1991-1993 Catalog - Catalogs - West Virginia University

BPart 1 General InformationWest Virginia University combines many of the advantages of a large institutionwith those of a small one. It is both a comprehensive university offering 176 degreeprograms from the bachelor's through the doctoral level and a decentralized group of15 colleges and schools on two campuses in Morgantown, an arrangement whichhelps maintain the friendly, informal atmosphere of smaller institutions. The PersonalRapid Transit (PRT) System, which was built by the U.S. Department of Transportationas a national research and demonstration project, connects the campuses.With 20, 854 students in the fall semester of 1991 , 1271 full- time faculty, and2674 administrative staff, WVU is large enough to support academic diversity. WVUstudents come from all 55 West Virginia counties, 49 other states, and 74 foreigncountries. Over the years, 23 students from the University have received RhodesScholarships to continue their studies at Oxford University.West Virginia University is one of only 24 state universities in the nation that serveas both the comprehensive and land-grant institutions in their states. They are calledland-grant institutions (there are 72) because the Congressional act establishing themin 1 862 gave federally owned land to each state, which then sold the land and usedthe funds to begin a college offering programs in agriculture and engineering.Since its founding in 1 867, WVU has developed into the center of graduate andprofessional education, research, and extension programs in West Virginia. Coal andenergy are a major focus of University research because of WVU's location in theheart of the eastern coal fields. In July, 1 989, the University became a part of theUniversity of West Virginia, under the governance of the University of West VirginiaBoard of Trustees.The Morgantown campuses contain 140 buildings on over 1,000 acres; librarieswith over 1.5 million books, over 1.4 million microforms and microfilms, and over 9,000periodicals. Through the West Virginia Network for Educational Telecomputing, fivecomputer sites utilize an IBM 3081 KX mainframe running MVS/XA 2.2 and JES2 tosupport remote and network job entry, an IBM 3081 D running VM/SP 5.0 to supportthe VM/XA SP2 operating system, and DEC VAX 8650, 8550, and 11/780 superminicomputers in a cluster running VMS 5.1.Our campuses are changing rapidly. On Evansdale, three new buildings dedicatedto technology (the new College of Mineral and Energy Resources, the new EngineeringResearch Building, and the new Center for Energy Research) and the new MaryBabb Randolph Cancer Center are completedand operational. Downtown, the Collegeof Business and Economics has moved into its new building on the site of the oldMountaineer Field.Branches include the Charleston Division of the WVU Health Sciences Center,Wheeling Division of the School of Medicine, Potomac State College at Keyser, WestVirginia University at Parkersburg, and five off-campus graduate centers at Jackson'sMill near Weston, in Parkersburg, at Potomac State College, Shepherd College in theeastern panhandle, and West Liberty State College in the northern panhandle.West Virginia University operates eight experiment farms in Hardy, Jefferson,Monongalia, Monroe, and Preston counties; five experiment forests in Monongalia,Preston, Randolph, and Wetzel counties; a geology camp in Greenbrier County; andthe State 4-H Camp and a museum of mid-nineteenth century life at Jackson's Mill, theboyhood home of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson and a site listed in theNational Register of Historic Places.Potomac State College's transfer programs, designed to conform to programs inthe WVU lower division, provide the freshman and sophomore years in the liberal artsand sciences and pre-professional studies in agriculture, business and economics,computer science, dentistry, education, engineering, engineering of mines, forestry,journalism, law, medical technology, medicine, music, nursing, pharmacy, physicaleducation, physical therapy, social work, and veterinary medicine. OccupationalGeneral Information