FAIRMONT — During his career at the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics, Dr. Tom Witt has enjoyed seeing both colleagues and students succeed and the research programs grow.

On June 30, Witt will retire after spending 42 years at WVU. He has been serving as associate dean for research and outreach, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, and professor of economics in the College of Business and Economics.

Dr. Jose Sartarelli, Milan Puskar dean of the college, and the faculty and staff recently held a reception in Witt’s honor.

Witt, a Texas native who grew up in Bartlesville, Okla., north of Tulsa, went to Oklahoma State University for his undergraduate education and then earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. He said WVU gave him the best job offer and the best opportunities to take his career in the direction he wanted, and he came to Morgantown in 1970.

He married his wife Grethe Myles in 1976, and they’ve lived in the Cheat Lake area since. Myles is a retired University High School art teacher.

Witt started out as an assistant professor teaching both undergraduate and doctoral level courses in economics, including labor economics, econometrics and statistics, and has basically focused on those areas throughout his career. He has been the director of the college’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research since 1985.

He explained that the BBER was started in 1949, predating the formation of the College of Business and Economics by two years. The bureau has always concentrated on providing economic research and analysis to assist the business community, economic development organizations and the Legislature in understanding what’s going on in the economy so they can make policy decisions that are best for West Virginia, Witt said.

At the time he became director, he discussed ways that the BBER could elevate its research and the potential to distribute that information to the business community and government. With the help of Brenda Nichols Harper from the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the bureau obtained some line-item funding from the Legislature that really helped it move forward, Witt said.

 “One of the nice things is we’ve been very fortunate to employ top-quality researchers,” he said.

Witt said the BBER’s research team has grown and includes researchers at the Ph.D., graduate and undergraduate levels.

The West Virginia economic outlook program, led by BBER associate director Dr. George Hammond, is the bureau’s signature program. Witt has helped organize conferences throughout the state, where Hammond presents his economic forecasts to help people understand the challenges facing the state in the future.

In the BBER’s demographic and labor market program, demographer Dr. Christiadi produces population projections by age, sex and county and assisted the U.S. Census Bureau with the 2010 Census.

Dr. Tami Gurley-Calvez, research assistant professor, has been leading the BBER’s health and social welfare research, including the study of issues involving Medicaid reform, the criteria for health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Health Care Act, and the economic basis and justification for establishing a statewide cancer trial network.

The bureau also has a public finance program, and has worked with Marion County as part of its efforts related to state and local finance, Witt said.

He said all the research done by the BBER focuses on reporting factual information in a high-quality, nonpartisan and very public fashion. The faculty and staff make presentations on various research issues, and all reports are available online at www.be.wvu.edu/bber.

Witt believes it’s very important for economists to communicate important issues to a broader audience, including the general public, the business community, and state and local government.

“We’re trying to going forward seek out new opportunities for additional funding in the bureau,” he said.

Even though he’s soon retiring, Witt said he plans to continue doing some economic research for the bureau on a part-time basis and will keep exploring options in terms of consulting and possibly writing in the state.

“They have a national search under way to try to find someone to replace me,” he said. “I’m going to be around to help that person learn a little bit of the ropes.”

Witt commented that he’ll remember the people he has worked with over the years. Some have stayed at the college, while others have moved on to opportunities elsewhere. Seeing other people succeed is a nice aspect of the job, he said.

“If you’re not working with people that you respect and you enjoy collaborating with, then it’s just a job,” he said. “I’ve got a great sense of fulfillment of working with some very fine people here at WVU.”

Witt has also seen some of his students go into successful careers in West Virginia and other states.

“I’ve had an amazing set of students over the years,” he said.

Witt remembers his favorite class, which was a summer term at the end of the Vietnam War. He said all the class members were veterans from the war and were in school because they wanted to learn. Those young people asked him lots of questions and really pushed him to learn more himself.

He said teaching is a two-way street.

“I learn from the students and hopefully they’ll learn something from me,” he said.

Email Jessica Borders at jborders@timeswv.com.