THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
Wednesday June 15, 2011
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‘A NEW CHAPTER’
Volume 124, Issue 151
Stewart resigns, Holgorsen to take over by michael carvelli sports editor
The Bill Stewart era of West Virginia football is officially over. West Virginia University announced Friday that Stewart, the coach who led the Mountaineers to a victory in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl as the team’s interim head coach after the departure of Rich Rodriguez to Michigan, had resigned. Stewart will make the prorated amount of his 2011 salary of $950,000, plus the $1.125 million he was owed in a separation agreement. Stewart will not take a separate position or remain with the University.
Luck would not comment further on the settlement. “It was the right thing to do,” said Athletic Director Oliver Luck. “I do want to thank (Coach Stewart) for his dedication to Mountaineer football. Today, we begin a new chapter with a new coach.” That new coach will be the man who was designated as the team’s head coach-in-waiting back in December – offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. The new job will come with a raise for Holgorsen, who will see his salary jump from $750,000 – what was expected to be for his season as a coordinator – to $1.4 million. For the rest of his six-year
contract, Holgorsen will see a pay increase of $250,000 each year and is expected to make at least $2.65 million by 2015. “I understand what the expectations are to wear the Blue and Gold both on and off the field, and it’s something that I look forward to living up to,” Holgorsen said. “The West Virginia University football team is way bigger than me. “I’ve got complete confidence in the remaining defensive staff to continue doing what they’re doing. We’ll be united as coaches, we’ll be united as players and administrators to help bring championships to Morgantown.” Holgorsen will continue to
call plays for the Mountaineer offense in 2011, and there is no immediate plan to hire a new offensive coordinator yet. Part of the reason for this is because of Holgorsen’s compatibilities with the offensive staff he has assembled to work with him at WVU. “I have those guys here and they understand how I do things, which means if I need to leave the room to go deal with this or that, they can keep working,” Holgorsen said. “That doesn’t mean I am totally turning (the offense) over to anybody. I will still be on the sidelines, and I will still be calling
see Football on PAGE 2
4,681 WELCOMES
AP
West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck, left, and head football coach Dana Holgorsen, right, take questions during a news conference in Morgantown, W.Va. on Friday.
$159.5M building plan to transform Evansdale campus By Gina DaBaldo Correspondent
Brooke Cassidy/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Incoming freshmen and their families enter the Mountainlair information fair after a morning full of activities during New Student Orientation.
By Amy Rogers Correspondent
4,681 incoming West Virginia University freshmen are currently registered to attend orientation sessions throughout June. WVU Student Orientation aims to provide parents and students with valuable information to assist in making the transition from high school to college as smoothly as possible. “Compared to last year, the numbers are slightly fewer,” said Courtney Jennings, coordinator for New Student Orientation. “But we anticipate that the number will end up Brooke Cassidy/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM being equal to last year’s.” An incoming freshman fills out forms in the Mountainlair with his family after a morning Freshmen are required to of New Student Orientation activities. attend an orientation session.
If the student is unable to attend during the orientations scheduled in June, a session is offered in August for those not able to make it. “Orientation is the final step for an incoming student in becoming a Mountaineer,” Jennings said. “They are not able to register for their fall semester classes if they do not attend an orientation session.” Parents and students are flooded with a wealth of important information when attending the summer orientation session. Placement exams are conducted for all students attending orientation. The Quantitative
see students on PAGE 2
WVU places third in Lunabotics competition By Rebeccah Griffith Staff Writer
A group of students from West Virginia University’s College of Engineering and Mineral Resources have placed second in a Lunabotics competition held by NASA. The students, led by electrical engineering major Ben Knabenshue and professor of computer science and electrical engineering Dr. Powsiri Klinkachorn, placed third in the Lunabotics mining competition. The international competition challenged 46 teams of students to design and build a
remote controlled or autonomous excavator called a lunabot, to determine which could collect the most simulated lunar soil within 15 minutes. Some of the challenging areas of the competition included the weight and size limitations of the lunabot and the ability to control the lunabot from a remote location. The competition included teams from University of Alabama, Auburn, Colorado School of Mines, Florida State, University of Illinois, Iowa State University, University of North Dakota and Virginia Tech. Top honors in the competition went to Laurentian
74° / 55°
MAC FUNDRAISER
INSIDE
Morgantown poets to host annual fundraiser at the MAC. A&E PAGE 8
Mostly sunny
News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 8, 9, 10 Sports: 3, 5, 7 Campus Calendar: 6 Puzzles: 6 Classifieds: 10, 11
University in Ontario, Canada. The lunabot would allow humans to explore space further than ever before, according to the team leaders. The moon has been found to be rich in oxygen and metals necessary for the sustainability of a space station as well as resources for the creation of nuclear energy. These resources can be easily surface-mined, and the Lunabiotics Competition is a productive way to work toward harnessing them while teaching students in a handson environment. Practical application aside, this project has furthered the
team’s skills and allowed them to hone them through handson application. “The project gives the students an opportunity to take individual pieces of knowledge that they have learned in classes, such as mechanical design, electrical circuit design and software programming and integrate this knowledge to apply and solve a realworld system engineering problem,” Klinkachorn said. This type of experience is vital when it comes to exercising the knowledge these students are working
see lunabotics on PAGE 2
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ON THE INSIDE The WVU track and field team had a good showing at the NCAA championships this weekend. ON PAGE 5
The West Virginia University Board of Governors has recently approved a $159.5 million plan to expand and transform the Evansdale Campus. The Evansdale Campus will host new buildings, as well as a renovation of current buildings. One of the major new buildings will be for the College of Physical Activity and Sports Science. Currently, the college is housed in the Coliseum, but now plans are set for it to have its own structure. Randy Hudak, the interim vice president for facilities and services, said renovations include giving the Evansdale Campus a “downtown” feel. He said the goal is to make the campus more pleasing to the eye. “We want to bring some character to the (Evansdale) campus and try to make it more pedestrian-friendly,” Hudak said. Some of the projects also include, a new Advanced Engineering Research Building with a $41.4 million bud-
get, new Agricultural Sciences Building with an $88.1 million budget and the Greenhouse with a $7.1 million budget. Students can expect to see some completion of the projects as early as Spring 2012. “The 2020 Strategic Plan focuses heavily on research,” Hudak said. “Evansdale was really the place for us to focus”. The 2020 Strategic Plan was announced earlier in the year; setting one of the largest financial plans in WVU’s recent history. The goal is to have all buildings completed by 2014, but could be subject to change due to unforeseen complications. “People see the beautiful new buildings but don’t see the huge planning effort put into all the details,” said Narvel Weese, the Vice President of Administration and Finance. Both Hudak and Weese agree that students should be excited for these upcoming projects. “This is a tremendous opportunity for the University. It’s not often you are able to revitalize an entire campus at once,” Weese said. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
New members elected to Alumni board of directors By Amy Rogers Correspondent
Five new members have been elected to serve on the West Virginia University Alumni Association Board of Directors. Four current members have been promoted to serve in leadership positions for the board. Newly elected members to the board include Jim Bill Harvey, Ron Justice, Stephanie H. Lane, Christie M. McCartney, and Scott Rotruck. Members are promoted into different term lengths to ensure the board has an equal number of new and returning members. Members are elected into positions that serve 3-year or 6-year appointments. Newly elected officer positions include Jack Rossi of Charleston, W.Va. to serve as chair; Holly Metz of Rockville, MD to serve as vice chair; Ray
Byrd of Wheeling, W.Va. to serve as treasurer; and Phil Gaujot of Morgantown, W.Va. to serve as secretary. “The board provides oversight to some of the key operational organizations at WVU. Technical expertise, facilities operations and programs that work to engage more alumni into closer involvement at the University are some of the responsibilities of the board,” said Kevin Berry, Associate Director & COO of the WVU Alumni Association. “If we’re doing our job, then the board of directors seeks to achieve three things for the Alumni Association and WVU.” The three objectives include helping to recruit the next generation of WVU students, assisting in helping graduated WVU students find jobs and
see alumni on PAGE 2
THE PLAYERS SPEAK The West Virginia football players give their reactions on the resignation of Bill Stewart and promotion of Dana Holgorsen. SPORTS PAGE 3