Newly-elected Governor Jim Justice will deliver his first State of the State address today (Feb. 8) as the regular session of the 2017 West Virginia Legislature begins.
Several West Virginia University faculty members will be available to offer reaction and expert commentary to the media tonight and in the days following Justice’s speech.
WVU faculty who can offer analysis include:
Economy and community development:
John Deskins is director of the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research and an
associate professor in the College of Business and Economics. He can be reached
at 304.293.7876 or John.Deskins@mail.wvu.edu.
Brian Lego is a research assistant professor and economic forecaster for BBER and can offer analysis on a wide range of economic situations. He can be reached at 304.293.7829 or Brian.Lego@mail.wvu.edu.
Heather Stephens, an assistant professor of resource economics and management, can discuss energy and regional economics. She can be reached at 304.293.5639 or heather.stephens@mail.wvu.edu.
Gerard D’Souza, director and professor of agricultural and resource economics, who can discuss energy economics. He can be reached at gdsouza@wvu.edu.
Steve Cutright is the director of WVU’s Brickstreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The Center’s priorities include promoting entrepreneurial education, community engagement and economic development in West Virginia. He can be reached at 304.293.7221 or steven.cutright@mail.wvu.edu.
Rochelle “Rocky” S. Goodwin is senior associate vice president for academic and public strategy in WVU’s John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy and Politics and works closely with the University’s Center for Big Ideas. The Center’s priorities include promoting entrepreneurial education, community engagement and economic development in West Virginia. Goodwin can be reached at 304.400.4963 or ragoodwin@mail.wvu.edu.
Budget and Government Affairs:
Rob Alsop is WVU’s
vice president for legal and governmental affairs and entrepreneurial
engagement. He can be reached at 304.293.5772 or rob.alsop@mail.wvu.edu.
Karen Kunz, an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration, specializes in public budgeting and fiscal policy, and financial markets regulation. She is also on the board of directors for the American Association of Budget and Program Analysts (aapba.org). She can be reached at Karen.Kunz@mail.wvu.edu.
Energy:
Brian Anderson is the director of WVU’s Energy Institute and the GE
Plastics Material Engineering Professor of Chemical Engineering. He can be
reached at 304.293.6631 or Brian.Anderson@mail.wvu.edu.
Timothy Carr, WVU’s Marshall Miller professor of geology, teaches shale-gas and oil short courses internationally and works with the U.S. Department of State to assist countries in developing the expertise to establish and regulate unconventional resources. He can be reached at Tim.Carr@mail.wvu.edu.
James Van Nostrand is director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development and associate professor of law. He can be reached at 304.293.4694 or James.Vannostrand@mail.wvu.edu.
Education:
Joyce McConnell is the Provost and
Vice-President of Academic Affairs at WVU. She was a part of the team of 32
experts who were sent by the University to Charleston to provide policy
expertise to the Justice transition team. All media inquiries for Provost
McConnell can be directed to Ann Claycomb at 304.276.2012 or Laura Hackett at
304.293.5701.
Gypsy Denzine, dean of the College of Education and Human Service, is a professor of educational psychology and conducts research in the area of college student development, learning and motivation. She can be reached at Gypsy.Denzine@mail.wvu.edu.
Health:
Vice President and Executive Dean of Health Sciences Clay Marsh, M.D. leads the
academic health sciences
center of West Virginia University – including five schools – dentistry,
medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health – and numerous allied health
programs and clinical operations around the state. Dr. Marsh served as policy
co-chair of the Justice transition team healthcare committee A national leader
in personalized medicine and in pulmonary and critical care medicine, Marsh has
concentrated his efforts in determining how to help individuals stay healthy
and how to create ecosystems to make this easy. Media requests should be
directed to Bill Case at bill.case@hsc.wvu.edu.
Dr. James Berry is an associate professor and the medical director of both the Chestnut Ridge Center and the Inpatient Acute Dual Diagnosis Program. His specialties include behavioral medicine, and he has special training in the treatment of addiction and substance abuse. He can be reached at 304.293.5323 or jberry@hsc.wvu.edu.
Valerie Blake is an associate professor in the WVU College of Law. Her expertise and research is on the intersection between healthcare delivery and ethics, including the Affordable Care Act. She can be reached at 304.293.8639 or valerie.blake@mail.wvu.edu.
Simon Haeder is an assistant professor in the WVU John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy & Politics and the Department of Political Science. His research focuses on healthcare and health policy (including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, provider networks, provider quality and insurance regulation), regulatory politics, and state and local government. His most recent work has been published in the American Political Science Review, Health Affairs, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Health Policy, and the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Vox.com, and Kaiser Health News. He can be reached at Simon.Haeder@mail.wvu.edu or 559.908.2704.
Marc Haut is the chair of the WVU Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry. He also serves as psychology section chief, program director of neuropsychology, research advisor and professor in the Departments of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology. He can be reached at 304.293.5323 or mhaut@hsc.wvu.edu.
West Virginia University experts can provide commentary, insights and opinions on various news topics. Search for an expert by name, title, area of expertise, or college/school/department in the Experts Database at WVU Today.
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CONTACT: University Relations/Communications
304.293.6997