Morgantown Area Partnership President & CEO Russell Rogerson Announces Year-End Retirement

Morgantown Area Partnership’s first President & CEO, Russell Rogerson, will retire from his position at the end of 2026 after nearly eight years of leading the organization and more than 25 years in economic development. The Partnership’s 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 Partnership will conduct a national, regional, statewide and local search for its next President & CEO. “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. Key milestones include securing approval for the transformative I-79 Harmony Grove Interchange, attracting Mountaintop Beverage's major manufacturing facility to the area and leveraging EPA Brownfields grants to position the Sunnyside neighborhood for growth. Together, these initiatives have modernized infrastructure, created hundreds of jobs and positioned Greater Morgantown for long-term economic success.

Rogerson’s retirement comes after 45 years in the workforce.  A native of Wheeling, WV, Rogerson worked in Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia in leadership roles in economic development.  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.”

View the full position details, qualifications and application information at: bit.ly/partnershiphiring

Search Committee Contact: SearchCommittee@MorgantownPartnership.com

About the Morgantown Area Partnership

The Morgantown Area Partnership is a public/private alliance for the betterment of economic, business and community development in the greater Morgantown area and Monongalia County, WV. Together alongside business, government, educational and quasi-governmental partners, the Partnership will continue to lead the community forward and demonstrate how passion and collaboration fueled by one, unified vision can ensure prosperity for future generations.

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