One Student Enrolls in West Virginia's $3 Million Anti-Woke Program
A $3 million taxpayer-funded anti-woke program at WVU enrolled only one student out of more than 26,000, sparking debate over government mandates, the director's $300,000 salary, and whether public funds were spent wisely.
A college student registered for three classes. That was the total enrollment for a $3 million West Virginia University program designed to combat progressive ideology on campus.
Out of more than 26,000 WVU students, only one signed up for the Washington Center for Civics, Culture, and Statesmanship. The program offered 19 courses for fall 2026 but found no other takers.
As of July 9, university spokesperson Shauna Johnson confirmed the single registrant had enrolled in three of the 19 available courses. The center launched with exclusive authority over hiring, tenure, curriculum, budget, and programming. The near-empty classrooms reveal a structural reality: when academic institutions and campus culture reinforce a single ideological framework, state-mandated alternatives struggle to compete.
House Bill 3297, signed into law June 26, 2025, by Gov. Patrick Morrisey, created the center to teach constitutional studies and "push back on the woke ideology that has infected our schools." Morrisey appointed Dr. Patrick Lee Miller as director. Miller commands a $300,000 first-year salary, funded from $1.5 million in annual state allocations. The center operates with $3 million in taxpayer funding over two years and offers scholarships up to $25,000 for a Statesmanship minor.
"This is not the legislators' jobs to be mandating those things, and maybe putting one university at risk, because now they're gonna have to continue to fund this," said Sen. Tom Takubo, a Republican from Kanawha County who opposed the bill. Takubo noted the center's creation came amid "significant important cuts" at WVU.
The timing matters. A $45 million budget shortfall in 2023 forced WVU to eliminate 28 academic majors and 143 faculty positions, including the entire world languages department. Faculty later voted 797-100 in a no-confidence resolution against President E. Gordon Gee. The Washington Center emerged during this institutional crisis, operating outside existing degree pathways.
Iowa faced the same challenge with a similar program. The Center for Intellectual Freedom, created in 2025, launched two one-credit classes with 19 total students. Iowa lawmakers responded by mandating that University of Iowa students complete six credit hours from the center to graduate starting in fall 2028, at an estimated annual cost of $900,000 for UI alone.
"The centers do not start with demand — they create it," interim director Luciano DeCastro told the Iowa Board of Regents. His June 2026 statement to the board, relaying a conclusion from the Common Sense Institute's market assessment, acknowledges what the enrollment data suggests: ideological counterprograms in captured institutions require compulsion to attract participants.
West Virginia lawmakers defended the center as facing administrative hurdles rather than demand problems. "I think what we have here is an administrative process where the program just isn't stood up yet," said House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, a Republican from Clay County who co-sponsored the legislation. He argued courses must be integrated into major and minor structures to drive enrollment.
Sen. Mike Oliverio, a Republican from Monongalia County who amended the bill, added, "These classes are not required by any major, so students may be interested in the subject, but they may choose another class over these that is required for them to be able to complete their degree on time." Both legislators said the problem is logistical rather than ideological.
Erik Herron, Eberly Family Distinguished Professor of Political Science at WVU, offered a different analysis. "The difficulties these centers are facing in terms of enrollment suggests that students aren't clamoring for what they're offering," he said. "I think the Washington Center, ironically, seems to be exactly what it complains that higher education has become. It was created in Charleston, and it was imposed on the university, so it's a big government mandate."
The center's courses include readings in Alexander Dugin's "fourth political theory," Carl Schmitt, and Julius Evola. The director's contract allows him to award himself a 10 percent merit increase and a 10 percent performance bonus. Should the Legislature stop funding the center, Miller retains a tenured faculty appointment at WVU, provided alternative funding can be secured.
Gov. Morrisey announced Miller's appointment October 29, 2025, stating, "Dr. Miller and the Washington Center are going to push back against the woke ideology that's infected our schools and help return higher education to its true purpose." The governor's office did not respond to requests for comment on the one-student enrollment.
Miller received $10,143 as an independent consultant for initial planning before his appointment. His five-year term runs through June 30, 2027, with extensions contingent on continued legislative funding. The director did not return interview requests for this report.
"I do think that it's important for the Legislature and for the governor to reflect on this," Herron said. "There is a question about whether or not this is the best use of public funds."
While the governor's office stayed silent, the enrollment numbers speak for themselves. One student. Nineteen courses. Three million dollars. The Washington Center was built to fight ideological capture in higher education, yet it demonstrates how government mandates alone cannot manufacture demand.