Marshall Magazine Spring 2022

rock climbing and ski ing. Research shows that West Virginia has more of those activities than any other state in America. Our job now is to sell them on why they should move here.” Several leaders in Huntington see Smith’s close relationship with WVU President Gordon Gee as a shift in the right direction, and hope the two schools can work together on more initia tives going forward. Just one week into Smith’s new role as Marshall’s president, Smith andGee publicly affirmed their in tent to continue working together in a joint op-ed published in newspapers across the state. A recent example of that type of synergy is a new program designed to help make West Virginia known nationally as the “Startup State.” “Today, 75% of all new jobs are created in startups,” Smith said. “As a result, both Marshall and WVU are working hard to reimagine their curriculums and help students thrive in the new digital economy. We need to encourage and support entrepreneurs in every corner of the state.

Brad and Alys Smith founded The Wing 2 Wing Foundation, which focuses on advancing education, entrepreneurship and the environment in Appalachia.

Education and entrepreneurism are the great equalizers in a society where opportunities are not always equitably distributed.” Having overseen a predominantly young workforce during his years in Silicon Valley, Smith appears to have his finger on the pulse of the next generation. “It used to be that eight out of every 10 college gradu ates wanted to work for a large corporation,” Smith said.

“Today, eight out of every 10 college graduates want to work for themselves. This is the digital generation mind set. They are dreamers and doers. I think if we could breed entrepreneurism, that could be our single biggest opportunity in West Virginia. We want every student in this state to have a sense of pride about where they are from and to realize they no longer have to leave West Virginia to pursue their dreams.”

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