Feature Articles

Corruption In Higher Education

How A Letter Delivered To Former Fairmont State University President Dr. Mirta Martin Uncovered A Corrupt World Of West Virginia Politics That Includes Secret Meetings at the Capitol, Personal Agendas, Deep Loyalties and Governor Jim Justice: (Part 1)

By Nicole L. Walls

West Virginia Watchdog

September 2022

I rang the doorbell of Shaw House. The on campus residence of now former Fairmont State University President. The sound of barking immediately could be heard as a figure approached the glass door. She greeted me wearily, holding her small dog. "She doesn't bite.” she assured. I almost didn't recognize her. Usually dressed to perfection, with an unfailing smile and not a hair out of place, Dr. Martin was in slippers, with no makeup, wearing a housecoat and a tired face, full of heartache. The large home, partially empty, was scattered with boxes and seemed to echo as her voice trembled and she directed me up the stairs to her office. Immediately there, she burst into tears, simply overwhelmed by just the presence of a visitor. "This week we started to pack” She shared, “It’s been really difficult.”

The inside world of Public Higher Education, is a perpetual executive session of NDAs and non disparaging clauses. A world consumed with money, image, politics and hypocrisy. A business of social status and bloated salaries. While students go into debt to get an education, some could possibly achieve free on YouTube, and they rally at games in exciting rivalries, those on the top operate in a world very different than the one many will ever see. A President,

consumed with the obligations of their position.

They are to be the image, the face of the institution. Not bound just by the endless student events which they passionately show their support, but also to the staff and faculty which they must manage. Carefully attempting to be objective and understand the positions, tenors, resentments, sense of entitlements and demands of many personalities. There’s the obligations they have to the donors. The “big fish”, often alumni, demanding attention and some level of expected schmoozing, in return of the promise of a donation. Often, they have obligations to numerous boards throughout the state, which demand time and expertise in order to make collective decisions for all the higher education institutions involved. They have their community that looks to the institution with a strong sense of pride. A symbolic beacon of beauty and admiration in their town, the institution may be one that many generations have attended, or could be a hope others are now finally able to achieve.

The Presidents obligations, which stretch throughout their days, weeks, months and year, in just these facets alone would be one that we could look at as more of a public relations job than otherwise. Draining them of an ability to lead normal lives or to give enough of themselves to those they love, because these Presidents are a part of their institutions and love them as if they were every bit a living entity, much to the detriment of their personal relationships. Their devotion can be praised and admired, but their true sacrifice is rarely ever seen or understood, at least by anyone other than those they allow in as they step out of their costume of public perfection in order to just be, for a short moment, themselves.

But then we get into the true control of every college. The wizard behind the curtain. The Board of Governors. Appointed by the Governor himself, each member has their own specific agenda and personal associations. The President may oversee the faculty, the staff, the donors, the students, but the Board of Governors oversee the President. Though when the bad is bad, rarely does a board take responsibility onto themselves. Much of the public does not see the Board of Governors, except perhaps at the six required, and often poorly attended, public meetings held according to the Open Meetings Act.

Higher education is unlike any other major entity, yet it’s run like a high powered corporation while being a public, tax funded, institution. With this unique designation comes the entanglement of politics, money and ultimately, corruption.

A good public higher education institution is a team. Working together toward a common goal, each member knows their role and does their best to stay within it. The lines get blurred when the role of the board is not adequately conveyed to neither the public nor to the board members themselves, resulting in ulterior motives and a battle for power that causes discord and confusion.

The Board of Governors are the unseen entity which each President must run their decisions by. A President, as the face of the institution, may be vilified for a specific program cut, while in fact it was the Board of Governors who pulled the trigger and then refused to allow the President the autonomy to speak freely on the subject. A board not properly held within their roles, can easily become the puppeteers. Every meeting, every speech, every conference by the President, throughly scrutinized and controlled. Many Presidents may be no more than a ventriloquist doll for a Board of Governors who refuse to take accountability and then attempt to hide any semblance of transparency behind the guise of a NDA.

Mirta Martin came to Fairmont State University in October of 2017 with a resume of exceptional achievements. Speaking three languages and holding a Bachelors Degree from Duke University, a Masters in Business Administration, a PHD in Philosophy and over 35 years experience, Dr. Martin was easily a stand out among candidates. She had an ambitious vision for Fairmont State. One that would have the college be viewed on the same playing field, as West Virginia’s other major higher education institutions.

One source remembered Dr. Martin saying, “When people think of West Virginia Higher Education, they think ‘WVU, Marshall and the rest of them’. I want them to think ‘WVU, Marshall, Fairmont State and the rest of them’.”

During her time at Fairmont State, Dr. Martin’s vision was well on its way to becoming a reality. A University drowning in debt and with the threat of a state takeover, Dr. Martin accomplished a $20.5 million turnaround in net position. Endowments to the university increased from $33 million to $47.2 million and it was awarded a grant for nearly $1.8 million for a continued collaborative partnership with NASA’s Independent Verification and Validation Program. In 2020, according to The Hechinger Report’s Financial Fitness Tracker, it was the only West Virginia public university to pass all financial stress indicators.

Under Dr. Martin’s leadership, and during Covid, Fairmont State, while never laying off any employees, was able to maintain an A2 Stable bond rating when many other institutions were being down graded. Enrollment of first time freshman increased 3% and by 2020 there was an admission yield rate of 15.7% with a 6% rise in retention. 222 student-athletes recorded a 3.0 GPA or higher during Spring of 2021, with 80 student-athletes achieving a perfect 4.0

During her time as Fairmont State President, the university launched 36 new and unique programs. In collaboration with Lt Col Joel Kirk, Director of Aviation Center of Excellence, the Flight Training Center was developed for the unprecedented demand for pilots worldwide. Since that time, the Fairmont State’s Flying Falcons has flown more than10k flight hours and produced 250 flight certifications.

In addition to becoming one of only twenty-three universities in the United States to partner with the US Air Force and launch JROTC Flight Academy, Intelligent.com named it one of the nation’s best online military friendly colleges three years in a row. It was named as one of the top thirty universities for Bachelor’s degrees in Forensic Science and the School of Nursing was ranked #1 as the best nursing program in West Virginia by RNCareers.org. The School of Education has earned an “A” rating by the National Council on Teacher Quality and Study.com ranked it #25 as the best education school in the country.

Dr. Martin was appointed by Governor Justice, to serve on the Blue Ribbon Commission for Four-Year Higher Education, where she was selected to serve on the Finance Sub-Committee “She had an expertise in finance and she was a great leader.” Another member recalled of Martin’s time on the commission, “When none of us could agree, she was able to take a formula, put it together and get us all on the same page.”

The confidence in her leadership by Martin’s colleagues was apparent in her being elected President of both the West Virginia Council of Presidents and the Board of Directors of the Mountain East Conference.

She was also a member of the Mountain East Conference Covid-19 Task Force, where she was looked toward as a model for many campus regulations. “She had very strict Covid Protocols to keep her campus safe. Some things some of us others would implement, some were just too strict for us.”, one public university president remembered. “No one ever questioned whether she had the best interest of her school at heart though. We had a lot of admiration for her. Many of us never wanted to be on campus and would stay away, but Mirta never left.”

Students on campus quickly became a cheerleader for their President. Her unique style of personal relations was something they responded to. For them it was the way she attempted to understand the life of students more than others had before. Just one example of this was her insistence in living in a dorm for over a month to better understand the way they operated and any improvements needed. She had an open door policy, regularly ate in the Falcon Center with students and often handed out her personal cell phone number to those in need of help or mentoring.

But it wasn’t just students and other Presidents that saw Dr. Martin as a leader to be admired. Numerous West Virginia publications also held her in high esteem. Just a few examples would be her named “Wonder Woman” in the profile done by West Virginia Living, listed as one of NCWV Life magazines “Inspiring Women”, highlighted as a “Talent Transplant” by West Virginia Executive Magazine and named 2019 Educator of the Year by WV News.

In Dec 2020, Fairmont State University Board of Governors released a statement regarding Dr. Martin’s evaluation going into the second year of her renewed contract.

President Martin’s tenure at the University has proven to be nothing short of impressive, and I look forward to the continued progress under her leadership. On behalf of the entire Board, I am confident that Dr. Martin’s knowledge and expertise in the ever-changing higher education atmosphere will continue to serve the University well.

(David Goldberg, Fairmont State Board Chair)

President Martin has enabled the University to grow, putting the University on the map and earning national recognition in various arenas. We are grateful for the outstanding leadership displayed by President Martin and the quality, transformative educational opportunities cultivated for our students during her tenure at the University.

(Rusty Hutson, Fairmont State Board Vice Chair)

The Meeting Heard Round The State

On Tuesday, May 17th, the day before a scheduled Board of Governors meeting, Dr. Martin sent a letter to her Falcon Family relaying her decision to not seek a renewal to her contract, which was due to terminate at the end of the year. In that statement, Martin expressed her intentions to fulfill the remaining months of her contract and assist with the transition of leadership. She also expressed her love and gratitude to the Fairmont State community for allowing her to serve as their President.

…I will step down at the end of the contract, on December 28, 2022. I informed the Board of my decision now to give the University ample time to safeguard the momentum of the institution and begin the search for a new leader. During the remaining time of my presidency, I plan to continue to lead the University forward and aid in the transition to new leadership.

I am so incredibly blessed to have already served in this role for nearly five years. During this time, Fairmont has become my home, and the Falcon family, my family. It is an honor and an absolute privilege to serve all of you. It is also my honor to serve this institution and the State of West Virginia as your President… I have worked hard day in and day out with each of you by my side to achieve and exceed the goals set when I began my tenure.

(Dr. Mirta Martin, Fairmont State University President, May 17, 2022)

The following day, Wednesday May 18th, the Fairmont State University Board of Governors held a meeting to discuss the President’s announcement. Many suspected the announcement came as a preemptive attempt to protect herself from what the community felt was a predetermined decision by the Board of Governors.

The conference room was uncharacteristically packed for a normal board meeting. Noticeably absent was the presence of many students, who had already departed campus for the summer. Leading many to question if the timing of the meeting was strategic, considering Dr. Martin’s popularity with her students.

All board members were physically present with the exception of three, one of them being Vice Chair Rusty Hutson Jr., attending via WebEx. Only moments after beginning, the board adjourned into a nearly three hour executive session. Upon returning, the board voted to exercise the sixty day no cause clause to end Martin’s contract early, concluding on July 18, 2022. In addition to the termination of the contract, all duties and authority of President Martin were to be immediately stripped and transferred to Provost Dianna Phillips.

Board of Governor’s Chair David Goldberg abstained from the vote, which some speculated was due to an ongoing investigation that was being conducted at the time, by an independent investigator hired by the university for allegations of harassment and bullying of Dr. Martin. David Goldberg has denied all the allegations against him stating:

I am the father of two daughters. I have run and been a party of organizations where I work with all different people. I don’t bully. I’m not belligerent, I'm not inappropriate. I ask questions. I asked people the same questions I expect and ask people to ask of me. I treated people fairly. I treat people consistently. I’ve always done that across my entire career. So whatever people have said or not said, let it be reviewed, let it be investigated and it will come out. I have treated Dr. Martin, I have treated anybody on the Fairmont State leadership team fairly. I've been consistent. I’m transparent. So, people are willing and should be able to ask questions if they feel that something should be able to be asked, fine, raise it, but I have always been fair. I have always been forthright. I have always been balanced. I have never ever been inappropriate.

(David Goldberg, Fairmont State Board Chair)

Staff Representative Jon Dodds and Student Representative Maiya Bennett, both opposed the decision. “Regardless of the concern of the transition between an academic year and a calendar year, the board came to the conclusion (in 2019) that this six-month period, regardless of if it was a transition, was worth it to fulfill a three-year contract rather than a two-and-a-half-year contract,” Bennett said. “As a student and as a member of the Student Government Association, I am in full support of Dr. Martin, and my experience at this university would not be the same without her leadership and support. On behalf of a large majority of the students, I support her. Let it be known that this is a really difficult time.”

Board Member Jennifer Kinty, who voted in favor for Martin’s termination, stated, “…there is a misalignment going into a new academic year of goals, and our goal is to run the university and bring it forward and build upon the good work that she has done. It is our responsibility as a board to make those tough decisions… This is nothing negative to Dr. Martin. She brought forth that she was not seeking to renew her contract, and she was looking for another opportunity.” The crowd in attendance roared with distain over Kinty’s comments, but she did not elaborate on the specifics of her vague choice of wording.

Shellshocked and stoic, Dr. Martin sat silent as the meeting came to an end. It was at this time, before the board had officially adjourned, that Faculty Representative Gina Fantasia rose from her seat and approached Martin. She placed a piece paper in front of her without a word and sat back down. Martin looked at the paper and with obvious indignation, she placed it in a folder. It wasn’t until later that that letter would become the catalyst for my investigation into Fairmont State University Board of Governors and its complicated world of half truths, personal agendas and propaganda.

Cleaning House

As a resident of Marion County, I was aware of a divided community, who often took to social media to express their thoughts on many controversial decisions being made at Fairmont State. The ending of the Performing Arts program and the separation from Pierpont Community and Technical College being the most prominent. Both of these decisions brought on strong emotions among locals and the lines had been drawn.

The day after the vote, I received an unexpected call from one source wanting to share information with me pertaining to a few questions I had. During that call I mentioned I was going to attempt to personally reach out to Dr. Martin to see if she would speak with me and provide further clarification. “She’s not speaking with anyone,” my source explained. “She’s gone dark. No press, no visitors. She won’t talk.”

I didn’t know Dr. Martin from more than the casual moments our paths crossed at the occasional event. I didn’t know if this was a story that needed to be pursued or not, but I knew that I didn’t have enough information to satisfy my questions. Not knowing exactly where to begin, I took a deep breath and having faith I could trust them, if only in matters of higher education, I reached out to someone I knew could be an unbiased source, the president of a rival university.

It was during this call that I was well educated on the likely reason behind both Dr. Martin and the board’s lack of transparent communication with the public. Similar to those signed at fortune 500 companies, and some with monetary consequences in the hundreds of thousands, is a university’s Non Disclosure Agreement or Non Disparaging Clause. This meant that, no matter who was at fault, the other party had to just sit down, shut up and keep smiling.

“What I can tell you about her professionally is, I didn’t like going up against her.”, the President expressed. “Sure people might have said things about her style, but I’m sure many would say the same things about me. The truth is though, she was a strong advocate for her school. No one can deny she wasn’t.”

When asked about their thoughts on the controversy surrounding the cutting of the Performing Arts program, they bluntly shared, “I would’ve made the exact same decision. I’m sure most would have. It wasn’t successful and you have two alternative higher education institutions within driving distance, that have much better and more successful Performing Arts programs. She made the right choice.”

I ended the call with a final question. One that I ultimately found myself asking every President I spoke with. If she was a man, do you believe she would have been perceived differently? After a quiet pause they answered, “That’s a really good question. I think we have to admit to ourselves that she probably would have been.”

In nearly five years, Fairmont State University’s Performing Arts program had spent close to $5 million to graduate just 33 students, none of which worked in their chosen professions. A cost that could have graduated a projected 500 nurses in the same time period. The program had been under review for nearly a year before the cut was made and faculty was made aware of the severity of the situation.

As President of the university, Dr. Martin’s role was to only present multiple financial scenarios to the board. She made no recommendation. It was the Fairmont State Board of Governors, with council from the Fairmont State fine art directors and financial advisors in the best interest of the university, that made the decision to cut the program.

The kids that came to Fairmont State University for musical theater were kids that wanted to sing in their church choir or wanted to act in the community play. We are affording our community all of that without the $5 million expense to have a major and a minor. We are giving the community what they sought and more. We actually are now stronger. We are putting on more plays. We are opening up to more of the community. Which is what we wanted to do, to offer those funds, so the community could be a part of the university and the university a part of community and that’s all being done through the Academy of the Arts. Just this summer we put together two plays that involved kids in the community and community members. But the kids that came to us for majors? They're out doing retail. They're out driving trucks. The ones that end up at the Opera House or Broadway, guess what? They're going to WVU. And in times of austerity, universities can not be everything to everyone anymore. They can not. And that’s why we were just one of the regionals and now we are a destination, because now we have those programs.

(Dr. Mirta Martin)

Despite the FSU Board of Governors ultimately being responsible for the cut to the Performing Arts program, Martin took on the public scorn and did so while maintaining a positive image for the university, despite death threats and the need for police protection. Less than a year and a half later, the same Board of Governors, who gave Martin a glowing evaluation, were now ending her contract and removing her powers.

It was the letter, Faculty Representative Gina Fantasia gave to Dr. Martin, that solidified this decision. That letter, stripped President Martin of her duties, powers and responsibilities immediately and passed them on to the Provost Dianna Phillips.

The letter handed to Dr. Martin was signed by Board of Governor’s Vice Chair Rusty Hutson, who attended the meeting via WebEx due to being out of the country, where he had been for a few days.

The board received a letter from her the day before and then about a couple hours after, if it was that long, a statement was released by her more broadly. The board met the next day, we met in executive session, what would our approach be? We had been in conversations about beginning the process of of renegotiating or not renegotiating, which is what you do with the President’s contract, for the last few months and said it would start in the late spring and that’s where we were. We were in that process, then we got notice of her decision and then here we are at and acted accordingly.

(David Goldberg Fairmont State Board Chair)

When asked about about how Vice Chair Rusty Hutson was able to sign a document for a decision that had not yet been made, Goldberg confirmed that discussions outside of meetings were had and that the document was prepared and signed prior to Rusty Hutson leaving the country, “We had a letter signed and presented to me that I could give to the President on Rusty’s behalf, but we discussed how we wanted to proceed in executive session and it was ratified after and that’s when the letter was given, it was given after.”

This statement, not only violates the Open Meeting’s Act, but also contradicts Board Member Jennifer Kinty’s statement that it was only Dr. Martin’s announcement the day before, that brought forth the board’s vote.

Fairmont State Board of Governors has come under scrutiny before for allegations of repeated violations of the Open Meetings Act by faculty and community members. Professor Galen Hanson, being the most outspoken of these, has filed numerous lawsuits against the Board of Governors. Most notably is a lawsuit filed by Hansen and Dr. Albert Magro against the board, for violations of the Open Meetings Act during the 2017 Presidential search and more recently, a lawsuit filed by Dr. Hansen, along with Fairmont State professor, Dr. Francene Kirk and public school theater teacher, Celi Oliveto, alleging violations of both the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act, in regards to the meeting held that cut the Performing Arts program.

Additional reports of Open Meetings Act violations since the May 18th meeting, have also come to light, including board members intentionally being left off of email threads, as well as the July 15th and July 23rd Board of Governors meetings that proceeded with no student representation.

Officially, new Board of Governors Student Representative Elijah Dozer was suppose to be sworn in and have orientation completed in time for board meetings after his predecessor’s term was over, but when both former Student Representative Maiya Bennett and Elijah Dozer attempted to schedule his orientation, they were told it had to be rescheduled due to “time conflicts”. At the June 15th meeting, Bennett requested to be allowed to sit in as the Student Representative until Dozer could be officially sworn in, so that the students would not be denied their voice and vote. She was denied. Elijah Dozer’s first Fairmont State University board meeting wasn’t until August 18th.

The board was not the only place student voices were being censored after the departure of Dr. Martin. Though one might argue this undefined censorship was not delegated to just students but to any known or outspoken ally of Dr. Martin.

On May 26th, only one week after the board’s decision to remove Martin, Fairmont State Student Government advisors, Dr. Joy Hatch and Merri Incitti were put on administrative leave. No explanation for their sudden removal from SGA or the University was given, citing “personnel matters.”

Fairmont State Student Government, had been outspoken in their support for former President Martin and issued strong criticism of the University for the lack of transparency from the Board of Governors. Maiya Bennett, the Student Representative and one of only two board members to vote against Dr. Martin’s removal, is also a member of SGA. Now under the direction of administrators, Alicia Kalka, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment and Student Life, and Ken Fettig, Vice President for Student Success, SGA’s actions were being micromanaged and many duties, previously afforded to them, were requiring prior approval in order to be executed. After being told that their advisors had been removed, executive members of SGA were aware that their constitution reserved them the rights to chose their replacements.

“I just want to make sure again, just moving forward we’re clear.” Alicia Kalka explained to the bewildered students. “So, SGA does have that in their constitution, but the Office of Residential and Student Life and the Student Life Handbook has the final say on who’s your advisor, okay? So you all can present to us who want to be your advisor. It should be a faculty, staff member, I think there were some other things in your constitution that stipulated otherwise, right? Administrator, right? Who? You suggest, you recommend to us who you want, right? And then we would give the, he [Fettig] would give the final authorization as clearance for that.”

Kalka went on to inform the students that the authority to send out mass communication emails, which has been afforded to SGA for years, was being revoked and all campus wide communications would now need to be vetted and have prior approval.

“You know just making sure that if there is any other campus wide communication that you all intend to send out, that needs to be approved through us, okay? So, before you just use the campus wide list serve, right? Um, that absolutely has to go through the appropriate steps that can not just be distributed out campus wide or to the campus community, so there’s actually, there’s policy about that and what I don’t want to happen is, you know, for there to be concerns or challenges, right? Moving forward with that, we just need to be consistent, because, you know, our policy stipulates that we can’t do that and um, for certain reasons, right? Like at specially it tells you all reasons, like what you can and can’t do. Like when you send out those mass emails and such.”

When asked for the specific policies regarding this matter, Kalka first stated that the polices were well defined and could be found in multiple handbooks. When ask to be be provided copies of the polices, Kalka was only able to provide one policy, which was not able to clearly define her position.

SOLICITATION

The purpose of this procedure is to establish a protocol regulating solicitation on the campus of Fairmont State University in order to avoid disruption of business operations or disturbance of faculty, staff, visitors, and students. This procedure applies to all University employees, students, and visitors, including those on satellite campuses.

Soliciting” shall include canvassing, soliciting or seeking to obtain membership in or support for any organization, requesting contributions, and posting or distributing handbills, pamphlets, petitions, and materials of any like kind on campus property or using University resources (including without limitation bulletin boards, computers, mail, e-mail and telecommunication systems, photocopiers and telephone lists and databases)

These procedures also apply to solicitation for commercial purposes which means peddling or otherwise selling, purchasing or offering goods and services for sale or purchase, distributing advertising materials, circulars or product samples, or engaging in any other conduct relating to any outside business interests or for profit or personal economic benefit on University property or using their resources.

Solicitations performed through verbal, written, or electronic means for commercial purposes are covered by this procedure.

Items to be distributed or offered for sale, which contain Fairmont State University trademarks, names (including building names) or design elements (T-shirts, posters, etc.), must be approved by University Relations & Marketing.

(FSU Student Life Handbook Pg 35)

One issue the Vice President of Enrollment and Student Life did make clear: she took issue with students discussing any accomplishments of Dr. Martin -especially if those accomplishments were financial. Insinuating, any discussions of Dr. Martin’s achievements in the last five years, would make those employed at Fairmont State University prior to Martin’s arrival (and ultimately, partially responsible for the dire state of the University at that time) feel resentful. “It’s just being mindful sometimes, of how that, sometimes, comes across, right?”, Kalka stated. “Because there are many people who have invested their careers here, who have invested their life here. So they don’t always, its not always received well.”

Dr. Joy Hatch and Merri Incitti were not the only Fairmont State staff or faculty, that found themselves on administrative leave or reassigned to new positions after Dr. Martin’s removal. The University seemed to be cleaning house of any allies of the former President and censoring anyone who isn’t on board.

An Invitation To The Capitol

When his phone rang on June 7th, Fairmont State Student Government President Zach Taylor had no idea that he was about to unwittingly get caught up in the dirty side of West Virginia politics. The distinctively kind voice on the other end of the line was Hank Hager, the Legal Council for the Senate Education Committee. A letter Taylor had written on behalf of SGA, opposing Fairmont State University’s decision to terminate President Martin’s contract was, according to Hager “making waves in Charleston” and some Senators wanted to invite the young students to come down and make a statement to the Joint Education Committee on June 13th.

On June 9th Zach Taylor attempted to contact URM (University Relation Marketing) to discuss whether they would be allowed to represent themselves as SGA and use the SGA logo on their printed statement to the committee. Since they were unable to make contact with URM, the decision was made to just represent themselves as FSU students.

Taylor, who was unable to attend the committee meeting himself due to participating in an internship in D.C., sent SGA Vice President Issac Leech, Student Representative Maiya Bennett and House Representative Elijah Dozer in his place. For the sake of transparency, he also reached out to Ken Fettig to inform him of their plans. Fettig requested a copy of the prepared statement the students intended to read to the Joint Education Committee. Taylor did not provide that statement to Fettig until a later date.

It was a beautiful summer’s day, when the three enthusiastic Fairmont State University students arrived at the Capitol in Charleston. Before they even had managed to enter the Capitol doors, they received a phone call informing them that they had been removed from the committee agenda. When asked the reason for last minute cancellation, Hank Hager, who according to the students seemed genuinely apologetic, said he wasn’t sure. The students, undeterred, decided to proceed with their objective which was to be heard, even if that was just one on one with legislators.

They were able to first meet with the Senate Education Chair Senator Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson). Rucker also apologized for the last minute change to the agenda and agreed to distribute the student’s prepared statement to the other committee members.

Following the Joint Committee Meeting, the students reported that they met with multiple other Education Committee Legislators and were told by some of the members, that the cancellation was due to “higher powers”.

Fairmont State Board Chair David Goldberg discussed the June 13th Joint Education Meeting, “I know Jason Pizatella was going to join and attend, but at the last minute, from my understanding, the agenda was changed and nothing formally of Fairmont State was asked to come in front of that committee at the June meetings down in Charleston.”

When asked about the FSU students who were invited to speak, Goldberg added, “I got a call from the council for the committee. I said I was going to be out of the country, which I was, I wasn’t going to be there. My understanding was, they want someone from Fairmont State and then they were going to have some students who were going to have comment, but I don’t believe the agenda formally had Fairmont State on there. I don’t know who spoke or that. I wasn’t there and Rusty wasn’t there.”

On the surface, Mr. Goldberg is being truthful in his statements. Fairmont State was not officially on the agenda and it had been changed last minute, still his dismissal of Board Member Jason Pizatella’s attendance due to the agenda change and his assertion that Fairmont State was not asked to come in front of the committee, is not accurate.

On the posted agenda for the Joint Standing Committee On Education, dated Monday June 13, 2022, agenda item #7 lists only, “other business”. With further investigation, it is in the still unposted minutes of that meeting, we discover agenda item #7 is reclassified and better defined:

Sources present at the meeting on June 13th, were also able to confirm that FSU Board of Governors Member Jason Pizatella did attend the meeting and spoke to the committee.

The final item on the agenda was an Update on the status of the Fairmont/Pierpont memorandum of understanding by Jason Pizatella, Secretary, FSU Board of Governors.

(West Virginia Legislature, Joint Standing Committee on Education, Minutes, June 13, 2022)

Sources were also able to confirm that the “higher powers” referenced as being responsible for having the FSU students removed from the agenda, was Senate President Craig Blair (R-Berkeley). “He just said that we shouldn’t be allowing the students to be making statements, when Fairmont State doesn’t discuss personnel matters and wouldn’t be able to respond.”, one source revealed.

Pushing back on this, I expressed to my source my own personal frustrations with Senator Blair’s logic. Fairmont State University Board of Governors and administrators had signed an NDA and may have been, legally, unable to speak openly on certain personnel matters, but students, other employees and community members had not signed any such document.

After previous calls to Senator Blair requesting comment had gone unanswered, I attempted one last time, being transparent with the fact that he was being named in this article and wishing to be able to give him an opportunity to clarify accusations against him. His very polite and professional assistant, did returned my call and stated that the Senator would like a list of questions sent over. I complied by providing seven questions that covered the full scope of this article. One of those questions: “As an elected official who is a representative of the people and tax payers of West Virginia, do you have any comments regarding the censorship of students from a public institution due to the NDA signed by Board Members of an Institution and not by the students themselves?” Senator Blair did not respond.

At the board meeting in which Dr. Martin’s contract had been terminated, the ability to speak, whether for or against her, had been denied to all employees, students and community members. In what I personally found to be an ironic choice of words, Board Chair David Goldberg spoke of the students invited to the capitol, “That’s their choice to be able to speak however they want. They have every opportunity, as anyone else, to say what they feel and say, but they’re one perspective.”

Addressing the speculation that someone on the Fairmont State Board of Governors had made a personal request to have the students removed from the agenda, Goldberg stated “I don’t know what they were going to say or what their issues were. No one from the Student Government has contacted me, or the Board, of late. I know they were supporters of Dr. Martin and I think that’s great. Universities love their Presidents and I think that’s great. That being said, don’t know what their concerns were or weren’t. I still have not heard formally from any one from the Student Government.”

According to FSU Student Government President Zach Taylor, this is not true. The members of SGA attempted to speak with all board members prior to the May 18th meeting that terminated Dr. Martin’s contract, but were denied. One SGA member stated “I asked Board member Gina Fantasia if we could please just have some time to express to her the feelings of the students and she said ‘I already know the feelings of the students’ and walked away.”

At the May 18th meeting all members of the Board of Governors were presented with a formal letter from SGA, the same letter that made its way down to Charleston and caught the attention of Senators and initiated the invitation to come and speak. The majority of board members, refusing the letter from SGA, left it on the table after the meeting.

Searching For A New President

On August 11th the first meeting of the Presidential Search Committee was held. The appointed Executive Members of the Committee were also all FSU board members. Chuck Shields, Jennifer Kinty, and Kevin Rogers were presented with a variety of names from different organizations and departments within the university and would have to chose who would comprise the full search committee, subject to board approval. Of these nominated names, my sources say that approximately 6-7 of them were students coming from only two different organizations: the Honor’s Program and SGA. SGA nominated three students to serve on the committee.

“I guarantee you they won’t pick any SGA students.” one source expressed. When asked if this was because former BOG Student Representative and current member of SGA, Maiya Bennett, had voted against terminating Martin’s contract, “Yep, and Zach has been a vocal supporter of Dr. Martin, so he’s out.”

The board seemed very threatened by these young, passionate students, but I had to wonder why? Was it because they were afraid that the students might want a President similar to Martin, more student centric unlike Interim President Dianna Philipps who has been vocal in her refusal to meet with students at all? Or did they fear SGA would hold the search committee accountable? Already facing lawsuits from their last presidential search for violating the Open Meetings Act, FSU has become known for their lack of transparency and the SGA students wouldn’t be complicit in their efforts to break the rules. I posed these questions to more than one source and I had to both laugh and pause with sadness when they all gave me almost identical answers, “I think it’s both.”

On Sept 15th, Fairmont State University Board of Governors approved the nominations for the Presidential Search Committee. As suspected, no students from SGA were chosen to serve.

Corruption In Higher Education

How A Letter Delivered To Former Fairmont State University President Dr. Mirta Martin Uncovered A Corrupt World Of West Virginia Politics That Includes Secret Meetings at the Capitol, Personal Agendas, Deep Loyalties and Governor Jim Justice: (Part 2)

By Nicole L. Walls

West Virginia Watchdog

September 2022

During the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend of January 2022, while the Northeast was being hit by a major snowstorm, Dr. Martin was in Washington D.C caring for her daughter who had just had major surgery only days before. On Tuesday, January 18th, the day following the holiday, Dr. Martin had a scheduled meeting in Charleston with Senate President Craig Blair (R-Berkeley) and other state legislators, concerning the situation between Pierpont Community & Technical College and Fairmont State University.

Understanding the importance of the meeting, Martin left her daughter and drove over seven hours in extreme conditions, to head back to West Virginia. She arrived in Bridgeport, where she picked up Graduate Assistant and Legislative Liaison Ely Osborn, as well as Lt Col Joel Kirk, Director of the Aviation Center of Excellence.

It was at this time, due to the poor weather conditions, a phone call was made to Senate President Craig Blair’s office confirming the meeting was still taking place that day and the scheduled location. Senator Blair’s office did confirm that the meeting was still being held and that Dr. Martin was expected to attend. Blair’s office also shared that the meeting location had been moved to another, larger conference room. The trio then drove the additional two hours to Charleston.

Once arriving at the meeting, Dr. Martin was met by, extremely displeased Fairmont State Board of Governor’s Chair David Goldberg. He expressed that he was not happy that Dr. Martin had arrived for the meeting and was under the impression that, similar to Pierpont’s President Hancock, Martin had not been invited.

Dr. Martin was adamant in her assertion that she was invited to that meeting, specifically by Senator Blair’s office and Ely Osborn confirmed the details of the invitation with the Senator’s staff just hours earlier. According to a notarized letter written by Senator Bob Beach (D-Monongalia), he had met with Senator Blair the week prior and confirmed that Blair had stated he had scheduled Martin for a meeting the following week. The letter states though, that Beach recalls Blair saying the meeting with Martin was for that Monday, not Tuesday. Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, both a federal and state holiday. (Later, it also became the day of huge snowstorm that impacted most of the Northeast)

The scheduling of the former FSU President, for a meeting date that she is steadfast in her claims was for Tuesday the 18th, could easily have been an oversight on the Senator’s part. In an effort to give him the benefit of the doubt, one could say Senator Blair may have intended to meet with Martin at a different time, but with the meeting for FSU and Pierpont already scheduled, accidentally added her to the wrong meeting date. Of course, when she arrived, instead of apologizing for the error and making concessions, such as calling President Hancock and asking if he was also available to join considering the meeting was about both of these President’s institutions and the optics of them not being invited were suspicious, Senator Blair refused to address the issue in any capacity and Dr. Martin was made to leave the meeting.

Dr. Martin contacted several House Delegates, requesting assistance in the matter. The Delegates were also refused entry into that private meeting.

A source at the Capitol, who was witness to some of the events that transpired that day, recalls seeing Martin after being banished from the meeting, “Dr. Martin was always so professional. Seeing her, the President of one our major public state universities, her staff member and Joel Kirk, a veteran of this country, reduced to sitting on the steps of the capitol because they were kept out of that meeting, was shocking and very uncouth.”

The details of that private meeting and those who were allowed to attend, were recorded in that notarized letter written by Senator Bob Beach, a vocal opponent of the attempts to remerge to the two institutions. The letter Senator Beach drafted was titled “Details of Private Meeting Held on January 18, 2022”.

In the document Beach describes the days leading up to the meeting and his discovery that no invitation to attend the meeting was extended to Pierpont President Dr. Hancock, or to any member of his cabinet. Senator Beach goes on to list the Senators present in the meeting, Senate President Blair and his attorney, a couple of executive members of both FSU and Pierpont’s BOG, as well as lobbyist and political consultant Larry Puccio Sr. and his attorney. In what seems to be an oversight, the letter is missing only one Senator’s name and the members of the Governor’s office who were also in attendance.

The point of the meeting was purely to establish the steps to proceed with re-merging Pierpont with FSU. I can say with certainty that both sides were strategically putting into motion the steps necessary to begin a merger. Both Chairs of the Board of Governors from Fairmont State and Pierpont in cooperation with Larry Puccio, Sr. wanted to proceed with a merger. When asked by Senator Blair, both parties agreed to a merger and believed they had the support of their respective Boards.

(Senator Bob Beach, Details of a Private Meeting Held on January 18th, 2022)

When talks of the remerger became public, many in the community wanted answers as to why the boards of both institutions were suddenly fighting to reconnect after just disbanding. The answers that were giving came only from board members and did little to satisfy public inquiries or understanding. The reason for the lack of transparency was the same reason President Hancock was not extended an invitation to the private meeting at the Capitol and why President Martin was kept out, the Presidents were against the remerger, as were numerous faculty, staff and students. Both Presidents were issued gag orders by their boards and neither were allowed to comment on the situation, forcing the public to assume that they agreed with the decisions of their boards, when neither actually did.

Testimony At the House Education Committee

It was Senate Bill 653, sponsored by Senators Mike Caputo (D-Marion), Ryan Weld (R-Brooke) and Mike Romano (D-Harrison), that brought testimony to the House Education Committee in March 2022. Held over a period of two days, March 5th and 7th, that testimony gives us some insight to the motivations of Pierpont’s BOG.

After Higher Education Policy Commission Chancellor Sarah Tucker, gave some background testimony, Pierpont’s BOG Member Anthony Hinton and Chairman David Hinkle were called in succession.

One listening to the testimony of only these two individuals and with no other context may have been swayed by their words, but any average citizen with just a basic education, would easily have become confused by the lack of information either men truly provided while insisting to move forward with a bill they claimed was in the best interests of all involved. The spin of half truths and contradictions, was not lost on the House Education Committee. In that testimony you can hear their audible frustrations with the merry go round of confusion.

Board Member Anthony Hinton begins by explaining to the committee members the major sticking points for Pierpont’s board: the $1.5 million the college must pay FSU each year, until 2032, and the airport hanger located in Harrison County at the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center.

The Aviation Maintenance Technology Program, commonly referred to as A&P, can’t increase cohort size to the degree business and industry would like due to a lack of space. Also, the $1.5 million paid to FSU, as agreed to in the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), was causing severe hardship on the institution. The current board, according to Hinton, was very concerned about their financial future going forward. By merging the two institutions, he claimed that they would save approximately $10 million and be able to acquire a new hanger.

After hours going back and forth listening to both Hinton and Hinkle testify to being the most informed on the subject and knowing what was best, yet still being unable to provide even basic information on their own institution outside of the scope of the A&P program, the Delegates had enough. Asking if they had brought with them either Pierpont’s President or CFO, Hinton stated that President Hancock did not join them that day and he “ABSOLUTELY” was not responsible for bringing their CFO Dale Bradley, though Mr. Bradley was in attendance.

President Hancock was prevented from attending the meeting by their board Chairman David Hinkle. Gagged, he was unable to not only attend, but to speak out and share his true thoughts on the board’s attempt of a remerger. CFO Dale Bradley was under no such gag order, since the Board of Governors is unable to issue such orders on administration, faculty, staff or students.

Upon arriving at the Capitol that day, Dale Bradley and Lyla Grandstaff, Former Vice President of Student Services (resigning just the day before),were met by the very displeased Hinkle. They were never expected to testify, but being personally asked by Delegate Danielle Walker (D-Monongalia), they came to clarify many untruths being told by some rogue board members. Much of their testimony didn't just “misalign” with that of Board Chair David Hinkle, Board Member Anthony Hinton and later FSU Board Member Jason Pizatella, but it completely contradicted it.

Bradley testified that Pierpont was under no such financial hardship. In fact, the institution was doing well considering the loss of enrollment during Covid and it had nearly $10 million in the bank, as of December 2021 and 180 days cash on hand. A report that Bradley stated was given to Pierpont’s Board of Governors during a December meeting along with additional supporting documents since then. He went on to testify that they had already completed their budget for the following year and payments to FSU were the first to be added.

During the testimony, Delegate Doyle (D-Jefferson) asked Bradley, “To your best judgement would Pierpont, remaining separate, be able to make those payments and… would be in good fiscal shape?” Bradley replied, “In my professional opinion, having been the CFO since 2010, absolutely. There is no question about it.”

When asked later if Pierpont’s financial model was sustainable Bradley confidently responded, “I believe it is. Its a very similar model that we’ve been running since I’ve been the CFO. It's not that different from before. We always have to adjust our budget based on enrollment. That goes on every year. You have to make adjustments and you have to live within your means and Pierpont has always done that,” He went on to state that in order for Pierpont to fail they would have to lose all state appropriations and never enroll another student.

It wasn’t just the financial stability of Pierpont that Bradley contradicted his Board on. There was also the matter of tuition, as well as room and board, that both he and Lyla Grandstaff, found to be of great concern.

Currently Pierpont’s yearly cost of attendance is $5,086, while Fairmont State’s is $8,208. Pierpont students would be subject to the tuition increase once merged with FSU. Pierpont would no longer be independent and would lose their accreditation. In addition to the tuition increase, all first and second year FSU students under the age of 21 living outside a 50 miles radius, would be required to live on campus. A cost of an additional $10,022 per year that would affect the majority of the nearly 400 Pierpont students currently under the age of 21.

Though FSU Board Member Jason Pizatella, made claims that students could apply for waivers and they would likely be approved, Lyla Grandstaff pushed back. Grandstaff stated that promises of a wavier before a student is enrolled can’t be done and that according to the Departments of Education’s Civil Rights Policy, all students are suppose to be equal and one can’t be afforded special tuition or privileges over another. She also asserted that the fear many students would be required to repeat classes, was a strong possibility.

When asked how Hinkle and Hinton could claim a savings of $10 million with the merger, CFO Bradley cited that it was his belief, the only way to achieve that was in firing more than 100 employees. The majority of those would be in duplicate services such as general education, admissions and recruitment, the business office, healthcare facilities and allover support services.

When the Delegates dug deeper into the series of events that led to the current bill coming before them for a vote, a bizarre web of intentional actions, designed to deceive the public, began to untangle.

A Vote Of No Confidence

After being appointed to the Pierpont Board of Governors, both Hinton and Hinkle asserted they discovered the old bill, drafted in 2017/2018. Despite the separation being widely publicized, they stated that they knew little about the agreement and wondered why the bill had not passed.

They testified that, for informational purposes only, numerous meetings with various individuals had been had, but the first meeting in Charleston with Senators was held in late 2021. (Hinton testifying to Nov/Dec 2021 and Hinkle testifying to Dec/Jan 2021/2022) The men claimed they only wanted to better understand the bill and the separation of the two institutions. Later, upon further questioning, those details changed greatly.

It was discovered that the late 2021 meeting was more in depth than originally portrayed and consisted of multiple Senators and FSU representatives. When asked who was first to contact the others regarding the remerger, Hinkle stated that the two institutions came together equally and at the same time, to facilitate remerger discussions. FSU Board Chair David Goldberg says otherwise.

We’ve been having conversations with Pierpont for a couple of years,… not this legislative session, but the legislative session before, there had been talks about the schools coming together. Some of the board members were not for it, some others in the community were and legislation did not pass. It was dead. A separation agreement was signed, moving on. Then, new board members were put in place at Pierpont and they resurrected conversations with us. Fairmont went through painstaking efforts to separate from the bonds, create a separation agreement, to completely…remove the programs from each other and their campuses with a timeframe that included moving the aeronautical off the facility and move forward. You can talk to Chairman Hinkle, Lisa Lang and some of their board members. They were the ones that approached us about bringing the programs back together.

(David Goldberg, Fairmont State Board Chair)

Surprised to hear of this additional secret meeting, the Delegates asked who was in attendance. Hinkle, stumbling over his words, first stated he couldn’t remember, then clarified by saying he didn’t know any of the individuals at the meeting except for Senator Bob Beach and HEPC Chancellor Sarah Tucker.

Sources say that this claim by Mr. Hinkle is untrue and that he did know all of the participates of the meeting.

It wasn’t until a special session of Pierpont’s Board on January 26th, after the late 2021 meeting and the January 18th meeting, that a vote was taken to explore the remerger of the two schools. This vote contradicted Hinkle’s assertion that he already had full board support to go forward with the remerger on January 18th. It was Board Member Anthony Hinton that brought forth the motion.

b. Move forward with a discussion of a strategic partnership with Fairmont State University

Anthony Hinton moved:

That the Pierpont Board of Governors will discuss a potential strategic partnership between Pierpont Community & Technical College and Fairmont State University to look at opportunities from an operational perspective.

Anthony Hinton moved to amend this motion by inserting the statement that Pierpont Community & Technical College will engage with a legislative consultant to assist in the exploratory process with the intent of maintaining the College’s best interests.

Jillian Sole seconded the motion. All agreed. Motion carried.

(Pierpont CTC Board of Governors Special Meeting, January 26, 2022)

Not long after that meeting, Pierpont’s Faculty Senate and Classified Staff Council voted “No Confidence” in the Pierpont Board of Governors. In a press release, Faculty Senate President Susan Coffindaffer stated,

Pierpont’s Board of Governors (BOG) is acting contrary to our distinct mission as an independent and autonomous college and is not acting in the best interest of our College. Following Chair Hinkle’s mischaracterization of a January 26 vote of Pierpont’s BOG as a vote for merger with Fairmont State University, Pierpont’s Faculty Senate held an Emergency Meeting to discuss the questionable activities of the 2021-2022 Pierpont Community and Technical College Board of Governors. Faculty Senate voted against a potential merger and directed the Senate Executive Committee to identify grievances and draft a Resolution and Complaint of No Confidence against Pierpont’s BOG… a valid vote required 2/3 vote or 37 faculty. The vote exceeded that threshold, and only one faculty oppose the Resolution and Complaint of No Confidence. Let me be clear so our elected leaders hear and know: This one-sided endeavor is not accepted by the groups that make up Pierpont.

Pierpont Community and Technical College (Pierpont) must remain independent to fulfill our community and technical college mission and better serve the citizens of our thirteen-county service region…

Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved that the Faculty Senate of Pierpont & Community Technical College approve this Motion and Vote of No Confidence in Pierpont’s Board of Governors.

We ask for that they and any other appointed member who cannot advocate for Pierpont’s independence and the separation of community and technical colleges be replaced with appropriately vetted, interested volunteers from within communities that include our thirteen-county service region.

(Pierpont Faculty Senate Statement February 15, 2022)

In the 18 page press release, the Faculty Senate identifies in detail, a timeline of events and specific violations. The statement went on to list grievance that facilitated the vote including: the board members strong conflicts of interest that “create the appearance of impropriety and taint the decisions of the whole.”, a lack of transparency and violations of the Open Meetings Act, not doing their due diligence before entering an agreement with FSU, and betraying the oath of loyalty and duty of obedience to Pierpont by not acting in its best interests or consistent with its mission.

In addition, Board Chair and Harrison County Commissioner David Hinkle’s continuous “misrepresentations to the press and college community”, as well as his poor and unprofessional behavior at recent County Commission meetings, were cited as a violation of Pierpont’s Code of Conduct.

Following the vote, no investigation from the state or Governor’s Office was done and no board members were replaced.

Delegates of the Education Committee posed the same question to Chairman Hinkle and Board Member Hinton numerous times during their testimony. If the A&P program was the financial hinderance to Pierpont that they claimed it was, why not turn over the program to FSU instead of giving up their independence and accreditation with a merger?

Though neither of the men could give an answer that any average person listening would be able to make sense of, both did admit numerous times that they weren’t involved with day to day activities and displayed to the committee that they did not have all of the information, one would expect, in order to make such a monumental decision.

When we step back from the situation, all these months later, we are able to better understand that this was not just about two institutions playing out a dramatic divorce with second guessing and regret. This was a game of chess. The players skilled in their strategy and ability to see moves they needed to make far in advance. The institutions, the Presidents, the faculty, the staff, the students and the community, just pawns with little value, and used to better their position. Because in chess the pawns are the pieces you sacrifice to win.

On July 6, 2021 Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom had an important meeting. Over the previous three months, he had been quietly meeting with Jonathan Vrable, Director of the Morgantown Municipal Airport, Senator Bob Beach (D-Monongalia) and Pierpont CTC President Dr. Anthony Hancock. They had been working together to help Pierpont fulfill the requirements of their MOU.

The A&P program needed a new home and with many students at Pierpont coming from Monongalia County, Morgantown wanted to welcome them. Originally, discussions had been had to move the entire program to a new facility in Morgantown. It would’ve allowed the program to continue and to thrive under Pierpont. It would’ve allowed them to follow through with the MOU to vacate the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center. It would’ve allowed them to expand their footprint in West Virginia by expanding to additional counties that they already serve. It would’ve allowed them to stay independent and maintain their accreditation. It was an answer to a problem, facilitated by individuals who came together and worked toward a legitimate solution in the best interests of all involved.

Unfortunately the deal would never be finalized and the discussions set off a domino effect that would bring to light the corruption in our Government.

Questionable Appointments

After discovering Dr. Hancock’s work to save the program and move it to Morgantown, Senator Mike Romano (D-Harrison) stepped in. Sources claim that Romano had confronted Hancock and made it clear to the President that he was “running the train and he [Hancock] better get on board.” It was at this time that Dr. Hancock backed away from the plans to move the entire program to Morgantown and instead, reworked the discussions to focus on the county becoming the home of the expanded program. The expansions would include a Hospitality Program, a Women In Aviation Program and an Engine Repair Program.

Plans for the city to build two new hangers to assist with these programs, a 20,000 square foot hanger and a 10,000 square foot hanger, were also discussed. The Engine Repair Program would, potentially be the the only one of its kind on the East Coast, if not, the country. Senator Bob Beach had pledged $100,000 to help fund the program with the City of Morgantown considering an additional pledge of $50,000.

According to County Commissioner Tom Bloom, before the deal with the City of Morgantown could be finalized, all conversations ceased and Dr. Hancock wasn’t returning phone calls.

“There were private discussions being had with state officials to move the aviation program to Morgantown, but then they suddenly stopped.” Bloom remembered.

Coincidentally, at this same time, the Pierpont Board of Governors was experiencing an overhaul. For three years former BOG Chairman Tom Barlow had attempted to appeal to Governor Justice to appoint, or reappoint, board members. Many of the the current board members had expired terms and with no ending in sight, some were becoming fatigued while others just wanted continuity.

Barlow, Vice-Chair Chip Van Alsburg, as well as the former Executive Assistant, had contacted Governor Justice’s office in various ways. They had called, sent letters and even went down in person. For three years they were ignored, but just as the board and Dr. Hancock had made moves to fulfill the MOU and find a new home for the A&P program, Governor Justice stepped in.

At the end of June 2021, Dr. Hancock was notified that, effective immediately, Board of Governor’s Chair Tom Barlow and Vice Chair Chip Van Alsburg, strong advocates for Pierpont remaining separate from FSU, were being removed from their positions and five new board members would be appointed. No one knew who had recommended the new members or why they were suddenly appointed with no warning. These board members would be the same members to facilitate the remerger with FSU and to cause Pierpont’s Faculty and Staff to declare a vote of “No Confidence”.

Though not well known to many, the new board members were exactly what Governor Justice was looking for. Lacking any higher education background or diversity in their fields of business, almost every board member had one surprising thing in common; they all were associated with the aviation industry.

New Chairman David Hinkle is a Harrison County Commissioner, but also sits on the Board of Directors for the North Central West Virginia Airport Authority. Board hopper and new Vice-Chairwoman Lisa Lang is the wife of Bridgeport Mayor Andy Lang who also serves on the Board of Directors for NSWV Airport Authority. Board Member Anthony Hinton is Head of Service Centers for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Regional Jets, a company that only 2 weeks prior had, with Governor Justice and Senator Romano at the forefront, announced an expansion in Bridgeport that would include two new hangers. According to Romano, the announcement was years in the making. Hinton is also on the board of directors of WV Aerospace Alliance. Board Member Jeffery Powell is the Business Development Manager at Pratt and Whitney Canada, an aircraft engine manufacturer and he also serves on the WV Aerospace Alliance Board of Directors. Lastly, Board Member Thomas Cole is a retired physician’s liaison for Mon General, a Mon Health hospital which FSU Board Chair David Goldberg is the President and CEO.

In addition to the new board members, Governor Jim Justice also re-appointed Board Member Brian Bozarth, for an additional term. Bozarth works for Pratt and Whitney Canada as the Finance Supervisor and is also on the Board of Directors of WV Aerospace Alliance.

If the sudden and strategic appointments of the new members and removal of others, wasn’t already enough to raise eyebrows, two additional matters also added to the confusion. Though Former Chair Tom Barlow and Vice Chair Chip Van Alsburg had been removed without notice and all the board members had taken their positions on the board in late June, none of the appointments were ever confirmed until October 2021. There was also one board member who, interestedly enough, was neither re-appointed or replaced.

Larry Puccio Jr., the son of Joe Manchin’s former chief of staff turned lobbyist Larry Puccio Sr, was originally appointed to Pierpont’s BOG in August 2017. Though it was the same time Bozarth was appointed, unlike Bozarth, Puccio Jr. did not receive an official re-appointment, but was not replaced on the BOG despite his term expiring in August of 2020. It should also be noted that Jay Puccio, the brother of Larry Jr. was also appointed and currently serves on the Fairmont State Board of Governors.

At this time, in addition to Larry Puccio Jr., two other Pierpont BOG members are serving with expired terms. Both Anthony Hinton and Brian Bozarth have terms that expired this past June 2022.

FSU Board Chair, and President and CEO of Mon Health, David Goldberg was asked about the speculation of a conflict of interest in regards to Pierpont’s Board Chair David Hinkle’s position on County Commissioner.

“I met Chairman Hinkle through this process. I don’t know him over and above, since he became the chairman of Pierpont. We [Mon General] are quasi in Harrison County… anything we would want to do to come into any community, we have to file regulatory approaches, whether filing for a certificate of need or buy a practice or build a building. That’s all at the state level. That’s not at the county level, unless it’s zoning involved. But that’s about it. There is no other interest or personal agenda at all.”

(David Goldberg Fairmont State Board Chair)

Shortly after this statement, Mon Health announced they applied for a Certificate of Need to open a new hospital in Harrison County with an estimated project cost of $22.5 million.

Governor Jim Justice may appear as an unwitting participant in appointments that may or may not have benefited his friends, but his role in the Pierpont/FSU saga is substantial.

During the original negotiations for the separation of the two institutions, Justice requested an independent evaluation of the situation to be done. Dr. Jack Hershey, President of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges, was brought to West Virginia to review the institutions and give an opinion.

According to multiple sources, Dr. Hershey determined that the institutions should remain separated. When a copy of that report was requested by a few notable individuals involved with the Fairmont/Pierpont ordeal, including some in Charleston, they were told by Dr. Hershey that Governor Justice gave him specific instructions to not produce any written reports and that he was to give him a verbal report only.

During his testimony at the House Education Committee, Pierpont CFO Dale Bradley spoke on the procedures that were meant to be taken during the separation. Explaining that two state agencies can’t sue each other, Bradley added, “Code calls for an arbitration committee. We actually asked the Governor to take it through an arbitration process and he refused to do that. We’re not sure why.”

After Bradley’s testimony, which two members of the Governor’s office unexpectedly showed up to hear, sources say Senate President Blair was so enraged he threaten to have Bradley fired from his job and arrested for, what Blair claimed was, false testimony. Despite being able to corroborate that his testimony was accurate and his evidence contradicted that of Board Chair Hinkle and Board Member Hinton, no such threats or disciplinary action was ever taken toward the two men for perjury.

Naming it after the Fleetwood Mac song “Go Your Own Way”, Delegates Heather Tully (R-Nicholas), Caleb Hanna (R-Nicholas) and Laura Kimble (R-Harrison) proposed an amendment to SB 653 that would keep the two institutions separate and independent, but turn over the A&P program to FSU, a solution recommended by Bradley.

“A simple solution would be; Pierpont is more than willing to allow the A&P program to go to the person who owns the facility [FSU]. We are willing to run the program for the next year to allow them to get through accreditation. That takes care of the industry needs. That takes care of the reason we're here and going through all of these complicated things. We’re going on about tuition and fees and all of this stuff, it fixes everything. Pierpont goes its way, FSU goes its way and the A&P program is safe. It's simple.”

(Pierpont CFO Dale Bradley; House Education Committee Testimony March 7, 2022)

Agreeing, the House passed the amendment 90-3 (7 absent). The bill never makes it to the Senate floor though. Sources at the Capital assert that Senator Blair, knowing that the new amendment bill would pass the Senate, confronted Education Committee Chair Senator Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson). Rucker was not a supporter of the remerger, feeling that 4 year institutions and 2 year institutions should always remain separate. In his attempts to persuade Rucker to change her position, Senator Blair became aggressive, verbally accosting the female Senator to such a degree, that he scared those that could hear his yelling and a few prepared to call security to have the Senate President removed.

Blair eventually composed himself, but just weeks later, he removed Senator Rucker as Education Chair, replacing her with former teacher, Amy Grady. Spinning the narrative to all who questioned his motives, Blair declared that he appointed Grady because he wanted a teacher in that position. Speaking to the WV State Board of Education he stated “I wouldn’t send a welder to do an electricians’s job.”

But Blair had done exactly that. Blair was the one who appointed Rucker in the first place and was hoping that his reputation of intimidation and retaliation would be enough to keep those, in the know, quiet. The public didn’t know the truth and he just needed to sell them his story in order to escape accountability,

The Grandmaster

During the four months I investigated this story there was one burning question I was asked by almost every person I spoke with; Why?

Why did Governor Justice suppress the report of Dr. Hershey? Why did he not allow for an arbitration during the original separations? Why did Senator Romano prevent Dr. Hancock from fulling the MOU and relocate to Morgantown? Why did the Governor appoint Puccio brothers to both boards? Why did he replace Pierpont’s Board of Governors suddenly? Why did the new board revive meetings with Fairmont State? Why were Senators complicit in the discussions allowing the board to blatantly violate the Open Meetings Act? Why were the Presidents kept out of those meetings and prevented from speaking on the matter? Why did Senators Mike Caputo (D-Marion), Ryan Weld (R-Brooke ) and Mike Romano (D-Harrison) sponsor a bill to remerge the institutions without fully investigating the financial situation of Pierpont? Why did the board ignore the financial report and supporting documents provided by Pierpont’s CFO Dale Bradley? Why did Hinkle and Hinton commit perjury during their testimony at the House Education Committee in an effort to get them to pass SB 653? Why was Senate President Blair intimidating those who could block the bill and censoring students? Why was the Governors office quietly participating in the secret meetings and acting as spectators during Bradley’s influential testimony?

Without being able to see the entire picture, the public has had to fill in the blanks, with the little information provided by the institutions and our Legislatures, then build their own narrative. Every person you ask about the Pierpont/Fairmont State saga will likely give you a different answer as to what happened. Unfortunately, even with all the information already provided in this article, there is still a large piece missing. A piece that needs to be discussed in order for anyone to be able to form legitimate opinions.

During my many interviews with numerous sources who spoke with me candidly, there was one topic, one name, that spooked everyone. During one specific interview, which my source allowed me to record, they would require me to stop the recording any time this person was mentioned. After nearly every interview where his role in the story was discussed, I was given a similar warning. The words of one source rattled in my head weeks after they were spoken: “Be very careful. You’re playing with fire. He is the most powerful individual in West Virginia.”

Larry Puccio Sr., a lifelong friend to Senator Joe Manchin and former campaign consultant for Governor Jim Justice, could arguably be titled the Grandmaster of West Virginia politics.

Often operating in the shadows, Puccio has a degree of influence that many in West Virginia could never really understand. He is a controversial figure that has assisted many leaders of the state with becoming wealthy beyond comprehension while using the hard working and loyal people of West Virginia to do it.

He, and his partner Angel Moore, have made hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying for large, and commonly out of state corporations, owned by many of our wealthy leaders. Many of the policies Puccio has lobbied for hurt West Virginia, our natural resources, our topography and our people.

Larry Puccio's conflict of interests with Fairmont State University and Pierpont CTC run deep and no one is discussing it publicly. Shortly after his friend, Governor Jim Justice, appointed Puccio’s sons, Larry Puccio Jr and Jay Puccio, to the boards of the dueling institutions, Puccio Sr. was quietly hired by Fairmont State as a lobbyist. President Martin, with her business background and always looking toward FSU’s financial situation, was strongly opposed to the hire. FSU had always had a Graduated Student appointed to the role of Legislative Liaison.

Puccio’s name never officially appeared on any Fairmont State BOG or Committee agenda, nor in any minutes. Our first notice of the hire comes in December 2020 when discussion of hiring a Governmental Affairs Liaison is presented to the board. Though the minutes show that the discussions were only to possibly hire someone, Jay Puccio's abstention from the vote, lead many to assume that the board had already had talks of an appointment outside of the official meeting and that Larry Puccio Sr. had already been decided on.

II. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION FOR BUDGET ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO SUPPORT RETENTION OF A GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS LIAISON

Chairman Goldberg advised that as we are going into the next legislative session, we would like to have a focused approach as we approach Charleston and our delegation. Therefore, we would like to have a discussion with the Board about potentially proceeding forward with a dedicated governmental affairs representative.

Mr. John Schirripa advised that in light of our current financial position, and the current environment, he would like to defer this item to the finance committee.

Mr. Jay Puccio advised he would like to recuse himself from the discussion. John Schirripa made a motion to accept the following:

A.

I move to defer the discussion and possible action of a governmental affairs liaison to the finance committee.

Rusty Hutson seconded.

11 approved, 0 opposed, 1 abstained. The motion passed.

(Fairmont State University Board of Governors Meeting Minutes December 16, 2020)

In order to keep the hire quiet, the board sent the decision to the Finance Committee who’s members consist of only BOG Members Jennifer Kinty, David Goldberg, Jason Henderson, Rusty Hutson and Deborah Prezioso. On the committee agenda Puccio’s name is still not mentioned and instead an appointment for a “Pro-Bono Governmental Affairs Liaison” is. (No minutes for this meeting has ever been posted)

5. Information – Pro-Bono appointment of Governmental Affairs Liaison

(Fairmont State Finance Committee Agenda February 3, 2021)

Sources state that Puccio was hired for just under $50,000, which would prevent his name from appearing on the agenda for a BOG vote. Part of the conditions of his hire, were that he was to report to Dr. Martin each month.

Refusing to meet with Martin and instead only meeting with Board Chair Goldberg and Vice-Chair Hutson, this was a condition that he never followed. It is only through the required lobbyists report disclosures to WV Ethics Commission, that we can confirm Puccio does, in fact, work for Fairmont State University.

It should also be noted that Larry Puccio Sr. is also a lobbyist for FSU Vice-Chair Rusty Hudson’s Alabama based company, Diversified Oil and Gas. Beating out ExxonMobil as America’s biggest natural gas well operator, Diversified Oil and Gas operates approximately 69,000 oil and gas wells and is worth over $1 billion.

One of the natural gas industry’s top lobbying priorities last year was stripping the methane fee — dubbed the “natural gas tax” by opponents — out of the Build Back Better Act.

The fee — meant to cut emissions of the potent greenhouse gas — represented a particular threat to one of the companies in the coalition, Diversified Energy. The company is the eighth-largest methane emitter relative to its natural gas production, according to an analysis of the 100 largest oil and natural gas producers in the country conducted last year for Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit.

“Their entire model is buying tired old wells and extracting the last bits of revenue they can out of them,” said Andrew Logan, the nonprofit’s senior director of oil and gas. “And the economics of that may not work in a world that actually puts a value on methane emissions.”

(Washinton Post)

Puccio was an instrumental part of the of the secret meetings and discussions regarding the remerger of Pierpont and FSU. His disclosures to the WV Ethics Commission show numerous dinners, paid for by Puccio, with the main figures behind the push for SB 653, including Senators Caputo, Weld, Romano, Rucker and Nelson, Senate President Blair, Delegates Amy Summers and Joe Staler, as well as Governor Jim Justice’s Chief of Staff Brian Abraham.

Disclosures filed with the WV Secretary of State’s office show that Puccio was also a contributor to the campaigns of Senator Mike Caputo, Governor Jim Justice and WV State Treasurer Riley Moore. Mr. Moore has been under national scrutiny for the banning of numerous financial firms from doing business in West Virginia, including JPMorgan that worked predominately with WV Public Universities. The five named firms, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, BlackRock and JPMorgan, had publicly declared they were reducing financing to new coal projects.

At the May 17th Fairmont State BOG meeting, where President Martin was stripped of her powers, a new face appeared. Without board approval or the knowledge of many board members and administrators, Puccio’s business partner, Attorney Angel Moore, took the role as FSU legal counsel. My sources state that due to the fear of retaliation from Executive BOG members, as well as Puccio and Moore, they have been apprehensive to challenge the appointment.

In addition to Hutson’s Diversified Oil and Gas and FSU, WV Ethics reports show that since 2017 Puccio’s lobbyist portfolio included: Broadband communications, telephone/telecommunications, Internet security, business issues, collector licensing requirements, taxation, economic development, infrastructure development, construction, energy regulations, coal and coal mining, oil/gas regulations, tourism/travel, healthcare, medical cannabis, jails/prisons/corrections, sports betting, gaming, horse racing and charter schools. Other prominent institutions on his lobbyist disclosures are companies owned by Governor Jim Justice, including The Greenbrier Resort.

According to Forbes, Governor Justice has a fortune of nearly $1.7 billion making him the richest individual in West Virginia. In 2009, he made a lot of money when he sold Bluestone Resources, a company that consisted of a variety of West Virginia coal mines and is represented by Larry Puccio, to a Russian company for $500 million with additional millions being sold in stock. The Governor’s businesses include coal mines, resorts and numerous agricultural institutions. Most of these are all regulated by the same state agencies that he controls.

According to a report done by ProPubilca, Justice’s business have been sued numerous times for failure to pay their bills. The publication found more than $128 million in judgements and settlements involving the Governor. Forbes also contends that Justice had over $13 million in tax liens, which he states have since been paid.

In addition to the fortune he had already amassed, Governor Justice’s companies, reportedly took advantage of the PPP program to the tune of $24 million.

In all, Justice companies received between $11.2 million and $24.4 million in PPP money

Justice’s companies received PPP money from a mixture of small local banks and regional financial institutions. Previous reporting has shown banks were favoring their existing, regular customers when processing PPP applications.

(ProPublica)

It's not just our current Governor that has been the subject of numerous dirty dealings, former Governor and United States Senator Joe Manchin has also been the focus of many federal investigations.

For more than 20 years, Manchin stayed a step ahead of federal investigations as they closed in around his inner circle. A review of statehouse investigation reports, public court records, and sealed documents obtained by The Intercept reveals a decades long history of investigations into employees, contractors, and business associates of Manchin. These incidents involve investigations into tax evasion, grand larceny, campaign finance violations, and an investigation by federal agencies including the FBI and IRS into a wide range of alleged criminal activity centered around Manchin’s governor’s office.

In 2017, both Puccio and a spokesperson for Manchin made contradictory statements to the press about their respective connections to a firm named in a $14.6 million hotel bankruptcy suit.

Puccio had also played a role, which has not been previously reported, in the scheme to charge West Virginians more for electricity in order to keep Enersystems’ biggest customer viable…

Enersystems, which has been owned by the Manchin family for over three decades — Manchin launched it while serving in the state Senate — purchases low-quality waste coal from mines and resells it to power plants as fuel. In the affidavit, workers also alleged that they had seen an ongoing scheme to crush coal into a size that would be recorded as waste, and could then be hauled for free and sold at a profit by brokers.

During one surveillance period conducted by the West Virginia state police, according to the affidavit, all unreported coal leaving the Peabody mine arrived at Jolaco docks, a company owned by Joseph Laurita Jr. and James L. Laurita. James Laurita currently serves as an officer for LP Minerals LLC, which operates, among others, the Humphrey No. 7 mine site — which is the largest supplier of coal to Manchin’s company Enersystems.

(The Intercept)

Puccio was Manchin’s chief of staff before before becoming the Chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party. He later resigned from his position after members called for his removal for donations he made toward the campaign of Jim Justice, a now registered Republican.

Speaking to the New Republic, Shane Assadzandi, Chairman of the Monongalia County Democratic Executive Committee, said, “People are afraid of Joe Manchin. He’s the king of the West Virginia Democratic Party, and it’s very hard to find anyone who’s willing to speak out against him. I’ve had people tell me West Virginia doesn’t have a Democratic Party. We have a Joe Manchin party.”

Though she once had blasted Larry Puccio for supporting Jim Justice, Puccio’s successor, former Chair of the WV Democrat Party Belinda Biafore encourages WV Democrats to ignore the blatant corruption of Senator Manchin, his obvious conflicts of interest and the positions he takes in Washington that contradict their Democratic policies and the best interests of the citizens of West Virginia.

Biafore suggested more Democrats should follow the senator’s example if they want to win in West Virginia. “Right now, the only Democrat winning is Joe Manchin. Maybe folks ought to play off him a little bit more,” she said. “He’s doing something right.”

(New Republic)

What Biafore fails to realize is that Senator Manchin, Governor Justice and Larry Puccio are more alike than different. Manchin telling Metro News, “Larry and I will always be together.”

If West Virginia is no longer divided by Republican or Democrat and instead as the parties of Justice and Manchin, then Larry Puccio would be the unofficial chairman, the middleman that controls both of West Virginia’s most powerful men.

If you want a successful political career in West Virginia or have aspirations of becoming governor, as my sources say Senate President Craig Blair does have, then Larry Puccio would be the man that you want in your corner. As a quid pro quo, you would do everything that you could to give him what he wanted, even if that meant remerging two institutions and hurting the community, students and the faculty in the process.

Still it was hard to understand why Governor Justice and Larry Puccio wanted so desperately for the institutions to be remerged and why Pierpont’s A&P program was so instrumental to these men that they would commit political corruption in order to get what they wanted. It's not until this past May, in Larry Puccio's lobbyist disclosure, that some evidence that this entire ordeal, paid for by tax payers and spun to remove accountability, was for personal gain.

In that report, Larry Puccio suddenly names five new institutions he was hired to represent. Those institutions being the Benedum Airport Authority dba North Central West Virginia Airport, Greenbrier County Airport, Huntington Tri-State Airport, Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport and the Raleigh County Memorial Airport.

In addition to these new declarations on Puccio's lobbyist reports, Harrison County held their groundbreaking for the $20 million expansion of Mitsubishi at the North Central WV Airport.

“This is a monumental day for us. This announcement is the summation of almost a decade worth of work by a lot of people,” Hinton stated, as reported by Connect-Bridgeport. “This expansion cements are commitment, MHI, to the State of West Virginia, and truly positions the North Central West Virginia Airport in being paramount in the regional aviation infrastructure.”

Senator Romano, who sits on the Benedum Airport Authority which oversees the NCWV Airport and had opposed the move of Pierpont CTC to Morgantown, as well as opposing the Morgantown Municipal Airport from being able to expand their runway, calling it a waste of resources, commended Governor Jim Justice for his strong support of the project.

Romano said there was no hesitation from Justice. “No governor believed in this project more than you did ... We could not have done it without you,” said Romano.

(Connect-Bridgeport)

For the final grand spectacle, United States Senators Joe Manchin and Shelly Moore Capito announced federal contributions from United State Department of Transportation, to three West Virginia airports, totally $8,756,448. $1,044,049 going to North Central WV Regional Airport, $3,142,899 going to Tri-State Airport and $4,569,500 going to Governor Justice’s Greenbrier Airport.

Repeated messages for comment made to Jordan Dameron, Director of Communications and the Assistant Legal Counsel of Governor Justice, were not returned.

Request for comment from FSU Board Member Jay Puccio were also met with resistance. Puccio stating “I have been advised not to speak on anything.” When asked who had advised Mr. Puccio, he refused elaborate or give any further comment on the subject.

Reflection And Hope

In the end, after many years of back and forth, ulterior motives and scheming, Pierpont CTC and Fairmont State University are separate and will remain so. Pierpont has their extension to vacate. FSU has an Interim President who loathes students and refuses to meet with them. Our airports have substantial federal funding. Both institutions have boards that have overwhelming conflicts of interests appointed by a Governor with just as many conflicts himself. There are Senators, Delegates and Commissioners, complicit in the corruption. FSU is censoring students, staff and faculty. Larry Puccio, and his partner, essentially running two higher education institutions with his sons on both boards. And the faces of the two separate colleges, who were gagged to prevent them from speaking out on their opposition to the dirty dealings of all involved, are both gone. Removed from their positions, because they were both outsiders. One a man of color, the other a hispanic women, neither from West Virginia and neither willing to put aside their convictions to play the corrupt game of political chess expected of them.

One West Virginia University President saw a lot of the events that transpired and shared their thoughts, “West Virginia isn’t very welcoming of outsiders and truthfully, there are two different measuring sticks they use: one for women and people of color and one for everyone else. Some boards select presidents they think they can manipulate. It’s very lonely at the top, but all you can do is put on a positive face and keep going.”

I was advised by one source numerous times to “just let it go”. Saying that the two intuitions were separate now and there was nothing to report. I disagreed. I explained to them that this story isn’t just about Fairmont State University and Pierpont CTC, this story was about West Virginia. The two colleges only being an example of the bigger issue we are faced with. According to U.S. News and World Report we are a state ranked #47 in the country. With a median income of only $26,000 and only 29% of our citizens with a college education. We are #47 in Health Care, #45 in Education, #48 in economy and #50 in infrastructure. West Virginia is a poor, statistically uneducated, struggling state, being taken advantage of by billion dollar corporations and politicians who feed on our weakness.

West Virginia is one of the most beautiful states in this country. Rich with history, its people are inspiring. Beautiful, kind, wise and loyal, West Virginians make me proud to be able to live and raise my children here, but they deserve better. They deserve leaders that will make decisions in their best interests and not lie to them and sell them false promises while turning them into generational poor worker bees.

We need to demand more oversight of our boards and local councils. We need to hold those at the top accountable and demand transparency. We need insist that our “good” politicians stop being complicit or they will be replaced as well. We need to stand up to censorship of our citizens and the attempts at dividing us on issues and we need to remind those elected, that they work for us. There is so much we can disagree on, but our children’s future is one that can unite us all. The dream of every parent is that our children are able to achieve more than we did.

“Everyone wants change as long as it doesn’t affect them.” Dr. Mirta Martin said while reflecting her tenure as President of Fairmont State. They are words that easily define many of us.The average West Virginian, putting their child on the bus or getting into their car to drive to their blue-collar job, are not reading the Washington Post or the New York Times. They believe that their neighbors are honest and they believe their West Virginia sons are good, even if they should stumble sometimes. But they are making decisions without all of the information. If they want these men to stay in office, then so be it, but allow them to know the full truth so that they have the freedom afforded to them by our democracy, to decide for themselves.

Attempting to untangle the web of conflict of interests and pinpoint a single motivation behind all of this, would be impossible, but when we stop long enough to actually look at all of the elements in context, and can see the situation in aerial view (to throw in aviation pun), we can better see that each individual acted in their own self interests. Whether it was for political or financial gain, a quid pro quo or just loyalty to an old friend, the people of West Virginia have been gaslighted by the very individuals we elected to save us.

Citizens and students should not be charged for FOIA requests of any higher education institution and assistance from the state should be available to make lawsuits more feasible when violations have occurred. We are subjected to these institution’s constant lack of regard of those they serve and with their money and power they are given free rein to do as they please, knowing the students and parents of West Virginia can’t fight them. It's similar to the biblical story of David and Goliath, though we should also remember, it was only David, the young boy with a single pebble that brought down the giant.

One could argue all day about Pierpont and Fairmont State, about Dr. Martin and Dr. Hancock, about MOUs, the House vs the Senate, about Manchin, Justice and Puccio, the role of lobbyist in higher education, the lack of oversight of our BOG and a system that prevents citizens from being able to fight back due to a lack of resources and financial means, but as we sit around our tables and have these very important discussions, there is a demographic that is still being forgotten... the students.

We have somehow forgot in all of this that it is the students, those kids that fought for Dr. Martin, that signed that Pierpont letter opposing the remerger, those are the individuals that all of this is supposed to be for. Our BOG, our politicians, our communities, may want to cater to faculty, staff, and those in power, but they are disillusioned. This generation of students are strong, passionate and aware. They will not be so forgiven of our sins and they will come to power, hopefully sooner rather than later, and it will be them that will facilitate change. Perhaps now is the time we start listening to what they want, because someday, Justice, Manchin, Blair and Puccio will be gone and perhaps that passionate SGA president that you so easily dismissed, will be running this state, with more integrity and honor than any of our current elected officials and he will remember these days.

Our students are not ignorant. They may be young, but while doing this story, I have come to realize that their ethics are stronger than that of any adult I have known. Many times in my investigation, I found myself overwhelmed with hopelessness for West Virginia. It was only my conversations with students that my faith was restored again. West Virginia should be proud of them and we should do everything we can to protect them and their freedom of speech. We need to assure that our higher education institutions have strict oversight, no conflicts and are properly obeying the Open Meeting Acts and FOIA requests. It is also the obligation of our elected officials to be sure they do their research BEFORE approving any appointments of board members and that all complaints regarding institutions are taken seriously.

All hope is not lost though. There are those we can look toward as testimony of the strength of this state. In addition to the nearly forty anonymous sources interviewed for this story, willing to speak the truth, there are many others, not so anonymous that need to be commended for their courage.

Pierpont’s faculty and staff for their vote of No Confidence and their devotion and loyalty to their institution.

Senator Patricia Rucker for standing up to Senate President Blair and sticking to her convictions.

Pierpont’s CFO Dale Bradley for doing what was right and bravely testifying at the Education Committee meeting with facts that completely contradicted the lies of Pierpont’s Board Chairman David Hinkle and Board Member Anthony Hinton.

Our West Virginia House Education Committee, from both sides of the aisle, displayed incredible acts of leadership that we should all demand from others in office. They asked the right questions and amended a bad Senate bill. Delegates are often not elevated with the same respect afforded to our Senators, but do not underestimate the power they hold. Our Delegates are the closest thing we have to being a part of our state government. Often still holding everyday jobs, they have not yet disconnected from those they represent and they are not fools.

Fairmont State BOG Student Representative Maiya Bennett and Staff Representative Jon Dodds, for speaking out against removing President Martin. A decision they felt was made in poor faith, they demanded their words be put on the record.

Outspoken Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom for not playing the political game of chess and allowing himself to be quoted about the meetings few ever knew about.

Dr. Mirta Martin and Dr. Anthony Hancock for being the Presidents they were hired to be. Both strong, powerful, intelligent and loyal individuals, they carried the weight of public perception, wishing so badly they could speak out yet not being allowed to. Despite what others may believe, these two people never spoke ill of one another. Both admiring the difficult position the other was in and commending their professionalism.

After four months investigating this story, I found myself one late evening overwhelmed. Reaching out the only person I felt could understand my struggle, and possibly care, I wrote an email; “After a long day of interviews and writing, I am more disheartened than I have ever been over where we are in this State. The ultimate optimist when it comes to politics, I'm typically the voice of empowerment. Preaching about how we can achieve so much change, if we truly want it, we just need to be patient and keep building… one brick at a time. Tonight though, I am disillusioned. Overcome with the reality that perhaps, no matter how hard we work to try to build something or change things for the better, all we are really doing is building around the dragon. Encasing it in our homes and becoming immune to its stench and burn…"

It was just days later that I picked myself back up and continued. It was one young man’s rectitude that forced me to keep writing. His words danced in my head as tears of pride came to my eyes. This young man, Fairmont State University Student Government President Zach Taylor, is the example of leadership we should demand and the words of this remarkable student are what I will leave you with;

What I do, I’m operating just for the students and I do feel as though it is in the best interests of the students when Im informing them, when I’m telling them everything. That’s why I do what I do. That why petitions, polls, things like that are necessary, so I know how the students feel. I don’t want to just be acting blind. Even if the majority of students on this campus disagreed with me, which I don't believe that they do, and I’ve never received anything to warrant that; If they all disagreed with me, then I would act differently.

Advisors come and go, they change all the time. Presidents come and go, they change all the time. I mean that with the University, I mean that with me. I'll be gone in a year. But until I leave, I want to know that I’m working toward leaving something better than when I found it and when I found it, it was an absolute train wreck. SGA was at the will and pleasure of many people at this University. We’re not anymore. I stood up against everyone at the University when I believed the students best interests were at heart. So, that’s what I’ll continue to do. So I just don’t want any lines to be drawn while I’m still standing in the same place, because I’m not going to move.

(Zach Taylor Fairmont State Student Government President)

Why Delegate Ward and Others Have Quit Going To Phil Mallow’s Luncheons?

By Edward A. Ryan

Contributing Writer

September 2022

Why did Delegate Guy Ward quit going to Phil Mallow’s luncheons? Simply put, he didn’t like being treated like a second-class citizen and being lied to.

Prior to the Pandemic, he would occasionally attend one of Phil’s luncheons. When Phil had a speaker, they were often informative. When he didn’t have a speaker, they were a big disappointment.

Why? Because Phil would give out false information to those attending. Delegate Ward tried to correct him a couple times and Phil didn’t like it. He always acted like he knew more than Delegate Ward did and would try and make him sound foolish. So, Delegate Ward quit going. Several others did too and many more will as they realize that Phil Mallow spews out false information. Especially, about fellow Republicans.

Of course, there are attendees who think Phil tells no lies, who then go and spread this kind of misinformation thinking it’s true. Fortunately, not all attendees believe what he says because a few of them have had the courage to record some of his luncheons. Phil has a small following and they probably believe every word of what he says, which is sad. They are being misled. In this article are recent examples of him spewing untruths.

Just prior to the primary, Phil had candidate Mike DeVault come speak at this luncheon. Following are FALSE STATEMENTS that were made there.

DeVault said and Mallow agreed, “Right now, if you want to open, let’s say we want to take this restaurant out, and put a nursing home in, we have to get a certificate of need. Now who do you think gets to vote on your certificate of need? The other hospitals and nursing homes and operators, so sounds like a little protectionism to me from the old days of West Virginia.”

To Fact-checkers this would be a PANTS ON FIRE FALSE STATEMENT.

THE TRUTH: Other hospitals don’t get to vote on a new hospital application. They don’t have a voice in who gets approved or denied. According to the WV Health Care Authority, this is how it’s determined: “Need is determined using CON Standards, which generally include population-based quantifiable need methodologies. Financial feasibility includes the evaluation of the reasonableness of proposed charges to patients and the determination as to whether the expense and revenue projections demonstrate fiscal viability for the proposed project. Other review criteria include quality, accessibility, and continuum of care.”

Both DeVault and Mallow showed in their conversation that neither one of them either didn’t understand what a Certificate of Need does or does not do or they lied about the whole process. Mallow should know better because he attended a Health Committee meeting where Barbara Skeen, Interim Director of the WV Health Care Authority, came and explained the process. Either he wasn’t listening, or he doesn’t care.

Another thing they made FALSE STATEMENTS about was concerning a Political Action Committee called Mountain State Values (DeVault called it West Virginia Values) saying that they want to get rid of Republicans. Really? Then why do they support Republicans? Isn’t that kind of stupid on their part if they want to get rid of Republicans and then support them? Not only is this a STUPID statement but it’s a FALSE STATEMENT.

This last primary, Mountain State Values supported the following Republicans: Robert Fehrenbacher, Walter Hall, Andrew Shamblin, Laura Kimble (more conservative than Phil Mallow and one of the most conservative Republicans in the House), George Miller (a friend of Phil Mallow’s and maybe his only one), Johnnie Wamsley, Evan Worrell, Joshua Booth, Mark Dean, Christopher Toney, and Guy Ward.

All of these candidates are Pro-life, believe in the Second Amendment, are fiscal conservatives, support lower taxes, less government, etc. So, why did Mountain State Values support them? Because unlike a lot of Republicans who cater to just the rich, these candidates support the working class too.

And if eliminating Certificate of Needs was so great, why are Republican legislators in states like Indiana wanting to bring it back after it was eliminated years ago?

Here is a partial segment of a recording that was done of this luncheon:

MALLOW LUNCHEON PART 1

Another example of FALSE STATEMENTS is Phil speaking at one of his luncheons on April 27th. There were about 30 individuals in the room, and it was open to the public.

Two COMPLETELY FALSE STATEMENTS he said at this luncheon:

• He accused the Hospital Association and Mon Health of offering him $1,000 toward his campaign if he supported a bill. Complete slander against these two institutions and if he was offered a bribe, why didn’t he report it to the WV Ethics Commission?

• He also accused a Delegate of taking a $5,000 bribe. He didn’t mention this person by name. So, who was he referring to. It wasn’t Delegate Ward, and he can prove it.

Following are pages from a Primary Report showing the legislators who received contributions from the West Virginia Hospital Association PAC and the amount on April 5, 2022. These are not bribes. Political Action Committees donate to campaigns to those who support them during their term.

(see Additional Documents at: LumenReed Media.com)

Most of these candidates also received contributions from the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, West Virginia Automobile and Dealers Association, West Virginia Farm PAC, Building and Trades PAC, West Virginia Chamber PAC, just to name a few.

None of what Delegate Mallow said is true. No contributions are promised to candidates for their vote. Again, this is illegal and if a lobbyist or advocate got caught, they would be in a lot of trouble. Also, Mon Health doesn’t give donations to candidates anyway.

The recording of this luncheon has been shared with the Hospital Association and Mon Health, and both organizations have denied doing this and have considered legal action against Phil Mallow for his slanderous statements about them.

He also talks about several Delegates without mentioning names who were being primaried as if they were not being good Republicans, but he was. Ronald Reagan’s eleventh commandment was, “Thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Republican.” Yet that is what he did at this luncheon and many other times.

Several dozens of legislators have listened to the audio of Phil’s luncheon. Many of them have lost respect for him if they hadn’t already. Many lobbyists have listened to this too and are now leery about him. Just check his financial reports and see how much he’s being backed. For an incumbent, it’s doesn’t look good.

Many of these statements are not just FALSE STATEMENTS but they can be construed as outright LIES.

Here is a recording from that luncheon and below is a partial transcript of his talk on April 27th. At the end of the transcript, please be sure to check out the footnotes. The footnotes help explain some of what and who he’s talking about.

MALLOW LUNCHEON PART 2

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF PHIL MALLOW SPEAKING AT ONE OF HIS LUNCHEONS (See Footnotes below that correspond to numbers in parentheses)

April 27, 2022

“They’re going to bring 950 jobs; they’re going to make approximately $96,000 per person, and I’m against that. That vote took place and there were two people that voted against it. (1) Do you think they’re being primaried back in their county? Rest assured they are. Rest assured they are.

“Somebody else voted for a bill that says, other hospitals want to come, other healthcare facilities, nursing homes, hospice, they want to come into our county, or into our state and we have to get the approval of the current hospitals in order for the new hospitals to come in. (2)

“We had a person that voted for that. He wants to maintain what’s called the certificate of need, okay. Well, actually, several people. And we have another one that says that currently, (waiter interrupts) currently if you have a loved one … what is it Gary … currently if you have a loved one that dies or falls and from that injury dies in a healthcare facility. You have two years to challenge that with an attorney. They tried to bring that back to a year. Now if you not doing anything wrong and you’re not hiding anything, why would you try to drop back your reaction time from two years to one year? (3)

“We had an individual that voted, said, ah let’s drop it back to a year. You know why, because the Hospital Association, nursing home group, said to this individual, I’ll give you a thousand dollars for your campaign. (4) You think that didn’t happen? They called me in my room at 9:41 the night before from Mon General (5) and said, we can help you out, but we really need a yes vote on this. Sorry, you’re talking to the wrong guy, I voted no but we lost 58 to 40.

“Now, if you make votes like that, that separates you so dramatically, from everybody else down there, two things. One, you’re going to be primaried back in your in your county because all of you that track these votes, and, and you may not do it, but we’re trying to get eh Lou Yelcich, wants to put, I’m going to him a thing to put on the wall to show you how to go into the West Virginia website and look up a bill. You can put it up all the House bills, all the Senate bills, subject matter, by Mallow, by whoever proposed it and put it in there by House or whatever and there’s the bill and you can go down and you can read the text and if you can click on the highlight, the hyper-text, and it will tell you, it will show you this, it will show you the roll call vote. The yeas and nays, who was absent and everything.

“Well, when we have that, people at home are looking this up and saying, “Holy smoke, my guy or my gal voted against something that everybody in the state wants.” Okay. But now they’re being alienated by the leadership, and the Republican National Committee, Republican State Committee, state executive committee, is out to get them. (6) Bull me.

“Now the other thing is, if a vote goes down, sometimes there’s hundreds of us. …. (Talks about 100% voting.) …. One hundred percent voting is out the window. ….. (7)

“And the bottom line is, you miss a vote. But if there’s a hundred of us and ninety-six people are voting and two vote against it. Are you arrogant enough to think the other 94 are stupid?

(Talks about the procedure on how a bill goes through the House voting process, which he got wrong on several points).

“Hundred sets of eyes will find something that the original committee perhaps missed, okay. It’s a great design but the thing about this if ninety-four people read it, followed it, went to the committee meeting, and said, you know what, I agree with it, and two people said I’m not for it. Kind of makes you wonder. Kind of makes you wonder, who are you representing? Is someone out there giving you five thousand dollars to go down and give a no vote. There’s something wrong with that picture. But those two people, or those four people, or those six people, will say, “I’m being primaried back in my county.” It’s not the way it works.”

FOOTNOTES:

(1) He’s talking about Laura Kimble and Chris Pritt who voted against SB1001 during 1st special session 2022.

(2) Ultimately, when HB4643 was amended on the floor to eliminate CON, the vote was about 60% against with the majority of the Republicans voting against it.

(3) SB25 – He talked like it didn’t become law, but it did. Delegate Ward voted against it too. But the leadership supported it.

(4) He’s making this up. This doesn’t happen.

(5) He meant Mon Health. The old name was Mon General, which a lot of people still refers to it that way.

(6) This statement seems to show that he knows more of what is going on behind the scenes. Who was the mastermind behind recruiting candidates to target certain Republicans in the Primary?

(7) Several Delegates still have 100% ratings including Delegate Guy Ward.