PROCEEDINGS - Industries of the Future - West Virginia - West ...

Industries of the Future — West Virginia
seeing the impact of worldwide communications on organizations, and we are seeing technology
advances that are doubling and tripling our knowledge every year. When I was in school, Dr. Paul
Miller, who was then President of the University, told our freshman class, "knowledge doubles every
ten years, so be prepared to be a lifetime learner." I told our freshman class, at the freshman
convocation for the class of 2000 one year ago, that it doubled every four years. And, it is predicted
that by the year 2010 college presidents will tell their students that knowledge doubles every year.
Now, contemplate that if you are in the knowledge business. Contemplate the expansion of the
product line, so to speak, by one-hundred percent every year.
Given the changing times in which we live and the changing nature of the American economy,
we have adopted the following mission statement:
WVU is a student-centered learning institution meeting the changing
needs of West Virginia and the United States through teaching,
research, service, and technology.
We recognize up front, in how we describe ourselves, that the transmission of knowledge to the
knowledge worker is of critical importance to the future of our country. We recognize a changing
environment in which our work must take place. We recognize our mission of teaching, research, and
service, and the importance of technology. Let me talk about each of these areas just briefly.
First of all, I think we are reconceptualizing how we approach the student at West Virginia
University. I made a chart which I have not yet used at the University, but it helped me conceptualize
what I thought we were about with students. It begins with the teaching of their teachers. We must
address the concerns of the public education system in West Virginia. We have the research base to
do that and we have the teaching skills to teach the teachers to do that. I know the kind of workforce
you get is of critical importance to you. We are looking at the student at that very basic level.
Secondly, we’re trying to interest our students in careers of the future. We’re reaching down
into the high school through programs like our HISTA Program, which seeks to interest students who
would not otherwise be interested in programs like health sciences. We are reaching into the seventh
and eighth grades and saying, "If you want to succeed at biomedical sciences like medicine, dentistry,
pharmacy, and nursing, you must begin now, before you enter high school, to study math and science,
and be motivated!" And, it’s working.
We’re interesting students in careers at a very early age, before they come to us. When they
come to us we are asking them to think about what they want to do with their lives, what majors will get
them there, and what kind of summer experiences will make them more prepared for the work force.
We’re helping find the jobs that match their skills and then we are working with them in the first two
years to make sure that they are really anchored in the work place.
But WVU’s approach involves more than traditional classroom academic programs. What we
are doing is to approach students from a holistic philosophy. We realize that workers of tomorrow
must have the ability to learn across their lifetimes, while at the same time having the entry level skills
you need. They must be talented at getting along with others in order to lead in the workforce. We
are trying to train the leaders of the industries of tomorrow at our University. But, the point is that the
worker of the future must be motivated very early, as early as middle or elementary school. They must
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