“I am pleased to announce that Dr. W. Franklin Evans has accepted our offer and agreed to become West Liberty University’s 37th President. He will be a strong leader and we welcome him to the Hilltop and look forward to introducing him to our alumni, donors, friends and the wider community,” said Rich Lucas, chairman of the search committee and the Board of Governors.

Evans will be the first black president in the 183-year history of the university and will assume the presidency on Jan. 1, 2021.

“It is a great honor being selected as the next president of West Liberty University, the oldest and most historic public institution in the state. I am grateful to the West Liberty University Board of Governors for its confidence and support in my selection to lead this amazing institution,” said Evans.

President Evans will succeed Dr. Stephen Greiner who has served as president since January 2016.

“This is an exciting day for West Liberty University and our students as we look toward the future. Our Presidential Search Committee is to be commended for their dedicated and diligent work during a most unusual time. I also want to thank President Greiner for his dedication and leadership during the pandemic and his willingness to see the job through and remain in his role until our new president could be found,” Lucas said.

Evans is the current president of Voorhees College and has 25 years of experience in education. Prior to being named president, Evans served as interim president of South Carolina State University (SCSU), in Orangeburg, S.C., where he also served as the provost and chief academic officer.

Under his leadership at SCSU, enrollment exceeded its goal and fundraising increased by 687%, alumni support improved, and the university achieved a balanced budget. He is an experienced fundraiser and grant writer.

Previously he served as vice president of academic affairs at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va., where he was instrumental in leading the institution through a successful reaffirmation of accreditation and establishing an Honors College, along with both a bachelor’s of fine arts and master’s in education degrees.

He also has worked at Elizabeth City State, J. F. Drake State Technical College, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, and Tennessee State University.

In 1994, Evans earned a doctoral degree in higher education administration from Georgia State University. He earned a degree in journalism, middle childhood education, curriculum and instruction, as well as administration and supervision from Georgia State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in entomology from the University of Georgia in 1984.

He was born in Augusta, Ga. and is active in the NAACP, Black Family Preservation Group, the National Association of Black School Educators, and Toastmasters International and has served on the boards of the Sickle Cell Association, Boys and Girls Club, Kiwanis Club International and the AIDS Action Coalition. He is an ordained elder with the Church of God in Christ.

He is the father of two young children and will reside on campus in the President’s home, Colonial Heights.

WLU’s Presidential Search Committee was composed of all members of the Board of Governors plus two additional faculty representatives, two additional staff members, one additional student member, one alumnus and one WLU Foundation member.

Also serving as a non-voting, ex-officio member was Dr. Sarah Tucker, chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. The WVHEPC is expected to vote and approve Evans’ contract on Friday, Nov. 20.

West Liberty University’s search for its next president began last spring after President Stephen Greiner announced his intended June 30, 2020 retirement last November. The search was delayed due to the pandemic and Greiner agreed to stay on at the request of the Board of Governors.

West Liberty University is West Virginia’s oldest public university and today it offers more than 70 undergraduate majors, plus a growing number of graduate programs, both online and on campus. For more information, please call 1.866.937.8542 (WESTLIB), visit westliberty.edu or follow WLU on social media. To view more about WLU, please visit westliberty.edu/youtube.

Applications for the up to $4,750-per-year college scholarship are still being accepted until March 1 for those who want to start receiving the money for next fall.

As long as you apply and fill out the required Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by then, you can still submit the required SAT or ACT score until Aug. 31.

But Chancellor Sarah Tucker noted Friday that a little more than 2,300 students had applied so far, compared to more than 6,700 last school year.

“These numbers worry me,” she told members of a higher education policy board. “And they should worry all of you.”

She cited multiple reasons for the drop — all related to the pandemic and the connected school closures.

“High school students are dealing with immediate concerns right now: Are they going to be in school in-person, are their sports going to be playing, how do they keep their grades up and, most importantly, how do they stay safe, how do they keep their families safe?” Tucker said.

Also, “we have so many [high school] students who have chosen to go to virtual school and so many students who have chosen to do homeschooling this year.”

Online-only public and private school students, as well as homeschoolers, are eligible for the scholarship, just like in-person public schoolers. Many students are enrolled in-person currently but are only attending online because COVID-19 related issues have shuttered their classrooms.

Tucker said many high schools used to put all their seniors together in a computer lab and have them fill out applications, but they can’t do that currently.

“We also have [high school] counselors who are spread really, really thin,” she said. “They’re trying to deal with food insecurity, they’re trying to deal with mom and dad calling because of fears about COVID, they’re trying to deal with making sure classes are safe for their students — and filling out the Promise Scholarship is, understandably, not on the forefront of their minds right now.”

Tucker said her agencies are planning to run a digital marketing campaign this December to attract applicants.

She said to increase applications, “the best way I know how to do that is just to keep talking about it and talking about it and talking about it and talking about it, until people are sick and tired of hearing me talk about it — because then maybe they’ll fill out their applications.”

You can use the scholarship to attend in-state public and private nonprofit two-year or four-year schools, like West Virginia University and West Virginia Wesleyan College. You can go to cfwv.com/promise to learn more about the requirements and apply.

Also Friday, the state Higher Education Policy Commission board, to whom Tucker spoke, put off voting on approving incoming West Liberty University president W. Franklin Evans’ compensation.

A spokeswoman for the commission said the commission doesn’t yet have a signed contract. A spokeswoman for West Liberty said the university failed to send a letter to the commission saying the university’s Board of Governors had approved the contract, so the approval had to be deferred to a later date.

West Liberty has offered Evans a two-year contract with a base salary of $225,000 per year. Atop that, the contract would give him a $1,000 monthly vehicle stipend for a vehicle for both professional and personal use and require him and his family to stay in the university president’s house, for free.

“We had a lot of uncertainties going into this fall semester. Working closely together, our college and university presidents made the decision to bring students back to campus, but in the safest possible way,” said Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor for Higher Education. “While we saw some enrollment declines, I am encouraged by the fact that so many in-state students are continuing their education. Now, we have to start looking further ahead to help more West Virginians do the same in the coming years.”  

First-time freshmen headcount enrollment at West Virginia’s baccalaureate institutions dropped for the fifth year in a row, down 5.4 percent from fall 2019 to fall 2020. Chancellor Tucker noted that the state’s four-year enrollment numbers mirror national trends and are influenced by the state’s declining population. She also encouraged high school students to stay on track for college, especially in today’s environment.

“We know high school students are grappling every day with uncertainties around attending school in person, keeping up good grades in a virtual environment, and staying healthy and safe,” Chancellor Tucker said. “This is a lot to deal with, but in spite of it all we have to encourage our young people to not lose sight of their futures. Now is the time to complete the FAFSA, fill out the Promise Scholarship application, and plan for what’s next. We need our students to succeed. Our future, in so many ways, depends on them.” 

West Virginia ranks in the top 10 states in providing financial aid, with the state higher education system administering more than $104 million in student aid each year. To help students learn about the financial aid opportunities available to them, the Commission is offering a series of financial aid webinars, as well as extended office hours for students and families with questions about filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) – which is the first critical step to accessing financial aid for college.

The FAFSA form is free and available through the U.S. Department of Education at fafsa.gov.

The Promise Scholarship application is available at cfwv.com/promise. 

For assistance, students and families are encouraged to call the Commission’s financial aid hotline at 877-987-7664.

The settlement was finalized Oct. 27. The 29 students alleged in the suit that they had suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse during their time at the school by individuals who ran the boarding school in Salem.

The former students alleged that those who ran the Christian boarding school forced them to perform manual labor, beat them, starved them, kept them in isolation rooms for long periods of time and would chain and shackle them to beds.

“The abuse suffered by these children would shock the conscious of any West Virginian,” Jesse Forbes, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said. “They were stripped naked, handcuffed, sexually abused and kept in a 5-by-8-foot room with a coffee can for a toilet. This is the stuff straight from a horror movie.”

Authorities had investigated the boarding school several times since it opened in 1987. The school pledged to be a school for wayward children aged 6 to 17. It was shut down in 2014. It was founded by Gayle Clark and her husband. Clark was eventually sentenced to jail time and probation in 2016.

“I have spent years as a guardian ad litem for abused children in this state and I have never seen anything like this,” Forbes said. “These children were tortured in ways that people couldn’t even dream about in their worst nightmares, and the fact that it continued over so many decades is truly shocking.”

Charleston attorney Scott Long also represented the plaintiffs. He said the case was complex when working to settle for an appropriate amount for the students.

“This settlement will finally bring justice to these innocent children, now adults, and hopefully allow them to begin to heal,” Long said. “The horrific abuse has come to an end but without setting aside money to provide these former children the healing services they desperately need their abuse would continue.”

The plaintiffs were also represented by Brian Kent and Guy D’Andrea of Laffey, Bucci & Kent LLP in Philadelphia.

Many of the plaintiffs alleged the children suffered significant abuse at the hands of the defendants, as well as other children who were enrolled there. They alleged the defendants owed a legal duty to the plaintiffs to care for them and to not be negligent, but they repeatedly breached that duty of care.

The plaintiffs alleged the defendants failed to inform parents of the incidents of child abuse and neglect, as well as failing to inform the appropriate authorities.

The defendants also negligently failed to ensure that its employees had proper and adequate training and experience to protect the students from harm, according to the suit.

The plaintiffs suffered serious emotional distress because of the defendants’ actions. The plaintiffs also say the defendants were aware of the child abuse and mistreatment as far back as December 2000.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 17-C-146

Dr. Maynard’s appointment is effective immediately. He will fill the expired seat formerly held by David G. Perry.

Click here to view appointment letter

The term will last through Nov. 4, 2029.

Dr. Maynard is currently the Executive Director of the June Harless Center for Rural Educational Research and Development at Marshall University. He resides in Huntington.

Dr. Maynard has over 40 years of service to public education and higher education, spending the last 20 years working with school districts to provide educators and families of rural West Virginia with a support system that addresses educational challenges in order to benefit all areas of children’s ongoing development and achievement.

Dr. Maynard has a longstanding partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education to support initiatives such as early literacy systems and STEM professional development. He is also a strong advocate for the children and families of rural West Virginia.

Dr. Maynard is a West Virginia native from Holden in Logan County. He attended Virginia Tech for his undergraduate degree and later received a Masters degree in Science and Public Health from the University of North Carolina. He earned a second Masters from Marshall University and his doctorate from Ohio University in 1978.

Prior to joining Marshall University as a faculty member in 1980, Dr. Maynard taught and coached basketball at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia and in public schools in West Virginia. He also services as a pastor at Church in the Valley in Milton.

OVERVIEW:

• All schools will remain closed to students through at least Friday, March 27.
• Essential staff, as determined by each county board of education, will report Monday, March 16 through Wednesday, March 18 to develop continuity plans for students.
• All teachers, staff, and school service personnel will report Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20.
• County boards of education will determine staff requirements for Monday, March 23 and beyond.

“At the heart of everything we are doing right now is the protection of our children, making sure our schools are safe for our teachers and staff, and making every effort to protect all of the people of West Virginia,” Gov. Justice said. “I have been and will remain in constant contact with Superintendent Burch, and we both have heard the concerns of our teachers and school service personnel. We want to make sure all their concerns are taken into consideration as we develop our plans.”

All schools will remain closed to students through at least March 27, 2020. No return date for students has been set at this time. Gov. Justice, State Superintendent of Schools W. Clayton Burch, and other education leaders will continue to monitor COVID-19 developments throughout this two-week period, with the goal of getting students back to class as soon as safely possible.

Only essential staff will report on Monday, March 16 through Wednesday, March 18, and county superintendents will determine who these employees are in their counties. During this time, the county superintendents will work with local boards of education, leadership teams, and essential staff to devise a continuity plan that outlines how to best meet the needs of students and the community during this extended closure.

All child nutrition programs will be minimally affected by this statewide school closure. Essential personnel including transportation staff, custodial staff, and food service staff are necessary during this time to ensure child nutrition efforts are implemented effectively for the over 200,000 students who rely on school meals for their daily nutrition. County boards of education may use school buses to transport meals to students throughout the duration of the closure.

“I want to commend all our school service personnel and school leadership for their commitment to our students and for making sure school meals are available to kids who truly need them,” Gov. Justice said. “At the end of the day, these are tough decisions being made as the result of a tough situation. But I truly believe, in my heart, that these are the things we need to do to keep all West Virginians as safe as possible.”

All remaining teachers and staff will return to work on Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20 to make sure plans are properly implemented so student needs, educator well-being, and the continuity of instruction are properly addressed.

County boards of education will determine staff requirements for Monday, March 23 and beyond. The county leadership team may choose to establish flexible work options including adjusted schedules and remote work.

“Every effort will be made so that the final school day will be the original date scheduled by the county, so there will be minimal disruption to summer vacations for our students and their families,” Gov. Justice said. “As we work through these troubled times we will do everything we can to not disrupt our lives any more than necessary. That also means that our kids will still be learning through a multitude of ways such as online classes or any and every concept our educators can come up with during this closure.”

Beyond online instruction, county leadership teams have an array of options to ensure the delivery of instruction including distance learning, telecommunication, electronic communication, traditional instructional packets, and more.

“Governor Justice, with his experience as a teacher and a coach, has an incredible grasp on this situation and he is showing incredible leadership for our students, teachers, staff, and really all people across West Virginia,” Superintendent Burch said. “It’s amazing to watch his calm, intellectual approach to this tremendous problem.

“Educators have always risen to the occasion to meet the needs of our students and I am fully confident they will step up in a big way to help us solve this challenge as well,” Superintendent Burch continued. “At the same time, we understand the need for educators to have flexibility so that they can best meet the needs of our students while also addressing the health and well-being of their own families. Even though this is uncharted territory, we will also be flexible in putting measures in place to support our children, families, educators, and staff.”

More information on the Department of Education’s plans to supplement student learning and nutrition will be available at wvde.us/COVID19.

The West Virginia National Guard and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture are also prepared to step in and support counties in offering adequate student support.

For more information about COVID-19 prevention and more, you can call the State’s toll-free hotline at 1-800-887-4304 or visit Coronavirus.wv.gov.​