An innovative healthcare leader serving local communities and beyond, a long-time program manager who has worked tirelessly to enrich student learning opportunities outside the classroom and a licensed psychologist who has dedicated four decades of her career to the advancement of student mental health services are among the five new inductees to be honored for their outstanding contributions to West Virginia University.
The Division of Student Life will honor the recipients of the 2021 Hall of Fame and Outstanding Achievement Awards during an induction ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Monday (Oct. 4) at the Mountainlair Ballrooms. In accordance with WVU guidelines, all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask indoors in all WVU System buildings and facilities through Oct. 6.
Dr. Lisa Costello
Costello, of Weirton, serves as an assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at WVU and a pediatric hospitalist at WVU Medicine Children’s. She is co-director of the Pediatrics Clerkship and leads a healthcare literacy and patient advocacy curriculum thread for the M.D. program, and, serves as the advisor for Student Advocates Impacting Decision on Healthcare.
Costello also serves as the president of the West Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, president-elect of the West Virginia State Medical Association and a member of the Board of Directors for the WV Children’s Health Insurance Program.
She dedicates her work to improving communication among patients, healthcare professionals and the public, and, utilizing technology and media to amplify advocacy and education among healthcare professionals.
In 2011, the WVU School of Medicine Alumni Association selected Costello as recipient of the President’s Young Alumnus Award, in 2015, she received the Advocate for Children Award from the West Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and in 2017, she received the Margaret Buchanan Cole Young Alumnus Award from the WVU Alumni Association.
Costello has earned three degrees from WVU which include a bachelor’s in biology, master’s in public health and doctor of medicine.
Bruce Brubaker
After 32 years of working to advance student recreation and physical activity at WVU, Brubaker retired in 2019. He managed WVU Intramural and Campus Sports since 1986, and during his tenure, the number of club sports teams grew from 11 to 56.
Brubaker also pioneered the Athletic Training program for many of the club and intramural competitions, served as an instructor for the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Basic Instruction Program and coordinated the annual Mountaineer Week Bob Huggins 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament to help raise awareness and funds to benefit the Norma Rae Huggins Cancer Research Endowment Fund.
Kim Harrison
Harrison began her tenure at WVU in 1989 as the program assistant of the student-run radio station U92 the Moose, and in 2001, she was promoted to general manager.
From 2008, until her retirement in 2020, Harrison served as the assistant director of Student Engagement and Leadership. In this role, she oversaw the process of recognizing more than 450 student organizations. She worked to enrich the student experience by cultivating engaging and meaningful experiences and other leadership opportunities.
Recognized for her dedication to better the WVU community for students and staff members, she is the recipient of the 2019 David W. Jacobs Lifetime Service Award.
Virginia Pailes
Pailes devoted 27 years of service to the Office Campus and Community Life before retiring in 2020. Dubbed the face of WVU’s Elizabeth Moore Hall, Pailes greeted students and other guests for nearly three decades while managing the front desk of her much beloved building. Extending beyond her regular duties, Pailes voluntarily served as a mentor to the numerous students who visited E. Moore to study or attend events.
Not only did Pailes exhibit a deep respect for others, she also holds the integrity of the building in high regard. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, E. Moore Hall was like her own home, and she treated it that way— an approach that has become contagious to others.
Cathy Yura
A long-time ardent supporter of student well-being, Yura has committed nearly 40 years to advance a holistic approach to student mental and emotional health through education, service and advocacy.
Yura joined the Carruth Center in 1980 as a graduate assistant, and in 1997, she became the director, a position she held until named the assistant vice president for WELLWVU, in 2009. In this role, she helped lead the vision of an integrative approach to student health and wellness at WVU.
Perpetually searching for innovative approaches to mental health, her idea to provide students in recovery with a safe and supportive environment within the campus culture came to fruition in 2016 with the launch of the Collegiate Recovery Program and Serenity Place. Yura directed these programs until her retirement in 2020.
In recognition of her commitment to students, the Cathy Yura Recovery Scholarship was established in 2020 to benefit students in sustained recovery who are actively involved in service efforts.
-WVU-
ta/09/30/21
CONTACT: Kristie Stewart-Gale
304-293-8221; Kristie.Stewart-Gale@mail.wvu.edu
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