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WHEELING - West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Saturday helped Wheeling University celebrate the graduation of nearly 100 students who continued learning at the university as it went through economic uncertainty and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Justice - accompanied by first dog Babydog - served as keynote speaker at Wheeling University's 65th commencement ceremony Saturday at McDonough Hall. The school graduated 97 students, according to President Ginny Favede.
The former Wheeling Jesuit University was first placed on interim financial monitoring by the West Virginia Higher Learning Commission in 2014. The HLC would later place the school under probation sanctions following a site visit in 2020, resulting in staff layoffs and the elimination of many programs at the school
Justice and Favede both noted that most of the students who graduated Saturday were freshmen at the time of the probation, but had nevertheless stuck with the university for the remainder of their college education.
In late February, the Higher Learning Commission lifted its sanctions against Wheeling University, and reaffirmed the institution's accreditation.
"It's tremendously rewarding to me," Justice said prior to the commencement ceremony. "There was surely a point in time when there was a lot of sad singing and slow waltzing going on, which normally happens at a funeral.
"We came dangerously close to losing this school, which is phenomenally valuable to the area (and) valuable to all across this great state."
Justice said he came to Wheeling University and told officials he would "stand rock solid with the school."
"Then I said, 'This school is not going to close on my watch,’" he continued. "The whole thing is we're here today. … It's a big honor for me."
Justice also was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wheeling University on Saturday.
He noted that he took online classes through the former Wheeling Jesuit University years ago when he was seeking additional college credits in education to complement his basketball coaching efforts.
Justice holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s of business administration from Marshall University.
Justice said the intent of his speech Saturday to the graduates was to impart life information, stressing that "life is not a race, but a maze" where one determines their next course of action.
"There's always a test, and what are you going to do? Are you going to lay down? If you lay down, you're not going to be much in life. That's all there is to it," he continued.
Favede was selected for her current job in late 2019 amid the school's financial woes. She noted she was presiding over her fifth commencement ceremony as president of Wheeling University.
"I cried all morning," she said. "In this day and age - when we witness on a daily basis what takes place in the news - to be a part of these kids’ lives is such a blessing to me.
"These are really good kids. They've worked hard. They've stayed committed while the university went through financial exigency, probation and a global pandemic. And at every moment they have rallied, stayed together, and they are so kind. To see them walk away from this university as good people with a college degree, it gives me great hope for the future that we still have the ability to turn out such great kids.”