AROUND CAMPUS AND BEYOND
WVU's Hometown Tops National
List
Morgantown, W.Va., is America's most livable small city, according
to Demographics Daily, an on-line news-letter produced
by bizjournals.com.
The newsletter rated the quality of life in 632 cities with populations between 10,000 and 50,000. Each was rated in eight categories including vitality, job supply, stress level, connection to the cultural mainstream, support for schools, access to health care, cost of living, and small-town character. Joining Morgantown in the top five were Owatonna, Minn.; Bozeman, Mont.; Columbus, Ind.; and Oxford, Miss.
This is the second such ranking for Morgantown by a national journal in recent years. In 1998, The Rating Guide to Life in America's Small Cities rated WVU the best small city in the east and third-best in the nation.
Hardesty Elected to National
4-H Board
President David C. Hardesty Jr. has been elected to the board
of trustees of the National 4-H Council.
"David Hardesty's demonstrated commitment to youth, and youth leadership, makes him an outstanding addition to our board," said Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of the council, a private nonprofit partner of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Cooperative Extension System (CES) of state land-grant universities.
Hardesty noted that 4-H and WVU have a shared commitment to teaching, service, and leadership development. The WVU Extension Service delivers 4-H programs to more than 44,000 young people in all 55 counties of West Virginia.
Deputy Commissioner is
WVU Liaison
Building a stronger future for West Virginia's agriculture and
forestry industries and for families will be the role of David
Miller, the new senior advisor for external relations for the
College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences; the
Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station; and the WVU Extension
Service.
Miller, who owns a working farm in Preston County, has been West Virginia's deputy commissioner of agriculture since 1995. He will serve as a primary liaison between the three WVU entities and federal, state, and local governments and corporate partners.
Miller has served in the West Virginia legislature as a member of the House of Delegates and as a state senator.
WVU Receives Bennett's
Medal of Honor
The family of a former WVU student who died in Vietnam has presented
his Medal of Honor to the University. Thomas Bennett, who attended
WVU from 1966 to 1967, served as an army medic in the Vietnam
War. As a conscientious objector, he refused to carry a gun.
He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously after he died in February 1969 while trying to reach a man wounded in combat near Pleiku, South Vietnam. Bennett's was only the second Medal of Honor presented to an American who entered the military but refused to carry a gun.
A Morgantown native, Bennett often moderated discussions between students and townspeople about student rights, Appalachian poverty, civil rights, and the Vietnam War.
"While working for any change, I will continue to serve my country," he once wrote. "There is plenty of hope for changes and for America. I will stick with her."
The medal will be permanently displayed in the Bennett Tower Resident Faculty Leader's home. Bennett Tower was named in honor of the former WVU student in 1990.
Changing Cityscapes
in North Central West Virginia
BY BECKY LOFSTEAD
New Hotel Rises Beside
WVU's Waterfront Place
Development of Morgantown's downtown waterfront area received
a boost with the announcement of a new Radisson Hotel and Conference
Center being developed by Platinum Properties. The $48 million
project is now underway, with completion expected by December
2002.
The building will stand beside WVU's new seven-story office facility,
One Waterfront Place, a $22.8 million project that should be
finished by March.
The developers promise that the 17-story,
205-room hotel overlooking the Monongahela River will generate
more than 250 permanent jobs. The facility will house a 20,000-square-foot
conference center for banquets and meetings, a 7,200-square-foot
ballroom, a bar and restaurant with outdoor dining, a spa and
fitness center, a wellness center, a swimming pool, and retail
shops.
The top six floors will be reserved for luxury residential units
customized for buyers.
"West Virginia University salutes these innovative developers,"
said President David C. Hardesty Jr. "The Radisson's modern,
upscale accommodations right next door to the WVU Foundation's
new office complex seems to me the perfect fit. It's no wonder
that Morgantown is so often rated one of America's most livable
small cities."
Noting that the new 52-mile rail-trail will be at the Radisson's
front door, Morgantown Mayor Frank Scafella, a retired WVU English
professor, said that the "new Morgantown is high-tech friendly
with small-town amenities."
Platinum Properties Managing Partner Steve Lorenze said the local
firm is excited to be a part of the burgeoning waterfront development.
"We are pleased to make this investment in Morgantown-one
that will provide a significant economic benefit and provide
the catalyst for the continuing development of the waterfront
area."
WVU Expertise to be Invested
in Charles Pointe
It will be known as Charles Pointe—a planned community in
Bridgeport, W.Va., that developers predict will soon be home
to hundreds of families and create thousands of new jobs.
Over the next seven to 10 years, $750 million will be invested
to make sure that Charles Pointe becomes a shining star on West
Virginia's economic map.
Charles Pointe will be located on a 2,000-acre tract along Interstate
79 and Route 279 in Harrison County. Initial partners in the
development include Genesis Partners of Bridgeport, the City
of Bridgeport, The Humphrey Companies of Columbia, Md., and WVU.
"Education, training, and research are critical for the
success of any community, and WVU stands ready to assist the
fortunate occupants of Charles Pointe as they grow, learn, and
stimulate the economy," said President David C. Hardesty
Jr., citing WVU's mission as the state's flagship land-grant
university.
Over 250 technology-smart homes will be built there, along with
trails and parks. There will also be an 18-hole championship
public golf course as well as shopping and entertainment centers.
A $9 million, 10,000-square-foot conference center owned by the
City of Bridgeport and a high-end hotel to be constructed and
operated by Humphrey are among the first investments slated for
development. Construction is set to begin in the middle of 2001.
James A. Corton and his wife, Jennifer Compton Corton, formed
Genesis Partners to coordinate the Charles Pointe project. "We
are committed to creating a lifestyle for this next millennium
that will have a positive impact on job creation, housing, tourism,
and recreation for our state," James Corton said.
Charles Pointe is named for Charles E. "Jim" Compton,
the father of Jennifer Compton Corton. "For most of the
last century, he has been engaged in nearly every part of our
state's life," she said. "From the invention of the
coal auger to his leadership in establishing the School of Nutrition
at WVU, Jim Compton was always a step ahead of the rest of us.
It is my honor to share his vision of a place where families
can live, work, and play."
Alumnus
Leads College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences
BY DAVID P. WELSH
The new dean of the WVU College of Agriculture,
Forestry, and Consumer Sciences is also an alumnus.
Cameron Hackney '73, '75 MS, a native West Virginian from Kanawha
County, returned to WVU last summer after serving as head of
the Food Science Department at Virginia Tech. He earned his Ph.D.
from North Carolina State University in 1980, and taught at Louisiana
State University prior to his 15-year tenure with Virginia Tech.
"I'm thrilled to return to West Virginia and lead the work
of this important college," Hackney said. "The college
is central to WVU's land-grant mission, and our teaching, research,
and service activities are uniquely suited to fostering economic
development in the region. We're ideally positioned to help create
jobs, enhance the environment, and bring sustainable industry
to West Virginia."
Hackney has made a priority of touching base with the college's
varied constituent groups in the state and region. "The
college is blessed with dedicated, knowledgeable faculty and
staff, and we have a strong student body," he said. "I'd
like to see us develop stronger partnerships with state and federal
agencies, WVU Extension and other academic units, and especially
with industry."
Another goal is to support and expand the innovative, multidisciplinary
research executed by the college's five academic divisions. "Many
of our research efforts—aquaculture, water quality, community
design—cut across disciplines and draw in a range of perspectives,"
he said. "I'd like to nurture this trend. I think the potential
benefits are substantial."
"Both of these priorities-strengthening partnerships and
promoting multi-disciplinary efforts—would be aided by improved
facilities," Hackney said. "That's another critical
item on the agenda."
"WVU is easily the most student-centered academic institution
I've encountered," Hackney said. "No university in
the country does a better job of welcoming first-generation college
students and preparing them for careers."