WVU Parkersburg President urges Congress to support Pell Grants, workforce funding

 Parkersburg, W.Va. (September 18, 2026) — WVU Parkersburg President Torie Jackson was a featured speaker Thursday at a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill on the role of community colleges in workforce development and student success.

The Association of Community College Trustees, in partnership with the Community College Coalition, hosted “Strengthening America’s Workforce Pipeline: The Role of Community College in Federal Education and Workforce Investments” at the Russell Senate Office Building. U.S. Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, gave opening remarks. The briefing focused on Pell Grants, Adult Basic Education, Child Care Access Means Parents in School and Strengthening Community College Training Grants.

Jackson spoke alongside college leaders and students from across the country.

“It was an honor to be selected by ACCT to represent WVU Parkersburg, West Virginia, and community colleges nationally in Washington,” Jackson said. “As a former Pell Grant recipient, I know personally how important federal support can be in making college possible. That opportunity changed the trajectory of my life, and today’s students deserve access to those same opportunities.”

Jackson told the audience she worked during high school to help support her family after her father lost his job. “I decided in high school that education would be my path to something different,” she said. A Pell Grant made college possible, and “I was actually able to graduate from college with almost no debt.”

She also described how federal workforce funding has affected students in West Virginia. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded a $6.2 million Strengthening Community College Training Grant to three West Virginia community colleges, including WVU Parkersburg, to strengthen nursing education.

Jackson said the grant has helped WVU Parkersburg increase its nursing student population by 62.4%, expand class capacity, add student coaches and faculty, and increase simulation and clinical hours.

“We have a 100 percent pass rate for all our graduates whenever they do take their tests at the end,” she said. “[The grant] allows you to take your program and be able to expand it.”

While in Washington, Jackson also visited the offices of Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice and Rep. Carol Miller, and met with the chief of staff for Rep. Riley Moore.

“We are doing incredible things in the Mid-Ohio Valley, and it is important for federal leaders to see the real results of their investments — students earning credentials and degrees, families gaining economic opportunity, and employers getting the skilled workforce they need,” Jackson said. “The work happening at WVU Parkersburg is a great example of the impact community colleges have every day, and more people should know our story.”

The Association of Community College Trustees represents more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern more than 1,000 community, technical and junior colleges in the United States and beyond.