When West Virginia University Provost Joyce McConnell got the call from the office of Governor-elect Jim Justice to co-chair his transition team alongside Marshall University Provost Gayle Ormiston, she didn’t hesitate to agree.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for the state to truly take a look at our priorities, our needs and our goals,” McConnell said. “We were honored to play a role in providing the Governor-elect and his staff with the broad-based information they will need on these issues to help them make the best decisions for West Virginia’s future.”
The transition team was asked to convene expert groups on eight different policy areas: tourism, health care/Department of Health and Human Resources, substance abuse, energy and the environment, infrastructure/transportation, economic development, higher education and public education. These groups meet in Charleston today. Reports of their discussions, including policy and action recommendations, will be presented to the Governor-elect’s office in January.
In addition to her role as chair of the over-arching transition team, McConnell is chairing the higher education expert group. Clay Marsh, the vice president & executive dean for health sciences at WVU will co-chair the healthcare/DHHR group, alongside Albert Wright, Jr.the president and CEOof the WVU Health System, and two external experts.
The full slate of WVU experts represented on the policy groups is impressive, including 32 faculty, staff and administrators from seven colleges and close to a dozen different units or divisions across the university. Those selected include:
Tourism- Greg Corio, Student Recreation and Outdoor Education, Division of Student Life,
- Eve Faulkes, School of Art & Design, College of Creative Arts,
- Travis Stimeling, School of Music, College of Creative Arts.
- Sally Hodder, West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute, * * John Linton, WVU School of Medicine-Charleston
- Clay Marsh, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center (co-chair)
- Shana Phares, Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute
- Bill Ramsey, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center
- Louise Veselicky, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center
- Albert Wright, Jr., WVU Health System (co-chair)
- Robert (Rob) Bossarte, Injury Control Research Center
- Judith Feinberg, Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, WVUSchool of Medicine
- Marc Haut, Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, WVUSchool of Medicine
- Brian Anderson, WVU Energy Institute
- Joshua Fershee, WVU College of Law
- Paul Ziemkiewicz, West Virginia Water Research Institute
- John Campbell, Office of the Provost
- Jason Hubbart, Institute for Water Security and Science, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
- Randy Jackson, Regional Research Institute
- John Deskins, College of Business and Economics
- Katherine Garvey, Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic, WVU College of Law
- Matt Harbaugh, Office of the President
- Thomas McConnell, WVU Small Farm Center, WVU Extension Service
- Javier Reyes, College of Business and Economics
- Dan Robison, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
- Melinda Walls, Office of the Provost
- Joyce McConnell, Office of the Provost
- Rochelle (Rocky) Goodwin, John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy and Politics
- Jeffrey Carver, Department of Curriculum & Instruction/Literacy Studies, College of Education and Human Services
- Gypsy Denzine, College of Education and Human Services
- Melanie Page, WVU Research Office
Speaking earlier in the week, McConnell said that everyone from WVU was looking forward to the sessions in Charleston. “This is exactly the work we want to do for our state, to share our expertise in hopes of effecting positive change for the future,” she said. “We will all be there Thursday energized and ready to serve.”
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CONTACT: Ann Claycomb, Assistant Vice President, Strategic & Academic Communication Office of the Provost, West Virginia University
304.293.9919; ann.claycomb@mail.wvu.edu
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.