The Fayette Tribune, Oak Hill, W.Va.

Local News

December 12, 2012

Phillips speaks out

Committee member unhappy with direction taken at Tech

By Cheryl Keenan Editor

Dorothy Phillips, a member of the Tech Revitalization Committee who has previously taken the committee to task for what she views as its shortfalls, is speaking out again.

Phillips, also a member of the Take Back Tech Committee, was appointed as a community representative on the Revitalization Committee. The school’s revitalization project was created in 2011 by Senate Bill 486 and placed under the direction of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability (LOCEA).

In spite of recent votes of confidence in the committee’s work by the representatives of the college’s faculty, staff and students, Phillips insists the committee is following an agenda set forth by West Virginia University rather than the proposals submitted in October 2011 to LOCEA by the Revitalization Committee.

Phillips says the committee proposal to be submitted to the West Virginia Legislature this month “bypasses the spirit and letter of SB 486.”

She accuses the committee of basing its proposals on a WVU-generated document, WVU Sightlines, rather than on the proposals of the Tech Revitalization Committee, which she calls the Curris Report after Dr. Constantine Curris, who served as chair of the team.

“Through this revitalization plan,” the former employee of West Virginia Tech writes in a guest opinion submitted to the Tribune’s sister newspaper, The Montgomery Herald, “the community and Tech alumni hoped that the new WVU president, Dr. James Clements, would begin correcting the injustices that have occurred on the Tech campus during the 16 years under WVU governance. Quite the opposite, it seems. WVU’s use of WVU Sightlines rather than the Curris Report to prioritize revitalization projects gives cause to question once again Morgantown’s intentions for its divisional campus in Montgomery.”

Among the major proposals of the Revitalization Committee was the discontinuation of the school’s football program, a suggestion instituted following the last school year. Other proposals called for programs to increase enrollment and stabilize ongoing academic programs. Toward that end, the team called for a revival of co-op and internship programs, and promotion of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programs.

Phillips says the committee is focused too intently on physical plant improvements to the detriment of the academic improvement projects.

“The $7.8M that the Committee proposes to request from the Legislature for facility upgrades is based directly on WVU Sightlines, not on the Curris Report,” she writes. “WVU Sightlines deals only with facilities upgrades; the Curris Report deals with improvements in academics and facilities. ...

“Fancy buildings (or minimally refurbished buildings WVU Sightlines proposes — at $70M) will not necessarily bring students to campus. But students will come for courses of study that provide real-world experiences that connect them to jobs and people who control those jobs. And those students will stay and revitalize Tech.”

— E-mail: ckeenan@register-herald.com

Text Only
Local News
  • Wood graduates from military training courses

    Army National Guard Pfc. David A. Wood Jr. has graduated from One Station Unit Training (OSUT) at Fort Leonard Wood, Waynesville, Mo., which included basic military training and advanced individual training (AIT).

    May 18, 2013

  • 1A1 congrats .jpg Class of 2013 honored at WVU Tech

    West Virginia University Institute of Technology honored the Class of 2013 during the 114th commencement on campus this past Saturday.

    May 15, 2013 4 Photos

  • Commission works on getting facility up and running

    Now that the new downtown amphitheater is up, the City of Oak Hill is taking steps to get it running.
    At a council meeting on Monday night, members considered and eventually passed a rental contract for those who want to make use of the facility.

    May 15, 2013

  • Former Mount Hope man invites city government to engage in sports tourism

    A former Mount Hope resident says the town and the region are ripe to develop a sports tourism industry, given the potential of a unique stadium and gymnasiums at the YMCA building and the former Mount Hope High School.

    May 15, 2013

  • Judge rejects settlement, dismisses negligence claims in alleged school rape

    A federal judge has rejected a $65,000 settlement offer in a case involving the alleged rape of a young girl at the former Mount Hope High School, while at the same time throwing out negligence claims against one of the teachers originally listed in the suit.

    May 15, 2013

  • Nearly 300 graduate at New River CTC

    New River Community and Technical College as well as its nearly 300 graduates proved Samuel Johnson’s assertion that “Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance” during the college’s 10th commencement exercises Saturday at the Chuck Mathena Center in Princeton.

    May 15, 2013

  • 7A2 may group.jpg Garden club holds tree planting ceremony

    Woodland Oaks Garden Club met on May Day along the White Oak Rail Trail at the Depot for a tree planting ceremony honoring Brenda Moore, West Virginia State Garden Club President.

    May 15, 2013 2 Photos

  • Farmers Market open

    The Fayette County Farmers Market is open each Saturday in Fayetteville from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. The market is located in the parking lot of the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau at the entrance to Fayetteville. The market will be held every Saturday at that location through November.

    May 15, 2013

  • SALS to sponsor summer food program

    The Southern Appalachian Labor School announces the sponsorship of the Summer Food Service Program at the SALS Community Center in Beards Fork, Montgomery City Pool and the Historic Oak Hill School. In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.

    May 15, 2013

  • Page-Kincaid recognizes Grant’s 30 years of service

    Mary Grant, the bookkeeper/cashier at the Page-Kincaid PSD for 30 years, retired in early April. Mary started with the PSD in 1983 as the cashier, working with the PSD’s former bookkeeper Dorothy Jeffers. Upon the retirement of Dorothy Jeffers, Mary assumed the duties of bookkeeper and office manager in 2008. Mary also possessed a Class I water operator license and served in a back-up capacity to Bart Jackson.

    May 15, 2013