In Mike Strager’s classroom at West Virginia University, maps aren’t just for spatial reference — they’re used to generate ideas. A professor in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources who is involved in the Environmental, Energy, and Land Management program, Strager stresses how locations and their attributes work together to guide the decisions that shape communities, resources and landscapes.
In-person classes on the West Virginia University Morgantown Campus will start later Thursday (Jan. 15) due to forecasted cold and icy conditions. All in-person classes scheduled to begin before 9:30 a.m. are canceled. Online classes will continue as scheduled. The delayed start will not affect campus operations.
If you’ve seen Charles Wesley Godwin’s live show, you’ve heard Ross Justice. As front-of-house engineer and production manager, the West Virginia University alum and Music Business and Industry program faculty member is the conduit between the band’s onstage energy and what the audience feels in the room.
Following a national search focused on the academic future of West Virginia University, President Michael T. Benson is announcing the hiring of Beverly Wendland, an accomplished scholar and academic leader with wide-ranging higher education experience, to serve as the University’s provost and vice president for academic affairs.
A distinguished cohort of four West Virginia University graduates will be inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni in recognition of their groundbreaking achievements in business, communications and education. They are Michael J. Florio, Nitin N. Kumbhani, Mary Ellen Mazey and Morris Morrison.
West Virginia University professor Sam Zizzi, whose research wheelhouse encompasses motivation and health behavior change, says the motivation to start something new — like a New Year’s resolution — is not the same motivation that’s required to keep it going.
Following a Dec. 29 proclamation from Gov. Patrick Morrisey declaring an additional full-day holiday for state employees on Friday (Jan. 2), West Virginia University will add a day of future “floating” holiday time for employees. The floating holiday hours may be used at any time between Jan. 5 and June 30, 2026.
On Dec. 19, Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued a proclamation granting a half-day off to state employees on Wednesday, Dec. 24, along with an additional full day off on Friday, Dec. 26, for the Christmas holiday. Since West Virginia University already observed Dec. 24 and 26 as holidays, the University has modified its calendar.
After 36 years of dedication, West Virginia University Police Maj. Brian Hoxter is retiring, leaving behind a legacy of service, guidance and compassion. In retirement, he said he hopes to travel and continue to find ways to help others through volunteering.
A new era began inside the Hope Coliseum Saturday (Dec. 20) as West Virginia University President Michael T. Benson spoke from the gold and blue Commencement stage for the first time, and hundreds of August and December graduates took their first steps as Mountaineer alumni.