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Getting Back On Right Track

With many area residents down in the doldrums over the abrupt closure of Ohio Valley Medical Center, the news this week was a welcome respite.

It came from Wheeling University, in the form of an announcement that several academic and athletic programs suspended last spring have been reinstated. In addition, the university is adding some offerings, including online studies in criminal justice and psychology.

As WU board Chairwoman Ginny Favede noted in revealing the changes, eliminating programs in March “was a difficult decision for our previous administration…”

News that some of the cutbacks are being reversed and new initiatives are underway was only part of what WU officials had to say. In her statement, Favede cited the university’s “return to financial and administrative stability after a brief period of transition.”

But WU will continue to struggle with the same challenges facing many private institutions of higher learning. Lagging enrollment and financial struggle are the new reality for many colleges and universities.

That means WU officials will continue to have to make tough decisions in order to safeguard academic quality while achieving long-term financial stability.

WU is too important, not just to our community but also to diversity in higher education for the challenge not to be accepted and overcome here. Ongoing dedication to flexibility of a kind not always found at colleges and universities will be vital for WU.

The local university appears to be getting back on the right track. To be successful in remaining there will require persistence in out-of-the-box thinking.

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