Bluefield State recently gained University status after thriving under the leadership of President Robin Capehart. While Capehart did not start his career with the intention of becoming a University president, he seems to have found his home and his niche at Bluefield State. When speaking about his plans and goals for the school, Capehart’s voice fills with excitement and desire to create an excellent learning space.
Along the journey that led to BSU, Capehart studied law. After graduating and settling into his career, he spent time as an adjunct teacher, and his path to the world of higher learning began. He said, “I started as an adjunct teacher, I’m a lawyer by trade. I got out of law school and started practicing by myself. Within a year, I was doing adjunct teaching because I kind of enjoyed it.”
As time progressed, Capehart held various positions within the education system, eventually becoming a professor at Marshall University. Additionally, he became a Fulbright Scholar and taught overseas.
Eventually, Capehart’s path led to Bluefield State College, now Bluefield State University. When he first came to the institution, Capeharted noted the college was struggling. The financial index, which measures an institution’s financial stress, is rated between zero and 10. According to Capehart, if the score is above three, the institution has eliminated its financial stress. BSU had a negative rating when he came on board.
After many difficult decisions and extensive fundraising, BSU’s rating began to improve. Last year, the rating had risen to a positive five, Capehart said. He also stated that they had hoped to bring the score up to a three by 2024 but ended up surpassing that number early.
In addition to significant financial improvement, BSU also became the fastest growing college in West Virginia, according to Capehart.
“We’re the fastest growing college in West Virginia, and we are one of the only colleges that had an enrollment increase in the last two years. We’re the only one to have an enrollment increase last year.”
Bluefield State is an HBCU. However, over time, the diversity of the institution fell. Capehart noted that when he joined the BSU staff, minority enrollment was at a dismal three percent. Now, however, that number has risen to between 25 and 28 percent.
In an address Capehart gave on July 1, 2022, the day BSU gained university status, he detailed his desire to focus on learning rather than credentials. He said, “If you want people to follow you – or in our case, you want students to attend Bluefield State – there are two choices. You can give them what they want, or you can help them see what they need.”
Capehart concluded his address by saying, “Today, ladies and gentlemen, we choose to become a great university focused not just on credentials, but on actual learning -not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard; because our goal of producing learned students will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skils, because the challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”
Recent studies show a steep decline in individuals that feel the benefits of their education outweigh the cost of that education. President Capehart noted that there has also been a decline in students meeting the minimum standards. He stated that some areas have upwards of 60 percent of students who do not meet the minimum requirements.
To help combat the deficit, BSU has instated a series of remedial classes that they plan to expand next year. The expansion, Capehart said, will produce a school of preparatory studies.
BSU currently has four colleges; STEM, Business, Health Science and Liberal Arts. With the addition of the school of preparatory studies, students who are not at a level of readiness have the option to take the preparatory, level 100 classes in preparation to transfer into one of the four main programs. Placement testing will be provided after acceptance.
In conjunction with all the other additions and changes, BSU is expanding its student housing. The institution also recently acquired Bluefield Hospital, which will significantly benefit the Health Science programs.
To learn more about Bluefield State University or President Capehart, visit the university’s website at bluefieldstate.edu.
