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I lived and worked in Huntington and in Lawrence County Ohio for 20+ years and recently moved south just as thousands of others seeking greener pastures. We sure miss our friends and family but they too are slowly making plans to leave, either for better job opportunities or to retire in better climate, communities or to be nearer their grandchildren who moved south.
It's sad that Huntington has not grown and the only change is slow and takes decades to come to fruition. I see little change in store in the next 10-20 years. The best and brightest tend to leave and earn far more in their careers and find growing vibrant cites in places like NC SC and GA. Our neighborhood has several Ohio and WV families who saw opportunity for a better life.
Change only happens when a community is led into the future. If it stays attached to coal and steel, well, we know what's happening to those jobs. Wish there were a bright future but I sure don't see it happening soon, maybe in 50 years?
Good night, you are like a big freakin' broken record. We get it, you hate Dr. Kopp and you think Marshall should remain a teachers college.
I'm with you on the need to upgrade Rt. 2. I think you're out of your mind with your comments about Marshall. There is plenty of room for expansion at Marshall. The Pharmacy school and PT school are great additions to Marshall. I hope they follow up with a couple more doctorate programs and continue to expand research. Those things along with the new INTO program and the continuous growth of forensics are going to do wonders for the school and community over the next 5 years.
I think we are all together on the need to greatly improve WV 2. That is a no brainer. They are not going to load raw materials on barges for the relatively short jaunts up and down the river. Trucks will carry the plastics stuff, barges the petro materials that will be on their way to Louisiana. If WV does not act to improve road transport between Huntington and Chester, Ohio (which already has good roads in place to well below Shadyside) will be more than happy to fill the void, and they will get the bulk of the factories in the process.
There was an article in today's Wheeling paper that quotes Ohio officials as saying the key to taking advantage of the oil and gas bonanza will be development of better materials transport infrastructure. I tried to link it, but unfortunately the Wheeling papers have joined with all the other papers in the state requiring an online subscription to get entire articles so it is not available to post.
As far as Marshall, ... I do not "hate" Marshall. I am a Marshall alumnus who disagrees with the current direction in which the school is being lead (I am by no means alone in that opinion), so we will just have to agree to disagree. I am with the Marshall faculty on this one, not the business dominated Board, and I happen to believe that the near obsessive pace of adding new programs is robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to speak, and harming the overall quality of offerings at the school. Remember, every school in the state is taking a hit in terms of state appropriations for their general fund. When you spread existing resources thinner and thinner the result is quite predictable.
There are other factors at play here too... ones that the public will never be notified of directly. Our state is in a serious budget crisis. Rather than expecting increased support from state government, the schools will have to make do with less. Using state resources to compete with other state resources for redundant programming just does not make common sense in that environment. Now here is something else (admittedly this is pure speculation on my part... I have no inside information at all about these matters), but Marshall's expansion modality has been undertaken in a manner that steps on the toes of other institutions in the state, with the exception of trying to get more foreign students there (that move actually makes sense). I believe that the improvements to the Stone and Thomas building for the arts program was also a sensible move, even though that too was likely Huntington business oriented. Overall however, in addition to spending resources that compete with other programs already in place at Marshall, they are duplicating programs already a part of the state's higher education system.
My personal belief is the other players have said... enough already. There has (again, in my opinion), been a carrot and stick gauntlet thrown down. Work with us, and we will help you improve your status... include you in some research projects and the like. Continue to step on toes and you will have another result.
The recent conflab between Kopp and Gee where they pledged cooperation, and Kopp pledged a renewed emphasis on quality was not simply a coincidence, in my view. This has been building steam for some time now, and the other players have their ducks in a row to protect their interests. Kopp is very aware of that. I do believe that Marshall will grow, and Huntington will benefit from that, but it will be in a new direction rather than the one we have seen in recent years, and it will actually have the support of other schools in the state with Marshall focusing on its strengths and returning to the days of high quality.
Last edited by CTMountaineer; 07-07-2014 at 03:10 PM..
"The truth of the matter is we've moved from a hardware to a thoughtware society," Gee said. "The economy is dependent on that. It's not to say that coal isn't important or oil, gas and energy are not going to be important. In order to compete in the world, we are going to have to be able to out-think and out-perform. We are in the thinking business, and we produce people who will then produce the economic vitality that needs to exist."
Gee suggested that programs such as bioengineering, a subject area that is flourishing at both universities, would be a good place to start refreshing academic partnerships between the schools.
To do that, the presidents said it was important to create opportunities within the state for West Virginians after they graduate from college and to provide them with a higher quality of education while moderating or even lowering the cost of providing it.
Sounds more like they actually plan to work together rather than WVU attempting to strong arm Marshall as you are suggesting and as they have done in the past. That would actually be helpful for the state rather than the interests of merely one organization.
Sounds more like they actually plan to work together rather than WVU attempting to strong arm Marshall as you are suggesting and as they have done in the past. That would actually be helpful for the state rather than the interests of merely one organization.
Tim, I'm trying to open your links but they won't open.
I don't believe WVU is trying to strong arm anybody into anything. What's done is done, but I believe the message has been clear that wasteful initiatives will not be a part of the future, or the antithesis of cooperation will be the result. If you have read the news feeds doubtless you saw the statement that "from here on the only competition will be in athletics". I believe that is a clear indication that they have had a meeting of the minds, so to speak, in terms of future new programming at Marshall. I don't care for Kopp one bit, but I have to believe even he would have more sense than to go head to head against WVU in this state. I'm sure you know that others besides WVU have been concerned with his new program a month initiatives too. He is going to accomplish a lot more cooperating with WVU than trying to lock horns with them in the future, in my opinion of course.
I have a hunch the Masters in Public Health program is what finally got WVU's attention. I think the carrot is we will help you start some research endeavors, but back off the new programming in areas already covered in the state. Marshall is a masters level school, and not well situated to conduct serious research. They aren't going to get very far with research unless a school like WVU steps in and helps them get things rolling. Nobody is going to consider Marshall a serious research institution without help from WVU. We will see what the future brings. I think both leaders now recognize that wasteful competition is not good for the state or for a university, and that cooperation benefits everyone.
Last edited by CTMountaineer; 07-09-2014 at 11:48 PM..
Tim, I'm trying to open your links but they won't open.
I don't believe WVU is trying to strong arm anybody into anything. What's done is done, but I believe the message has been clear that wasteful initiatives will not be a part of the future, or the antithesis of cooperation will be the result. If you have read the news feeds doubtless you saw the statement that "from here on the only competition will be in athletics". I believe that is a clear indication that they have had a meeting of the minds, so to speak, in terms of future new programming at Marshall. I don't care for Kopp one bit, but I have to believe even he would have more sense than to go head to head against WVU in this state. I'm sure you know that others besides WVU have been concerned with his new program a month initiatives too. He is going to accomplish a lot more cooperating with WVU than trying to lock horns with them in the future, in my opinion of course.
I have a hunch the Masters in Public Health program is what finally got WVU's attention. I think the carrot is we will help you start some research endeavors, but back off the new programming in areas already covered in the state. Marshall is a masters level school, and not well situated to conduct serious research. They aren't going to get very far with research unless a school like WVU steps in and helps them get things rolling. Nobody is going to consider Marshall a serious research institution without help from WVU. We will see what the future brings. I think both leaders now recognize that wasteful competition is not good for the state or for a university, and that cooperation benefits everyone.
Only you would take a benign statement like "the only competition will be in athletics" and interpret it to mean that Marshall will no longer pursue doctrines that wvu already offers.
Your head may explode in the next 5 years when you see what other professional programs Marshall is going to start offering. It only makes sense to offer these programs in the population center of the state instead of Morgantown, whose existence is entirely dependent on taxpayer money building it up. Without federal and state taxpayers, Morgantown is Buckhannon.
Only you would take a benign statement like "the only competition will be in athletics" and interpret it to mean that Marshall will no longer pursue doctrines that wvu already offers.
Your head may explode in the next 5 years when you see what other professional programs Marshall is going to start offering. It only makes sense to offer these programs in the population center of the state instead of Morgantown, whose existence is entirely dependent on taxpayer money building it up. Without federal and state taxpayers, Morgantown is Buckhannon.
And I'm a wvu alumnus (2 degrees).
Agreed. Their meeting had nothing to do with what programs Marshall would or would not offer. I can assure you that Marshall is not going to stop with PT, Engineering and Pharmacy. Why would they? They have proven they are more than capable with the success of the Forensics Program and the Med School.
Sounds more like they actually plan to work together rather than WVU attempting to strong arm Marshall as you are suggesting and as they have done in the past. That would actually be helpful for the state rather than the interests of merely one organization.
What was this new degree program? I can't access Herald-Dispatch's website because of their pay-wall. It also isn't showing up on their free app either, so I can't see it at all.
Only you would take a benign statement like "the only competition will be in athletics" and interpret it to mean that Marshall will no longer pursue doctrines that wvu already offers.
Your head may explode in the next 5 years when you see what other professional programs Marshall is going to start offering. It only makes sense to offer these programs in the population center of the state instead of Morgantown, whose existence is entirely dependent on taxpayer money building it up. Without federal and state taxpayers, Morgantown is Buckhannon.
And I'm a wvu alumnus (2 degrees).
I don't know... I am stating an opinion, but your "only you" comment seems to want to make it personal. That isn't allowed here. Give another opinion... that is fine. In any event, it is not only me... it is the Marshall faculty, and I happen to be a Marshall alumnus who agrees with them. We will see what the future brings, but I believe you are wrong. Also, NCWV is more of the population center "in the state" than Cabell/Wayne, and it is as much of one as Kanawha too. Population wise, it is clear the future belongs in the Eastern Panhandle and NCWV. Everything else is static at best. We have no large cities in our state, everyone knows that. Any city in our state would barely pass as a suburb in a large city, and there is no such thing as a particular "population center". There are five distinct areas (within the confines of the state's boundaries) and each of them has about the same population. Only the northern and eastern areas are near large population centers, and those are located out of our state.
By the way, since state funding provides only for 17% of WVU's budget (as opposed to 23% of Marshall's budget), and Morgantown has the best business climate in the state in terms of other endeavors, it is hard to grasp your comment about us being Buckhannon without taxpayer money. That is the topic for another thread, but I would be interested in seeing you defend that one.
Pynball, the new degree is a masters in computer science.
And guys, please keep the Morgantown and WVU stuff out of this thread. It has nothing to do with what Huntington will look like in 10 years.
Thanks, Tim. Staying on topic is always a good plan. I just ran across an article about some potentially HUGE improvements in cancer treatments that are coming about because of the visionary work that a Marshall professor is doing:
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