Governor Patrick Morrisey announced Dr. Patrick Lee Miller as the first director of WVU's new Washington Center for Civics, Culture and Statesmanship. The center aims to educate students in critical thinking about American founding principles while encouraging exploration of diverse viewpoints.
The Washington Center was established by Governor Morrisey in spring 2025 to provide fact-based instruction on America's founding and Western civilization. Dr. Miller will lead efforts to expand academic programs in constitutional studies, political philosophy, and Western intellectual history.
Governor Morrisey stated: "He understands that higher education should be about teaching students not what to think, but how to think."
Dr. Miller envisions training students "in the Western tradition, starting with ancient Greece and Rome, through the framing of the US Constitution, and up to the present crisis."
The center will receive $1.5 million in state funding during the upcoming fiscal year to support faculty recruitment, curriculum development, and public programming. Officials emphasize the facility will foster respectful debate and intellectual freedom on campus.
This initiative reflects the administration's commitment to ensuring that West Virginia's universities provide students with a strong foundation in American history, constitutional principles, and the Western intellectual tradition. By establishing this center, the governor aims to counter what he sees as ideological bias in higher education and ensure that students are exposed to the full range of American political and philosophical thought.
The center represents an investment in civic education that will help prepare the next generation of West Virginians to be informed, engaged citizens who understand the foundations of American democracy and can think critically about contemporary political issues.
Originally published by WDTV
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