WVSU president focusing on statewide needs

Oct. 31—West Virginia State University's new president, Ericke Cage, has set several lofty goals that aim to address not only the needs of the university but the state.

Cage shared some of his plans for the future of WVSU at a Beckley Rotary Club meeting Tuesday.

From plans to establish a veterinarian technician program to creating a new school of agriculture, Cage said the new programs would address statewide workforce needs.

"We know that we need to build an institution that has been (focused on) the needs of the workforce," he said.

Originally from Halifax County, Virginia, Cage started working at WVSU in July 2021 as vice president and chief of staff and later became the university's chief operating officer.

Near the end of 2021, Cage was selected to serve as WVSU's interim president before being unanimously chosen by the university's board of governors as WVSU's 13th president in March 2022.

Cage said his plans for the university highlight and embrace the history and heritage of WVSU.

Initially established in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute, WVSU is one of two land-grant universities in West Virginia, the other being West Virginia University in Morgantown.

According to the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities, the original mission of land-grant universities was to teach agriculture, military tactics and mechanic arts in addition to classical studies so members of the working classes could obtain a liberal and practical education at once. Cage said it is because of these long held missions that he is pushing to establish a new school of agriculture.

"West Virginia State University will establish a School of Agriculture and Natural Resources during my presidency," he said. "And the reason we want to do this is because we know there are incredible needs in the agriculture, food and natural resources space here in West Virginia ... So we're here to answer that call."

Cage said the university is also working with WVU and the state's department of agriculture to start a veterinarian technician program to address the statewide shortage of veterinarians.

He added that creating a veterinarian technician program is more cost-effective than creating a school of veterinary medicine.

"In order to establish a school of veterinary medicine, it will cost over $300 million," Cage said. "That's an incredible price tag. But we know that by creating a four-year veterinarian tech program, we can address the problem at a fraction of the costs."

During the coming legislative session, Cage said he intends to approach state lawmakers and request a $3 million appropriation to establish the new program.

Another aspect of his plans that Cage highlighted for Rotary members was the effort to collaborate with entities across the state to enhance the programs offered at WVSU.

In addition to partnering with WVU and the state agriculture department, Cage said WVSU is also working with Marshall University to establish a Cyber Security Center for Critical Infrastructure.

This partnership with Marshall University was announced at the end of last year and is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

"One of the things you'll notice about higher education in West Virginia is that, although each of our institutions is certainly unique and we all have our areas of emphasis, we very much all are focused on collaboration and about how we can work together to not just serve the students that we teach but to serve our community," he said.

Many of these plans are outlined in WVSU's newly approved strategic plan, which is being called "Future State."

For a look at the strategic plan, go to wvstateu.edu/about/future-state.aspx.