Welcome!
As an 1890 Land-Grant Institution, WVSU has a tripartite teaching, research, and service mission. Traditional classroom education has long been a hallmark of the University, and it is recognized for teaching excellence throughout the region. Meanwhile, our research portfolio has seen a massive expansion in the past decade, resulting in WVSU being recognized as one of West Virginia’s three research-focused institutions, along with Marshall University and West Virginia University. Finally, the mission of service has been an area in which WVSU has a long history, but little attention has been focused on it until recently.
Since its establishment in 1891, WVSU has brought the university to the people. Throughout the institution’s early years, outreach efforts focused on agricultural and home economics. Stellar educators such as Austin W. Curtis, who later served as George Washington Carver’s assistant at the Tuskegee Institute, were involved in providing outreach education to West Virginia’s residents.
From these early years through today, service has remained an integral piece of the fabric of our Institution. Today, outreach efforts take different approaches depending on the colleges, departments, and units that guide them. These diverse programs affect a broad spectrum of people in central and southern West Virginia. From innovative workforce training to next-generation science techniques and more, we are working hard to improve the lives of West Virginians.