Don’t make a hasty decision

I feel the WVU name and logo is a tremendous benefit and encourages students to attend WVU at Parkersburg instead of going out of town to another school.

After doing some research on the WVU Web site, I think President-elect James Clements could be a tremendous advocate for WVU-P. Clements, currently provost and vice president for academic affairs at Towson University in Maryland, is coming from a state that has a progressive state college, the University of Maryland, consisting of four regional campuses in addition to the main campus at College Park, Md.

He has seen firsthand the value that regional campuses can bring to a state university. In fact, Clements received a bachelor's degree in computer science and master's and doctoral degrees in operations analysis from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a regional campus of the University of Maryland.

Given his background, he surely, after a short time in office, will see that WVU-P offers the local students of the Mid-Ohio Valley the opportunity to acquire a good college education at a reasonable cost, in addition to providing certificate programs to meet the needs of the employers of this region.

Another fact to consider is Clements' strong background in computer information technology. Once he tours the Caperton Center at WVU-P and sees the excellent computer bachelor degree programs it offers the students in this area, including some not offered in Morgantown, I'm sure he will further consider the benefit that WVU-P can offer the main campus of WVU.

I would ask the WVU at Parkersburg Board of Governors to accept the two-year agreement. Then after Clements takes office on June 30, invite him to come to Parkersburg in the fall and see for himself what WVU-P has to offer our state university in Morgantown. Talk with him and try to convince him that a long-term agreement between WVU and WVU-P would benefit both schools. Given his background as an academic this might be a real possibility.

If, at the end of the 2010 school year no progress has been realized, then our board of governors can plan for an orderly transition of WVU-P to a stand-alone college with a new name and identity. This change would take effect at the end of the 2011 school year. I say, put aside the so called "slap in the face" from WVU and don't make a hasty, irreversible decision.

Bill Honus

Belmont