Six individuals were named to the West Virginia University Foundation Board of Directors at its annual meeting Saturday, Aug. 14.

They are:

• Gregory S. Babe, president and CEO of Bayer Corp. and senior Bayer representative for the United States and Canada. He is responsible for the North American activities of the worldwide Bayer Group, an international health care, nutrition and innovative materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In addition, he is the president and CEO of Bayer Material Science LLC, and also serves as chair of the Bayer Political Action Committee and the Bayer USA Foundation. Babe is the executive chair of the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care Board Committee, and he is a member of the ACC’s board of directors, chemical management committee, and audit, finance and membership Committee. He is also on the board of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers, the Society of the Chemical Industry and the Business Higher Education Forum. In Pittsburgh, he serves on the Allegheny Conference on Community Development’s board of directors and executive committee, and is a member of Duquesne University’s board of directors and executive committee. Babe is also a member of WVU’s Engineering and Computer Science Education Enterprise Advisory Committee. A native of New Martinsville, W.Va., he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from WVU in 1980.

• Susan Brewer of Morgantown, an attorney with Steptoe & Johnson PLLC for 30 years. She has been serving as CEO of the firm since January 2009, and focuses her practice in the area of litigation, with a particular concentration on professional liability. She has tried more than 100 jury and non-jury cases in state and federal courts, and has been involved in appellate proceedings before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals. Brewer received her legal education at George Mason University School of Law. She received her undergraduate education at Duke University. She is also a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is recognized in Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and The Best Lawyers in America. Brewer is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the National Association of Women Lawyers and the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia.

• William “Billy” McCartney Jr., of Houston, Texas, a partner and energy trader with Vitol Capital Management where he currently manages a crude oil and natural gas derivatives portfolio. Since 2004, McCartney has held several positions at Vitol, including leading the acquisition and eventual sale of natural gas storage and transportation assets valued at more than $250 million. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from WVU in 1995. McCartney began his career as a system planning engineer with CNG Transmission (now Dominion Transmission) and later began trading natural gas at CNG Energy Services. Since moving to Houston in 1998, McCartney has worked for some of the leading companies in energy trading including PG&E, Texaco and El Paso, managing significant natural gas asset portfolios.

• Robert R. Ruffolo Jr., Ph.D, retired president of research and development for Wyeth (now Pfizer) Pharmaceuticals, and corporate senior vice president of Wyeth. Previously, he was senior vice president and director of biological sciences at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (now GlaxoSmithKline). Dr. Ruffolo received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy in 1973, and his doctorate degree in pharmacology in 1976, both from Ohio State University. He is currently adjunct professor of physiology and pharmacology at the WVU School of Medicine and adjunct professor of pharmacology at OSU. Dr. Ruffolo has been awarded honorary doctorates from WVU and the University of Catania (Italy). He has received many honors and awards for his pioneering research on Carvedilol (Coreg), a drug that radically changed the treatment of congestive heart failure by markedly reducing death, disability and hospitalization from this debilitating disease.

• Kathryn “Mikki” Van Wyk, a native of Iowa who now resides in Potomac, Md. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and subsequently worked as a cryptanalyst at the National Security Agency. She also worked as a special education teacher of at-risk students, and a supervisor and counselor for adult basic education in Montgomery County Schools. For more than 20 years, she was a freelance editor and writer specializing in science and public policy for a variety of clients, including Time-Life Books, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Van Wyk has been a member of the visiting committees of both the School of Medicine and the Creative Arts Center at WVU, a founding board member of The Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherd University, the chair of the Thanks a Million Foundation, a board member of the Boarman Arts Center, and a member of the John Hopkins University Council of Medicine. For the past four years, she has focused on improving access to dental care in West Virginia by sponsoring and helping organize dental clinics that provided free dental care to over 3,600 people and by helping establish the permanent Healthy Smiles Community Oral Health Center in Martinsburg.

• Alan J. Zuccari, president and CEO of Hamilton Insurance, a nationally independent insurance brokerage company ranked in the top 50 nationally and top ten regionally. Prior to his acquisition of Hamilton Insurance 1982, he worked for the Royal Insurance Co. In addition, he has served on numerous committees for the American Health Care Association and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and has been a long time advocate for the long-term healthcare industry. Zuccari is a 1973 graduate of WVU with a degree in Political Science. He currently resides in McLean, Va.

Babe, McCartney, Ruffolo, Van Wyk and Zuccari will serve three-year terms while Brewer will complete an unexpired two-year term.

Verl O. Purdy (‘64), former owner/president of AGDATA in Charlotte, N.C., was elected board chairman. He has been a member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors since 2004. Robert R. Reynolds (‘74, ‘07 Hon.) of Boston, Ma, president of Putnam Investments, was elected vice chair. Elected secretary was Marcia Broughton (‘76, ‘79) of Clarksburg, an attorney with the law firm of Jackson Kelly PLLC. Joan Corson Stamp (‘73) of Wheeling will serve as assistant secretary. All will serve one-year terms.

Directors re-elected to three-year terms include Purdy, James H. Chamberlain (‘69) of Thousand Oaks, Ca., J. Franklin Long (‘77) of Bluefield and Robert A. McMillan of Martinsburg.

The board recognized seven outgoing directors for their service and commitment to the Foundation: Curtis “Hank” Barnette (‘56, ‘75 Hon.) of Bethlehem, Pa., Ralph J. Bean Jr. (‘63, ‘66) of Clarksburg, C. Richard Daniel, MD, (‘52, ‘54) of Beckley, Sue Seibert Farnsworth (‘62, ‘67) of Wheeling, David W. Hamstead (‘63) of Frederick, Md., Marshall S. Miller (‘66, ‘73, ‘06 Hon.) of Bluefield, Va., and Vivien P. Woofter (‘52, ‘98 Hon.) of Arlington, Va.

Private funds donated through the Foundation go to support academic programs, student scholarships, faculty development and public service initiatives at WVU.

The WVU Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts for the benefit of WVU.

-WVUF-

bn/08/19/10

CONTACT: Bill Nevin, WVU Foundation
304-284-4056

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