WVU leaders enjoyed attending the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce's 89th Annual Meeting and Business Summit. Members of the President's Council, Board of Governors, Government Relations, WVU Institute of Technology, Chambers College, Economic Innovation, WVU Cyber team, and more represented our Mountaineer pride and spirit — underscoring the University's role as both the state's R1, flagship, land-grant academic institution and as a strategic partner in statewide growth, innovation, and workforce development.
Leading Mountaineers Forward
President Benson made his debut at this year's Business Summit, taking center stage for a fireside chat with Tony Caridi. It was his first time engaging with such a large West Virginia audience, using the opportunity to emphasize the University's renewed focus on student success, retention, and aligning values with business and community needs. Benson affirmed his promise to strengthen partnerships and West Virginia’s talent pipeline.
President Michael T. Benson and Tony Caridi participate in a fireside chat on center stage at the Business Summit.
Addressing a Critical Threat: WVU Cyber
To underscore our University commitment to strengthening the talent pipeline, we unveiled WVU Cyber, a new initiative that highlights all WVU cyber and cyber-related programming.
The goal is to help grow a university-wide cyber ecosystem that emphasizes interdisciplinary work to meet rising challenges in today's digital age.
The threat is real. More than 600 million cyberattacks occur each day, yet we have a global workforce shortage of more than 4 million jobs.
WVU Cyber efforts aim to strengthen the economy, secure the state and nation, and prepare students to lead in a rapidly changing world.
Executive Director Chris Ramezan and Director of Operations and Outreach Frank Hatten from the Cyber-Resilience Resource Center also spotlighted the CRRC’s services and impact across the state. The center supports helps organizations, municipalities, and businesses anywhere in West Virginia to develop cyber-resiliency to protect and defend against cyber threat. They also are helping to train the next generation of cyber experts by training students in the field.
The Dr. Randy and Karen Evans Cybersecurity Lab at WVU.