Morgantown, West Virginia, home of the West Virginia University Mountaineers and the WVU Incubator, has been recently receiving an abundance of attention in the news as the information of our low unemployment rate finds its way to popular media sources.
The Wall Street Journal ran the article “Why College Towns Are Looking Smart”, by Kelly Evans on how college towns seem to be almost recession-proof and good places to look for a job in these tough economic times. Morgantown was concentrated on throughout the article, as it was noted that the city-university relationship presiding here is an important factor in why Morgantown is doing so well.
Evans’ article credits much of Morgantown’s restoration and reconstruction to a change in leadership in 1991, when a group including now-mayor Ron Justice was elected to city council and began to revitalize the area. It goes on to state all the many new renovations Morgantown has seen in the past two decades (including everything down at One Waterfront Place and the new Student Recreation Center).
The article relates back to other college towns that are not feeling the economic slump as strongly, including Logan, Utah, Ames, Iowa, Gainesville, Florida, and Boulder, Colorado. Evans suggests that the most optimistic outlook for cities right now is not only to have a college within their city limits but also a major health-care provider (and employer) to bring in people seeking medical attention as well as highly-educated workers, using state of the art technology as part of a classroom setting.
Evans mentions that college towns like Morgantown, W.V. have the benefit of a high-traffic rate of people moving in, moving out, moving on, and then returning to the area to continue their career. The article makes note of current or future residents of Morgantown who say they enjoy living in the area as it offers the multiple entertainment options often found in a larger city, with a welcoming small-town atmosphere. It is apparent that Morgantown also draws people in from other locations to go shopping or to go to the doctor.
Nikki Bowman is mentioned in the article as a WVU graduate who returned to Morgantown to run her own magazine, with the cost-efficient help of interns from the School of Journalism. Lindsay Williams is also mentioned, as she stayed in Morgantown after graduating to wait for her then boyfriend (now husband) to graduate, and ended up becoming the President of the Morgantown Board of Realtors.
Morgantown seems to be making a splash in the national news lately with the news of its low unemployment rate and high prospect for employment-seeking individuals in the education, health, and technology fields, among others.
For more information, please visit the Wall Street Journal website.
Posted by Vanessa White on March 26, 2009 at 8:08 am in the following categories: WVUBI
