MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The first president and CEO of the Morgantown Area Partnership Russell Rogerson has announced plans to retire at the end of the year after eight years of leadership in Morgantown. The MAP Board of Directors will launch a national search for his replacement later this month.

“On behalf of the Partnership Board, I want to thank Russ for taking the Partnership from a concept/plan to what it is today,” said Board Chairman Ryan Adrian. “He will be missed but the Board is confident that it will find a highly qualified candidate that will continue the valuable efforts of the Partnership to grow cooperation and collaboration that leads our community to grow and prosper.”

The search will also include a thorough look into potential regional, statewide and local candidates for its next president & CEO for MAP.

“Our search committee includes leaders from the community’s private, public and education sectors,” Adrian said. “We will advertise the position in newspapers, trade publications and other outlets. We intend to have a new President & CEO in place by the end of December.”

Under Rogerson’s leadership, the Partnership successfully brought four local development entities under a single, unified economic development umbrella to drive regional growth. During his time in Morgantown he was able to secure approval for the transformative I-79 Harmony Grove Interchange, brought Mountaintop Beverage to the Morgantown Industrial Park and leveraged EPA Brownfields grants to position the Sunnyside neighborhood for growth.

Rogerson is a Wheeling native who’s 45-year career in the workforce has included stops in Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia. Following his retirement, he plans on staying in the Morgantown area.

“It’s been a great and rewarding opportunity to play a key role in the beginning of the Partnership,” Rogerson said. “For almost 8 years I’ve had the pleasure of working with many great community leaders in Monongalia County and Morgantown. Together we faced a lot of challenges and opportunities over that period, but I trust that the Partnership is just getting started and will be around for many years to come.”