Marshall, WVU back plan for permanent research fund

The presidents of West Virginia's two largest universities have given their approval to a plan creating a research fund that could pit the two against each other in the quest for donations.

West Virginia University President Mike Garrison and Marshall University President Stephen Kopp told the Senate Education Committee Tuesday that the plan originally floated by Gov. Joe Manchin earlier this year would benefit both schools.

The bill would create a permanent West Virginia Research Trust Fund. The schools would be able to use interest from the fund to pay for research into energy, nanotechnology, biomedical sciences, biometrics and related fields.

The legislation doesn't specify how much the legislation would put into the trust fund to begin with, but does allocate 70 percent of the money to WVU and 30 percent to Marshall.

Under the bill approved by the committee, the schools would have five years to match their income from the fund with private donations. If either fails, they could see part of their share go to the other school.

"There's a real incentive for both universities to exceed the private gift match requirement," Kopp said.

Kopp said the fund will help draw more professors and research infrastructure to the state.

"It's a very positive step," Garrison said.

The bill now goes before the Senate Finance Committee. If approved there, it would come before the full Senate before possibly moving to the House of Delegates.