When Byron Utley’s friends recruited him to join the theater crew in high school, he figured building sets was a good outlet for the skills he picked up in his computer drafting and shop classes. Six years later, Utley will graduate from West Virginia University with plans to make a mark on the design industry he never knew existed.
As WVU prepares to send more than 4,500 graduating students onto their next journey, President Gordon Gee pens a letter to his younger self in this Gee Mail after pondering, “What if I was a member of the Class of 2017?”
West Virginia University will send more than 4,500 graduates into the world this weekend as commencement ceremonies take place in three venues for all 17 colleges and schools.
The public will get a rare opportunity to hear from a songwriter whose work explores the challenging daily lives of working people and simultaneously offers a seemingly endless supply of hope when he sits down with a West Virginia University scholar of commercial country and Appalachian traditional music.
West Virginia University will award four Honorary Doctoral Degrees and one Presidential Honorary Doctoral Degree this May, recognizing individuals who enriched our world through their talents, their passion and their commitment to giving back.
A West Virginia University alumna who delved into the unseemly world of Indonesian slavery and brought home a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and a Grammy winning Mountain State native whose music has been covered by legends of the industry and sung at presidential inaugurations top the ranks of speakers at the University’s commencement ceremonies this year. WVU will hold commencement exercises at all 15 colleges and schools over a three-day period May 12-14.
Eight students from a variety of backgrounds have been honored with the Order of Augusta, West Virginia University’s most prestigious student honor. They are among 44 students who have been named WVU Foundation’s Outstanding Seniors.
The West Virginia University College of Creative Arts and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will assess their partnership after the April 24 PSO Canady Symphony Series concert at WVU’s Creative Arts Center.
Last April, Jared Sims became director of jazz studies in the School of Music at West Virginia University and hit the ground running, developing an updated and innovative jazz curriculum for students. On April 14 – almost a year to the day of his appointment – Sims will tell his tales through songs on a new CD with Ropeadope Records.
Jay Drury, who has led the West Virginia University Mountaineer Marching Band to multiple national appearances over the last 11 years, has announced his resignation as director of athletic bands and associate director of bands, effective June 1.