie, the Orange Bowl mascot, sending them both tumbling to the ground. That was more resistance than any Clemson tacklers offered Wednesday night. In a scintillating display of offense while at the same time humiliating showing on defense, the No. 23 Mountaineers crushed the No. 15 Tigers 70-33 in the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. There's not enough room here to list all the records West Virginia set. The most amazing was breaking the mark for most...

No celebration of our freedom can be complete without a tribute to the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much to preserve and protect our country. The WVU Band presents our "Armed Forces Salute," which features a medley of the songs from all branches of our great military.

What a creative and stirring tribute to our brave men and women who have served and are serving. It will bring a tear to your eye.WVU Marching Band Armed Services Salute

The Big East's football expansion plans leave the conference with 17 universities, including non-Football members. That's a terrible number for scheduling; the only way the basketball teams can schedule an even number of games is if they play every other team only once. 18 teams would allow three divisions of six teams each. Any team would play the other five teams in its division twice, and one half of the twelve other teams in the conference. 18 sounds like worsening the problem of too many teams, but having three divisions could actually restore some rivalries, and return the conference to...

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Fred Schaus, a former Los Angeles Lakers coach and general manager who mentored Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley at West Virginia, has died.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a sign that job losses are felt in every corner of the nation, unemployment rates rose in 98% of metropolitan areas across the country in December, according to a recent government report. ... Morgantown, W.Va., had a rate of just 2.7%, the lowest in the country. Morgantown houses West Virginia University, which is the town's largest employer. The University has a large hospital and pharmaceutical manufacturing component - areas of the economy that are actually adding jobs. Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a population of at least 1 million, Detroit had the largest unemployment...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Former West Virginia University football coach Rich Rodriguez and the University of Michigan have agreed to pay a $4 million buyout and settle a lawsuit that WVU filed after he broke his contract in December. Rodriguez will pay $1.5 million in three annual payments beginning January 2010. The Wolverines athletic department, his new employer, will pay $2.5 million by the end of July and cover Rodriguez's legal fees, the University of Michigan said in a statement Wednesday. "To help Rich focus on the challenges ahead, we have worked with him to resolve the dispute between him and...

West Virginia University President Mike Garrison says he is resigning effective September 1. [Funny how these perps always get to hang around long enough to get another year's pension, huh?] Long story short, the university manufactured an MBA degree for the GOVERNOR's DAUGHTER. This is such a sordid tale: How political insiders get plum profitable positions and the power to cover up malfeasance. This is how our government works today. The bureacracy no longer works for you. It works for it's members and the pols and vendors who provide the money.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Rich who? The West Virginia Mountaineers didn't need coach Rich Rodriguez. They had Pat White, and their elusive quarterback led them to a surprising 48-28 romp over Oklahoma (No. 4 BCS, No. 3 AP) in the Fiesta Bowl on Wednesday night. White ran for 150 yards and threw for 176 and two touchdowns for the Mountaineers (No. 9 BCS, No. 11 AP), who rushed for 349 yards, most allowed by Oklahoma in a bowl game. Since arriving in the desert last week, the Mountaineers (11-2) said they had bonded behind interim coach Bill Stewart, who took...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- The curse of No. 2 claimed another victim. West Virginia is out of the national title race. Ohio State is in. In a season defined by upsets, Pittsburgh came up with an enormous one, beating the second-ranked Mountaineers 13-9 Saturday night to throw another curveball at the BCS. A win away from playing for the national championship, the Mountaineers were expected to roll over rival Pittsburgh (5-7) on their way to New Orleans for the Bowl Championship Series title game.