Benson ready to move forward with new mission statement, talks student success and retention at business summit
August 28, 2025
WHITE SULPHER SPRINGS, W.Va. — West Virginia University President Michael T. Benson spoke briefly about his strategic plan Thursday at the West Virginia Business Summit.
Benson, who was interviewed by Tony Caridi at the Greenbrier Resort, rolled out the university’s new mission statement.
“Bold futures start here. Where pride runs deep, success is earned, and lifechanging experiences prepare Mountaineers to lead in West Virginia and the world. Your future starts here. Let’s go!”
Benson said the board looked at several different mission statements from universities and corporations. Benson told business leaders at the summit that the best one he found belonged to Nike, saying it was as to the point as any other he read.
He says WVU needed something that was simple, yet effective.
“It’s simple, it’s to the point, but it’s all about the unequal power of education and applying that in every single life because that’s the one thing that can change people more than anything else,” Benson said.
According to Benson, the university is in the final steps of socializing the mission statement and other parts of his strategic plan.
Another topic covered by Caridi and Benson was enrollment growth.
WVU’s freshman enrollment rate has finally seen an uptick for the first time in several semesters.
Benson recently hired Fabrizio D’Aloisio from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, who is looked at as an “enrollment czar.”
Benson says getting that number up is the issue that needs addressed the most.
“I’ve heard from our board that it’s all about enrollment. When you look at this freshman class — which is our biggest since 2022 — we knew that we had to have a singular, laser-like focus on that,” Benson said.
Benson also discussed the importance of retention at WVU, and how that will be achieved. He says the 18 and 19 year-old students need to find ways to feel like they belong.
“You have to make sure that freshman comes in and feels like a part of a community. That’s why we have a residential requirement,” Benson said. “I argue that you learn as much outside the classroom as you do in it. Think about the skills you all learned as freshman in college. Time management, money management, getting along with your roommate, getting up for class, and all the things that are not covered in organic chemistry.”
In order to feel comfortable, Benson believes it’s all about what the freshman student does in the first few months away from home.
“I had a chance recently to speak to a whole bunch of freshmen. I tell them, ‘College is what you make it. Take yourself and have a good time. Don’t take yourself too seriously but take your work seriously and make sure you join a club or a service group or a faith-based group or go to a concert or something that’s outside your comfort zone. Make a friend with someone that’s the polar opposite of you. Those are the things that keep you tied to your campus,” Benson said.
Benson addressed business leaders in the crowd and asked them to reflect on what college meant to them. He says the experience is special for many leaders.
“It gave birth to your emotional, physical, intellectual and social self,” Benson said. “That’s why people always talk about, ‘Man, I would love to go back to college.’ They never say, ‘I want to go back to my first job.’ They want to go back to college. That’s what it means. That’s why people love Marshall. That’s why they love West Virginia State. That’s why they love WVU.”
Story by Aaron Parker, MetroNews
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