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A Tribute to D&E’s Legend Dr. Gloria M. Payne Editor’s Note: When planning for the Fall 2020 issue of Forward, Professor Emerita Dr. Gloria Payne was selected to grace the cover and a feature story on her life and career were to be highlighted. Sadly, before the edition went to publication, Payne passed away on Oct. 10, 2020, at age 98. This article serves as a tribute to a woman who inspired all who knew her. The photographs tell of her many celebrations. Dr. Gloria Payne never planned to become a teacher, much less the longest serving professor at her Davis & Elkins College alma mater. Yet, her career as an educator in business and fashion
year began that fall, Payne stayed on to serve the College for 71 years. At D&E, she met her husband, the late Carl Payne ’50, grew the business department and shaped thousands of lives. As chair of the Business and Economics Department, Payne developed 18 business programs at D&E and connected her students and the business community through honorary organizations and events such as “An Evening with Business” and “Project Interview.” She hosted etiquette dinners for students so they would know how to best present themselves in social settings and the Beta Alpha Beta Annual Awards Banquet to give recognition to students and community members.
The James S. McDonnell Foundation Chair in Business and Economics in honor of Dr. Gloria M. Payne was established in 1986 and dedicated in 2008 in gratitude for the education Marcella McDonnell Stevens ’85 received under Payne’s guidance. In 1995, she received the College’s Alumni John Whitman ’50, left, and Wendell Cramer Distinguished Alumna Award. ’59 congratulate Dr. Gloria Payne on the dedication of For her dedication throughout The James S. McDonnell Foundation Chair in Business the years, Payne was awarded the and Economics in her honor. College’s inaugural Crystal Mace earned her state and national awards and she Award in 2017, the highest honor bestowed to taught her students as much about life as she did an individual. However, she never viewed her about their chosen field. career as “work” and refused to take credit for her When word of her passing was announced on students’ successes. social media, thousands of memories and words In a 2017 interview, she said, of praise poured in from around the world with “I have so many students who heart break expressed by former students, friends keep in touch with me who and associates. To her students, she was a mentor, say, ‘I don’t know what I would friend and the professor they never forgot no have done had you not helped matter how much time had passed from their days me with this.’ Well, I didn’t do at D&E. She, too, never forgot her students and it. I just opened their eyes to kept up to date on their careers and life events. what they could do. It gave me Payne graduated from D&E in 1943 with Bachelor of Arts degrees in business and English, and dreamt of moving to a larger city to work in the business industry. Just in case things didn’t go as planned, she obtained a teaching certificate. Not long after, she went to work instructing business at Spencer High School in Spencer, West Virginia, and discovered her passion. Two years later, she was asked to return to D&E to teach a summer course. As the academic 8
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a chance to use my talents. It gave me a chance to be more aware of other people’s lives, how you can help, how you can be a benefit to them. So, it’s not just a little world of what did I do, it’s what did we do. What have we done together to make your coming to D&E worthwhile.”
For seven decades, Dr. Gloria Payne helped D&E students make the most of their talents, instilled confidence and prepared them for career success.
That sentiment rang true for alumnus Mark Barber ’75, who currently serves as Chairman of the D&E Board of Trustees. “For me, Dr. Payne embodied the life-changing college experience that is Davis & Elkins College,” Barber said. “Like so many students who arrive on campus, unsure of the pathway to a degree or their career interests, I made a course adjustment in my sophomore year, one of the most consequential in my life. Guided by Dr. Payne and others in the faculty and administration, I began to pursue a business degree, graduated with pride and then went on to a rewarding career that literally took me around the world. Throughout her long and distinguished teaching career, Dr. Payne helped students, just like me, see their true potential and
Davis & Elkins College President Chris A. Wood and his wife, Lisa, present Dr. Gloria Payne with a certificate awarding her the honor of James S. McDonnell Foundation Professor of Business and Economics Emerita. Payne is D&E’s longest serving faculty member.
