The Marshall University Board of Governors today moved a step closer to the takeoff of its new aviation maintenance program, a joint academic endeavor with Mountwest Community and Technical College. The program will be housed at Tri-State Airport.
The two-year degree program, which President Jerome A. Gilbert says is the first of its kind in West Virginia, means students will receive a diploma with both schools’ names.
“We are working with Tri-State Airport to put the final ink on the lease for this program, which we hope to begin in fall 2021,” Gilbert said. “We plan to have two hangars; one will undergo renovation, while the other is in pretty good shape.”
Gilbert also reported to the board on continuing talks with Yeager Airport about housing for students entering the fixed wing commercial pilot four-year degree program that will be housed at both Yeager and Marshall’s South Charleston campus.
In other action, the board approved an updated discrimination and sexual harassment policy based on framework from the U.S. Department of Education, as well as several other policies, including ones governing academic affairs related to teaching and tenure, and a fiscal policy for capital project management.
Members also signed off on an update to Marshall’s tuition and fees schedule for international students.
In his report to the board, Gilbert thanked its members for their support over the past six months, as the university worked to open during the pandemic. He also recognized the Cabell-Huntington Health Department and its medical director Dr. Michael Kilkenny, Marshall School of Nursing, and Marshall’s director of environmental health and safety Tracy Smith, for their dedication to COVID-19 preparations and testing.
Gilbert reiterated the university’s commitment to testing all employees and students who are on campus for any reason, as well as the ongoing testing of athletes. Continued testing of sample groups of students, called sentinel testing, is in place for the fall semester. The most current COVID-19 numbers are available on the university’s coronavirus website.
Board members reviewed preliminary enrollment and revenue numbers for the fall term, noting that while it looks like overall enrollment will be down only slightly for fall, the counts so far include fewer out-of-state and international students, so revenue is down more than projected.
Mark Robinson, chief financial officer and senior vice president for finance, told the board that a previously approved temporary salary reduction for employees making between $50,000 and $99,999 would most likely be enacted next month. University officials expect to make a final decision on that action in the coming days, after they tally final fall enrollment numbers.
University employees making more than $100,000 have already experienced pay reductions. Both initiatives were part of the “placeholder” budget the board approved at its last meeting. The president said today no employee would see more than a total 15% pay cut.