West Virginia University Vice President for Research Fred King shared the following message with the University community today (Feb. 17).
Dear West Virginia University Community,
We learned last week that West Virginia University has been reaffirmed as an R1 university, the highest possible research ranking, by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Achieving R1 is the benchmark for universities and colleges from across the country to be recognized for exceptional research activity.
WVU is the only R1 institution in West Virginia.
So, what does this mean?
Our R1 classification reaffirms that we are among the best of the best when it comes to producing research and propelling students into meaningful careers to solve real-world problems.
In 2023, the year used for this classification, WVU granted more than 200 doctoral degrees and expended more than $246 million on research, over $100 million of which came from federal agencies.
This translates — and serves as the most rewarding aspect — to providing endless opportunities for students, both graduate and undergraduate.
What makes WVU especially unique as an R1 is that our faculty are engaged at the forefront of their disciplines. They’re on the cusp of what’s important in their fields today, tomorrow, next year and the next year. That spills over into the classrooms and labs, offering experiential learning opportunities and one-on-one mentorships between faculty and students. Along this special journey, students develop a passion for identifying problems and find purpose in solving them.
Hannah McMillen, of Charles County, Maryland, knew she wanted to be a forensic scientist as early as elementary school. After researching forensics programs across the country, Hannah came to a conclusion: In her words, WVU was THE list.
Hannah has earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree here and is currently a doctoral forensic science student under the tutelage of Glen Jackson, a world-renowned forensic scientist who’s appeared on “Forensic Files” and provided expertise that helped free a man wrongfully imprisoned for a fire that killed a doctor.
With Glen’s guidance, she is exploring the development of an algorithm to identify ignitable liquids in fire debris. This would give fire investigators a more reliable and objective approach to determine what caused a fire.
“Solving problems and pursuing answers to questions that have been on forensic scientists’ minds for years is extremely rewarding, and something I get to partake in every day here,” Hannah said.
Her story is just one of many, and it fills me with pride. It should make us all proud.
When I visited WVU for the first time while working at the Naval Research Lab as a postdoc, I knew this University emphasized both research and education. Part of the reason I went into academia was not just to do research, but to also help students learn and appreciate chemistry the way I had.
It’s why I want students like Hannah to be seen and heard, walking in lockstep with our expert faculty in uncovering potential cures and breakthroughs.
Randy Nelson, chair of our Department of Neuroscience, gravitated toward his field after developing an interest in motivation, particularly in animals for why and when they eat, and why and when they sleep.
Randy began studying how brain behaviors are regulated by a central clock, the nerve cell center located at the base of the brain. His research has addressed seasonal affective disorder and circadian rhythms.
Now he gets to share this passion for research in his lab, where students study areas involving immune function, metabolism, sleep, mood, pain response and neuroinflammation. These studies have translated from the lab to the hospital setting.
Randy is also co-leading a $20 million National Science Foundation project, the West Virginia Network for Functional Neuroscience and Transcriptomics, which aims to expand the neuroscience and data science workforce in the state. That is a testament to how research fulfills our mission to serve West Virginia.
As one of the nation’s premier flagship land-grant research universities, WVU has a wide range of disciplines that deliver hands-on learning opportunities, whether it’s conducting fundamental neuroscience research in labs like Nelson’s, utilizing the Green Bank Telescope for astrophysics, or studying the use and ethics of artificial intelligence in classrooms.
One project, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, will analyze the social, ethical and technical benefits and drawbacks of AI. Faculty members Erin Brock Carlson in English and Scott Davidson in philosophy will host workshops offering AI trainings for humanities faculty and guide them through creation of courses with an AI component. The project’s implications will trickle down to students and even communities.
AI has a “very real, material impact on people in communities,” Erin said. “It’s not just a super computer in a room. It’s a network that has a bunch of different implications for a bunch of different people, ranging from jobs to familial relationships. That’s the value of the humanities — to ask these tough questions because it’s increasingly difficult to avoid all of it.”
Like service, research is an essential component of the land-grant experience for both students and faculty. Discovery is interwoven with service and learning to develop a sense of the importance of solving problems and contributing new ideas to benefit society at large.
As you know, the University’s economic impact on the Mountain State is undisputable. WVU contributes more than $4.8 billion to the region’s economy each year. And for every $1 invested by the state, $20 is returned in economic activity.
Research is the driving force behind those numbers and an essential component for future success.
At WVU, being an R1 means that we are the ultimate problem solvers and everything we do starts with a focus on our students so that we can ultimately serve the people of West Virginia, the country and the world.
Let’s go!
Fred King
Vice President for Research
West Virginia University
-WVU-
fk/2/17/25
MEDIA CONTACT: Jake Stump
Director
WVU Research Communications
304-293-5507; Jake.Stump@mail.wvu.edu
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