PARKERSBURG - An agreement approved Thursday by the West Virginia University Board of Governors would only allow West Virginia University at Parkersburg to use the college's name and logo until 2011 before renegotiating the contract.
Members of WVU-Parkersburg's board expressed disappointment with the move Thursday, saying WVU's board had ignored concerns over the limitations and short duration of the trademark contract.
Connie Dziagwa, spokeswoman for WVU-Parkersburg, said WVU's board approved a memorandum of understanding and a trademark agreement Thursday, but dismissed a letter of concern from the WVU-Parkersburg board over use of the WVU trademark.
"I think our board made it clear it was looking for a long-term commitment," she said. "That didn't happen."
The schools have been in negotiations since last year to work out a memorandum of agreement between the two. Due to a change in state law, the schools have until June 30 to sign an agreement without WVU-P losing its affiliation with the flagship state university. Negotiations stalled for a while, but picked back up last month after the WVU-P board expressed concerns over the lack of an agreement.
According to a press release from WVU Thursday, the trademark licensing agreement allows Parkersburg to use WVU-owned and registered designs, names, trademarks, service marks and official colors on merchandise and in marketing and advertising with approval of WVU's Office of Trademark Licensing. The two-year contract can be renewed by mutual consent.
"They are valuable assets subject to not only state but federal laws," interim WVU President C. Peter Magrath said in a release issued by the school. "It would be a serious mistake for us to compromise this incredible and important trademark that we have."
Magrath said he would be opposed to indefinitely expanding the agreement and recommended to the WVU board it approve the draft agreements as written.
"State lawmakers last year established a new system for two-year colleges, and we are judiciously following that obligation," board Chairman Carolyn Long said in the release. "The arrangements approved today follow many hours of healthy discussions and research on the part of all three institutions and in the end are what we feel, as a board, are in the best operational and fiduciary interests of the institution that we govern."
The trademark agreement would allow the regional campus to use the WVU logo and name until July 1, 2011. The contract would then be renegotiated between the two schools.
"I'm disappointed that the WVU Board of Governors did not change the terms of the trademark agreement in any way," said WVU-Parkersburg board Chairman Joe Campbell. "They feel they need to protect the trademark, and I respect that, but it doesn't help us achieve a long-term solution."
WVU-Parkersburg board member Keith Burdette said it was a slap in the face.
Much of the discussion, Burdette said, revolved around the regional school possibly embarrassing the university in Morgantown, despite a list of recent scandals among WVU's core administration.
"I am almost speechless," he said. "They were so concerned about their trademark. They have done more damage to that than we have."
The WVU-Parkersburg Board of Governors will hold a special session at 5 p.m. Monday in room 2209 at WVU-Parkersburg to decide where to go next with the agreement.
"WVU-Parkersburg's Board of Governors will have to make some decisions as to how to proceed," Burdette said. "Long story short is we will have to respond in some fashion."
"Our board has been concerned over the idea of basically renting the name," Dziagwa said. "They are looking for more stability for our school.
"The board will have to consider their next step and what is going to happen."
"I am not interested in discontinuing our relationship with WVU," Campbell said, "and I don't think anyone on the board is either. We will have a discussion about this out in the open as much as we can Monday. We've gotten to a point though where there isn't a whole lot you can do in open session or even in executive session to change anything."
"Our efforts were rebuffed," Burdette said. "I think the whole Parkersburg community will be not only disappointed, but WVU just blew the whole community off."
