America needs a
thriving research community to drive the country's economic engine
and keep us at the forefront of discovery, innovation, and the
global economy. This is true in West Virginia as in every other
state. More and more, I sense an increased willingness to recognize
WVU's research programs as West Virginia's primary engine for
research and technology transfer. I believe this increased public
support for our research mission, in large measure, can be attributed
to our visible successes in our student-centered and service
programs.
The more our state and its citizens support research at WVU, the stronger our University, our state, and our nation will become. I assert that investment in WVU research is an important means by which higher education can invigorate and transform West Virginia's economy; similarly, investment in research universities across America will keep America strong. There are a number of reasons why this is true.
At the same time that commerce, communication, and education in America are being transformed by technology, West Virginia's industrial base is changing. Coal, steel, glass, chemical, and other basic industries are subject to enormous global competition. These and other economic changes that are impacting West Virginia's workplace needs and workplace availability are gut-wrenching. Never before have they been so dramatic and come with such speed.
In today's economy, the currency is innovation. That's why research universities are so critical—nationwide, and especially in West Virginia. WVU is one of a handful of universities in the nation, and the only one in West Virginia, designated as Research I by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This ranking indicates that WVU is contributing substantially to expanding the knowledge base, advancing technologies, and assisting the economic development of the state and nation. The fact that we are also a public, land-grant institution makes our work even more important. We are a national university, committed to serving the people of West Virginia.
As befits a national, land-grant, Research I university, the range of research interests among WVU faculty members and their students is amazing. From high-tech polymers to value-added carbon materials, from neuroscience to genetics, the research initiatives at WVU help ensure that West Virginia's economy will not only survive the technological revolution, but also that our state will become a leader for our nation in the new high-tech, global economy.
We realize that nothing new comes without collaboration. It is critically important for state and federal policymakers, and for the people of West Virginia, to support, embrace, and foster the close links we are forging between advanced research and training the next generation of scholars and researchers, on the one hand, and the quality of life of our citizens, on the other.
If we succeed, America will gain rewards that are as wonderful and unanticipated as the silicon chip and the Internet were to the pioneers of electronic computing. Now, more than ever, the future of American research universities and of our society is a shared future. Now, once again, WVU and other public, land-grant, research universities must answer the people's call.
I know that we can. I know that we will.
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