Historical Note

West Liberty University (WLU) is a forward-looking, four-year public university steeped in a rich heritage as West Virginia’s oldest institution of higher education. Established as West Liberty Academy in 1837 (26 years before the state was admitted to the Union), it was created to respond to the need for higher educational opportunities west of the Appalachian Ridge. The institution is named after the town in which it is located. West Liberty was so named in the late 18th Century as the westernmost point of the new liberty provided through the Declaration of Independence.