Five new endowed undergraduate scholarships are being created at West Virginia University through a $1.6 million gift from The McGuane Foundation, established to support schools and promote education in West Virginia.

Michael and Catherine Tassone McGuane of Key Biscayne, Fla., made the donation to the WVU Foundation to benefit students from four West Virginia counties who demonstrate both academic success and financial need.

The scholarships will count toward the Dream First scholarship initiative, an effort publically announced earlier this year by WVU President Gordon Gee to raise $50 million for student scholarships.

• The Michael and Catherine McGuane Honors Scholarship will benefit West Virginia residents who have graduated from public high schools in Marshall, Ohio or Wetzel Counties and are enrolled in the WVU Honors College.
• The McGuane Foundation/Judge Mark A. Karl Scholarship will provide scholarships to undergraduate students who have graduated from Tyler Consolidated High School in Tyler County.
• The McGuane Foundation/Judge John T. Madden Scholarship will benefit WVU undergraduate students who have graduated from Cameron High School or John Marshall High School in Marshall County.
• The Melissa, Michael and Matthew McGuane Ohio County Scholarship will benefit a state resident who has graduated from Wheeling Park High School.
• The Michael and Catherine McGuane Wetzel County Scholarship will be awarded to a student who has graduated from Hundred High School, Magnolia High School, Paden City High School or Valley High School in Wetzel County.

“We extend a heartfelt thank you to the McGuanes for their generosity in making the dreams of many current and future students come true,” said B.J. Davisson, Foundation senior vice president of development and chief development officer. “It’s truly wonderful when those who have attended WVU want others to experience the same or greater opportunities. The McGuanes are a great example of our caring and passionate base of alumni and friends.”

Michael McGuane, who grew up in Pine Grove, Wetzel County, and Catherine McGuane, who is from McKeesport, Pa., met while attending WVU. Mr. McGuane earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1972. That same year, the couple moved to Washington D.C. where Mr. McGuane attended law school at Georgetown University and Mrs. McGuane completed her studies as part of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing Scholarship Program obtaining a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Maryland in 1974.

After graduating from Georgetown Law School, Mr. McGuane practiced law in Washington D.C. for one year while Mrs. McGuane was a captain in the United States Army Nurse Corps stationed at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.

In 1977, the couple moved to Wheeling to be closer to family, and Mr. McGuane opened his law office where he practiced for more than 30 years. Mrs. McGuane, who earned an MBA degree while raising the couple’s three children, began helping Mr. McGuane in his law practice after their children left for college.

“We’re both from pretty humble backgrounds and honestly, education is what got us to where we are at today,” Mr. McGuane said.

This gift from The McGuane Foundation was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $1 billion fundraising effort by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2017.

-WVUF-

hk/9/15/2015

CONTACT: Bill Nevin, WVU Foundation
304-284-4056, wnevin@wvuf.org

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