Editor:

No doubt where the blame lies for Tech

It is fashionable for WVU to parcel out blame for conditions on the Tech campus in Montgomery. However, anyone who has worked on that campus for any period of time should have no doubt where the blame lies for its state of affairs. WVU has been in control 16 years since 1996.

I am a Tech emeritus professor who had the privilege of teaching in the Tech Chemistry Department for 30 years. During the majority of those years, Tech was the academic envy of all institutions in the state. Many educational leaders held the opinion that Tech was the premier college in the state.

Tech produced many fine graduates in engineering, sciences, business, and teacher education. Those graduates have served West Virginia and the nation in an exemplary manner for many decades.

In 1996, Tech's engineering school undergraduate program was ranked No. 5 in the country in competition with Cal Tech, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, etc.

When the inept president of West Virginia Institute of Technology allowed WVU to take control in 1996, WVU offered early retirement to experienced faculty primarily over money issues. The thought was that WVU was in favor of replacing higher paid faculty. WVU's motives were questionable. When the WVU representatives would not talk to me about retirement issues, it was obvious they were up to no good. I took early retirement.

WVU needs to do what is right toward its divisional campus in Montgomery. The University needs to fulfill its fiduciary obligation to Tech and respectfully step aside. In this process, the money trail between Tech and WVU needs to be investigated by the U.S. Attorney General.

Tech can then pursue the opportunity to move forward under the independent governance -- the governance designated in Senate Bill 486, the governance that served Tech so well for decades, and the governance that the majority prefers.

Donald Brannon