CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A public hearing on a bill allowing WVU Tech to move out of Montgomery and repealing a current statute will be taken up by the House Committee on Education Wednesday morning.
WVU is planning to move the campus in Montgomery to Beckley by the fall of 2017. A statue enacted in 1931 requires that Tech headquarters stay in the city that straddles the Kanawha-Fayette county line.
The bills purpose is to “help ensure the continuing viability and vitality of (WVU Tech) by providing flexibility to (WVU) and (WVU Tech) to relocate (WVU Tech), and to facilitate collaboration between four-year institutions serving southern West Virginia.”
The bill cites that Tech has faced both enrollment and facilities issues, saying that Tech facilities are in “greater disrepair and in greater need of overall capital investment than are facilities at WVU.”
Further it acknowledges that “West Virginia University Institute of Technology has a strong reputation in engineeringand other scientific disciplines. These programs shall be maintained, cultivated and emphasized further as its sustaining mission over the next decade.”
The proposed move has been highly controversial, particularly among Motgomery and eastern Kanawha County residents who fear an economic collapse due to Tech’s absense.
The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. in the House Chamber.