Morrisey Partners With Six Universities on Opioid Funds

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced partnerships with six universities and the West Virginia Foundation to guide opioid settlement investments in the state.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Substance Abuse

Morrisey Partners With Six Universities on Opioid Funds

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Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced strategic partnerships with six universities to guide how West Virginia spends opioid settlement money. The West Virginia Foundation also joined the partnerships to strengthen accountability for those funds.

Why it matters

The partnerships aim to direct opioid settlement dollars toward addiction prevention, treatment and recovery using research and data-driven investment decisions. For West Virginia residents affected by substance use, the effort seeks to ensure settlement funds are spent where evidence shows they will help.

The initiative is anchored in more than $1 billion in opioid settlements Morrisey helped secure as Attorney General, shared among six participating universities. How those funds will be divided and what measurable results the partnerships will produce have not yet been disclosed.

The players

Patrick Morrisey

Patrick Morrisey is the Governor of West Virginia, who previously served as the state's Attorney General and helped secure more than $1 billion in opioid settlements.

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is the state's flagship public research university, which leads the statewide opioid needs assessment through its Health Affairs Institute.

Marshall University

Marshall University is a public university in Huntington, West Virginia, contributing its Center of Excellence for Recovery to evaluate community-based addiction programs.

The details

West Virginia University leads a statewide needs assessment through its Health Affairs Institute to identify gaps in prevention, treatment and recovery services. Marshall University's Center of Excellence for Recovery will evaluate community-based programs, while WVU's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute advances focused ultrasound technology for addiction treatment.

Morrisey announced the university partnerships on November 9, 2026, with the announcement datelined from Fairmont, W.Va.

Roadmap

West Virginia has been among the states hardest hit by the opioid crisis, and its share of multistate opioid settlement funds made it a central test of how states spend such money. This announcement extends that settlement framework by tying spending decisions to university research and independent evaluation.

Residents seeking addiction treatment or recovery services may see changes as settlement-funded programs are shaped by the needs assessment. The partnerships are intended to direct resources toward prevention, treatment and recovery services across the state.

The takeaway

Residents interested in how opioid settlement money is spent can track the university-led needs assessment as its findings guide future funding. Evidence-based outcomes will be the measure of whether these investments reach people who need treatment and recovery support.