{"id":29683,"date":"2026-08-04T15:14:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T19:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=29683"},"modified":"2026-08-04T15:54:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T19:54:01","slug":"marshall-university-board-of-governors-meets-in-regular-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/marshall-university-board-of-governors-meets-in-regular-session\/","title":{"rendered":"Marshall University Board of Governors meets in regular session"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>The Marshall University Board of Governors met in regular session today approving the receipt of more than $3 million from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WV HEPC) to support Marshall\u2019s deferred maintenance initiative, \u201cShock and Awe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The board\u2019s approval allows the university to move forward with the WVHEPC to address several high-priority infrastructure projects deemed critical. Those projects are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Corbly Hall Chiller Replacement (est. $550,000): Replacement of the failing chiller serving Corbly Hall, which has experienced significant loss of cooling capacity and is at risk of complete failure. Reliable cooling is essential to support classrooms, administrative offices, the Early Education STEAM Center, and the future Dietetics program.<\/li>\n<li>Morrow Library HVAC Unit Replacement (est. $212,000): Replacement of a failed rooftop HVAC unit serving Morrow Library. One of the building\u2019s five rooftop units is currently non-functional, while the remaining units have exceeded their expected service life.<\/li>\n<li>Science Building Chiller Replacement (est. $825,000): Replacement of the aging chiller plant serving the Science Building. The existing system is in deteriorated condition, creating risks to research laboratories, instructional spaces, and sensitive scientific equipment.<\/li>\n<li>Memorial Student Center Roof Repair and Replacement (est. $1,693,100): Funding to support roof repair and replacement at the Memorial Student Center to address persistent leaks and deteriorating roof conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cA strong university requires a strong foundation,&#8221; said Marshall University President Brad D. Smith. &#8220;Investments in deferred maintenance allow us to preserve our existing assets, improve the student experience and ensure Marshall remains a competitive driver of innovation and economic growth. We appreciate the state\u2019s partnership and commitment to helping us maintain the facilities that support the education and workforce development needs of West Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The board also approved revisions to a Rule governing student rights and responsibilities. The new updates establish revised protocols for dealing with student conduct including expanded jurisdiction and reporting of off-campus and on-line conduct that significantly affect the education environment, further clarification of Title IX and non-Title IX processes, Artificial Intelligence and other digital misconduct concerns, as well as updates to privacy and technology protections, etc. The Rule will be posted at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/policies\/\">https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/policies\/<\/a> and a comment period will open and remain open until Wednesday, September 16, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Diane Petrella, Marshall\u2019s new senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, delivered her inaugural report to the board. She also highlighted two faculty members who received recognition from the board for their outstanding work:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Associate professor Sarah Clemins in the College of Health Professions for her work developing a new course, \u201cAI in Speech-Language Pathology\u201d, that will prepare future clinicians to ethically integrate AI into clinical practice. Clemins worked collaboratively with the West Virginia Department of Education on the project.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Rosalyn Quinones, professor of Chemistry in the College of Science for her work leading the recently launched WV STEM Alliance, which aims to increase the number of students pursuing STEM degrees. With a strong focus on Appalachian communities, the initiative seeks to boost cross-campus collaboration, increase awareness of existing STEM programs for high school and undergraduate students and help them explore graduate school opportunities and STEM career paths.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Meantime, just like thousands of Marshall University students preparing to head back to class in a few weeks, Marshall\u2019s Board of Governors, cabinet members and university leaders have met over the past few weeks to discuss a myriad of topics, including artificial intelligence (AI), that will affect the university community in the future.<\/p>\n<p>In the president&#8217;s report to the board, Smith said the AI workshops, including a student panel, revealed that Marshall is prepared to move forward, although it will do so thoughtfully and with input from many sources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur challenge is not whether Marshall should embrace AI,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt is how to do in a way that strengthens our mission, our people and our students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the work will continue into the fall.<\/p>\n<p>Smith also highlighted a forthcoming white paper that the university will be releasing this week on Marshall\u2019s role and position in the shifting landscape of college athletics<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Marshall University Board of Governors met in regular session today approving the receipt of more than $3 million from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WV HEPC) to support Marshall\u2019s deferred maintenance initiative, \u201cShock and Awe.\u201d The board\u2019s approval allows the university to move forward with the WVHEPC to address several high-priority infrastructure [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29683"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29690,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29683\/revisions\/29690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}