Marshall University Interim President Gary White went viral Wednesday when he and his staff launched the university’s first-ever presidential Twitter account, @MarshallUPres.

White said he decided to engage in social media because he wanted to communicate more effectively with the student body.

“When I first got to campus, I looked around and realized that students weren’t exactly carrying newspapers around with them anymore,” White said. “Students are connected electronically now. I knew we had to do something with Twitter before I even asked the question.”

White said students and faculty members should expect to see tweets about what the president is doing, working on and thinking.

“Even more importantly though, I want the students to know what Marshall is doing collectively,” White said.

Students said they were intrigued to see the president utilizing social media.

“It’s just neat to see someone like him who’s in a powerful position doing something that us students can see on a daily basis,” sophomore Mikaela Earl said. “I hope he tweets all the time.”

Ginny Painter, senior vice president for communications and marketing, assisted White with the construction of the account.

“The name of the account excluded President White’s name in case the future president wants to do a continuation,” Painter said. “Of course, it will really just depend on their personality.”

At press time, White’s main focus will be on Twitter alone. However, Painter said the university’s official Instagram page, @MarshallU, may play a joint role with the president’s office in the future.

Amy Napier can be contacted at napier168@live. marshall.edu.