West Virginia State University is a proud recipient of the Tree Campus Higher Education designation from the National Arbor Day Foundation – the first institution of higher education in West Virginia to receive this distinction.
What is Tree Campus Higher Education?
Tree Campus Higher Education is an Arbor Day Foundation program that honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in community tree care. West Virginia State University achieved the title by meeting Tree Campus Higher Education’s five standards:
- Maintaining a tree advisory committee
- A campus tree care plan
- Dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program
- An arbor day observance
- An annual student service-learning project
As of 2025, there are over 400 higher education campuses across the United States with this recognition. In 2013, West Virginia State University became the first campus in West Virginia to earn the distinction.
Mission Statement:
The WVSU Tree Campus Higher Education Committee is made up of faculty, staff, students and community members interested in preserving and augmenting the WVSU campus canopy. This committee serves as advisor to the University Facilities Department, providing information and education on how to maintain the health and canopy coverage of campus trees, applying for Tree Campus Higher Education status, and recruiting students and other interested parties in campus tree care activities as part of community service opportunities. The committee can also identify campus tree care grant opportunities to which the University can apply.
Tree Advisory Committee Members
- Liz Moss, Natural Resources Extension Associate, WVSU Extension Service
- Roa Cage, WVSU First Lady
- Michael Fultz, Associate Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Interim Dean of College of Business and Social Sciences, Professor, WVSU Department of Biology
- Eric Jackson, Head of Campus Operations and Experience, WVSU Business & Finance
- Gwonjin Lee, Assistant Professor, WVSU Department of Biology
- Andy Sheetz, Urban Forester, WV Division of Forestry Urban & Community Forestry Program
- Shannon Skiles, Post Award Grants Specialist, WVSU Office of Sponsored Programs
- Leah Tanner, student representative, WVSU NextGen Scholar
- Eloisa Vendemiatti, Assistant Professor, WVSU Department of Biology
- Jorge Vera, Agritourism Extension Educator, WVSU Extension Service
WVSU Tree Care Plan
Goals
- Increase and maintain diversity of campus trees
- Maintain and improve campus canopy coverage in landscaped areas; current canopy is 6.5% and target is 10%
- Maintain campus tree inventory and use it to monitor tree health
- Maintain an accredited teaching arboretum complete with signage and online tree tour
- Educate students, faculty and staff about the importance and value of trees
- Protect campus trees from negative impacts from contractors and stakeholders
- Prepare the campus community for the of removal of historic trees when declining health necessitates it
Links
- WVSU Teaching Arboretum Virtual Tour
- WV Tree Minders Online Tree Care Program
- Tree Campus Higher Education information
- WVSU Teaching Arboretum accreditation in Morton Register
- WVSU 2019 complete campus tree inventory
- WVSU 2019 campus tree maintenance plan
- WVSU June 2021 i-Tree Ecosystem Analysis (performed by Jorge Vera, WV Tree Minders intern)
