The generosity of hundreds of West Virginia University alumni and friends has made the recovery process a bit easier over this past year for many victims of last summer’s devastating flooding in central and southern West Virginia.
Honoring strong connections to the Mountain State and bold leadership, the 2017 West Virginia Business Summit and Annual Meeting will kick off this year with the induction of three pioneering individuals into the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame.
West Virginia University’s art collection will soon gain a new limited-edition piece, a gift made possible by Blenko Glass. This year’s piece to celebrate West Virginia's 154th birthday, “Sun Over the Mountains,” is a vase inspired by the mountains and rolling hills of West Virginia and is the first designed by Blenko’s newest designer, Aaron Harvey. It has one companion piece, titled, “Moon Over the Forest.”
Dr. Robert L. Totterdale characterizes himself as a lifelong learner, and established an endowment in his mother’s name in the academic area that represents the second segment of his life’s education. As a result, the Dorothy F. Totterdale Scholarship will be offered at the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics to foster that desire to learn in management information systems students.
Writing, literature and poetry students at West Virginia University will benefit from a gift from late alumnus and West Virginia native Russell L. Isaacs. Isaacs, who died in April, left $252,000 in his estate to the WVU Foundation to provide scholarships to students in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
Within hours of learning about flooding in southern West Virginia last year, the WVU community sprang into action, and is still working on recovery projects in the flood-damaged region as we approach the first anniversary of the devastating event.
The Erickson Alumni Center will host an exhibit honoring the twentieth anniversary of the Children’s Health Insurance Program from June 7-30.
Inside the beltway, West Virginia University President Gordon Gee delivered a call for changing the dialogue and working together to fix the problems plaguing the Mountain State. Gee, speaking Tuesday (June 6) at the 39th annual WVU Alumni Luncheon on Capitol Hill, said, "Today, we can either stack hands to create new solutions – or we can stand in silos and continue to struggle. I choose stacking hands."
Four new members and officers have joined the WVU Alumni Association Board of Directors. On Friday, June 2, J. Rob Alsop, Sharon Martin, Morris Morrison and J. Casey Rentch were elected to the Board during its annual meeting.
The Roberta and William Gellner Equine Endowment will advance the mission and goals of the equine program, which is housed within the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, with discretionary funds to support scholarships, research and other opportunities.