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Capehart president of Bluefield

BLUEFIELD — The Bluefield State College Board of Governors on Wednesday selected Moundsville native Robin Capehart as the college’s next president.

Capehart, 66, served as president of West Liberty University for eight years. He has served as BSC’s interim president since January.

“During Robin Capehart’s seven and one-half months as interim president, he has secured funding and commitments of support to permit the official start of construction for the first on-campus housing in more than 50 years,” Bluefield State board Chairman Garry Moore said. “BSC is now much more engaged with the city of Bluefield and surrounding communities, and he has actively promoted the college to policy makers at the local, state, and national levels.”

“I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve Bluefield State College as president,” Capehart said. “Since January, I have been consistently impressed by the way Bluefield State College impacts the lives of our students in such a positive fashion. With the leadership of the board of governors, the insight of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the communities we serve, the college will continue to grow, to serve, and to lead.”

Bluefield State College is an historically black college that was founded in 1895 as a teacher training center. In the 1950s, according to information from the college, it began to attract students of European heritage after school segregation was outlawed. It has since evolved to include areas of focus such as engineering, nursing and business.

During his tenure at West Liberty University, Capehart was accused of using his position and university resources to promote his private film company’s projects.

As a result, he stepped down as WLU president in March 2015 and was reassigned as a legislative liaison and consultant for WLU through the end of that year. In June 2015, Capehart admitted he violated the state’s Ethics Act when he asked a university employee to work on a film he was producing.

In November 2017, Capehart was named as lead counsel to the West Virginia Senate Committee on Finance.

He previously has served as West Virginia’s secretary of tax and revenue, and as a chief administrative law judge for the West Virginia Tax Department. He also has been a senior resident fellow with the Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia and president of Georgetown Solutions in Wheeling.

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