Tumultuous times have reigned at Wheeling University for the last 13 months, and in reality, since 2017 when the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston took ownership of the physical campus, leasing it back to the University whilst agreeing to pay off more than $30 million in bond debt.
Two years later, the declaration of financial exigency in March of 2019 put the status of the school, then still called Wheeling Jesuit, into question.
Course offerings were trimmed considerably, as was the staff. The lack of pathways of study in history, philosophy and theology cost the University its official Jesuit affiliation, necessitating the name change to the current Wheeling University.
But a combination of new leadership, a strong show of support from students and faculty to the community itself, and the willingness to innovate have things looking positive for the state’s only Catholic institution of higher learning.
That was BEFORE the coronavirus pandemic took the country, and the world, by storm. Difficult changes were needed, and made, by the university. But it hasn’t done anything to dampen the spirit of the university or the upward path that it continues to march.
New President Inherits Difficult Task
Ominous or not, Ginny Favede became the school’s 13th president since its inception in 1954 and did so during one of the darkest times in its history. Not only did Favede need to find a way to help generate renewed interest, and students, for the university, but it had to be done with a trimmed course offering list, a name change and numerous questions surrounding the viability as a university. It’s hard to recruit a student to attend a school they aren’t sure was going to be around for the next four years.
Favede, who had a successful career in both local and county government along with the careers in the private sector, had recently joined the university’s board of trustees and was named chair in July of 2019. A few months later, she received a request, and an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.
“Word got home before I did and the first thing my husband asked me was why,” Favede recalled. “I told him, ‘It was the Archbishop. I’m Catholic. It never occurred to me to say no.”
Favede’s background in local government aided her immensely in the transition. She did several mid-year budget reviews, seeing where money was being spent, and where it didn’t need to be. Remaining faculty and staff joined her in helping to find dollars. Soon the dollars started to make sense and she was able to hire a vice president on enrollment management and start to work on rebuilding the school’s student base, as well as its reputation with its students.
“When you operate a city or county budget, it’s not like a federal budget, you have employees, and a set amount of money and you have to manage them. When I was with Belmont (County as a commissioner) back in 2009, we were just going into the recession and we were able to weather the situation. That background has helped tremendously.”
Favede admits she now understands what it means to have a calling. For a woman who never put less than her best effort forward, this is truly her labor of love.
“I love it. I love the kids, love the business aspect of it, love the challenge,” Favede said. “Seeing what our hard work is able to create has been amazing.”
Seeing is Believing
Heading into the 2019-2020 season, the Wheeling University softball team was a microcosm of the school’s issues. When things went bad, coaches and players bailed, understandably so, for more stable pastures.
The incoming squad had three seniors, no coaching staff and barely enough players to field a roster. Not the ideal situation to lure a coach to. But Tiffany Buckmaster, then an assistant coach at NAIA Lourdes University in Sylvania was convinced this was the place for her. It’s a decision she hasn’t regretted.
“Truthfully, everything they’ve told me has held true,” Buckmaster said. “President Favede is the right person with the job. She’s a transparent, honest, fantastic person who believes in this university. She told us to believe in one another and believe in the program, even when no one else would. That’s her technique, she believes.”
After the coronavirus necessitated the cancellation of the spring sports season by the NCAA, Buckmaster looked back pleased on a positive season, however short it was. Now, like the other sports’ teams and the university itself, she’s off to work building back up the numbers. The coach feels her own tale of coming to WU can be used as a selling point.
“Honestly, it’s been a little bit easier for me because of the fact that I chose to say yes,” Buckmaster said. “That gives them the confidence to do so too. I came here, despite all that was going on, because I believe in Wheeling University.”
Favede knows the important of collegiate athletics, especially at a school like Wheeling. They help to generate excitement and provide an identity. No sport has a greater impact in that area, especially in the Ohio Valley, quite like football. So, despite the school’s financial troubles, the overall cost of football and the fact Wheeling was set to play only its first official season, Favede and the university decide to press forward with football. It’s a decision she never wavered on, despite hearing a good deal of criticism.
She knows the dedication that head coach Zac Bruney and his staff, along with the Bruney family at large have put into the program already. She knows it will pay off and success looms right now the road, not only for the program, but for the school at large.
“If you had been here on campus for any of the home games, the excitement and energy that football brought to campus; it will make a significant difference in our ability to turn this university around,” Favede said. “People want to go where that excitement and energy is.”
Pandemic Problems and a Familial-Feel Response
Wheeling University’s seniors have battled through quite the ordeal, showing tremendous faith in staying the course and making it to their final semester. That’s why the adjustments the university has made in response to the coronavirus have been so tough for Favede to make, no matter the need.
“It’s been heartbreaking,” Favede said. “Things were going so well for us here. The kids were happy, which was our first and primary objective. We are giving the students a great, quality education, but we also wanted to make these the best four years of their lives. I vowed to myself never to let these kids get hurt again, so it was very hard to make the decisions that we’ve had to make.”
The university’s spring break came earlier than other local institutions, so the students were out whilst the first major adjustments to daily life were being experienced.
Favede credits her staff for being able to shift on the fly and basically get an online education plan and program off the ground in less than 72 hours. It started March 16. Three days later, and three before West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s official stay-at-home order, Wheeling U decided to send its students home.
It was a sad time for both faculty and staff but one that the university worked to minimize the immediate impact on its students.
Favede noted that the school obtained many moving boxes from Lowe’s in Wheeling and had staff members help students box up and remove their belongings from the dorms. Some students who lived clear across the country were unable to transport all their belongings home. To assist, the university rented a moving van to help these students transfer their things to storage lockers located at The Highlands for safe keeping until the next semester begins.
The president recalls sitting and talking with several students that waited until the last minute to vacate as they simply didn’t want to leave. This had become their home and they wished to take in all they could.
That’s part of the reason Favede opted to delay spring graduation until Winter 2020. She wants the students to be able to officially walk across and receive their degrees they’ve worked so hard for, and she wants to be there to hand it to them.
The university and its alumni association has developed a president’s emergency fund to help offset the costs both the students and faculty are dealing with. A part of that will go toward helping any of the graduating international students who otherwise might not be able to afford to come back and receive their degrees in person. If they wish to return, Favede said, the university is going to help find a way to make that happen.
Moving Forward
There is good news going forward for the university.
Favede noted the school already has its 100th deposit for the 2020-2021 school year for incoming freshman, a number that exceeds the previous two years collectively at this time. There are roughly 400 undergraduate students with another near 200 in graduate programs.
New students are showing interest, as other student athletes. A quick scan of the athletic department’s Twitter account at @WUCardinals shows a number of athletes across various sports committing to play for the Cardinals.
“Our coaches and our school are recruiting virtually. We’re being innovative and learning new ways to do things and, in the end, it will make us a better university.”
Favede also mentioned that starting in 2020-21, all the school’s general education classes will be available online. The Theology major is also making a comeback, and with it, a pastoral ministry certificate. She also noted that while plans are still being finalized, they are looking at a certificate of hotel management and creating a school of construction management.
Another moved aimed at bolstering enrollment in the face of the pandemic’s disruption of the academic world is the school is temporarily waiving the SAT/ACT score entrance requirements for next year. While this doesn’t apply to student athletes needing NCAA Clearinghouse eligibility, it will help the general student population. SAT and ACT testing has been suspending because of the pandemic and Favede felt it was the right thing to do, taking away one less stressor for incoming students.
“The University’s flexibility at this crucial time will ensure prospective students aiming for Wheeling University get a full and fair shot—no matter their current challenges. We encourage any students who have questions to contact our Admissions Office.”
It’s a trying time, both for the university and the nation. But steps have been taken to ensure that Wheeling University, like America, will recover and press onward.
