Ericke S. Cage, West Virginia State University's newly named president
“I look forward to building on the work we have already started and the success we have achieved in moving WVSU forward,” said Cage in a statement on the announcement. “As I have said since my arrival, I am convinced that the university’s best days are yet to come, and I look forward to working with the campus community to make that a reality.”
Since September 2021, Cage has been WVSU’s interim president following the resignation of its prior president, Dr. Nicole Pride in July 2021, after less than a year in office. As Diverse reported, WVSU staff had voiced work environment concerns under Pride’s leadership.
“One of the things I like about this news is that President Cage was interim president before,” said Dr. Robert T. Palmer, an associate professor and department chair in the department of educational leadership and policy studies at Howard University. “So, he had some time to familiarize himself with the institution and its culture as well as develop a healthy, positive relationship with the board.”
In July 2021, Cage joined WVSU as vice president and chief of staff. The board of governors appointed Cage as chief operating officer on July 30, 2021 around the same time as Pride’s resignation.
Under Cage’s leadership as interim president, WVSU has received more state funding for its land-grant programs. In addition, WVSU was recently awarded a more than $700,000 grant from the Kanawha County Commission to launch a Cybersecurity Innovation Center at the institution in fall 2022.
Prior to WVSU, Cage was the executive advisor to the president and board of visitors at Norfolk State University, a fellow public HBCU. There, Cage authored a $2.7 million grant proposal to support student access.
