- The University’s Academic Transformation is bringing together two units with strong land-grant missions: the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design and WVU Extension.
- In January, the University announced the creation of a new Division for Land-Grant Engagement as part of its effort to realign three units to better serve the people of West Virginia.
- The goal is to create a single unit that is highly relevant to future students and the people it serves across the state and beyond, competitive in the higher education landscape and interdisciplinary in nature.
- The new Division for Land-Grant Engagement will be home to WVU Extension, the WVU Center for Community Engagement and the renamed Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The new unit will launch July 1, 2024.
- Jorge Atiles, current dean and director of Extension and Engagement at WVU, will serve as the institution’s new associate vice president and dean for Land-Grant Engagement, overseeing all three units in the new division. He will continue his role as dean of Extension and Engagement and assume the role of dean of the Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. This change is effective July 1, 2024.
- Beginning July 1, current Davis College Dean Darrell Donahue will step down from his leadership role to serve as special assistant to the provost for one year, providing expertise and support on a number of statewide projects and key strategic initiatives.
- Bringing together WVU Extension, the Davis College and the Center for Community Engagement will encompass the land-grant mission: teaching, research and service. It also will enable WVU to become a more modern land-grant university focused on the changing needs of the people we serve.
- These units share a mission to serve the people of West Virginia and provide expertise in areas such as agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, and community development. WVU Extension also will continue its commitment to the nontraditional and other cooperative extension programs, including youth development, workforce and community development, health, nutrition, fire safety and engagement.
- Ultimately, this new division will result in enhanced instruction both in classrooms and the community, increased potential for industry and agency partnerships, meaningful experiential learning opportunities for students and increased opportunities for faculty research collaborations.
- The new division will lead with a progressive approach providing a stronger foundation for WVU’s modern land-grant R1 mission to continually improve the lives and livelihoods of individuals, families and communities within West Virginia and the nation. (The University of Kentucky is an existing example of this "Land Grant 2.0" approach.)
- WVU Extension’s role is to bring research-based knowledge from all parts of the University to West Virginians through a broad range of educational programs and services in all 55 counties. The new unit will continue to serve the University’s engaged scholarship needs through the WVU Center for Community Engagement, multidisciplinary Extension programming (i.e., youth development, workforce training, family and community development, agriculture and natural resources, etc.), FFA (which is currently offered through the Davis College) and more. There are no plans to change our diverse programs, and we believe bringing together these organizations will only enhance our ability to offer innovative, relevant programs to address communities’ most pressing needs.
- The Davis College and WVU Extension already share jointly appointed faculty members and grant-funded research and outreach projects. The coupling of these units will ensure more intentional support and mentoring of those shared faculty.
- Both units receive federal (and state match) funding through the federal Hatch, McIntire-Stennis and Smith-Lever Acts. We anticipate the combined units will garner increased support and grant funding through more collaborative projects.
- University, Extension and Davis College leaders have been working since fall 2023 to map out a structure for the new division.
- During the 2023-24 academic year, several working groups were assigned to address various aspects of the reorganization, such as academic and outreach programming, promotion and tenure guidelines and practices, fundraising, technology, communications and student support services. These groups provided opportunities for faculty, staff, students, alumni and others to engage in the planning process. Workgroups will submit their recommendations to leadership on February 1, 2024.
- Additional decisions about the new division’s organizational structure, including the senior leadership team, will be made in the coming months.
- A restructuring decision such as this does not require the Board of Governors’ vote or approval, but it has been involved in and is aware of leadership’s decision-making process and progress.