West Liberty University has become a “school of choice,” President Robin C. Capehart said in his monthly campus report for November. Speaking to a gathering of faculty, staff and students in the Boyle Conference Center on campus, Capehart noted that enrollment figures show increased numbers of PROMISE scholars, Elbin scholars, high school valedictorians and students from outside the Upper Ohio Valley.
WLU is the only state institution of higher education that can claim six years of steadily increasing enrollment, he noted. The incoming freshman class this fall also exhibited academic excellence, with a high school grade point average of 3.29, higher than in 2010.
“Applications also have risen since 2006,” he said, “which reflects the impact of our marketing efforts.” The university has hired recruiters in the Charleston and Eastern Panhandle regions of West Virginia, and enrollment figures show increasing interest from those parts of the state. Most of WLU’s students traditionally have come from the Northern Panhandle, but the university also is actively recruiting in Ohio, Pennsylvania, throughout West Virginia and internationally, he said.
Reviewing the statistics of this year’s freshman class, from counties of origin to declared majors, Capehart noted that the information is “what we look at to see where we want to go as an institution.”
On the subject of faculty and staff salaries, Capehart said James Stoltz, director of human resources, would be conducting comparative studies to ensure that WLU’s salary structure is consistent with peer institutions.
“This is a high priority with faculty,” Capehart said, for whom base salaries have risen by 12 percent in the past year. “New hires are coming in at close to market salaries.”
The president also recognized the accomplishments of the university’s athletes, saluting Coach Mike Ricci and the men’s golf team for winning the WVIAC northern regional tournament and their third-place finish in the WVIAC championship. He also noted the women’s tennis team, coached by Heather Gallagher, reached the finals of the WVIAC tournament. Jim Crutchfield’s men’s basketball team has received a preseason ranking of sixth among all NCAA Division II squads in the nation.
He also noted that WLU graduate and former basketball standout Tori Hansen was one of three finalists for the NCAA’s “Woman of the Year” honor. Hansen is the first woman from any West Virginia institution to be honored as a finalist for the prestigious award. The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service and leadership. Hansen graduated summa cum laude in May.