Campaign Kickoff Event
West Virginia University will officially launch its campaign with an immersive event that demonstrates the University’s impact across the state and around the world. Through interactive experiences, students, faculty, alumni, and friends will come together to celebrate the next chapter for WVU and the bold vision shaping its future.
Guests will step into an evening designed to inspire, connect, and showcase the power of philanthropy. This exclusive gathering highlights how innovative ideas and generous support are driving what’s next for WVU, offering alumni, donors, and friends an unforgettable look at the University’s momentum and mission.
Date & Location: October 9, 2026 | Morgantown Event Center at 2 Waterfront Place, Morgantown, WV 26501
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Attire: Mountaineer Business Casual
THE LAUNCH EXPERIENCE
1. STEPS Simulation
Guests enter an immersive clinical simulation where 5-8 students collaborate in a realistic healthcare environment. This cutting-edge immersion room is coming to the Health Sciences Campus thanks to donor support.
2. Built to Win – Baseball and WVU Athletics
Go behind the scenes of one of the nation's most innovative partnerships in collegiate athletics, where WVU Baseball and the WVU School of Sport Sciences are redefining athlete performance and student success. Meet the visionaries and students behind the WVU Baseball Biomechanics and Performance Center, experience the technology transforming player development through interactive demonstrations, and discover how experiential learning prepares the next generation of sport science professionals. See firsthand how philanthropy powers innovation, creates extraordinary opportunities for students, and elevates athlete performance
3. Make It – Lane Innovation Hub
Guests personalize and engrave a custom keychain while 3D printers and fabricated objects showcase the University’s maker culture. Learn how the Lane Innovation Hub has supported the creation of medical devices, props for creative arts, and much more.
Built by students, the Formula SAE car highlights engineering, racing, and campus-wide collaboration.
4. Take a Photo in a Pride of WV Uniform
Suit up in an official Mountaineer Marching Band uniform, grab an instrument, and take a game‑day photo with current band members.
5. Where WVU Has Taken You
Alumni and guests place pins on a map to show where WVU has taken them and record personal stories in an oral history booth with Reed School of Media and Communications students. This collection will be archived over the length of the campaign by WVU Libraries.
6. Printmaking
Take home an exclusive campaign launch print pulled by you! Guests will create their own artwork using student-designed lithographs or block prints. The featured design was selected through a competition among our art and design students.
7. From the Ground Up – Land Grant Legacy
This zone highlights the University’s land‑grant mission through agriculture, culinary arts, and community engagement. Guests enjoy maple syrup‑infused chicken and waffles, receive West Virginia flower seed packs, or plant seeds on-site for extension agents to plant across the Mountain State.
8. Data Driven WV
Data Driven WV connects Mountain State businesses, nonprofits, and more with WVU faculty and students to develop solutions for real-world challenges. Two student groups deliver pitches about their fellowship projects, showing how philanthropy drives statewide impact. Guests vote, and the winning project will receive additional funding from the WVU Chambers College Dean’s Fund.
9. Park in a Park – Landscape Architecture
In honor of National Park(ing) Day, landscape architecture students will partner with alumni to transform this space into a vibrant green park using plants from WVU Davis College greenhouses. The installation demonstrates how thoughtful design enhances community life.
10. Game On – Accessibility Through E Sports
This zone showcases adaptive gaming technology that expands access for players of all abilities. Guests compete against WVU and WVU Tech esports players and enjoy live play‑by‑play commentary from College of Applied Human Science students. Additionally, guests will learn about esports and accessibility in the classroom.
11. Case for Justice – Innocence Project & Forensic Science
This station features stories of exoneration and legal advocacy from the West Virginia Innocence Project clinic at WVU. A demonstration of modern forensic science technology accompanies these stories, highlighting how forensic analysis is changing with DNA samples and 3D renderings of crime scenes.
12. LUCAS Mobile Unit
LUCAS, the WVU Cancer Institute’s mobile lung cancer screening unit, showcases statewide prevention and early‑detection efforts. Guests can tour the unit and learn how mobile care expands access across West Virginia.
13. Get in the Game – Orthopedics
Guests step into the role of an orthopaedic surgeon through a VR joint‑replacement simulation guided by faculty. This activation features a live leaderboard tracking precision and time among our guests throughout the evening.
14. Center for Dental Innovation
Current dental students and faculty demonstrate how digital scanners, 3D-printed models, and emerging technologies are transforming patient care. Learn how cutting-edge tools are rendering precise digital impressions and printing crowns and bridges on the spot.
15. Pharmacy Compounding
Highlighting the science of pharmaceutical compounding, guests will create simple products — such as blue and gold face paint — at a hands‑on compounding station. Current pharmacy students will guide the process and explain how compounding supports personalized patient care.
16. See the Future – Eye Institute
This immersive VR experience offers a first‑person look at the University's transformation of eye care across the state. Guests tour new clinical and surgical spaces, try a cataract surgery simulation, and see how VR tools expand access for rural communities.
17. Driving Simulator & Public Health
Guests test their driving skills in a simulator that compares baseline performance with scenarios influenced by prescription medications. Public health students connect the experience to prevention efforts and reducing medication‑related accidents.
18. Circle of Care
This zone highlights patient care support systems across WVU Medicine, featuring the Cancer Institute and Cooler Heads, Golisano Children's, and Rosenbaum Family House. The WVU Cancer Institute will showcase scalp-cooling technology, an innovative solution helping cancer patients retain their hair during treatment. Rosenbaum Family House will share the services they provide, along with stories of impact from families they've served. WVU Medicine Golisano Children's will highlight the child life and injury prevention services their team brings to communities, beyond the exceptional care they're already known for.
19. RNI
This zone will feature two forthcoming interactive experiences from the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.
GET IN TOUCH
For inquiries related to the event, please contact Deb Matthews at DMatthews@wvuf.org or 304-284-4062.
For questions about accommodations, please contact Hotel Morgan at 304-292-8200 and mention room block group name “WVU Foundation Campaign Launch”.