WVU Search Coming Down To The Wire

Mike Garrison told faculty at West Virginia University why he wants to be WVU's president on Tuesday, and the Charleston Daily Mail was there to cover the candidate forum.

So was Metronews. It also offers audio from the 1 hour-plus exchange between faculty and the former Higher Education Policy Commission chairman.

Public Broadcasting, meanwhile, aired a story setting the stage for Garrison's on-campus meetings with students, faculty and staff. The transcript is here.

(Update: Public Radio also aired a segment on Garrison's appearance.)

The search, and Garrison's candidacy in particular, has been a recurring topic on MetroNews' statewide (but Morgantown-based) Talkline program. Host Hoppy Kercheval opines on Garrison's performance in his online column today.

Hoppy discussed it on the program today, but also heard from Gary Abernathy on the topic.

Hoppy saw a strong showing by Garrison (dubbed "The Fortress" by nickname-happy Hoppy back when Garrison joined the Wise Administration).

"A few faculty members said afterward that Garrison won them over, or at least they were not as worried about him as they were before they heard from him," Hoppy writes today.

Hoppy also believes that "Garrison nailed a question about why he returned home before receiving a degree from Oxford when he said his grandfather died, his father was out of work and he thought it was time to come back and get a job."

A GOP consultant, blogger and state Republican Party executive director, Abernathy sees Garrison benefiting from low expectations.

Another conservative voice to weigh in on Garrison's candidacy has been Alice Click, who is/was director of the state chapter of Concerned Women for America.

Click has questioned Garrison's fundraising credentials while praising those of M Duane Nellis, the other remaining candidate for president.

As I reported when Nellis was named a finalist last month, the former dean of WVU's Eberly College of Arts and Sciences "Nellis helped guide the $50 million Life Sciences Building project and was credited for reviving the WVU Press. He also oversaw the creation of WVU's National Geospatial Development Center."

Nellis' seven years as dean has also contributed to his candidacy's support among faculty members.

(Update: As a reader points out, Portland State University President Daniel Bernstine has accepted a job in charge of the group that administers the LSAT since dropping out as a WVU finalist. PSU's student newspaper has the story.)

Previous posts on this topic include my attempts to provide context to the various connections among those involved in the process, and my reporting on the letter from Judge Robert B. King.

With the on-campus forums and visits complete, WVU's Board of Governors expects to chose the successor to David Hardesty on Friday.