A student enrolled at the WVU Washington Center after Republican lawmakers ordered the creation of a program

Only one student registered for courses West Virginia University’s novel Washington Center, an academic program mandated for the campus by Republican lawmakers.

State lawmakers have committed $3 million in state money over the past two years to the Washington Center for Civics, Culture and Statesmanship ahead of its official opening this fall.

“I think it’s important for the Legislature and the governor to think about this … the question becomes whether or not this is the best use of public funds,” said Erik Herron, a political science professor at WVU. “I think, ironically, the Washington Center seems to be exactly what it complains about higher education. It was created in Charleston and imposed on the university, so it’s a big government mandate.”

House Speaker Roger Hanshaw was a co-sponsor 2025 legislation Establishment of the Washington Center at WVU.

He said the low enrollment was to be expected because the university has not yet approved allowing Washington Center courses to count toward pre-existing academic majors at WVU.

“I’m not necessarily surprised that enrollment hasn’t started to increase … it’s not part of what a student majors or minors in, then students have to take courses that fit those approved parameters,” said Hahshaw, R-Clay.

He continued, “There is a process by which these courses are approved and integrated into the academic structure to officially become part of a major… I think what we’re dealing with here is an administrative process where the program is simply not implemented yet.”

Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, opposed lawmakers mandating the Washington Center at his alma mater, WVU.

“I’m not happy about it,” he said. “Now we are in a position where we have so much money allocated to this program and only one person is using it.”

Morrisey is named director of the Washington Center

The Legislature gave Gov. Patrick Morrisey the task of appointing its director in consultation with the WVU Senate and Board of Governors. Morrisey, who publicly supported the center, appointed Dr. Patrick Lee Miller for the position last October 2025. The state funding goes toward Miller’s annual salary of more than $300,000.

“Dr. Miller and the Washington Center will push back on the woke ideology that has infected our schools and help return higher education to its true purpose,” Morrisey said during a press conference last year.

House Bill 3297 commissioned WVU to operate the Washington Center, which focuses on teaching constitutional studies and “great debates about Western civilization.”

Suggested College courses This fall features “Woke,” “Nation and Migration” and “The New Right,” among others. The center hired teachers before it opened.

“As of June 22, a student was enrolled in three separate courses at the Washington Center,” said Shauna Johnson, WVU’s executive director of strategic communications. “24 courses were originally proposed/listed for the Fall 2026 semester. Now 18 are available.”

The $3 million in state funding, which includes $1.5 million in the fiscal year 2027 budget, also covers a scholarship available to Washington Center students.

Miller did not respond to interview requests for this story.

It is. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, changed The 2025 legislation requires the Senate to consider and approve the governor’s appointment of the Washington Center’s first director. An annual report from the director to the legislature is also required.

“Ultimately, I was excited when the Legislature wanted to send an additional $1.5 million to my alma mater,” Oliverio said. “I was excited about the opportunity for civic education, an area that I believe only strengthens our republic.”

Like Hanshaw, Oliverio expects enrollment to boost once courses at the Washington Center can be counted toward an academic major or minor.

“These courses are not required in any major, so students may be interested in the subject, but they may choose another course that is necessary for them to complete their degree on time, and that is a real limiting factor here,” he said. “A minor in statecraft, that could lead to more participation.”

Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, voted against the legislation.

“I felt like it was making more of a political statement,” Takubo said, noting he didn’t disagree with the idea of ​​teaching students about U.S. history, civics and statecraft. “To me, it’s not the job of the Legislature to mandate these things and perhaps endanger a university, because now they have to continue to fund this.”

The Washington Center’s mandate followed widespread job cuts at WVU

Hanshaw said there is value in teaching students to think, especially in the age of internet-connected cell phones and artificial intelligence. After meeting with Miller and the novel teachers at the Washington Center, Hanshaw said he was encouraged by their approach to education.

“One of the real challenges we face at the government or community level is training leaders – training the men and women who make decisions on behalf of 1.8 million West Virginians,” said Hanshaw, a WVU graduate. “If we can provide students with a forum where they can spend a few years or a few courses thinking deeply about what it means to lead others in the tradition of Western society, then I think that will be of great benefit to all of us.”

WVU has already offered similar courses proposed at the Washington Center, Herron said.

“It is not in the interests of the students or departments that are already dealing with these issues, and so I have some concerns that there could be some overlap,” he said, adding that the center would be able to operate outside of normal university standards, such as running its own website and creating job advertisements.

Herron said a specialized academic center to promote civic education and student engagement could be beneficial at WVU.

“I would like to see our students have the opportunity to engage with politicians and business people in public forums as local residential fellows for a short period of time and have the opportunity to do internships that offer these types of programs,” he said. “I don’t know if this fits with the Washington Center’s plan, but there are centers on public and private campuses that are doing things like this, and doing so with great impact.”

The legislature’s move to give the Washington Center a mandate caused a stir Budget deficit of $45 million at WVU. It led to that Elimination of 28 academic majors And Hundreds of jobsincluding faculty members.

“My concern was not that I was against the premise of having something like this and what it was trying to teach, but rather that it was at a time when the university was having to make significant cuts, such as cutting foreign languages,” Takubo said.

Williams, who lives in Morgantown, said the area is “still living with the feelings of what happened a few years ago.”

“We still haven’t seen the full impact of what happened, so it’s frustrating when the state government, since I’ve been in the Legislature, has been so unwilling to make meaningful investments in higher education, and then they come up with this pet project where we now see that there’s only one student,” he said.

Republican lawmakers in Ohio And Iowa have recently established similar academic centers at their flagship universities, and enrollment in both programs has been low. Iowa University students are required to take one course by the Center for Intellectual Freedom beginning in 2028, in accordance with state law, to address enrollment delays.

“I think the difficulties these centers face in enrollment indicate that students are not demanding what they offer,” Herron said. “We will certainly see what happens in the fall, but based on experiences at other universities and current enrollment, student interest appears to be low given that the majority of enrollment is completed in the fall.”