WVU Alumni Magazine / Fall 2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine Summer 2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

1

I

Former President Bill Clinton Speaks at WVU Commencement

n the world of college commencement speakers, few people are bigger gets than Bill Clinton, and West Virginia University got him.

Jason Parsons, a former WVU Student Government Association president and political science major from Seth, West Virginia, played a starring role in the coup.

Parsons first met Clinton two years ago, when the former president was campaigning for his wife Hillary Clinton in Chesapeake, West Virginia, during the 2008 election. Like most people who encounter the famously charming politician, Parsons couldn’t wait to see him again. He invited Clinton to Morgantown, where Parsons had the honor of introducing him to the crowd that gathered at Woodburn Circle to hear him speak.

A few chance meetings later—including at the Big East Tournament and during a Clinton Global Initiative University event—Parsons thought he ought to remind Clinton that he was still welcome in Morgantown.

“ We all have to under-

stand we are in this future together. You can’t stop the world.

You have to learn to live with confidence in the face of change.”

2

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

Top: WVU President James P. Clements, former President Bill Clinton, student Jason Parsons, and WVU Board of Governors Chair Carolyn Long; Center: Long, Clinton, and Clements share a light moment; Bottom: Clinton addressing graduates.

With some behind-the-scenes planning and negotiations, Clinton agreed to return and speak at the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences commencement. Parsons was thrilled.

“I just have an enormous amount of respect for him and the work that he does,” Parsons said.

“The work he’s done transcends politics. It was an honor to meet him and spend time with him.

I know he has a great affection for the people of West Virginia.”

At commencement, Clinton told the crowd: “We all have to understand we are in this future together. You can’t stop the world. You have to learn to live with confidence in the face of change. You have to help people who have not had the opportunity to sit where you are sitting.

You have to do it with the work you do.”

For a full story, photo slideshow, and video go to http://www.wvu.edu/alumni/Clinton; http://www.wvu. edu/alumni/GradPhotos; http://www.wvu.edu/alumni/ GradStory.

D

ear Readers,

EVERY HILL IN WEST VIRGINIA TELLS A STORY. That notion is at the heart of this issue—we know that Mountaineers, no matter where their journeys take them in the world, are forever connected to the hills and valleys of our mountain state.

One place that captures the narrative power of a hill is a familiar one for our students and alums: “Law School hill.” When we first began to talk about the sense of place that links Mountaineers to this state and to each other, we realized this particular vista—overlooking Health Sciences and Milan Puskar Stadium—tells a story as big as this University (p. 10).

Place is more than geography, however, and in stories like “Morgantown + WVU = UniverCity” (p. 4) and “WVU on the Hill,” (p. 12) we talk about the power of community to put WVU and our alums quite literally on the map (p. 15).

In this issue we also look to our alums for “stories in the first-person.”

As part of our ongoing effort to bring your voice into this magazine, we initiated “Our Experts Speak” and offer Irene Berger’s (a 1979 alumna and past president of the WVU Alumni Association) candid thoughts on the role public universities can and should serve in providing access to education for minority and low-income students (p. 28). Another voice is Distinguished Alumnus George Bennett, ’67 BS, cofounder of Health Dialog Corp., an international health care services company, who discusses the complex challenges facing American health care (p. 29).

We also invited GenNext alums (p. 22) Onick Lewis and Sarah Lovell to share their perspectives as young graduates in a changing world.

We welcome them as part of a new generation of Mountaineer voices.

Finally, we celebrate the power of “Team Mountaineer.” Join our athletes in a tour of their service and outreach with impact that outlasts the win of any one game (p. 36). And enjoy the many faces of Coach Bob Huggins (p. 34) as we look deeper into the story of a man who came home to WVU to win.

We hope you’ll come away from this issue with an idea for a story of your own to tell. Please go to http://wvualumnimag.wvu.edu/ and tell us. Voices wanted.

Dana Coester Executive Editor http://wvualumnimag.wvu.edu

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine is published alumni, friends, and other supporters of West Virginia University. It is published by the WVU Alumni Association, the WVU Foundation, and WVU Creative Design, a division of University Relations. Additional Support is provided by the WVU Research Corporation.

Copyright © 2010 by West Virginia University. Brief excerpts of articles in this publication may be preprinted without a request for permission if West Virginia University Alumni Magazine is acknowledged in print as the source.

Contact the editor for permission to reprint entire articles.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine is an integral part of the teaching, research, and service mission of West Virginia University. The magazine seeks to nurture the intellectual, social, and economic development of its readers in West Virginia and beyond. The opinions of authors expressed in articles in the magazine are not necessarily those of WVU or of the editors, however.

Printed in the USA on recycled paper.

®

West Virginia University is governed by the West Virginia University Board of Governors and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.

WVU is an Equal Opportunity/ Affir mative Action institution.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

3

WVU James P. Clements

President, West Virginia University Christine Martin Vice President of University Relations Dana Coester Executive Editor

V O L U M E 3 3 • N U M B E R O N E • 2 0 1 0

Features 3 Letter from the President

Angela Caudill Art Director

4 Morgantown + West Virginia = UniverCity

Vincent Vernet Cover Art Direction

8 WVU: A Veteran-Friendly University

Laura Spitznogle Managing Editor Kathy Deweese University Editor Dan Friend Photography Manager Michael Ellis Brian Persinger Chris Schwer Photographers Adam Glenn Karyn Cummings Web Designer and Developer Tara Curtis April Johnston Becky Lofstead Bill Nevin Amy Quigley Contributing Editors EDITORIAL OFFICES WVU Creative Design PO Box 6690 Morgantown, WV 26506-6690 fax: (304) 293-4762 e-mail: wvumag@mail.wvu.edu CHANGE OF ADDRESS WVU Foundation PO Box 1650 Morgantown, WV 26507-1650 fax: (304) 284-4001 e-mail: info@wvuf.org CLASS NOTES WVU Alumni Association PO Box 4269 Morgantown, WV 26504-4269 fax: (304) 293-4733 e-mail: alumni@mail.wvu.edu ADVERTISING Lisa Ammons PO Box 0877 Morgantown, WV 26507-0877 fax: (304) 293-4105 e-mail: lammons@mail.wvu.edu VISIT OUR WEB SITE http://wvualumnimag.wvu.edu Read the latest news and information about WVU and link to a variety of West Virginia-related information sources.

Read stories from the current issue and an archive of issues back to 1998.

For the latest WVU news go to: http:// wvutoday.wvu.edu THE WVU VISION West Virginia University is a studentcentered learning community meeting the changing needs of West Virginia and the nation through teaching, research, service, and technology.

Bob Huggins

A unique collaboration between the city and WVU is allowing both entities to thrive.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited WVU and Morgantown to talk about supporting returning veterans.

10 Every Hill in West Virginia Tells a Story

The vista from the Law School hill encompasses three valuable and influential facets of WVU: Milan Puskar Stadium, the Health Sciences campus, and the Law School.

12 WVU on the Hill

WVU alumni are making an impact in and around Washington, D.C.

16 Lane Park: A New Door to the University

A beautiful green space that contains a sculpture by artist and alumnus Burl Jones opens at the new Alumni Center.

18 Remembering the Fallen Miners

The WVU community mourns the loss of 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch Mine.

19 WVU: The Next Generation of Mountaineers

Current students and recent grads are molded into our future leaders, innovators, and experts.

22 First Generation, Leading the Next Generation

A letter from Onick Lewis reflects on his choice to attend WVU and how he benefited from his college experience.

23 Dealing with Weekends and Water: A Mountaineer Reflects on

Her Time in a War Zone

WVU graduate Sarah Lovell describes her experiences in Iraq.

26 A Legacy of Student Government Leadership

A father and son, both student government leaders, share their love for WVU.

27 Officer, Gentleman, Healer

Alumnus Richard W. Thomas is one of the best-trained military medical professionals in the world.

28 Our Experts Speak: Irene Berger — Trusting West Virginia’s Flagship

An alumna discusses her pride that WVU is working hard to make sure low-income and minority students have the opportunity to go to college.

29 Prescribing Common Sense for Health Care

Poised to make an impact on health care delivery, a WVU alumnus shares his views on health care policy.

30 Brick by Brick

Twin doctors John and Jim Brick travel to rural West Virginia every month to deliver health care to those who need it most.

32 Reaching Out: Bringing Health Care to Rural West Virginia

WVU health professions students gain valuable experience working in rural communities.

34 Bob Huggins: Home Where He Belongs

The men’s basketball coach loves West Virginia, Morgantown, and his players.

36 Once a Mountaineer. . .

As student-athletes work hard on the field and in the classroom, they also strive to help the community and become good role models.

40 Home-court Perfection

The women’s basketball team celebrates a record-breaking year.

43 From Newton to Naismith: WVU “Breaks Ground” and Lays the

Foundation for Future Success

New facilities at WVU attract the nation’s top athletes and faculty members.

44 Incubating Success

ENTER here for your chance to win an autographed BOB HUGGINS mask just like the ones used on the cover of the Alumni Magazine: http://wvualumnimag.wvu.edu

4

2010

For behind-the-scenes footage of the Alumni Magazine cover shoot go to: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Ha9vqheqYlI West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

The WVU Business Incubator helps small businesses, like the nationally recognized Choosy Kids Club, get on their feet.

46 Wanted: WVU Love Stories

Did you fall in love at WVU? Send us your stories!

48 Loyal Mountaineers

Alumni are honored for their commitment to WVU.

50 Staying Engaged by Giving Back

Husband and wife establish scholarship.

51 Irvin Stewart Society 53 Class Chatter

On the Cover: Coach Bob Huggins and the Mountaineer Manicas Photograph by M. G. Ellis

from the President

N

WVU

West Virginia

o university means more to its state than means to .

We open the world to our students through our educational programs and we prepare them to thrive in a global marketplace.

We currently have 32,000 students statewide, who come from every county in West Virginia, every state in the union, and 100 other countries.

WVU educates the most students in West Virginia—and many of the brightest and best from our high schools.

In a national report released earlier this year and featured in USA Today and The Washington Post, the Education Trust ranked WVU high among public institutions that are attracting and graduating academically-qualified low income and minority students.

Today, as throughout our history, WVU is opening the doors of opportunity to people from all backgrounds.

We also offer world-class, lifesaving health care to everyone in our state.

We are unwavering in our commitment to treat even the most critically ill, regardless of their ability to pay.

Last year WVU and its affiliates spent nearly $80 million to provide health services for people who could not pay for their care.

We perform research with international impact—research that attracts businesses from around the world to West Virginia and creates jobs for our citizens.

In the past fiscal year, WVU’s sponsored funding for research totaled $152 million, up by eight percent from the prior year.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that WVU is in the top 12 on its list of “Biggest Gainers in Federal Funds for Academic Research and Development” from 2000 to 2007.

We provide a 40-to-1 return on state investment, creating $8 billion in business volume for the state’s economy.

We field an athletic program whose student-athletes and coaches represent West Virginia with class and inspire people across our nation—that was never more evident than during our men’s basketball team’s run to the NCAA Tournament Final Four.

No university means more to its state than WVU means to West Virginia.

In this magazine, you will find many examples of what WVU means to the state, nation, and world.

WVU’s reach is global, but our commitment as West Virginia’s 21st century landgrant university remains constant.

We improve West Virginians’ lives.

We offer West Virginia to the world and bring the world to West Virginia.

In all we do, our greatest ambassadors and exemplars are the 175,000 WVU alumni distinguishing themselves in every field of endeavor.

Thank you for carrying WVU’s flag across the nation and the world.

James P. Clements, President West Virginia University

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

5

Morgantown + West Virginia University WRITTEN BY BECKY LOFSTEAD PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS SCHWER, DAN FRIEND, M. G. ELLIS, BRIAN PERSINGER, AND ALLISON TOFFLE

>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

his time last year, Morgantown, home to West Virginia University, had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States at around 3.9 percent.

A front page feature in The Wall Street Journal featured Morgantown as a college town ripe with job opportunities, and the city was showcased in national news segments from CNN to NBC. In October, CNNMoney.com ranked Morgantown one of the 50 best places to launch a small business (number seven in top small places), and the American Institute for Economic Research listed Morgantown as number 19 in its college town (population under 250,000) category.

While the picture isn’t quite as rosy in 2010, the statistics and accolades are no fluke, say local, state, and higher education leaders.

“This town and this University are thriving because of successful collaborations and partnerships,” said WVU President James P. Clements, who says he will look for continued ways to strengthen the University’s impact in Morgantown and throughout the state.

And that core land-grant mission of service and economic development, he says, not only improves the quality of life here but builds a stronger community.

“What we accomplish together as a town and a university is amazing,” Clements says. “From smaller projects like cleaning up neighborhoods and offering free health care clinics to underprivileged citizens—to larger ones that lead to improvements in our fire service and transportation/ eco-systems—partnering in civic life has to be at the core of a 21st century land-grant university.

WVU and Morgantown are doing things right.”

Mayor Bill Byrne said few college communities have the type of town-gown relationship that Morgantown and WVU enjoy, describing it as being grounded in “cooperation and commitment” over many years.

“I like to call Morgantown a ‘CommuniverCITY’—a blend of community-based groups and agencies intertwined with West Virginia University to do what’s in the best interest of our neighborhoods and residents,” he said.

That includes working with public, private, and nonprofits as well.

In the mid-1990s, the city, county, and WVU had separate bus lines. Today, they are consolidated under the Mountain Line Transit Authority, and WVU pays a fee for students and employees to ride the system at no charge. Ridership is approaching over one million passengers a year compared to around 200,000 a few years ago.

6 4

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

=

UniverCITY

Station >>>>> Mountaineer A project to construct a 500-space parking garage, with adjoining commuter student lounge, bicycle storage, showers, and parking offices, is emblematic of another successful partnership that gives Morgantown the “special character” that sets it apart from other towns, Byrne said.

Congressman Alan B. Mollohan helped secure $5.1 million from the US Department of Transportation for the intermodal project, and Morgantown and WVU contributed land and additional funds.

Mollohan joined Mayor Byrne, President Clements, and local officials last October for the dedication of Mountaineer Station.

The $16-million complex, which also includes a retail area, is located near the Health Sciences Personal Rapid Transit station.

In addition to the PRT stop, Mountain Line and local apartment shuttles pick up and drop off passengers, and bicyclists park their bikes indoors and use the free showers.

Bottom line: the joint project is promoting alternative, safe transportation and reducing traffic congestion.

New Morgantown Fire Station Another noteworthy joint project involved the transfer of a 30,000-square-foot parcel of land (half belonging to the University Mountaineer Station, hub for city transportation.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> and the other half belonging to the Monongalia County Commission) to the City of Morgantown to build the new North Side Fire Station.

With the issuance of $4.5 million in tax-exempt bonds by the Building Commission to cover the cost of construction plus an aerial fire truck, the facility was officially dedicated last August, replacing the 60-year-old Wiles Hill Station.

At the dedication, then-Fire Chief David Fetty acknowledged University, city, and county officials, state representatives, city employees, and others who worked together to make the project a reality, saying, “This is not our building. This is not our fire department. It belongs to the citizens of Morgantown.”

County Commissioner Bob Bell said the cooperation displayed in working together to make the fire station a reality should serve as “a great example to other college towns.”

Narvel Weese, the WVU vice president for administration and finance, said, “This station is a great example of bringing the city, the county, and the University together to accomplish something very special.”

He also noted that while WVU is exempt from paying property taxes, the institution pays a fire service fee and ensures that all business and occupation taxes on University construction are paid by contractors.

Plus, some University affiliates, namely WVU Hospitals and University Health Associates, also pay this fire service fee in addition to state sales tax.

Morgantown’s new fire station.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

5 7

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Volunteer students and doctors getting ready to help the homeless through Project Mushroom.

Community Health Clinic.

Project Mushroom While two local shelters provide meals and overnight accommodations for the homeless, winter poses a risk to those in need.

A few years ago, a group of WVU medical students formed Project Mushroom, or Multidisciplinary Unsheltered Homeless Relief Outreach of Morgantown, to clothe the area’s homeless, especially during the winter months. The students partner with local businesses to collect outerwear and other warm merchandise.

“Keeping these individuals healthy and warm by providing extra layers of coats, hats, scarves, gloves, sweaters, and socks can make all the difference in the world,” said student leader Patrick Tate.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to prevent cases of hypothermia or even a death due to exposure. It’s the least we can do for our community’s less fortunate.”

Health Right A long-established partnership between WVU, WVU Hospitals, University Health Associates, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Monongalia Health System, and local physicians and dentists in private practice provides specialty care without cost to uninsured or underinsured low-income local residents.

The Milan Puskar Health Right Clinic is a communitysupported free clinic made up of health professionals from a variety of disciplines who volunteer many hours of quality medical care to patients in need.

WVU pharmacy, dentistry, medical, and nursing students also learn to work with and treat patients in these clinics, while other students and community members perform clerical tasks, assist with cleanup efforts, painting, and other group projects.

In all, over 200 volunteers have provided health care to more than 28,000 patients and dispensed millions of dollars’ worth of free medications.

“There is no doubt that this clinic saves lives,” said Dean of the WVU School of Nursing Georgia Narsavage, whose faculty and students are committed to the partnership.

Women’s Soccer Practice Field Ask anyone about WVU’s nationally ranked women’s soccer team and they will tell you that since Coach Nikki Izzo Brown took the helm in 1996, it’s been overwhelmingly successful. Teams have appeared

8 6

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

A new “field of dreams” for women’s soccer.

in ten consecutive NCAA tournaments, fielded All-Americans, and sent players to play professionally.

The only missing ingredient to even greater prominence was a practice field of their own, which most Division I programs have.

That field is now a reality thanks to an agreement between WVU and the City of Morgantown that allows WVU to lease approximately two acres of property from Morgantown for $10 a month.

In exchange, WVU built a $3.1-million, 75-by-20 yard natural turf field that will be used for team practices in the spring and fall. For much of the rest of the year, particularly April through July, the Morgantown Board of Parks and Recreation Commission (BOPARC) will use it for soccer, lacrosse, and playground-specific programs for area youths.

“This is just a win-win for everyone,” said BOPARC Director Mark Wise. “It helps WVU continue to be a first-class destination for top players and it helps Morgantown’s youth identify with and play the sports of soccer and lacrosse.”

A trail from the soccer field to nearby Krepps Park is also scheduled to be completed by this summer.

Sunnyside’s Facelift Immediately west of WVU’s Downtown campus, near the site of old Mountaineer Field and the new Life Sciences Building, is the neighborhood known as Sunnyside. A mostly student populated area along Campus Drive, Jones Avenue, and Eighth Street, the area is undergoing a rejuvenation with the Sunnyside Up Project—a collaborative partnership between Morgantown and the University.

One of the first steps has been the construction of a new residence hall in the neighborhood. This past fall, the $21-million, five-story Honors College Hall opened. This state-of-the art facility features a study and television lounge on each floor, suite-style living, apartments for a resident faculty leader and a residence hall coordinator, an outdoor courtyard, large state-of-the-art multimedia room, and more.

“It’s a showcase for campus residential living, and a great recruiting tool for attracting some of the best students in the country,” said Dean of the Honors College Keith Garbutt, who lives there with his wife Christine as resident faculty leaders.

Jim Hunt, Sunnyside Up director, said the hall is an excellent addition to the neighborhood.

“Not only is it a stunning and beautiful building, but the students

Sprucing up Sunnyside.

WVU and community arts.

WVU accepts donations for the United Way.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

who live there are significantly changing the culture in Sunnyside.

They’re cleaning up the neighborhood, recycling, making repairs, and just contributing to the overall rejuvenation of the area,” he stated.

A unique event held this spring helped contribute to that culture change.

“The Honors College, in cooperation with Student Government and the Center for Civic Engagement, sponsored a day without graffiti: a day where we spread out across the neighborhood and eliminated as much graffiti as we could in the hope that it never returns,” Hunt said.

Another benefit of the Honors College being situated in the neighborhood, Hunt added, is that the residents—mostly freshmen—have an affinity for the area and want to remain there to live after their first year.

“Because of the programming and friendships that are formed during their freshman hall experience, we’re finding that a lot of students want to live close to Honors Hall in subsequent years, placing some really excellent students adjacent to the facility in the future,” he said.

Other Sunnyside Up initiatives on tap include a $5-million project to replace lighting and sidewalks from Campus Drive to Fourth Street, bus stops along Grant Avenue, and a privately funded student housing complex at the corner of University Avenue and Campus Drive.

serve internships with the orchestra, attend concerts in Pittsburgh, and participate in backstage tours of Heinz Hall, the Pittsburgh Symphony’s home. WVU music faculty often perform with the Symphony as well.

The partnership has been in place since 2003, largely due to the efforts of music alumnus Robert Hamrick, a trombonist with the Pittsburgh Symphony for more than 25 years.

Because of WVU, students and residents also regularly enjoy music performances ranging from eclectic Mountain Stage artists to country music entertainers and rock groups.

Thought-provoking speakers also visit campus regularly, especially during the David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas lecture series.

Guest speakers have included Cornel West, Meave Leakey, Soledad O’Brien, Homer Hickam, Norm Augustine, and Maya Angelou.

The Community and the Arts WVU’s Community Arts Program in the College of Creative Arts is another way the University is reaching out to area citizens of all ages, bringing them together through common interests and hands-on activities. Approximately 500 children and adults are participating in music, theater, dance, and art classes. In the art program alone, there are classes in painting, digital photography, basket weaving, botanical drawing, and more.

A partnership between the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the College of Creative Arts is also producing benefits for WVU students and faculty as well as the community.

Each year, the partnership brings a series of three concerts with world-acclaimed conductors to the Creative Arts Center.

Pittsburgh Symphony musicians provide master classes that are open to the public, and WVU students have the opportunities to

• Morgantown is a center for sports culture because of WVU athletics

Other Town-Gown Contributions There are numerous other examples of town-gown cooperation: • WVU’s police force works closely with the Morgantown police • Students, employees, alumni, and visitors frequent local shops and restaurants, adding significantly to the local economic base • WVU employees provide the largest contribution to the United Way of Monongalia and Preston counties • New businesses are born and spun off from the University (see page 44)

• Faculty, staff, and administrators serve on numerous community boards • A new child learning center serves University students and employees as well as local families.

As Blake Gumprecht, award-winning author of The American College Town and a geographer at the University of New Hampshire, states: College towns are often comfortable yet cosmopolitan, tolerant of differences, and offer avenues to broaden oneself beyond a classroom.

Morgantown certainly falls into this category—an interesting, distinct, and wonderful UniverCITY.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

7 9

WVU: A Veteran-Friendly University WRITTEN BY DIANA MAZZELLA PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIAN PERSINGER

THE COUNTRY’S TOP MILITARY ADVISOR visited Morgantown and WVU in April, one of only three stops on a tour of cities selected for their community-based support of returning veterans and their families.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, seemed pleased with what he heard and saw.

Following a day of forums and discussion hosted by Morgantown Mayor Bill Byrne, Morgantown Chamber of Commerce President Ken Busz, and WVU President James P. Clements, Mullen observed: “It’s obvious that you care. This is a veteran-friendly university, in a veteranfriendly community, in a veteran-friendly state.”

Mullen’s goal for the visit was to find out the needs of veterans in the community and discover how Morgantown and WVU support them and help them integrate with the community following deployment—whether that’s help securing a job, going back to school, finding appropriate health care and counseling, or offering support to their families.

Anne Hirsh, co-director of the Job Accommodation Network, a federal program headquartered at WVU, spoke about the free expert and confidential guidance provided to disabled citizens, including veterans, related to workplace accommodations and disability employment issues.

Trisha Gyurke, director of WVU Employment Services, affirmed the University’s commitment to recruiting and hiring veterans because of the skills, education, and experience they possess.

Terry Miller, WVU’s veterans advocate, and Steve Ernst, president of the Student Veterans Group, spoke of the important qualities that veterans bring to campus and offered their support to veterans seeking financial aid and other assistance at WVU. Leaders and owners of some of Morgantown’s premier businesses—Azimuth Inc., Workforce West Virginia, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, and Clear Mountain Bank—also spoke of their interest in and efforts to hire qualified veterans.

Provost Michele Wheatly said the University was taking veterans into account as part of its upcoming strategic plan in an effort to reach adult learners.

Chancellor for Health Sciences Dr. Christopher Colenda said WVU has a veteran’s affairs administrator on staff to assist with outreach efforts, in addition to health professionals who treat posttraumatic stress disorders, brain injuries, and other trauma associated with combat injuries.

Mullen began his visit by laying a wreath at a memorial on WVU’s campus, where the mast and bell of the USS West Virginia stand.

“WVU was proud to be a partner in this important day of discussion,” President Clements said. “It is important to talk about how we as a community can better help our returning veterans and their families reenter this community and transition seamlessly into our schools and colleges, our health care systems, and our employment base.”

For a full story, photo slideshow, and video go to http://www.wvu.edu/alumni/MullenVisit/.

To access the webcast of Admiral Mullen speaking at the town hall meeting, go to http://www. wvu.edu/alumni/MullenVideo/.

Admiral Mike Mullen and his wife spent the day at WVU and in Morgantown to listen and learn about community-based support for veterans.

10 8

2 20 01 10 0

West WestVirginia VirginiaUniversity UniversityAlumni AlumniMagazine Magazine

Planning your next reunion just got easier with West Virginia reunion kits!

Perfect for reunion planners, kits include scenic postcards, West Virginia highway maps, travel guides and Genuine West Virginia goodie bags that are sure to please your guests.

Qualifying for your reunion kits is free and easy!

• Reunion must take place during the summer of 2010.

• Only school, family or community reunions taking place in West Virginia are eligible.

• Kits are FREE, but limited. First come, first served.

Planners must pick up kits or arrange for shipping.

Register online at www.genuinewv.com or call 304-957-9363 or 304-957-9336 to reserve your kit today.

Reunion planners can register their reunions online allowing guests to upload photos, video and stories to their reunion Web page. Planners can nominate their reunion to be the featured “reunion of the month,” winning a professional photography shoot of the event.

“West Virginia has the great quality of life you remember and the opportunities you’re looking for today. There is no better time to come home!

If your school or family reunion is planning an event in West Virginia this summer, help us distribute our free reunion kits and spread the message: genuine people, genuine hospitality, genuine West Virginia.”

Gov. Joe Manchin III

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

11

Every Hill in West Virginia Tells a Story WRITTEN BY AMY QUIGLEY AND APRIL JOHNSTON PHOTOGRAPH BY DAN FRIEND AND CHRIS SCHWER

IN MOST CITIES, no matter the size or elevation, there is a special spot that its residents return to again and again—a beautiful vista that inspires the soul, ignites ideas, and provides an anchor in our world in motion.

In Morgantown, that spot is Law School Hill. It’s the place where, from a spot on the edge of the grass, you can see a panoramic view of West Virginia University’s power to change lives.

To the right is Milan Puskar Stadium, the concrete castle that transforms into the state’s largest city on Saturdays in autumn, when 65,000 fans gather along the perimeter of Mountaineer Field, painting it gold and blue. Their loyalty is not only a tribute to WVU’s tradition of nurturing student-athletes, but a testament to the Mountaineers’ ability to unite.

To the left is the sprawling Health Sciences campus, where doctors, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists are educated and dispatched to West Virginia communities, where our state’s residents are treated, often whether or not they have the means to pay for it, and where the nation’s brightest researchers and most talented doctors are developing the medicine of tomorrow.

Looking down on this vista is the Law School. The building is simple, but what happens inside has shaped, and reshaped, this state. This, the state’s only law school, is where many of West Virginia’s lawyers and judges begin their careers.

Law School Hill isn’t just a view. It’s a symbol of all West Virginia University has done for, and means to, this state.

Impact

“WVU is an economic powerhouse for the state.”

— President James P. Clements

West Virginia University, and its affiliates, pump $40 into the state economy for every dollar of state appropriation.

Read the study at http://www.bber.wvu.edu.

12 10

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

Athletics State/Global Impact NFL draft picks since 1980:

Discover a new way to experience your university . . . visit wvualumnimag. wvu.edu online for the new, enhanced digital WVU Alumni Magazine. You’ll find even more photos, videos, and stories, plus links that highlight what it really means to be a Mountaineer.

71

After the 2010 Gator Bowl, Richard Catlett, president of the Gator Bowl Association, wrote a letter to Mountaineer fans. In it he said,

“This past week truly exemplified the class and dignity that West Virginia fans are known for.”

Economic Impact Since 1984, donations to WVU Children’s Hospital from proceeds of the annual Gold-Blue Spring game: almost $600,000.

College of Law Global Impact

Community Impact

2009 attendance at Milan Puskar Stadium: 401,216 (57,317 average for seven games).

Number of states where WVU College of Law alumni are working: 50, plus Washington, D.C.

Overall attendance at Milan Puskar Stadium since 1980: 10,168,489 (53,802 average for 189 games).

Number of WVU College of Law alumni working in the military, serving overseas: 5

Mountaineer football players are regular visitors to WVU Children’s Hospital and area schools.

State Impact

Number of football players named to the AFCA Good Works Team (honoring selfless community contributions): four, with the latest being Tito Gonzales in 2008.

Number of WVU College of Law alumni serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates: 12

Amount of garbage recycled on a typical game day: 2.5 tons.

In the State Senate: 3

Subjects of speeches given to area middle and high school students by WVU studentathletes: academics, the danger of drugs, caring and compassion, and humility and behavior.

On the State Supreme Court: 4

Health Sciences

Percentage of West Virginia Family Court judges who graduated from the WVU College of Law: 62

Economic Impact Direct and indirect impact on West Virginia economy of WVU Healthcare and all related entities: $2 billion People directly employed by WVU Healthcare and all related entities: 8,667 Jobs directly and indirectly created by WVU Healthcare and all related entities: about

15,600

Number of jobs in West Virginia’s economy created, directly or indirectly, by WVU Healthcare and related entities: 1 in 47 Amount WVU Healthcare and related entities generate directly and indirectly in State and local tax revenue: $191 million

Community Impact

Patients served annually by WVU Hospitals: 24,675 Health professionals participating in WVU continuing education each year: 3,366 Visits and consultations with WVU physicians annually: 934,007 Youth participating in WVU’s Health Sciences and Technology Academy, which provides enrichment, guidance, and support for promising students considering health careers: 958 Calls to West Virginia Poison Control Center, operated by WVU Health Sciences Charleston Division: 17,689 Calls to WVU’s Medical Access and Referral System, which provides physicians and other health professionals statewide with 24-hour-a-day toll-free telephone access to WVU faculty physicians and other health professionals: 24,266 Amount of uncompensated care provided by WVU and its health care affiliates annually to those who cannot pay: About $84 million

Percentage of West Virginia Circuit Court judges who graduated from the WVU College of Law: 73

Community Impact Hours of legal services provided to clients who could not otherwise afford these legal services—pro bono—by the College of Law’s clinic programs: more than 40,000 annually Number of open cases the clinic programs are currently working: 200 Number of victories by the Immigration Law Clinic in 2010: 3

“I couldn’t have done it without them.

Without them, I had nobody.”

— Aaron Gonzalez-Rodriguez An undocumented immigrant who was represented by the Immigration Law Clinic. Visiting Assistant Professor Shelley Cavalieri and law students Angela Brunicardi-Doss and Ryan Posey proved to an immigration judge that deporting Gonzalez-Rodriguez would have caused his family extreme and unusual hardship. His wife is deaf, and his daughters suffer from a heart defect and a developmental delay.

The judge also granted adjustment of status, which means Gonzalez-Rodriguez will receive a green card and, in five years, citizenship.

“They whisked him away as soon as he was born. He was in a helicopter on his way to Morgantown.

He may need more surgery down the line, but from the looks of things, we think he’s cured.”

— Sarah Inman Her newborn son Clifton was flown from Parkersburg to WVU Children’s Hospital for emergency heart surgery.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

13 11

WVU on the Hill Alums build an influential network in the nation’s capital

WRITTEN BY APRIL JOHNSTON PHOTOGRAPHS BY M. G. ELLIS

Mike Fulton

ike Fulton is standing where it all began, in the Cannon House Of fice Building in Washington, D.C. It’s the oldest congressional office building in the Capitol complex and it’s where—as a newly minted graduate of West Virginia University—Fulton found his first job, in Senator Robert Mollohan’s office.

It was a destiny of sorts.

It was the spring of 1979 and Fulton was supposed to begin working as a general assignment reporter for the Parkersburg Sentinel in May. But then he met Merideth Robb, a Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism alumnus who had returned to campus to find a new staff member for his boss, the senator.

Oh a whim, Fulton interviewed.

If he got the job, he’d have to explain his predicament to the Sentinel editor and beg out of his assignment, but he figured it was worth the risk.

It paid off.

Fulton not only got the job, but he became another link in the vast WVU network

14 12

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

Loretta Ucelli

Scott Widmeyer

Chip Slaven

that has been growing in the nation’s capital for decades. WVU alums hire promising and grateful WVU grads who, in turn, give a break to another talented member of the University family.

It’s like the WVU version of Pay It Forward.

“The University was good to me many moons ago,” says Fulton, now the executive vice president of public affairs firm GolinHarris. “Now I try to do what I can to help someone else. We were all in that person’s spot years ago.”

He begins to tick off the names of WVU students who have interned or been hired at GolinHarris. He’s nearly a half dozen names in when there is pause, then a peal of laughter.

Fulton can’t believe it. As if on cue, a fellow WVU alumnus steps into the Cannon House and raises a hand in friendly recognition. It’s Craig Sharman, a 1997 political science graduate. Today, he works for Tyco.

“You wouldn’t believe all of the WVU people in Washington,” Fulton says, still chuckling. “You wouldn’t believe it.”

A Unique Connection?

In Morgantown, there is a longstanding notion that WVU has a special connection to Washington, D.C. Perhaps it’s because the University is only a three-and-a-half hour drive from the nation’s capital. Maybe because, as the state’s largest and most influential school, WVU often has the ear of legislators.

But ask the Washington veterans about the Morgantown connection and they’ll give you an immediate and simple answer: it’s all about the people.

The University has served as the launching pad for dozens of Washington success stories, including Guardian America editor Mike Tomasky, former director of White House communications Loretta Ucelli, and communications executive Scott Widmeyer.

“My experiences at WVU gave me a sense of confidence and a tenacity that moved me forward,” says Ucelli, vice president for communications and public affairs for the Peterson Foundation, a group dedicated to finding solutions to fiscal issues.

But that confidence alone isn’t always

enough to land a job in one of the nation’s most competitive job markets.

“It’s tough, probably tougher today than it’s ever been,” says Widmeyer, a 1974 journalism graduate who founded Widmeyer Communications in 1988, a New York and Washington-based public affairs and communications firm.

He watched the city flood with ambition last year, when young people who had volunteered for Barack Obama’s campaign followed the president to Washington looking for work and a way to make a difference. Widmeyer talked with dozens of them. Many, he knows, are still without jobs.

“It makes the University even more relevant,” he says. Because in a sea of outstanding resumes, fierce competition, and economic distress, job seekers need to find an effective way to cut through the noise. Networking is that way. “In the times we live in now, people have to find a way to make those connections,” Widmeyer says.

One WVU alum who navigated the network successfully is Chip Slaven, who earned his undergraduate degree at WVU

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

13 15

and worked in politics for twelve years before colleagues urged him to return to law school.

It was a difficult decision. One week he was attending the Democratic National Convention, the next week he was wandering the Mountainlair.

But Slaven’s return to Morgantown allowed him to make a connection with a professor, Andy Wright, who once worked as a litigation associate for Jackson Kelly, PLLC. When Slaven graduated in 2007, Wright helped him land a job in Jackson Kelly’s Washington office, working with government contracts.

Today, Slaven is a member of the WVU College of Law visiting committee, regularly attends alumni events, and tries to help fellow WVU graduates jump into the Washington job market.

“Relationships are an important thing in life if you can foster them,” Slaven says. “You can use them to your advantage, but you can help others, too.

They’ll remember that. I remember the people who helped me out 15 years ago.”

Return on “Investment” The path between Morgantown and Washington, D.C., has never been a one-way street.

Yes, WVU has produced some of the most influential people in the nation’s capital, but that influence hasn’t resided only within the city limits. Much of it drifts right back to West Virginia, in the form of innovation and education.

Few understand the process better than Ellen Schiller, the manager of disability policy in the Center for Education and Human Services, SRI International.

16 14

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

The title is a mouthful, but it means this: Schiller conducts national studies that help to improve academic outcomes for students on the margins.

It’s a career born in the classrooms of West Virginia, where she taught after earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from WVU. It was the mid-1970s and the United States government had just passed legislation that allowed children with disabilities to be educated in public schools.

It was exhilarating to be part of a new movement in education. It allowed Schiller to see both the possibilities and limitations in special education. She decided she wanted to be a bigger part of it and moved to Arizona to earn her PhD. The PhD led her to a job in government, where she now has the task of observing educational programs and interpreting educational data. Her studies end up in the hands of policymakers, and those policymakers set the standards in special education classrooms across the country, including the ones in West Virginia where Schiller used to teach.

“I’m committed to bringing this data to the table so it becomes part of the conversation,” Schiller says.

Another member of the WVU family who has committed his career to change is Francisco Posada, a PhD student in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources who interned with the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT), and has a full-time job waiting for him there upon graduation.

The goal of the ICCT is to protect public health, minimize climate change, and improve quality of life for billions by researching the best practices to reduce

emissions and teaching those practices directly to the nation’s top transportation regulators and policymakers.

“Our job is to gather data, analyze, and suggest what might be the best options for reducing the impact of transportation, while observing the cost implications for each option,” Posada says.

It’s a job that involves a lot of innovation and compromise but, in the end, Posada sees his role as a beneficial one.

“I like to think that I’m helping the United States and other countries around the globe in reducing greenhouse gases and reducing the risk of health problems,” he says.

The World at Your Fingertips Because Mike Fulton has helped so many new college graduates find their niche in the nation’s capital over the years, he understands how the young minds view the world.

“They have this opinion that this is a very large world that they live in and they wonder where they fit in,” he says. He tries to help them see otherwise.

This world, he believes, is actually a small place, full of interconnected people, ideas, and goals. It’s a theory that he sees on full display in Washington, where people are united by shared passions and histories. Somehow, in all of the chaos of a big city, Mountaineers find each other, and they take care of each other.

“Young people I’ve helped ask, ‘Is there any way I can repay you?’”

Fulton tells them: Yes. “Be loyal to your university and help someone else.”

Keep the WVU network growing.

WVU Students and Alums In and Around the Nation’s Capital: An extensive, though certainly not all-inclusive, list of WVU students and alums who have made their mark on, in, and around the nation’s capital: Scott Widmeyer, ’74 BSJ, chairman of Widmeyer Communications

Jessica Hammond, ’07 BA, completed an internship at Golin Harris

Mike Fulton, ’79 BSJ, executive VP of Golin Harris

Mollie Pettit, ’09 BS, ’09 BS, received the American Geological Institute/American Association of Petroleum Geologists fall internship in geoscience public policy

Mike Tomasky, ‘82 BSJ, editor of Guardian America and contributing editor for The American Prospect Loretta Ucelli, ’76 BSJ, former director of White House Communications for President Bill Clinton Ellen Schiller,’72 BA, and ’75 MA, manager of Disability Policy in the Center for Education and Human Services, SRI International Chip Slaven, ’92 BA, ’07 JD, associate for Jackson Kelly law firm Sarah Lovell, ’07 BS, field service engineer for Sierra Nevada Corporation (go to p. 23 for more on Sarah) Francisco Posada, mechanical engineering PhD student, intern with the International Council for Clean Transportation

Amanda Visek, ’04 MS, ’07 MA, ’07 PhD, teaches at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services Jennifer Meinig, ’07 JD, legislative counsel for the Alliance for Justice

Briana Warner, ’08 MSJ, Senator Jay Rockefeller’s deputy press secretary

H. Marshall Jarrett, ’66 BA, and ’69 JD, director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys

Erica Rogers, ’09 BA, interned in Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s office

Jamie Bosley, ’05 BFA, logistics coordinator for National Geographic

Rick French, ’88 BA, ’89 MA, director of the Center for Program Planning and Results, Department of Labor. His wife, Jamie, is also a WVU grad, and works for NIH US Department of Labor

Christine Simmons, ’07 BSJ, Associated Press Bureau

Malene Davis, ’84 BSN, ’94 MSN, president and CEO of Capital Hospice Martin Josie, ’98 MS, Baltimore Orioles Ticket Sales, developed a NCAA Football National Playoff proposal and shared it with President Obama and others

Frederick Van Zeck, ’70 BS, commissioner of the Bureau of the Public Debt Greg Buzzard, ’03 BS, Legislative assistant for Sen. Jay Rockefeller Eugene Cottilli, ’82 BS, ’92 BS, media/congressional liaison for the US Department of Commerce Gene Irisari, ’97 JD, deputy chief of staff to Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX)

Go online at wvualumnimag.wvu.edu to make your own mark on our map of alumni in and around Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

15 17

Lane Park: A New Door to the University

WRITTEN BY CORDIA LUCAS

PHOTOGRAPHS BY M.G. ELLIS

THE MOUNTAINEER COMMUNITY always comes together to help support West Virginia University. In late 2009, WVU alumni and friends merged creativity with their love of the University to begin construction of a beautiful gathering place for students, parents, alumni, and other visitors to enjoy. The result: a beautiful green space on campus known as Raymond J. Lane Park.

Lane Park, named in honor of WVU alumnus and donor Ray Lane, features grass lawns, walkways, a pedestrian bridge, and streams flowing into a pond. In addition, the park has benches where visitors can enjoy native West Virginia plants and views of campus.

“This park truly complements The Erickson Alumni Center and is a wonderful addition to our entire campus. We are very fortunate to have the support of WVU’s Board of Governors and alumnus Ray Lane, who understood the importance of enhancing this green space so that everyone could have a place to go to play ball, read, or just sit and enjoy the scenery,” said Stephen L. Douglas, president and CEO, WVU Alumni Association.

Woolpert Inc., an organization nationally recognized for its design of park and recreational facilities, constructed the park, which is located just off of University Avenue and Van Voorhis Road near the entrance to The Erickson Alumni Center.

18 16

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

“I was very honored when my firm was selected to provide the design for the park,” said Andrew Pack, senior associate for Woolpert and a 1988 graduate of the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design. “As an alumnus, I was proud to provide a design and contribute back to the University where I gained my skills as a landscape architect.”

He added, “When I learned about the opportunity to design a great outdoor space for the new Erickson Alumni Center, I knew it was an opportunity not only to enhance the foreground of the facility but to transform the existing open space into a lasting park for use by the community, students, and visiting alumni.”

Kenn Bullock, vice president of Woolpert and a 1975 graduate of WVU, explained that Lane Park also allowed the design team to develop a new entryway to the WVU campus.

“The University has a lot of entrances, and you didn’t know where the front door to WVU really was. Now, Lane Park is that front door,” Bullock said. “With the beautiful Alumni Center and now a gorgeous park, this setting gives the ‘wow’ impression of coming into the University.”

Upon entering Lane Park you are greeted by a 14-foot-tall bronze statue designed and crafted by WVU alumnus Burl Jones, whose

creative work is featured all over the country.

The statue was a gift from WVU graduate Verl Purdy, also a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

“Hopefully, alumni will look at the statue and relate to the beautiful images,” Jones said.

“There is something in the statue for pretty much everyone.”

The statue’s base is a mountain, and emerging from it are five life-size figures, each of which symbolizes a different aspect of our proud heritage. A Mountaineer sits majestically atop the mountain and at the base are four figures from all walks of Mountaineer life: a business professional,

a medical professional, an engineer, and a WVU student.

“It’s an honor to be asked to do something like this,” Jones stated. “The fondest wish is that most people will appreciate what you’ve done.”

Along with Lane Park’s aesthetic qualities, visitors have a peaceful place to sit and read. Mountaineers who favor fitness will also find great use for the park’s lighted walking paths.

“Walking or running around University Avenue during heavy traffic can be intimidating,” said Dr. Ann Richards, Pierpont Apartments resident faculty leader and associ-

ate professor in the Department of Special Education. “The walking paths provide a wonderful alternative. I know our students are looking forward to using them.”

After watching Lane Park’s beauty unfold, alumni, students, and friends celebrated the opening of the park at the official dedication ceremony in May.

WVU alumnus Burl Jones oversees the installation and puts a final polishing touch on a statue he made for Raymond J. Lane Park, the green space by the new Erikson Alumni Building. The statue features five life-size figures, including a business professional, a medical professional, an engineer, a student, and the Mountaineer.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

19 17

Remembering

the Fallen Miners

WRITTEN BY APRIL JOHNSTON

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN PERSINGER

ON APRIL 5, 2010, the Upper Big Branch Mine exploded, resulting in one of the deadliest mining disasters the state had ever seen.

Twenty-nine miners were killed that day in southern West Virginia, in a town built and sustained by coal.

For the community, the pain was immediate and searing. They’d lost their own.

But, soon, that pain reached north, into the valleys of West Virginia, and everyone began to mourn.

In Morgantown, students organized a candlelight vigil. Faculty hung their heads in a moment of silence. Men’s Basketball Coach Bob Huggins and former Student Government Association President Jason Parsons created a fund for the victims’ families, and the West Virginia University family offered donations of time, tears, money, and prayers.

Huggins even took the town pots of homemade spaghetti.

They might not have known the men who died, but they all knew someone like them. In the miners, people saw their brothers and uncles and fathers and grandfathers.

They saw tradition .

They saw a way of life.

They saw Mountaineers .

They saw themselves.

President James P. Clements offers remarks at a campus vigil honoring coal miners who died in the Upper Big Branch mine tragedy.

20 18

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s g e n enext? r - who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who willahelp? t i o how n can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how mountcan I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s aineers next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I starting today, as students are more dowho we create help? what’show next? will help? how can I help? what’s next? involved with community outreach the next wave of leaders, innovators, efforts than ever before.

Engagement and experts? do weIface big issues what’s who will help? howHow can help? next? who will help? how is much more than a buzzword—it’s like environmental change, the global can I help? what’s next? who help? can I help? what’s become a parthow of everyday life. The economy, and new energy sources?will WVU Center for Civic Engagement What’s next? Who will take care of next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will was formed to connect engagement the future? opportunities with academic study.

These questions arewhat’s always on the next? help? how can I help? who will help? how can I The campus has responded enthuminds of those who work in higher as variedwhat’s next? are especially relevant help? what’seducation, next?andwho will help?siastically, howsupporting can events I help? as offering warm clothing and medical to the students, professors, and adminwho will help? how can I help? who will help? how care to localnext? homeless people, building istrators at West Virginia University. what’s homes with Habitat for Humanity, As President James P. Clements noted can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s helping to train service dogs, and imrecently, “No university in the country proving the appearance of Sunnyside. means help? more to its state than WVU next? who will how can I help? what’s next? who will Last year, about 72,000 hours were means to West Virginia.” donated who

by WVU students, an for the future of West next? help? how canConcern I help? what’s will with help? how can I economic value close to $1.3 million.

Virginia and our nation and world help? what’sisnext? who help? how Combinecan this spiritI ofhelp? giving withwhat’s next? always present in the will University’s academic achievements, and you’ve got classrooms, but our students and who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how an unbeatable combination. teachers are definitely up for the Here’s a sampling of current challenge of helping to create a betterwill help? can I help? what’s next? who how can I help? what’s WVU students and recent graduates tomorrow. that shows “these ‘kids’next? are all right.” of thathow better tomorrow next? who will Part help? can Iis help? what’s who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can I help? what’s next? who will help? how can

wvu

next THE

OF

WRITTEN BY KATHY DEWEESE

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

21 19

W V U :

T H E

N E X T

G E N E R A T I O N

O F

M O U N T A I N E E R S

JARED CRAWFORD

EMILY CAL ANDRELLI

REED WILLIAMS

MARYANN MEZA

He Made an App for that. . .

To the Stars . . .

The Ideal Mountaineer Man

A New Founder

Jared Crawford Majors: Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering, with Computer Science minor Hometown: Parkersburg, W.Va.

Emily Calandrelli Major: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Hometown: Morgantown, W.Va.

Reed Williams WVU Degrees: Marketing, Finance Hometown: Moorefield, W.Va.

Maryann Meza WVU Degrees: History, Philosophy Major: Public Administration (Master’s Program) Hometown: Silver Spring, Md.

Jared Crawford has big plans.

And he’s already started making his goals come true. This spring, he became WVU’s 21st Truman Scholar, a national honor given annually to approximately 60 college juniors who show exceptional intellectual ability, a commitment to public service, and the potential to make real contributions to national public policy. He has been a true leader at WVU, serving as vice president for Engineers Without Borders, president of the Association for Computing Machinery, and as an officer for Mountaineers for AIDS Awareness. Jared traveled to Nicaragua as a freshman to help build a water filtration project.

In his spare time from studying for two majors, a minor, and an emphasis in nanotechnology, he developed iWVU, an interactive WVU app for the iPhone. His latest plan? To attend law school and study patent law and eventually become a patent judge.

Emily defines the word overachiever—she’s not only WVU’s 19th Truman Scholar, but also a 2009 Goldwater Scholar and member of the 2009 USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team. She has coauthored four published research papers as an undergraduate, been voted Ms. Mountaineer, and interned for NASA. As part of the WVU Microgravity Research Team, Emily has conducted experiments in zero g ravity, and in her spare time, became a skydiver, pilot-in-training, and certified scuba diver. She’s helped to found the Student Partnership for the Advancement of Cosmic Exploration (SPACE): “I’ve always been in love with the stars and view the cosmos as the ultimate adventure. Because of technologies from space exploration, our lives are improving.” Emily recently won a 2010 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.

A linebacker with a 3.86 grade point average, Reed graduated last December with his second WVU degree. Accolades for academic and athletic achievements abound—the defensive most valuable player in the Mountaineers’ 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl win, member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, a finalist for the 2009 Campbell Trophy, an ESPN The Magazine Academic AllAmerican second-team selection, and a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy. Just as important has been his volunteer work: he has spent time with the boys and girls clubs in Martinsburg, visited sick patients in the WVU Children’s Hospital, and worked with Special Olympics. The WVU coaching staff voted him the “Ideal Mountaineer Man.” He says, “I was challenged at WVU the way I should have been challenged. I pushed myself because I was pushed to achieve.

WVU has been in my heart since I was a kid, and this has all been a dream come true.”

It’s hard to keep track of all of the organizations Maryann has founded at WVU. As an undergraduate, she helped to start the Lambda Delta chapter of the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated; began the women’s lacrosse club team; and established a nonprofit organization called the Institute of Finance Leaders of the Americas, whose goal is to create the next generation of financial leaders. As a graduate student, she came up with the idea for WVU’s first graduate student conference, Status of America: Changing Priorities. She advises students to “Take advantage of every possible opportunity that interests you!”

22 20

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

W V U :

T H E

N E X T

G E N E R A T I O N

O F

M O U N T A I N E E R S

ALVIN HATHAWAY

JULIA BARRY

JONATHAN KING

SCOTT CUSHING

A Mountaineer: Times Four

The Caretaker

“A Real Culture Shock”

Undergraduate Researcher

Alvin Hathaway WVU Degrees: Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Law, MBA Hometown: Baltimore, Md.

Julia Barry Major: Speech Pathology and Audiology Hometown: Romney, W.Va.

Jonathan “Caleb” King Major: Biology Hometown: Charleston, W.Va.

Scott Cushing Major: Physics Hometown: Charleston, W.Va.

Now a business planner for Texas Instruments, Alvin earned four WVU degrees. Despite his academic commitments, he always managed to combine scholarly achievement with engagement. He helped found the Institute for Human Dignity, a student-led outreach group designed to build awareness and ease the plight of people in poverty, was the president of WVU’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, and served as the president of the Student Bar Association. In addition, he was the treasurer of the Alpha Omega Omega coed fraternity, and did volunteer work for the Bartlett House, Ronald McDonald House, and local schools.

He recalls, “I set a number of goals for myself when I came to West Virginia: the first was that I wanted to be successful.”

Julia has a passion for helping others. Caring for her grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, and other elderly patients at a local nursing home, inspired her to study to become an occupational therapist. In high school, she read to children at the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, worked with local animal shelters, and still found time to become the valedictorian of her class at Hampshire High. Entering WVU as a Bucklew Scholar, Julia is now an Honors College student who made the 2009 President’s List (for having a 4.0 GPA). She says, “My first semester showed me that I truly made an excellent decision in choosing WVU. I hope to become involved in the Morgantown community and continue to donate many service hours.”

Last summer, Honors College student Caleb traveled to Tanzania: “Nothing really prepared me to see how they lived on a day-to-day basis. It was a real culture shock.” He worked there in hospitals and orphanages and helped to outfit six houses with rainwater harvesting systems. A recipient of a Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund scholarship from the WVU Alumni Association, Caleb was president of the biological honor society Beta Beta Beta. He has been accepted into the WVU School of Medicine, but his study abroad trip ignited a travel bug, and this spring he flew to Brazil to work with a professor who runs a health care facility. He now believes that “Studying abroad can open your mind to a world that is almost the polar opposite of our own.”

The Goldwater Scholarship is the most prestigious undergraduate award of its type—it recognizes the commitment and potential the winner has to make a significant contribution to science. West Virginia University has produced 33 of these outstanding young scientists. Scott is number 33.

Since he was a freshman, he has worked with Dr. Nick Wu, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, developing a visible-light-activated photocatalyst. Potential uses include breaking down viruses on surfaces or breaking down water as a way to power hydrogen fuel cells. He wants to eventually earn a doctorate in physics so he can teach and conduct research at the university level. He says, “I love teaching. I help my friends with their physics and math, and I want to continue teaching. I also want to continue my research, so becoming a professor is truly my calling.”

As you can tell from this small collection of profiles, the latest generation of Mountaineers is already making a big difference at WVU, in their community, and around the world. Their influence will be felt for years to come—our future seems to be in pretty good hands.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

23 21

W V U :

T H E

N E X T

G E N E R A T I O N

O F

M O U N T A I N E E R S

u r i o u s a b o u t w h a t t h e “ n ex t generation”

of Mountaineers has to say for itself? Here

are two reflections from recent WVU grads that express, in their own elegant and insightful words, how their time at the University has prepared them for whatever comes next in their lives.

First Generation, Leading the Next Generation WRITTEN BY ONICK LEWIS

I am originally from Jamaica, but grew up

in the inner city of Washington, D.C. I am a minority, I grew up in a low-income area, and I am a first-generation college student.

I chose West Virginia University because I wanted to be far from home, but not too far.

WVU is less than four hours away from D.C., but is a world away in terms of demographics. Sometimes I sit back and think about how I ever picked West Virginia. I found WVU in the book 301 Best Colleges in America.

All of my friends were going to s m a l l e r, h i s torically black schools in the S o u t h , bu t I wanted a different experience.

The thing that made my choice the easiest was the campus visit. My family and I fell in love with Morgantown as soon as we pulled up. To me it was big enough that I had what I needed to survive but small enough that it was a

true college town. I went home that same day and said, “that’s where I want to be.”

I remember my first day. I was 17-yearsold and I had to do the Summer Transitional Education Program (STEP), because my SAT scores were not that great. I was scared because I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t know if I was ready for college. Later I found out that my dad had seen the fear in my eyes; he was expecting to come pick me up in a week or two. Because no one thought I could do it, I refused to give up. My dad never showed much emotion, but he was so proud on graduation day.

Coming to WVU was the best choice I have ever made in my life. If it were not for the professors at WVU who pushed me beyond my comfort zone and took the time to talk to me about pursuing graduate school, I don’t think things would have fallen into place in my life the way they have.

After graduating with a master’s degree, I took a job at Glenville State College as a teacher/counselor. I primarily work with first-generation, low-income, and minority students in Glenville, West Virginia. One of my biggest assets is that I can relate to the students because I was once in their shoes, and I understand their struggles. Almost everything that they are going through, I have been through.

In my job, people need someone to listen to them and tell them the truth, or what I like to call “the realness.” I have learned that if you take the time to learn a person’s

mounta 24 22

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

Onick Lewis, a first-generation college student, found his “comfort zone” at WVU.

W V U :

T H E

N E X T

name, where they are from, and just say hello to them, it can make a world of difference. It’s funny; I may not always remember a name, but I do remember where people are from, and I always say hello. Because of this, my students feel more comfortable in life and in college and that helps them to stay and succeed. It is human nature—people just want to feel that they belong and that someone out there cares enough to ask how they are doing.

I advise new graduates to be patient and never limit themselves when they are looking for a job after graduation. I have a degree in social work with a concentration in commu-

G E N E R A T I O N

O F

nity organization and social administration, but I am not a social worker. I think people should think about their dream job and then market themselves and prepare for it. With a college degree, many doors can and will open for you. Never limit yourself to just knocking on one. Be patient and if you can’t find a job, go back to school to better yourself or do an internship.

My work at Glenville State has inspired me to become a professor. In addition to my counseling, I am working as an adjunct professor of sociology. Someday, I’d like to be a provost and eventually a college president.

M O U N T A I N E E R S

An alumnus of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at WVU, Onick Lewis received a BA in sociology in 2005 and an MSW with a concentration in community organization and social administration from the Division of Social Work in 2008. While a student, he was a member of the Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Iota Phi Theta and a graduate assistant in the Advising Center. Currently, Lewis is a teacher/ counselor for Glenville State College’s TRIO/Student Support Services Program and an adjunct faculty member teaching sociology.

Dealing with Weekends and Water: A Mountaineer Reflects on Her Time in a War Zone WRITTEN BY SARAH LOVELL

As I arrived back in D.C. after a weekend

away, I couldn’t help but feel like this is the stuff memoirs are made of. A bright-eyed gal arrives in the “big city” and it marks her life: the expansive ceilings of Union Station, the stroll to my place on Capitol Hill. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the coincidence that my residence is located between a Quaker lobbying association with a memorial stating “War is Not the Answer” and a Veterans of Foreign Wars building that has a sculpture memorializing fallen soldiers. Was there any better analogy of how I felt upon return? Caught in between.

As we began orientation for my fellows program, a screen was dropped down, a PowerPoint presentation initiated, and my whole being groaned. I hadn’t had to deal with droning PowerPoint presentations for a year! In my line of work in Iraq, there was only “do.” But perhaps that’s why it’s been refreshing to get back and think.

Coming home each night, the creaky gated elevator of my dormitory always pulls me back to the same antiquated people-pulley system in the Cambridge University Library.

It has been two years since I’ve been home to the United States as more than a vacation or holiday.

I can scarcely recall the girl I was without the perspective of Cambridge, without Iraq. I barely recognize the snapshot of the girl who just arrived in Iraq.

I was pretty fresh off the C-130 and had joined the incoming military unit work-

ing at the badging office on their tour of the Al-Rasheed Hotel near our worksite.

My hair is fresh from the benefit of one of my first contractor paychecks; treated with a European hair straightener. My smile is wide, as this trip marked the beginning of one of my first and closest friendships from my year, with this picture’s photographer, an Iraqi-American, Sam. I’m still bewildered with where I am, still gaunt from adjusting to time zones, food pallets, dining hall schedules, and shock.

I was so thrilled to be there, and I think that was the prevalent theme of my smiles throughout my year. I couldn’t believe I could be so lucky to participate, witness, and be shaped by this experience. As I look back on this picture, I feel that I was so young when this snapshot was taken. I grew up in Iraq.

The sweet, diverted kisses of strapping men. Being expected to make decisions and implement, not just make good grades. How delicate the human heart is, how prevalent deception is, the brutality of which humans are capable—my eyes were opened, faith molded in new ways, thinking honed, and I feel as though I were dumped upon departure, into the sands of Kuwait after my last C-130 ride, as a woman.

It is a point of pride to return as a woman and I don’t necessarily regret the diminishing of my own naiveté. I am confident that spending a year in Iraq will always be recounted as the greatest adventure of my life.

I was proud to serve as a woman,

especially after reading former NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchells’ memoir, Talking Back. I noted how her first chapter was entitled “Copyboy.” At least I had a gender-ambiguous title: field systems engineer. Upon recently revisiting the World War II Memorial in D.C., I was pulled to an engraved quote from Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby: “Women who stepped up were measured as citizens of the nation, not women . . . This was a people’s war and everyone was in it.”

My first stop back in the United States was at Fort Benning in Augusta, Georgia, where I had to complete out-processing. As we were both wrapping up, a kind colonel offered me a ride back to the airport. We were both going to visit our sisters, and I think I could safely say that we were both terrified of what lay ahead. He had served as the only doc on a small outpost, and it was very heartwarming to have one last conversation with an Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veteran before reentering my domestic capacity.

Those first steps out into the real world were thankfully under the guidance of my sister; she takes such good care of me. She currently calls Athens, Georgia, home, and our first night out on the town was a concert at a local music venue. We were a little late in arriving and I shook my head in disbelief with the first song we caught. The artist took the time to explain that it was dedicated to his grandfather who had served in World War II. The song, entitled “It’s Happening Again,” has a verse: “Now my best friend’s overseas in the desert

aineers West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

25 23

W V U :

r landing

helicopte s outside a

ll pose

Sarah Love

T H E

N E X T

ghdad.

zone in Ba

where it’s dry/Fighting for our country and I need a reason why.”

It was very weird to me that I was now out of that desert and experiencing perspective on the war from the spyglass of the United States.

I’ve now been back in the States for nearly two months and there have been several experiences that have helped solidify my return.

I had chatted with a gal a few weeks back about taking the same job I had in Iraq. She came with a lot of the same questions that I had, and in her thoughts I found my start.

How was it that I am now of the “been there, done that” breed? I saw a mirrored reflection of myself in her.

It is difficult to go from an environment where military uniforms were the standard workday wear back to AnyTown, America. I now have this incredible urge to go and start a conversation with anyone I see wearing camo.

What’s your MOS? (Translation: military occupation speciality.) Where were you deployed?

I’m Sarah Lovell, and I just want to thank you.

Attending a hearing on Capitol Hill was

26 24

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

G E N E R A T I O N

O F

a monumental experience.

Ambassador Christopher Hill was back from his posting in Baghdad to report to Senator John Kerry and the Foreign Relations Committee on Iraq: A Report from the Field. I could follow his feedback; it wasn’t just bigwigs blabbing about a subject outside of my range. The senators asked important questions, and I was impressed with their insight (by which perhaps I mean, capable staffers).

I found myself not wanting to alter my last haircut from a delightful Turkish barber at Al A s a d A i rbase. It was scary to take away the pieces of me that were present in Iraq. At night, I enjoy curling up in an extra-large T-shirt that humorously reads “Blackhawk Tours” and has a map of Iraq on it.

I was in disbelief when I found myself back home getting a warning for speeding in a 35 mph zone. So many infomercials on the television in Iraq warn of the dangers of transitioning back to life back in the States, including loss of sensitivity to speed limits, a regulation not as enforced in the wilds of war zone life. They were right.

In transitioning back home, the biggest, let’s say, “freakouts” I had were in dealing with weekends and water. On my ride from the airport to Fort Benning, within my first hour back on American soil, I heard this weird sound, a rush I couldn’t place. I realized that the driver had turned on the windshield wipers and then it came to me—the sound of rain was completely unrecognizable to me. I freaked. What else have I forgotten? Who am I now? What is this strange place of rain that I am returning to?

The second more alarming transition was having weekends. For seven months

M O U N T A I N E E R S

straight I did not have a weekend. I couldn’t comprehend it before I actually lived it, but for the most part, both military and civilians work every day of the week in Iraq. There are no days off even for holidays, much less weekends.

The first week of my fellowship in D.C. passed successfully, but as I was left all alone walking back to my place after work that first Friday, I had no idea what to do with myself !

It was a weird sensation. I had literally lost the ability to be able to shift from work mode to weekend mode. In Iraq you were always on, there wasn’t this five-day buildup to a floodgate of relief that comes with the Friday five o’clock hour.

Thankfully, these were my biggest hiccups in transitioning, but as I return I feel it is imperative that I expand on the biggest question. The scariest moment for me was not a near-death experience. There were no close calls; I was safe in Iraq. But I was not necessarily guarded from what my eyes would take in.

While I recognize that brutality came from all sides, my most traumatic experience was viewing the destruction we laid down as I took the military-led tour of Saddam’s Victory Over America Palace and the nearby Baath Party Headquarters. In short, President Bush told Saddam and his leaders that they had 48 hours to leave the country. Acting on intelligence that these players were gathering for a major meeting at the Baath Party Headquarters building, a Tomahawk missile was launched on the exact location, not in the stated 48 hours but within 24. Around 200 people were immediately incinerated in a theater-style meeting room where the movie Pretty Woman was found in the left-behind projector reel. It was appalling, traumatizing even, and I don’t know that I could ever fully capture the loss that still hung in the air of that marked place. This was the first strike of the war.

Putting that misery behind me and trying to be sensitive, because that same place is a rallying point for some, allow me to convey that there were many favorite memories, treasured times, and cherished friends to cover the disgust my heart felt that day.

In the end, I had an uneventful departure. It’s funny how transient the place is, and how replaceable you are.

Each day I was in Kuwait waiting on my flight back to America I ran into another familiar face, which was undoubtedly my best

W V U :

T H E

N E X T

going-away present. I saw my poker buddy from Baghdad; also a famed and revered renegade field technician on our team who was headed to his new posting in Afghanistan; and a voice behind me yelling my name. I turned to see Burt, the face behind the voice, and ran as well as one can in the sand. I wrapped my arms around this burly Alabaman and was picked up and twirled like you only see in the movies. Burt is a mechanic I met in Tal Afar, Iraq, and the grill master of many a mean steak, including those served at my going-away party from Tal Afar back in April.

There will always remain a special bond between me and the Tal Afar crew. I look back and wonder “Why there? Why them?” What I can come up with is that there, northwest of Mosul, I got to be my most whole self. I was the only person from my company on the base so I didn’t have the ever-constant eye of higher-ups that presides over Baghdad. I could be who I am without the worry of being misunderstood by my work colleagues.

Why them? They were great, funloving, caring people. Not that the people I met at other places weren’t, but I did have

G E N E R A T I O N

America’s greatest national treasures.

In this stroll we were panged by a looming question—when do you think they’ll have a Global War on Terrorism monument? Or will it be under some other name now that using the word terrorism is hush hush. How will Operation Iraqi Freedom be remembered? Memorialized?

Politicized? Recounted? Glorified? Covered up? And I also think quietly to myself, will there ever be a spot for contractors on the National Mall?

Upon return to the United States, I found myself thinking more about the future than about the past. How will the expansion of the role of contractors in military zones be viewed in the long term? Will you see the development of elected officials who have backgrounds in war zones not as military brass but as team leaders for a defense contract? What will be the impact of the shift of roles in intelligence and force protection into the hands of those who are ultimately there because their company said they could complete the task the cheapest? It is a vicious world, but at the same time, I am em-

“I can scarcely recall the girl I was without the perspective of Cambridge, without Iraq.” two boxes of going-away presents from the friends I made in Tal Afar waiting for me at headquarters before I left. That’s gotta count for something, right?

In reuniting with friends from Iraq during these past two months while in D.C., it has been surprising to me how much I’ve missed my OIF comrades. They always make me laugh, and there was a genuineness of affection and upfront trading of personalities in Iraq. The fakeness of interactions back in the States has grated on my nerves. There was none of this dancing around, false enthusiasm, or socially forced interaction.

This is why it was a joy to my heart to learn that one of my OIF pals was coming to D.C. for a conference. I met with this Army captain and some of his fellow conference attendees for dinner, and as we ordered, I quickly gathered that this was his first time in D.C. Shocked, I made the case that we should change our order to-go and walk the National Mall at night, a treat I consider to be among

O F

pathetic to the world of contracting and ponder its development.

Hundreds of statistics are kept on the impact of deployments on military families. Who is looking after the welfare of contractor families? There is no union, no voice, but handfuls of disdain.

Many in the military are understandably jaded toward contractors, scorning us for simply being after a big paycheck, only to join our ranks after they finish their tour of duty. How are these two cultures to be joined successfully? What is the proper ratio of contractors, government, and

M O U N T A I N E E R S

military units during a conflict? In peacetime? How much work should be hired out in the name of cost savings and expertise before the essential pieces of the military, of the government, are no longer valid?

Whew. Well . . . I didn’t cry. Upon return.

That is until someone casually asked me if I missed Iraq. I’m sure they were just making conversation, but I felt the inquiry like the weight of my flak jacket. Until then, I hadn’t allowed myself to miss it. But as I thought about it during a still moment on the flight back from a biometrics conference in Florida, a single tear fell. Not a downpour, but a slight recollection of what once was.

To conclude, Karen Hughes, campaign director and counselor to President George W. Bush, said she knew the title of her memoir as soon as she heard it announced by the conductor on a train to Indiana: Ten Minutes from Normal. I had been wondering how one concludes such a year, what do I say as a last utterance, but I too knew as soon as I saw it on a T-shirt of a lady exiting the dining hall one day: Operation Iraqi Freedom: some gave all, all gave some.

Sarah Lovell graduated from WVU in 2007 (BS in biometric systems, BS in computer engineering, with a minor in political science) before pursuing a master’s degree in technology policy from the Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge.

From August 2008 to August 2009 she lived in Iraq as a contractor supporting the Department of Defense Tactical Biometric System. She returned to the United States as a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technolog y Policy Fellow to the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., and is now back supporting US military operations abroad while living in a tent in Afghanistan.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

25 27

A Legacy of Student Government Leadership WRITTEN BY JASON PARSONS

Alan Zuccari (seated, right) in the 1972 Monticola is pictured with Booker Walton, left, and Ed Hambrick.

Alan J. Zuccari, ’73 BA (member of Mountaineer Athletic Council) with son, Jason Zuccari, ‘10 BA —past student body president.

The Morgantown of the

1960

s was a place in which bluecollar jobs were the backbone of most families. By the time the end of the decade drew near in August 1969, America was struggling for new beginnings—and it was a time of both discovery and triumph and resentment and unrest. Just months before, Neil Armstrong had become the first person to step onto the Moon, and Morgantown was full of youthful idealism, and as was the case in many college towns, full of growing resentment toward government and the Vietnam War. Perhaps Bob Dylan said it best: “the times, they were a-changin’.”

As a freshman student at WVU, Alan Zuccari set out to immerse himself in campus. He also found a place to get involved: WVU Student Government.

“I had the job of being in charge of arts and entertainment and bringing concerts to campus. I’ll never forget when we had Don McLean here just before the song “American Pie” went big. I had to pick him up from the airport, and it was a wonderful time for me,” Zuccari recalled.

Life after WVU was good for Alan Zuccari too. He worked for and then bought an insurance brokerage firm that has grown into one of the largest in the nation — and Alan and his wife, Lisa, had three children — Jason, Jarred, and Sara. They reside in Mclean, Virginia.

“My kids always came to Mountaineer football games and traveled back to my home in Morgantown with me. I’ve lived in Washington all my adult life, and Morgantown is just a different world. It’s such a good place, and it was good for my kids to have the chance to spend time here,” Zuccari said.

January 2, 2006: the Mountaineers rallied to an impressive victory in the Nokia Sugar Bowl, and 18-year-old Jason Zuccari remembers the feeling of being enveloped in joy and pride as his dad’s alma mater claimed victory.

“It was a special day for me. I always thought I’d end up at WVU, but that game sealed the deal. I’ll never forget the look on dad’s face,

28 26

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

or the way I felt. I knew I was a Mountaineer,” the younger Zuccari recalled.

It didn’t take long for Jason Zuccari to get involved on campus. He served on the Student Government Board of Governors and in February 2009 was elected Student Body President.

Alan Zuccari reflected, “Student Government was a big influence in my college life. It had come full circle by the time my son was elected Student Body President. When I came to Morgantown during his campaign, it felt so much like a different time, but yet it was all the same. Wonderful kids who love their school trying to make a difference. It has made my Mountaineer spirit even stronger.”

Jason noted, “It’s just interesting to me because 40 years ago, my dad was here doing some of the things I am. I knew my dad had a history here but I never knew him in this way as I do now. It’s a special thing.”

The dreams of a father are seldom too far and never lost from the heart of a son. The notion of being a Mountaineer — in and of itself something unique — was never lost on Jason Zuccari. He knew what a Mountaineer was — he lived with one every day of his life. And then he became one.

In the years since that fall day in 1969, WVU and Morgantown have changed.

Some buildings no longer stand, and others have taken their place. The landscape is dotted with more roads, more apartments, and more students. A new century has begun. But Bob Dylan is still right: “the times, they are a-changin’.”

However, some important things have remained the same. The values upon which the Mountaineer spirit was built — loyalty and honesty, courage and hard work, pride and faith — are the same today as they were 40 years ago.

The story of the Zuccaris is a Mountaineer story. As all Mountaineers know, in the words of our beloved “Hail West Virginia,” it’s one old grad joining with one young lad saying, “It’s West Virginia now we cheer.” That’s Alan and Jason Zuccari.

Officer,

Gentleman, Healer

WRITTEN BY LEIGH ROSENECKER

I

Alumnus Richard W. Thomas (above, far right) poses for a photo before crossing into Iraq. Thomas (below) has his hand on an injured Iraqi child’s head as he evaluates her condition.

While stationed with the army in Panama, civic action missions n the summer of 2001, an accomplished and decorated sparked an interest to pursue medical training. Thomas and his wife military professional contemplated the end of his US Army Patricia, a Lewisburg native, weighed their options and returned to service. As both a dentist and ear, nose, and throat physician, WVU, where Patricia completed a nursing degree as her husband US Army Lieutenant Colonel Richard W. Thomas, DDS, trained in otolaryngology. Both graduated from their respective proMD, faced no shortage of attractive opportunities ahead in grams in 1994. This dual medical and dental training sets Richard the private sector. He is a graduate of both the WVU School Thomas apart from his contemporaries. of Dentistry (’86) and the WVU School of Medicine (’94), and is one the “I’m the only guy who’s been a division dental surgeon, with best-trained military medical professionals in the world. the 82nd, and a division surgeon, and that was with the 101st,” he “I was leaving. I was all set to become involved in a very lucrative said. “Those are the two best divisions in the US Army, and you can practice in Seattle, and that’s kind of where I was heading,” said Thomas. quote me on that.”

“I got a phone call that asked if I would take this Of all his experiences in military service, job with the 101st Airborne Division for a one- to We have the highest his combat deployments have left the most lasttwo-year assignment.” ing impressions.

Thomas was willing to delay private practice survival rate in the “You have a focused sense of mission. I think for a couple of years to continue to serve. “It’s about history of warfare you take something with you from every assignment, the service. I think the reason you get into this is because you are very service-minded. I’m a healer.” because of our military and it’s all about the work and the relationships,” he said. “I look back over my career, and I’ve been Thomas accepted the position as commandmedical interventions incredibly lucky. I was very well-trained. If it hadn’t er of Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at been for WVU and the US Army, I probably would Fort Campbell, Kentucky. on the battlefield. not have been able to pursue those opportunities. I’m “So I go to the 101st, and the war starts.” fortunate that I’m not one of those guys who say ‘I Just months into Operation Iraqi Freedom, wish I would’ve. . . .’”

Thomas commanded the largest combat support Like most WVU alumni, Thomas is an arhospital in Iraq. dent fan of WVU’s sports, especially Mountaineer Flash forward to the Pentagon, summer of football. He’s apparently not alone while overseas.

2009. Lt. Col. Thomas is appointed Brigadier “We were in the middle of a shamal (a severe General Thomas, assistant surgeon general, US sandstorm) and I walked into a tent area, basically Army Medical Command. to get out of the wind, and I saw this banner, a He supports and assists the army surgeon gengold and blue flying WV banner, and I thought, eral, who is the commander of the Army Medical ‘Holy . . . ,’” Thomas remembered. “It was just so Department, in development and implementation funny to see that. I talked to these guys and found of health care policy. He also provides direction for out they were a bunch of guardsmen from West the organization and overall management of the Virginia. Of course, they showed me the other side, where they had a Army-wide health care services and systems. banner from Marshall. So one side of the tent had WVU, and the other It’s no small feat. With a budget of more than ten billion dollars, side had the Marshall guys. It was kind of funny.” the Army Medical Department employs more than 131,000 military The 49-year-old general has accomplished so much in a relaand civilian personnel and provides services to 3.5 million beneficiaries. tively limited amount of time. A lot has happened since Thomas “On the personal side, a significant percentage of our military comes came close to ending his military career. from West Virginia. Let’s face it—those are some patriotic, serving people.

“My job, really, is to support and conserve the fighting strength That’s the kind of thing that brings it home. The things we do here every of our military. Right now, we have the highest survival rate in the day have impact on the lives of individuals.” history of warfare because of our military medical interventions on Attending high school in Morgantown, Thomas knew early on he wanted to pursue dental school. He attended WVU on a ROTC schol- the battlefield,” he said. “That’s a big reason I like to stay a part of that. We’re the best in the world at what we do. I’ll stay as long as the arship, completing his BA in biology in 1981 and becoming a doctor of Army wants me around.” dental surgery in 1986.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

29 27

Our EXPERTS Speak

Trusting West Virgina’s Flagship WRITTEN BY IRENE BERGER PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN PERSINGER

Irene Berger (’76, ’79 ) is past president of the West Virginia University Alumni Association and a current member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors.

30 28

2010

Many of you know me as a proud graduate of West Virginia University and know that the pride is not simply based on the excellent education I received, but also based on the institution’s continued growth and excellence in academics and student services. There is now objective evidence of yet another reason we can all be proud of our alma mater.

Most of us agree that a diverse faculty and student body enhance the quality of one’s education. For generations, young people have been told by parents, teachers, and mentors that education is the key to a better life. Even lawyers can’t argue with that statement.

However, included in this broad statement should be the implicit understanding that an education in a diverse atmosphere prepares us for a life of greater and richer understanding, appreciation, and acceptance of those around us.

Moreover, qualified minority and low-income students must have the opportunity to gain an exemplary education. That is why it is crucial and of utmost importance for colleges and universities to ensure that their doors are open to a diverse population. Diversity across ethnic and socioeconomic lines in an institution of higher learning helps prepare all of our students for a happy, richer life. Additionally, it benefits our state.

As a public, land grant (“flagship”) university, WVU, like its counterparts throughout the country, is charged with ensuring that all qualified students, including minority and low-income students, have access to what it has to offer.

WVU has taken its mission to the state seriously.

According to a report recently issued by The Education Trust, West Virginia University is among four “flagship” institutions given high marks “in providing access for low-income and underrepresented minority students.” The other three institutions were the University of Florida, the University of Maine, and the University of Utah. The report measured progress in equity at these schools between 2004 and 2005 and also between 2007 and 2008. It not only took stock of access for these students but assessed retention, as well.

The Education Trust was candidly and generally critical of the country’s public universities, accusing them of “undermining the goal of helping more low-income and minority students attend and succeed in college.” So, it is very significant that our alma mater has been cited as one of four public institutions given high marks and making progress in this area.

In a state where the low-income population is continuing to increase, WVU is working to honor its mandate as a land-grant institution. Since 2008 the University has hired a multicultural recruiter and added programs designed to increase retention. We have every reason to expect continued progress.

Even though I graduated from WVU in 1979, I still get emotional when I hear the alma mater played, thinking about my parents’ sacrifices and the odds that a young, black girl from a low-income family was able to attend this great university for seven years, and earn two degrees. It warms my heart and makes me extremely proud to know that WVU is still working hard to ensure access for low-income and minority students in 2010.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

Prescribing Common Sense for HEALTH CARE WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni member George Bennett (’67 BS, industrial engineering) is uniquely qualified to discuss health care; he has been involved in the profession most recently as the cofounder of Health Dialog Corporation, an international health care services company that is having a dramatic impact on the way health care is delivered in the United States, Europe, and Australia. He has been a successful entrepreneur for over 35 years, starting his first consulting firm in 1973. In the 1980s he was a member of the Grace Commission, created to bring state-of-the-art business practices to the federal government. Bennett has remained active in Washington and is an active participant in health care reform. To read the entire interview, go to http://wvualumnimag.wvu.edu.

Q

What kind of advice have you provided to leaders, including President Obama?

and about three times more likely to have your spine fused than if you live in many East Coast cities. There are also significant disparities in the rates of open-heart surgery, treatments for various types of cancer, etc.

The answer is information dissemination. We need to document that disparities exist. We need to make physicians and patients aware of them, and then help them sort out what is appropriate in each instance.

A

To reduce costs and to improve quality it is crucially important to get patients more involved and feeling more responsible about their health care.

We basically have an episodic care system like a muffler shop. If you have something wrong, you go in and get it fixed. We have an aging population that needs more than episodic care. Our over-65 group is getting larger and needs to manage their health over time.

Someone diagnosed as a diabetic needs help in terms of how they should live their life to not have complications related to diabetes. What I have been working on for the last decade are materials, programs, and ideas related to giving patients the tools they need and doctors the tools they need to have patients more involved in managing their health.

Q

Can you describe the “whole person” approach to health care? And why do you feel this is the future of disease management?

A

It’s a simple idea and a commonsense idea.

Often making a diagnosis and then prescribing medication, therapy, or surgery to address it misses important dimensions of the patient’s needs. There is growing evidence that a “whole person” approach yields better results.

If a mother has a sick child and the mother has diabetes and the child has diabetes, the mother may be so focused on caring for

George Bennett, ’67 BS

Q

the child that she doesn’t take care of herself.

Her lack of attention to her own well-being could affect her health in ways that are physically costly for her and financially costly to the health care system. When someone (or a team) provides “whole person” support, they pay attention to these complicating dimensions of the health care equation.

The “whole person” idea is simple: provide individuals with support related to their clinical needs, but also provide support that helps them deal with complicating factors such as mental health considerations, family dynamics, the availability of money, etc.

Why do you think that health care reform has created such a divide?

A

Q

How should we address the regional disparities?

A

I worked with a group out of Dartmouth that documented enormous disparities in health care in this country. If you have a herniated disc and live in San Francisco, you are six times more likely to have surgery

There are two very different points of view. There are those who are in favor of a largely free-market solution with minimal government involvement and those who are in favor of a one-payer solution.

There are good arguments on both sides. I wish that a free-market solution would work, but evidence suggests that the asymmetry of information between doctors and patients and the disconnect between those who consume health care and those who pay for health care makes it impossible.

The only question is how much of a role the government needs to play. At a minimum, the government should make certain that the benefits, risks, and costs of various treatments are well known, should make certain that Medicare and Medicaid have rational payment systems, and should make certain that patients and payers have access to the information they need to make rational choices.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

29 31

Brick

by

Brick

WRITTEN BY AMY JOHNS PHOTOGRAPHS BY M. G. ELLIS

I

t’s a long way from Gilbert to any-

where.

That’s according to the Brick brothers—twins John and Jim— both physicians in the WVU School of Medicine. And they should know. While they spend most of their time in Morgantown, every month they make the long trip south to Gilbert, in Mingo County, West Virginia, to care for patients there.

“My brother and I both thought that WVU should have more of a presence down there,” Jim Brick, MD, said. “So the idea was to provide something that they don’t have.”

Gilbert is a very small town located along the Guyandotte River in southern West Virginia. In the 2000 census it had 417 residents. Mingo County has about 27,000 residents. There are a lot of things that they don’t have “down there.”

But thanks to the Brick brothers and local philanthropist James H. “Buck” Harless, access to medical specialists is no longer one of those things. Gilbert and Mingo County residents can see the Doctors Brick and other WVU specialists at a clinic in the Larry Joe Harless Community Center.

John Brick, MD, is the chair of neurology at WVU, and Jim is a rheumatologist and interim dean of the School of Medicine.

They developed a friendship with Buck Harless many years ago, nurtured by their mutual devotion to WVU football. Over dinner one night a few years ago in nearby Logan County, an idea was hatched.

“We’re in the middle of the most underserved health area in the state,” Harless said.

“The Bricks knew that and came up with the

idea that they could do something about it.

They’re very generous people.”

Generous is a word usually associated with Harless, who’s lived for 88 of his 90 years in Gilbert. He made his fortune in lumber and coal, starting his first sawmill business in the 1940s. He said he worked hard and was lucky.

Harless built and named the 55,000-square-foot community center in honor of his late son, who always wanted a place for children in the town to play. It has become so much more in the past ten years, offering educational, cultural, recreational, and now health programs.

The Bricks didn’t expect to be so popular, or so busy, so soon. But from the very first time, patients have filled the waiting room, anxious for care for their neurological or arthritis problems.

“We were overwhelmed. At the time of the first visit we had a clinic full of patients to see my brother and me,” Dr. John Brick said. “Many of them wore gold and blue T-shirts and sweatshirts. They came in telling us about their kids who had gone to WVU or their grandkids or their nephew. So we’ve been very well accepted from the get-go.”

Harless says it’s not just about the medical care—it’s about the Bricks. “People are crazy about them because they’re fine people. They’re West Virginia boys, and they’re easy to like.”

The Gilbert clinic offers residents an option they never had before. While there are family doctors offering primary care in Mingo County, for specialty care, residents have had to travel to Huntington, Charleston, Morgantown, or to another state.

“Many folks in West Virginia are older

and they don’t like to travel. So we thought specialty care was what we would emphasize, and it’s worked out just fine,” Jim Brick said.

The Bricks see 30 to 40 patients every month in Gilbert. Last fall, WVU Chair of Ophthalmology Judie Charlton, MD, began seeing patients with eye problems at the Community Center. Harless and the Brick brothers say it’s time to expand to meet the demand.

“We have a very nice place to have the clinic,” John Brick said. “But as the volume of patients has grown, frankly we are beginning to outgrow the amount of space we have.

We’re a little bit cramped.”

Harless hopes to have a permanent fulltime clinic in a larger space ready soon. The Community Center is being remodeled so that the clinic will have an additional 12,000 square feet of space, and offer X-rays and laboratory services. And he’s hopeful that once it’s built, more specialists will come.

“I believe that in the next couple years we’re going to have a more robust clinical site down there involving not only specialty care from WVU in Morgantown, but from Charleston, Marshall, and maybe Lewisburg too,” Jim Brick said.

The Brick brothers look forward to every visit to Gilbert, despite the 500-mile round trip.

“I do it because I work for the WVU School of Medicine and I’m dedicated to improving the health status of West Virginians,” John Brick said. “That’s the reason I work here and I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

Jim Brick agreed: “It’s the right thing to do. This makes me feel good. This is one of the highlights of my month, going to Gilbert.” http://www.wvu.edu/alumni/Bricks/

32 30

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

The WVU School of Medicine has been recognized as one of the top ten schools in the country for rural medicine, and placed in the top 50 for primary care in U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools.

WVU Physicians John and Jim Brick at Gilbert clinic.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

33

Reaching Out Bringing health care to rural West Virginia WRITTEN BY BILL CASE PHOTOGRAPHS BY M.G. ELLIS

On a sunny spring morning in Grafton, patients fill the waiting room at the Pinewood Clinic on US Route 50. Past the nurses’ station, WVU medical student Cristina Pastuch of Fairmont pauses for a minute between patients and talks about her work.

In a family medicine clinic like this we see every kind of patient: all ages, all types of problems. A lot of what we help them with is more than medical—it’s about access to health care. How can they get their medications? How can they get to a specialist they need to see? I grew up not far from here. I want to stay in West Virginia. The patients are very encouraging—it’s like a family here, and they’re like cheerleaders for me—they want me to succeed.

Pastuch is a participant in the West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnership, a program that gives all of WVU’s health professions students the opportunity to work side-by-side with doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists in the state’s rural and medically underserved communities.

For the month she works in Grafton, Pastuch’s mentor is James Malone, DO, a family doctor who has been a leader in organizing rural health experiences for WVU students for more than a decade.

“The presence of the students really strengthens the availability of health care in Taylor County,” Dr. Malone said “They are not just learning, they’re providing a great deal of care: in the office, at health fairs, in the health department office. They were a tremendous help to our health department this year when we held the H1N1 flu vaccination clinics. Students did the intake, helped patients with paperwork, and really kept it moving.”

Students rotate in and out of the clinic on a regular basis. But they are there long enough to develop connections with the patients and the community. Sometimes, it’s a connection that lasts. Two other health professionals at Pinewood, Shawn Long, MD, and nurse-practitioner Judy Lipscomb, originally came to the clinic as WVU students.

Around the small city, other health organizations also play host 34 32

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

WVU pharmacy students Jenna Merandi of Shinnston (center) and Chelsea Rexroad of Wheeling (right) spent four weeks at the Rite Aid in Grafton, participating in the pharmacy’s groundbreaking diabetes education program.

“We learned counseling techniques and direct patient care—a lot more than we expected,” Rexroad said.

to students and benefit from their exposure to the way of life in rural West Virginia. “If a doctor retires or leaves the hospital, it’s much easier to recruit someone now,” Malone says. “The number of health professionals working in the community has been on a steady climb.”

Carla See, director of advanced pharmacy practice in the WVU School of Pharmacy, says the experience that students get in Grafton is crucial to broadening their education beyond the classroom, and even beyond the boundaries of their own profession. “One thing that is different in a rural area is that everyone knows everyone. Strong

WVU medical student Cristina Pastuch and Grafton physician James Malone, DO, listen as a patient explains his medical problem at the Pineview Clinic. “This is the best comprehensive family medicine training I’ll have this year,” Pastuch said.

relationships develop between pharmacists, doctors, and other health professionals that are very personal, and very focused on figuring out how to get quality, comprehensive care for each patient.”

Pharmacy student Chelsea Rexroad of Wheeling saw that firsthand during her rotation at the Grafton Rite Aid, just a few yards down the road from the Pinewood Clinic. At the drugstore, she works with the pharmacists in a program that provides one-on-one counseling to diabetic patients—the first certified diabetes education program in a pharmacy in West Virginia.

She and a medical student worked together with a local nurse practitioner to take blood sugar screening to a downtown Grafton senior citizens high-rise. “They like seeing us come, and they line up for the screening,” she said. “I’m learning about patient counseling, learning how to give direct patient care.”

“Hundreds of people in this community have been touched by these students,” Malone added. “It’s a little time consuming, but it’s worth it. And, frankly, it helps keep us on our toes. None of us want to find that a student is ahead of us.”

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

35 33

WRITTEN BY APRIL JOHNSTON

Bob Huggins: HOME

n the annual madness of March lives every sportswriter’s dream: the nearly too-good-to-be-true tales of players who overcome injury to bank the winning basket, of the teams that overachieve and are branded Cinderellas, and the teams that underachieve and are prematurely awakened from the dream of winning a national championship.

In this year’s swirl of unique characters and ever-twisting plotlines, West Virginia University Head Coach Bob Huggins commanded the bulk of the media attention. Everyone, it seemed, was competing for a piece of his story.

He was the former basketball star who came home. The stony-faced commander who had to swallow back tears when his kids won the Big East Championship against Georgetown and again when they beat Kentucky to make it to the Final Four.

They called his story redemptive.

They called him legendary.

They said it was all so warm and syrupy, it was practically a Disney movie.

Only, Huggins hasn’t always been known as a warm and syrupy kind of guy.

He’s the guy who isn’t afraid to point accus-

ing, angry fingers in referees’ faces. He’s the person who sarcastically describes his personality as “effervescent.”

His own players grin and say, “Sometimes he hates us; sometimes we hate him.”

But, here in Morgantown, the sharp edges of his reputation have softened. He still paces the sidelines like a caged tiger. The referees still hate to see him coming, and his players still respect the growl. But he smiles more now, laughs easier. He isn’t afraid to grab a kid in a bear hug and let the emotion he’s got bottled up inside come uncorked.

It’s not that he’s changed, those who know him best say, it’s just that he’s finally comfortable enough to let the real Huggins show.

He’s finally home.

WHERE HE BELONGS

36 34

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

HUGGINS WAS BORN A MOUNTAINEER His mother grew up on Eighth Street in Morgantown, his dad on Dug Hill. He remembers sitting on his grandfather’s lap to watch the Mountaineers when he was small. And even after the family moved to Ohio, when Huggins was nine, his father climbed up to the roof and fiddled with the antennas until they picked up a station in Wheeling on game day.

So no one was surprised when he returned to Morgantown to play basketball for WVU. He was the starting point guard on mostly middle-of-the-road teams. But he had such a complete understanding of the game that he earned his first head coaching job, at Walsh College, when he was just 27 years old.

Walsh’s faith in him wasn’t without merit. In the three decades since—at Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State, and now WVU—Huggins has recruited some of the country’s top players, 680 victories, punched 18 tickets to the NCAA tournament, and established himself as one of the winningest active coaches in the college game.

But there was something more he wanted.

“I wanted to come home,” he says.

The WVU fans wanted it, too. When he was still at the University of Cincinnati, Mountaineer fans hung bedsheet banners all over town, begging, “Hurry Home Huggins.” West Virginians held their collective breath when he left Cincinnati, panicked a bit when he took the job at Kansas State in 2006 and let it out a year later when he resigned and finally accepted what everyone considered his fate: the head coaching job at his alma mater.

In Morgantown, he’s compiled an 80–30 record and earned three trips to the NCAA tournament, and he’s done it with his heart slapped squarely on his sleeve, basking in the approving roar of WVU fans, and then promising to give them more to roar about.

“He’s just so genuine about his passion and love for this state,” says Ron Justice, a longtime friend and the director of Student Organization

Services at the University. “He’s not just building a basketball team for WVU, he’s building a legacy for West Virginia.”

“Bobby Huggins loves this state,” says Athletic Director emeritus Ed Pastilong, “and he is sincere when he tells his players they represent West Virginia —and that it is a privilege to do so.”

The fact that this state is void of professional sports and superstars isn’t lost on Huggins. He understands that, for most fans, WVU is it. It’s why he stops his car on the side of the road to introduce himself when he sees someone flying the colors. It’s why he interrupts dinners out with family and friends to sign autographs and pose for photos. It’s why he tells his team: “Think about that person working in the coal mines who scrapes together the money for a ticket and drives four hours just to watch you play.”

It’s also why Huggins visited with and delivered food to the victims of the Upper Big Branch coal mining tragedy in April.

By all appearances, his players—nearly all from out-of-state—have embraced the mantra. Moments after winning the Big East Championship, senior forward Da’Sean Butler gave a nationally televised interview declaring the win a victory for the entire state.

After the Elite Eight win over Kentucky, Huggins thanked the state for supporting the team and reminded his players they could do something “really special” by bringing home two more.

You see, when you play for Bob Huggins, you’re not just a student-athlete; you’re not just a Mountaineer.

You’re a West Virginian.

And that, Huggins says, is the best part.

The Mountaineers knocked off top-seeded Kentucky, 73–66, to make it to their second-ever Final Four appearance in school history. The team lost to Duke in the national semifinals but finished No. 3 in the final ESPN/ USA Today Coaches’ Poll.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

35 37

Once a Mountaineer. . .

WRITTEN BY APRIL JOHNSTON

I

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAN FRIEND

t was the weekend before Veteran’s Day. The New England Patriots were hosting their division rival Miami Dolphins and had invited former soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen to join players from both teams on the field for a pregame ceremony.

High in the stands, a season ticket holder named Chris nudged his 13-year-old son. He wanted to teach the boy a lesson about respect and honor. “Watch which Patriots thank the veterans for their service,” Chris told him.

After the National Anthem had been properly sung, and the audience had offered a chorus of screams and whistles, the players began to scatter to the sidelines. Only

38 36

22001100

West West Virginia Virginia University University Alumni Alumni Magazine Magazine

one bothered to sprint out and acknowledge the veterans. He shook every one of their hands.

Back in the stands, Chris was stunned.

So stunned that he wrote an e-mail to the Miami Herald, telling the editors how embarrassed he’d been that no one on his team took the time to offer his appreciation to the veterans, and how inspired he’d been that one young man—a Dolphins’ rookie—had the sense and compassion to step forward when everyone around him stepped back.

“It was the highlight of the game for me to see there is at least one player in the NFL who understands what these people have given up for us,” Chris wrote.

That one player was former WVU quarterback Pat White.

(left: top to bottom) WVU soccer player Megan Mischler playing bingo at Sundale Nursing Home in Morgantown.

Men’s basketball player Dan Jennings reads aloud to Mountainview Elementary students.

Soccer Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown conducts free clinics at an elementary school.

Sophomore gymnasts (l-r) Jenn Sharon, Tina Maloney, and Nicole Roach at Light the Night festivities that benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Athlete, Student, Ambassador What the cynics say is true: studentathletes aren’t regular college students.

Their time is tightly managed. They run from practice to the weight room to the buses to the games, grabbing what moments they can for their classes and themselves.

And even after all of that is done, they are expected to be one more thing: a contributing member of the community.

In a place like West Virginia, where no professional sports teams are available to soften the glare of the spotlight, expectations are more pronounced. Kids want autographs, community organizations want volunteers, parents want role models.

“Everybody knows you,” says longtime gymnastics head coach Linda Burdette-Good.

“You have to acknowledge that. You need to learn to give back to the community and to communicate with them.”

More often than not, the Mountaineers answer the call.

The women’s soccer team has raised more than $48,000 to help fight breast cancer. The gymnastics team has participated in the Light the Night Walk, benefitting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Many student-athletes visit hospitals and elementary schools and nursing homes.

“We’re just normal people, but we realize to some fans, we’re more than that,” says senior gymnast Ashley Wilson. “But I feel like that’s a good thing. Having people watching motivates you.”

Role Models In Zimbabwe, as in much of the world, soccer is the favorite sport.

And in the country’s Premier League, few teams are more famous or successful than the Highlanders Football Club. In the past two decades, the Highlanders have

employed some of the most talented players in Africa and won a slew of championship titles.

Not surprisingly, Highlanders fans are as dedicated to the team as the team is to the sport. They come from all over the country on game day to pack Babourfields Stadium in Bulawayo.

WVU freshman forward Abel “Shadow” Sebele grew up in that town in the Highlanders heyday, and remembers waiting outside the stadium after games to beg players for autographs. His favorite was Johannes Ngodzo, a midfielder known for his stylish play.

“I have three or four autographs from him,” Sebele says. “I talked to him as much as I could.”

The summer after his freshman year in high school, Sebele—who by then had moved to the United States to play for Episcopal High School in Virginia—got to sit down with his boyhood hero and ask all of the questions he’d been pondering since he was a boy. “It was a really good conversation,” Sebele says.

And he remembered that when he arrived at WVU in the fall of 2009 and young players began lining up outside of Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium after games, waiting for hugs and autographs.

Sebele didn’t have to think about it. He obliged every fan. “I know what it’s like to be them,” he says. “I’ve been in their situation.”

Megan Mischler had a similar realization last summer. A group of teenagers from Chagrin Falls High School in eastern Ohio made the trek to WVU’s annual overnight camp, and it was Mischler’s job to work with them.

Mischler is the team’s junior forward.

Before an injury cut her sophomore season short, she was averaging 80 minutes per West WestVirginia VirginiaUniversity UniversityAlumni AlumniMagazine Magazine

22001100

39 37

game and was the team’s leading scorer. So the girls from Chagrin Falls were properly impressed with their tutor. By the end of the camp, they had all made promises to attend an upcoming game and cheer her on.

Mischler told them she’d love to see them, but didn’t think much more of it. “I guess I didn’t think they’d really come,” she says. The drive alone would take more than four hours, round-trip. But when WVU played the University of Pittsburgh on September 18, there were the girls from Chagrin Falls, unfurling a 15-foot banner with Mischler’s name on it.

The gesture made Mischler realize what an impact college athletes have on their younger counterparts. She thought of herself as a girl who plays soccer. They thought of her as a star. And, suddenly, all of the extra time spent in soccer clinics— time that could have been spent studying or sleeping—was worth it.

“It seems like a lot sometimes, but it’s really just a couple of days, a couple more minutes of our time,” Mischler says. “I think we have to do it. They really look up to us. They want to be like us—to be Mountaineers.”

Finding Fans In her 36 seasons at WVU, Linda BurdetteGood has led the gymnastics team to 600 wins, ten conference championships, 31 trips to regionals, and four trips to nationals.

That kind of legacy usually gets attention. It typically translates to packed stands and rabid fans. But at a University with top-tier football and basketball programs, it’s sometimes hard to find your way out of the shadows.

Burdette-Good found a way: instead of waiting for fans to come to see her gymnasts, she threw her gymnasts out to find their fans.

“I knew if we got out into the community, they’d support us,” BurdetteGood says. “The great thing about gymnastics is you don’t have to understand the rules. There’s always something going on. It’s like a three-ring circus.”

So she sent her athletes to elementary 40 38

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

schools to pass out schedules, posters, and tickets. She sent them into the stands after meets to greet their audience and encourage them to come back. She sent them out to nursing homes to play board games with senior citizens. One year, she insisted they go on Valentine’s Day. She thought they’d be furious. But they returned to WVU with tears in their eyes: the elderly residents had spent the afternoon giving them advice about love and marriage. A handful of those residents piled into a van and showed up at the next meet.

Women’s soccer head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown tried the same approach when she arrived at WVU. In other parts of the country, soccer has turned into a phenomenon. In West Virginia, it’s still a young sport. Many children are the first generation to play, and WVU players have largely been responsible for teaching them how.

Last year, at the Soccer School of Excellence, a weeks-long winter clinic for youngsters, when Mischler announced they were going to learn how to dribble, one girl raised her hand. “I can dribble already,” she said. She grabbed the soccer ball and bounced it between the turf and her hand. Mischler grinned. “That’s good,” she told her, “but you have to use your feet.”

“It’s important for our girls to be role models and ambassadors,” Izzo-Brown says. “They’re very privileged, to be in a position where they’re given a lot, and it’s important for them to give back.”

Men’s Soccer Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc tried a different approach with his team. He helped start OneWVU, a program that teaches the importance of diversity and community on campus.

“Only two colors matter at WVU,” the program’s slogan touts, “gold and blue.”

The men’s soccer team soon became a living example of LeBlanc’s efforts. It is among the most diverse on campus, with four international players—two from Zimbabwe, one from Ireland, and one from Brazil—and a we-are-family atmosphere.

And, last season, when senior Gift Maworere looked out on the crowd during pregame announcements, he saw that diversity reflected in the crowd. Faces of every color, nationality, and ethnicity stared back.

Once, he even heard the sound of drums pounding out a familiar Zimbabwean beat.

The Mountaineer Spirit For Maworere, numbers still matter. Lately, they’re all that matters.

He entered the Major League Soccer (MLS) draft this year, after graduating in December 2009 with a degree in business administration, and he worries how he will stack up to the other hopefuls. Is he good enough? Will he be chosen early?

Will he be chosen at all? If he is chosen, will the city where he plays embrace him the way Morgantown has?

Maworere, like Sebele, was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He came to the United States as a teenager to play soccer for Episcopal High School before being recruited by WVU. Nearly all of the friends he’s made and experiences he’s had in this country were made possible by the sport.

But it was still difficult to choose entering the MLS draft over entering graduate school at WVU. How do you decide between the game that has ruled your life and the town that has shaped it?

How do you decide between your dreams and your family?

For Maworere, acceptance came from knowing that the experiences he’s had in Morgantown will follow him no matter where in the country—or where in the world—he ends up.

He knows because he’s watched the way other athletes have carried the Mountaineer Spirit with them. He knows because he’s watched Pat White.

“Like Pat White says . . . once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer.”

Another Mountaineer Comes Home

ED PASTILONG retiring as

Athletic Director, will contribute in emeritus role

“My passion and love for West Virginia University have never wavered.”

Oliver Luck, ’82, a former WVU and NFL quarterback and Academic All-American, was named the University’s new director of intercollegiate athletics, effective July 1.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Luck played for the Mountaineers from 1978-1981, setting school records for touchdown passes and completions, and leading the team to a Peach Bowl victory. He was selected in the second round of the NFL draft by the Houston Oilers, and started or played backup through the 1986 season. During that time, he earned his law degree from the University of Texas. After retiring from football, Luck served as vice president for the National Football League and president and CEO of NFL Europe. In 2001, he became CEO of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, overseeing the development and management of over $1 billion of professional sports and entertainment venues. In 2005, Luck became president of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo.

“It is truly an honor to be selected to serve my alma mater as athletic director, and to succeed such a fine gentleman as Ed Pastilong, who has served WVU so well for so many years,” Luck said. “My passion and love for West Virginia University have never wavered.”

To learn more, see http://wvualumnimag.wvu.edu online, and be sure to check the next issue of the WVU Alumni Magazine.

All Mountaineers are Champions Look online for accomplishments by WVU sports teams at wvualumnimag.wvu.edu

“Our teams have had great success on the field, on the court, and in the classroom. We have had outstanding studentathletes, coaches, and staff who have each worked with the common goal of making WVU successful. And we have succeeded while operating our programs as financially self-supporting.”

“And there is no doubt I will remain close to my Mountaineer athletic family because this is where my heart is.”

Ed Pastilong, WVU’s long-serving athletic administrator who helped shape and build the department’s national reputation, is retiring from his position as athletic director this summer.

He will continue in an advisory role as athletic director emeritus through 2012.

“I want to thank Ed for all his many contributions over the years,” said WVU President James P. Clements. “On so many fronts—from initiating major new facilities and capital projects to more than doubling the Athletic Department budget and making sure our student-athletes are successful on- and off-the-field—this department is strong and poised for the future.”

Pastilong, who has been with WVU since 1976, said, “It has been my greatest honor and pleasure to have served WVU for more than three decades—with 20 years as director of athletics. We accomplished much together, and we’re at a great place in the history of the WVU athletic program and our 17 varsity sports.”

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

39 41

Home-court

PERFECTIO N

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALLISON TOFFLE

WVUwomen’s basketball had a historic run this year. For only the second time in school history, a team finished their home season undefeated (17-0) and had the best overall season ever with a total of 29 wins. The team began the preseason ranked ninth in the Big East Coaches’ Poll and finished the regular season ranked second in the conference and as high as seventh in the nation.

The team went into postseason play as a third seed in the NCAA basketball tournament.

They beat Lamar in the first round but fell to the San Diego State Aztecs in the second round.

After the tournament, Coach Mike Carey said, “I’m very proud of our team. We had a great year. It’s a shame we had to end it this way, but they did a great job all year, and did everything we asked of them.”

This team, which included no seniors, will be ready to go next year. After the NCAA tournament, Junior Sarah Miles said, “We’ll be back next year, wherever the Final Four is. We’ll definitely be there.”

Honors On and off the court, the women’s basketball team and their coach garnered some prestigious accolades for their work: • Junior guard Liz Repella , named to the all-Big East first team, and 2009-10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Women’s Basketball University Division first team • Junior point guard Sarah Miles , named to the conference’s all-Big East second team and was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year • Junior guard/forward Korinne Campbell , all-Big East honorable mention • Center Asya Bussie , unanimous all-Big East freshman team honors • Coach Mike Carey, who recorded his 450th career win this season, was named the 2009-10 Big East Conference Co-Coach of the Year. This is the second time Carey has won the award. He also won in 2003-04. “It’s definitely a team honor, not an individual honor,” he said. “If we didn’t have a good year and our players didn’t come out and play hard and didn’t do what we asked them, this wouldn’t be the situation. It’s a team honor between the players, assistant coaches, and the staff.”

Coach Mike Carey

Korinne Campbell Liz Repella

42 40

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

Asya Bussie

Sarah Miles

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

43 41

Create your own legacy. Homesites from $300K. Homes from $1M.

The Mountaineer spirit is alive and well in the middle of America’s Resort, with world-class amenities like Prime 44 West, The Greenbrier’s premiere steakhouse honoring Jerry West. Surrounded by breathtaking natural wonders, everything around you says, “Welcome home.” Yet, a home here is more than a place to live.

It’s a place to come to life!

Only home ownership at The Greenbrier Sporting Club, the exclusive residential community at The Greenbrier, provides the chance to embrace unparalleled luxuries while reveling in those moments when your family discovers timehonored sporting traditions nestled in the wondrous Allegheny Mountains.

YOUR NEW HOME AT AMERICA’S RESORT AWAITS. 888-741-8989 | White Sulphur Springs, WV John Klemish, Broker in Charge Obtain the Property Report as required by Federal Law and read it before signing anything. No Federal Agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. This is not an offer to residents of CT, HI, ID, IL, NY, NJ, or OR, unless the property is registered or exemptions are available, or where prohibited by law. This project is registered with the New Jersey Real Estate Commission (01/19-122).

This offer is made pursuant to New York State Department of Law’s simplified procedure for Homeowners Associations with a De Minimus Cooperative Interest (CPS 7). The CPS 7 application and related documents are available from the sponsor. File No. HO-00-0082. Prices, plans, dimensions, specifications, material and availability are subject to change without notice. Illustrations are artists’ depictions only and may differ from completed improvements. Scenes may include locations or activities not on the property. Any improvements or facilities labeled or identified as “proposed” or “future development” are in formative stages, need not be built and there is no guarantee that they will be completed or developed. Certain neighborhood or project amenities may not be complete and completion is 44neither 2 0warranted 10 West Virginia University Alumni Magazine nor guaranteed.

Use of recreational facilities and amenities requires separate club membership. We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.

From Newton to Naismith WVU “breaks ground” and lays the foundation for future success

WRITTEN BY APRIL JOHNSTON

hen West Virginia University invited the public to attend a joint-groundbreaking ceremony for White Hall, future home to the Department of Physics, and the Basketball Practice Facility, future home to the men’s and women’s teams, surely more than a few people scratched their heads and wondered: what in the world do physics and basketball have to do with each other?

As those who attended the joint groundbreaking in February now know, the answer is: a lot, actually.

“The rate of change in higher education is exponential,” Provost Michele Wheatly said. “There are new discoveries and innovations being worked on and achieved every day. In that competitive environment, our physics and basketball programs not only keep pace, they set the pace. They have achieved national recognition for themselves and for this University.”

In the past seven years, the number of undergraduates in the Physics Program has doubled, and graduate enrollment is up 30

are not only a way to attract the nation’s top athletes and faculty members to WVU, they are a sign that the University is willing to provide its programs with the financial and physical support they need to grow, both in numbers and in prominence.

“These state-of-the-art facilities tell our future players, our professors, and students that WVU is willing to invest in them, and to provide them with the resources they need to build a successful career and future,” Scime said.

“This University will benefit from these facilities for years to come,” Huggins added.

The renovation of White Hall, which is expected to cost about $33 million and be complete in the fall of 2011,

includes a rooftop planetarium, White Hall is being renovated to include state-of-the-art A Basketball Practice Facility is being constructed and sophisticated refacilities for the Department of Physics. should be completed by May 2011. search space and teaching labs, two 175-seat high-tech percent. Professors have garnered the top awards in their field, made classrooms, and a generous amount discoveries that are likely to result in further scientific innovation, of administrative office space. and been published in preeminent journals, including Science, The State and the West Virginia Astrophysical Journal, and the Journal of Applied Physics.

Higher Education Policy Commission put $23 The basketball program has made similar strides in its million toward the project. march toward excellence. This season, both the men’s and The bill for the nearly $19-million Basketball women’s teams ranked in the top ten nationally. Both teams expect to make a big push at the NCAA tournament and, as in Practice Facility is largely being footed by more than 40 private donors. past seasons, bring in a slew of Big East scholar-athlete awards. The new structure will feature two separate gym areas for the men’s The new facilities will help the programs to keep that and women’s teams, a weight training center, theater-style meeting spaces for each program, an athletic training room, and a Basketball growth and momentum.

“Even with all that our physics and basketball programs Hall of Traditions. It is expected to be completed by May 2011.

Although the programs play different roles in the University, have accomplished, we can and will accomplish more,” Women’s President James P. Clements said they share an ability to propel WVU Basketball Coach Mike Carey said.

Physics Department Chair Earl Scime, Men’s Basketball to even greater prestige: “We are proud to make these investments Coach Bob Huggins, and Carey believe world-class buildings in their future.”

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

45 43

Incubating Success

w

WRITTEN BY GERRILL GRIFFITH

hen you are asked to clean out

became worried about the rise in childhood

your desk and turn over your key

obesity. After working with and studying

card, it’s rarely a good thing. But

children and witnessing the obesity epidemic

sometimes it’s a sign that you are

continue to increase in West Virginia and

accomplishing some important goals.

nationally, Carson had a theory that a

Professor Linda Carson moved out of

children’s program with a focus on healthy

her old office recently, but it was a good

living and active learning could be a sig-

thing. Her now-established compa-

nificant tool in fighting the onslaught. She

ny, Choosy Kids, was moving into

tinkered with ideas to create a full line of

new offices as a stand-alone com-

training materials for teachers including

pany and full-fledged graduate

original songs, activity posters, a big furry

of the WVU Incubator.

Many WVU alumni will remem-

green mascot, and other materials that encourage healthy lifestyle choices.

ber Linda Carson as a 2003 Ware

That was also about the time she received

Distinguished Professor. After 30 years of

a visit from Bruce Sparks, director of WVU’s

service in the West Virginia University

Technology Transfer Office, and Dusty Gwinn,

College of Physical Activity and

manager of the WVU Business Incubator and

Sports Sciences, she took a leap

a WVU Law School graduate. They told her how she could turn her ideas into a successful business. Shortly thereafter, Carson gathered up those ideas, got help from WVU experts to create a limited liability corporation, and set up shop in the Chestnut Ridge Research Building’s Business Incubator.

That’s where she received help with the nuts and bolts of setting up a company

Linda Carson fights childhood obesity by teaching children about healthy lifestyle choices. Her program is now a successful business thanks to help from the WVU Business Incubator.

46 44

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

to create a company that fights childhood

and nurturing it for success. Gwinn said

obesity—with the help of the WVU Business

Choosy Kids received help with marketing,

Incubator. Two years after she began work-

advertising, graphic design, finance, and

ing with the Incubator, she was ready to

accounting and other corporate services

conduct business on her own.

to establish early success and mature into

Choosy Kids began when Carson

an independent company.

Incubator businesses like Choosy Kids have combined to create 127 full- and part-time jobs in Morgantown and have generated more than $3 million in gross revenues in the past five years.

Today, one of the hallmarks of Carson’s young company is Choosy, a lovable children’s character who reinforces health-

In addition to Choosy Kids (www. choosykids.com), other WVU Business Incubator graduates include:

founder, Ellie Mannette, also known as “the father of the modern steel drum instrument,” is the mentor to the team of gifted apprentices that make up the staff.

By using Ellie’s legendary techniques, MSD’s handcrafted steel drums are setting the industry standard with superior sound quality and craftsmanship delivered and maintained with unprecedented service. www.mannettesteeldrums.com

enhancing behavior in homes, child-care centers, doctors’ offices, and schools all across America. Along with a range of original materials ranging from music CDs to posters and workbooks, Choosy serves as a messenger for prevention of obesity in children.

An early Choosy Kids success was scored when the federal Office of Head Start asked the company to provide train-

Advanced Technology Applications (ATA) licenses technology concepts that need additional funding for proof of concept, development, commercialization, and production. ATA licenses technology from the WVU Research Corporation and sources outside of WVU for this commercialization process.

Navway Records, LLC, is an independent record label dedicated to discovering and developing new artists on a regional level. Derrick McKee is the primary officer in charge of producing and releasing albums, developing and enacting promotional campaigns, and coordinating live concert events. www.derrickmckee.com

ing to Head Start staff in all twelve federal regions of the country, effectively introducing Choosy to more than a half a million children nationwide.

Plans are on the drawing board for partnering arrangements with physician groups and hospital systems, and there will be more educational music, materials, and props with health, physical activity, and nutrition as key themes.

Choosy is just one success story culminating from the Incubator’s efforts. Begun with support from the Benedum Foundation,

EyeMarker Systems was the Incubator’s first tenant. About eight years ago, WVU graduate Chris Kolanko, who holds a PhD in genetics, licensed two patents from WVU, creating what is now EyeMarker Systems. The company was developed on the premise that the eye is connected to every system in the body, and the right equipment can read the eye’s attributes, or biomarkers, like a book. Kolanko was interested how the science could be applied to war, using ocular scanning instruments to detect exposure to chemical and biological toxins. www.eyemarkersystems.com

the Entrepreneurship Center of the WVU College of Business and Economics, and the WVU Research Corporation, the WVU Business Incubator is home to more than a dozen young companies.

More successes are on the horizon.

Mannette Steel Drums (MSD) is an innovative company designed to meet the needs of today’s steel band performers and educators. Mannette Steel Drums

Oculus Development, LLC, is commercializing a sensor deployment system for the C-130 aircraft. Oculus works directly with WVU inventors, Homeland Security, and the military to develop sensors and applications for the system’s use.

Protea Biosciences, Inc., develops, manufactures, and markets innovative products that improve the ability to find and characterize proteins in biological samples. This is a critical area of need, because with current technology, the majority of proteins present in blood or cell samples go undetected. This limits the ability to find new biological targets to develop new therapeutic interventions for human disease. www.proteabio.com

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

45 47

Wanted: WVU

W

When you filled out your application to attend WVU, you may have been thinking about SAT scores, scheduling a math class, and wondering if you could find (and pronounce) Oglebay Hall. It probably didn’t cross your mind that during your quest for a degree, you might find your “special someone” in history class.

However, perhaps the most common “side effect” of going to college is doing just that. Maybe it’s not that surprising that putting a large number of young people together during an exciting time of their lives results not only in discovering lifelong friends but in meeting your future mate.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but looking together in the same direction.” Perhaps it can be said that WVU students are looking in the same direction as they prepare for their futures. Being together and sharing the same values and goals brings Mountaineers together, in life and in love.

We want to hear about how you met your beloved at WVU. You can share your very own love story, told in words or on video, online at http://wvualumnimag.wvu.edu/

Mike & Erinn Casazza

I wrote a column for the paper about how girls and guys can be “just friends” . . . For fun, he wrote a counterpoint column about how it isn’t possible.

— Erinn (Exline) (’01 BS, ’02 MA, ’08 MS) and Mike Casazza (’02 BS)

Seth & Molly Burdette

❤

My now-husband proposed to me with a piece of West Virginia coal. I had been grilling him for months on what he was getting me for Christmas, and his response each and every time was, “A piece of coal.”

— Molly (’08 BA) and Seth Burdette (’05 BS)

Meg& Joe Guido

My husband, Joe, and I met our junior year . . . We shared the same group of friends . . . he started taking me on lunch dates at the Boreman Bistro . . . We were married on October 31, 2009, with over 35 fellow Mountaineers in attendance.

— Meg (Sulzbach) (’06 BA) and

Joe Guido (’97 BS)

John& Lori Salvato Friedline

❤

I promptly forgot about meeting him. Throughout band camp in August, and into the start of fall classes, rehearsals, and performances, John watched me from afar . . . I tried to politely let him down, but it would eventually prove as futile as attempting to toast marshmallows in a blizzard.

— Lori (’88 BM) and John Friedline (’88 BA)

48 46

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

I

N

M

E

M

O

R

Y

“I can trace anything in my life of any consequence to West Virginia University . . . ” Steve Goodwin and wife, Ellen, holding their grandson.

WVU alumnus Stephen P. Goodwin, ’69, ’72, and also chaired the WVU Alumni Association Board of Directors.

The Mountaineer family was saddened by the death of WVU alumnus Steve Goodwin, ’69, ’72, who served on the WVU Board of Governors from 2002 until 2009, and also chaired the WVU Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Steve Douglas, the president and CEO of the WVU Alumni Association, described the feelings of many, saying, “Steve Goodwin was a dedicated volunteer, a strong leader, a loving husband, father, and grandfather, and loyal supporter of our great University.”

Beyond being recognized as a successful businesman and loyal Mountaineer, WVU President James P. Clements noted, “Above all, he adored his family.”

Steve and Ellen met at WVU in 1970. A friend suggested to Steve that he ask Ellen on a date. “So I did,” Steve shared in an interview in 2007. “We went out. We went out again the next night . . . and went out from then on . . . .”

In his own words, Steve Goodwin proudly stated: “I can trace anything in my life of any consequence to West Virginia University; it’s where Ellen and I met, I became a lawyer here, and met lifelong friends.”

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

49 47

Loyal Mountaineers

WRITTEN BY BILL NEVIN

LOOK in any dictionary under the word loyal and you will likely find descriptors such as allegiance, devotion, affection, and attachment.

West Virginia University’s most recent class of “Most Loyals” embody all of those words and more, exemplifying faithfulness to the ideals and goals of the state and University, and exhibiting support for WVU activities and operations through leadership and service.

The most recent honorees are Eddie and Betty Barrett, Most Loyal West Virginians; Edward “Jed” and Nancy DiPaolo, Most Loyal Alumni Mountaineers; Dr. Shelia Price, Most Loyal Faculty Mountaineer; and Pat Reeves, Most Loyal Staff Mountaineer.

Betty and Eddie Barrett

Edward “Jed” and Nancy DiPaolo

Most Loyal West Virginians Eddie and Betty Barrett of Huntington, West Virginia, have been honored for their time and dedication to the University.

Mr. Barrett grew up with a love of the gold and blue and graduated from WVU in 1952 with a degree in English. He worked in the WVU athletic department while attending classes and then spent 14 years as the athletic publicity director. He currently serves as president of Tax Sheltered Benefits, Inc. “I attended my first WVU football game with my father in 1941,” Eddie Barrett said.

“Naturally, I was hooked. I was weaned on WVU. It’s the most important institution in my life.”

Mr. Barrett is a member of Mountain Honorary, Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and the Jerry West Society, and is a past president of the WVU Alumni Association Emeritus Club.

He and his wife, Betty, have contributed financially and with gifts of time to several WVU programs, including the Alumni Association, athletics, community development, English, journalism, physical education, political science, and the President’s Office.

Mrs. Barrett has won numerous prestigious awards for her work with homelessness, affordable housing, mental health, and poverty issues.

“I think I represent a lot of people who have adopted West Virginia University,” Mrs. Barrett said. “I didn’t attend WVU, but we lived 50 48

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

Dr. Shelia Price

in Morgantown for many years, and it’s such a great place. It’s exciting to stay engaged with a university where the academic and athletic programs are growing and doing so well.”

The Barretts are Old Gold members of the WVU Alumni Association and members of the WVU Foundation’s Irvin Stewart Society.

Most Loyal Alumni Mountaineers Edward “Jed” and Nancy DiPaolo of Spring, Texas, have been longtime active leaders and faithful supporters of WVU. Mr. DiPaolo graduated from WVU in 1976 with a degree in agricultural engineering. He spent more than 25 years with Halliburton Company, serving in numerous positions including group senior vice president of global business development. He is currently chairman of JNDI Corporation.

Mr. DiPaolo has maintained a strong commitment to the continuing development of the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources by serving on their advisory committee, and speaking to graduates at the May 2010 Commencement ceremony. He also chaired the college’s Building Greatness campaign, which raised nearly $23 million.

Mrs. DiPaolo, who earned her degree in business from WVU in 1976, is the financial officer of JNDI Corporation. She has maintained a strong connection to her alma mater, currently serving as chair of the WVU Alumni Association’s Board of Directors and

Pat Reeves

chair of the Texas chapter of the Mountaineer Parents Club.

“I love WVU. What we do for the University we do out of love and tradition,” Mrs. DiPaolo said. “We received the foundation for our successes at WVU, so it’s just a matter of giving back what we received from the University.”

In 2004, Mrs. DiPaolo was honored with the WVU Alumni Association’s James R. McCartney Award in recognition of her unwavering commitment to WVU. She says staying involved and engaged with WVU is important to both she and her husband.

“When we are tied in with our WVU community, no matter where we are in the world, we are part of a family and never feel like a stranger,” she added.

The DiPaolos are lifetime members of the WVU Alumni Association.

Most Loyal Faculty Mountaineer Dr. Shelia Price, of Morgantown, has provided consistent and dedicated service to WVU for many years.

Dr. Price is currently associate dean for admissions, recruitment, and access, and professor of diagnostic services at the WVU School of Dentistry. During her tenure at WVU, she has led academic support programs and shepherded several signature programs in the School of Dentistry. She says her loyalty for WVU runs deep.

“Helping those who are coming behind me—that is my best opportunity to give back and to show my loyalty and my appreciation for all of the opportunities afforded to me here at WVU,” Dr. Price said.

Dr. Price has mentored countless students, and her leadership in dental education has been recognized nationally by the American College of Dentists, Executive Leadership for Academic Medicine, and the Pew National Dental Education Leadership Program.

A former member of the WVU Faculty Senate and WVU Alumni Association Board of Directors, Dr. Price earned a doctor of dental surgery, a doctor of education in educational leadership, and a master’s degree in higher education, all from WVU. “It’s important for me to stay engaged on various levels to express my gratitude for what WVU has given me, as a first-generation college graduate,” Dr. Price stated. “I strive to be an ambassador, and as such, help others transform their educational dreams into reality.”

Most Loyal Staff Mountaineer Pat Reeves, of Morgantown, has provided student assistance at WVU for several years, serving in positions in student affairs, housing, and residential education.

Since 2006, she has worked at the main desk of Stalnaker Hall. Prior to that, she worked at the WVU Bookstore. During the summer months, she is a member of the WVU conference staff.

“I get to see students when they’re first coming to WVU right out of high school,” she said. “Many are far away from home and frightened. I’m one of the first people they meet, and they look to me for encouragement. I really enjoy being there for them.”

Known as “Miss Pat” and “Mom-awayfrom-home” to students, Reeves is a mentor and friend, and her unwavering WVU spirit and loyalty serve as an inspiration to others.

“I love this state and this school. I’m a native West Virginian, and this has always been my school,” she added. “I feel very blessed to be able to work at a place I’ve always looked up to.”

The Most Loyal West Virginian and Alumni Mountaineer awards have been presented since 1974, while the Most Loyal Faculty and Staff Mountaineer Award was created in 1994 and split into two separate awards in 2001.

The award recipients are selected annually by a joint committee representing the WVU Foundation, WVU Alumni Association, and the Mountaineer Week organizing committee.

Inspired senior living in the heart of Morgantown

Remember when your parents first drove you to WVU? So began the best years of your life.

Isn’t it time to return the favor?

Your parents helped you make your way. Now it’s their turn to enjoy the freedom and camaraderie of campus living at The Village at Heritage Point—near all the opportunities of Morgantown!

Living here, in a spacious apartment home, your parents can do as they please because housekeeping, maintenance, fine dining and other services will be provided by courteous staff. Attending Mountaineer events. Participating in cultural arts or life-long learning classes. Shopping or volunteering. Exploring the beauty of our state parks. And your family will gain peace of mind, knowing health care support will be available.

Introduce your parents to the best retirement lifestyle in Morgantown.

Call The Village today to arrange a tour!

304-285-5575 or toll-free 877-285-5575 One Heritage Point, Morgantown, WV 26505

www.heritage-point.com

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

49 51

Staying Engaged by Giving Back WRITTEN BY DEB MILLER

“Coming to WVU was the first time that I had been away from home for an extended period of time,” recalled Penny (Christie) Johnson ’64. “But all of my Clarksburg friends had dorm rooms nearby and that helped keep us from being too homesick.”

Years later, their experiences at WVU and their desire to create a scholarship for Elkins High School students motivated Penny and her husband, Emil Johnson ’63, ’72, to set up an income-producing gift with the West Virginia University Foundation. As Emil said, “It was a win-win situation for everyone.”

After graduating with an engineering degree (and an MBA later), Emil has had a varied career—in the military, with Union Carbide in West Virginia and at corporate headquarters, and as a minister in Connecticut after retiring from the business world.

“When I retired from full-time ministry and we moved to North Carolina, we decided that we wanted to do something for groups that had been important in our lives. I realized that the WVU Foundation could help with the scholarship that we wanted to establish for Elkins students,” said Emil, who graduated as the school’s valedictorian in 1958.

The Johnsons learned that the income-producing gift provides multiple benefits.

“The opportunity made a lot of sense—cash flow now and tax advantages, plus the benefits for WVU and local students in the future,” he said.

Penny earned an education degree from WVU. Her career involved teaching and serving as the director of a preschool. She and Emil have two daughters and enjoy family time with their four grandchildren.

“WVU was a great growing-up place for me,” she said. “I belonged to the Delta Gamma sorority and that gave me friends for life. We still stay in touch.”

For Emil, the friendships that developed at WVU have been important too.

“As a Delta Tau Delta fraternity brother, I made lots of friends. One, Penny’s nephew, fixed us up on a blind date,” he said with a smile. He also was elected to a number of academic honoraries and to Mountain.

The Johnsons appreciated the many ways that such income-producing gifts (requiring a minimum of $25,000) can provide a special option for supporting WVU. While they chose to establish a scholarship, other The West Virginia University Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) corporation chartered in 1954 to generate, administer, invest, and disburse contributed funds and properties in support of West Virginia University and its nonprofit affiliates.

The Foundation is governed by the Board of Directors, elected by its members. All serve without compensation. The Foundation’s operating budget is financed entirely with private resources; no University or state funds are used. The Foundation provides the central development and endowment management functions for the University at no cost to the University.

If you would like information on making a contribution, please contact the Foundation by telephone (800-847-3856) or e-mail (info@wvuf.org), or visit our website at www.wvuf.org.

52 50

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

Emil and Penny Johnson

purposes, such as program support, faculty development, library resources, technology upgrades, and discretionary use, also make sense. The assistance needed to make the arrangements is provided by Foundation staff.

Helping students to face the challenges of college life is an important aspect of a scholarship. The Johnsons are pleased that their good fortune in life will translate to good fortune for others too.

Thinking of making a gift to benefit WVU, Potomac State College of WVU, the Mountaineer Athletic Club, or West Virginia 4-H in your will, living trust, IRA, or other manner? If so, the proper wording is very important in getting your gift to work out the way you intended.

Please be sure to include the legal name, “West Virginia University Foundation, Inc.” and add the Foundation’s tax identification number: 55-6017181.

To direct your gift to a specific college, school, or unit, the wording must be “to the West Virginia University Foundation, Inc. for the benefit of . . .”

For sample bequest language, contact the Foundation by telephone (800-847-3856) or e-mail (info@wvuf.org), or visit our website at www.wvuf.org.

Thank You

Willis and Carol Adams for helping WVU and others!

Thank you Willis and Carol Adams for helping WVU help others! Willis ’77, and Carol Adams, both native West Virginians, appreciate the importance of supporting WVU to accomplish more.

“We decided to help through our wills.

Our gift will be used by the University to meet the greatest needs of that time,” Willis, a portfolio manager, said.

Carol, a former virology researcher, agreed. “We thought it would be best to let University officials make those decisions.”

What a great vote of confidence in WVU’s future!

800-847-3856

•

www.wvuf.org

WVU

FOUNDATION

Formed in 1992, the Irvin Stewart Society celebrates the future of West Virginia University by honoring those who choose estate or retirement planning options to benefit WVU, Potomac State College of WVU, West Virginia 4-H, or the Mountaineer Athletic Club. These options include gift provisions in wills or revocable trusts, life income gifts (unitrusts, annuity trusts, and charitable gift annuities), retirement account funds, life insurance, and real estate gifts with a retained lifetime interest. Everyone is invited to join.

Those who are supporting WVU athletics may also join the Jerry West Society, and those supporting Potomac State may also join the Ernest and Katharine Church Society.

There are now over 700 members of the Stewart Society. Members who have joined since April 1, 2009, through May 31, 2010, are: Annette Shipe Boggs Keyser, WV

Marisue B. Hansen San Jose, CA

Lois C. Michael Eden Prairie, MN

Bill Carrico ’59 Longwood, FL

Jim Bill Harvey Bristol, VA

C. Kenneth Murray, EdD Paras N. Shah, JD ’04 Morgantown, WV Washington, DC

Judy Carrico Longwood, FL

Sharon L. Harvey Bristol, VA

Sharon P. Murray Morgantown, WV

Jerry L. Corley ’84, ’87 Morgantown, WV

Charlotte Betler Hughes Linda McKeever Olsen ’65 ’72 Damascus, MD Allison L. Davis ’83, ’99 Lewes, DE Morgantown, WV M. William Hughes Raymond E. Olsen Lewes, DE Damascus, MD Gerald V. Eagan, PhD Morgantown, WV

Genevieve Koepfinger Shirley C. Eagan, EdD Coraopolis, PA ’85 Joseph L. Koepfinger Morgantown, WV Coraopolis, PA Lee Fisher Little Birch, WV

Harvey R. Lambert Chesterbrook, PA

Rosemary Fisher Little Birch, WV

Jerry R. LeMasters ’62 Akron, OH

Young Manning Ross Myrtle Beach, SC

Cliff Thorniley Heath, OH

Alfred F. Galli ’44, ’47

Angela Simmons Suwanee, GA

Philip B. Hill, JD ’57 Jack Welch, DDS ’80, ’85 Oleg D. Jefimenko, PhD Atlanta, GA M. Dale Martin ’52 Jill Welch ’81, ’83 Martha L. Nelson ’42 Atlanta, GA

Dan Simmons Suwanee, GA

+ 2 Anonymous Members

Barbara Pisapia, EdD ’60, ’61

Donald E. Simmons ’73 State College, PA

In Memoriam

Mary Kirk Randolph

Sterling K. Bonnett ’49

Carolyn Reyer

Garnet B. Browning

James A. Romano ’35

E. Jay Snider ’62 Cheryl Handley Ornick Clarklake, MI ’69, ’76 Linda Snider Morgantown, WV Clarklake, MI David A. Ornick ’67 Morgantown, WV

John E. Tecca ’76 Parchment, MI

Maryanne Reed Morgantown, WV

Lynn E. Tecca ’76 Parchment, MI

Lora Virginia Richards George B. Flegal, Jr. ’51 William James McClelland Mount Clare, WV Okatie, SC Washington, PA Loring L. Ross, DDS ’75, ’78, ’81 Jane Eastman Hall ’72 George L. Michael ’37 Myrtle Beach, SC Eden Prairie, MN Englewood, CO

Susan Tewalt ’73, ’77 Charles Town, WV Tim Tewalt ’73 Charles Town, WV

Phyllis J. Popovich ’51

Robert T. Bruhn ’61

Carl A. Rotter, PhD Mary Ellen Burhans, ’33 Frederick A. Schaus ’49, ’53 Ruth Ann Davis, EdD ’58, ’63 Edward Skriner Rosalie Stewart Detch Robert E. Thomas ’47 ’36 Leighton G. Watson Judith Fahlgren ’38, ’71 James E. Feeney ’55 Florence H. Freeman ’63

West West Virginia Virginia University University Alumni Alumni Magazine Magazine

2010

53 51

n

Senator Robert C. Byrd 1917 - 2010

Robert C. Byrd, the longest‑serving senator in America’s history, was raised in

the coalfields of southern West Virginia. He lived a life that embodied the American dream.

Born into poverty, he graduated a high school valedictorian. His lifelong devotion to education led to a career in law and politics that helped forge the history of our state and the nation.

That extraordinary career included terms in state government and the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1958 (an office he would hold for more than half a century). In his nine terms as a senator, Byrd served as minority whip, majority leader, and chair of the Appropriations Committee. As president pro tempore of the Senate, he was third in line of Presidential succession.

Robert Byrd never lost sight of his commitment to building the future of West Virginia.

He dedicated his life to bringing education, health care, and opportunity to every county and community. His support for and work with the state’s land grant university was symbolic of his mission to enrich the lives of everyone who, in the words of his favorite song, found a “Home among the Hills.”

WVU President James P. Clements spoke for the entire Mountaineer community when he stated:

West Virginia has lost a great friend and champion in Senator Robert C. Byrd.

He embodied what we hold so dear in the Mountain State: loyalty, commitment, hard work, honesty, and faith. I respect so much all that he has done for West Virginia, West Virginia University, and the entire nation. You don’t need to look far to see his lasting legacy – in energy research, transportation improvements, health care, education, homeland security, and more. We will miss his remarkable leadership, but long remember the principles by which he lived. His family, staff, and colleagues are in our prayers.

Please visit http://byrd.wvu.edu/ to learn more about how WVU is responding to his legacy.

54 52

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

CLASSCHATTER 1931

Ireta J. Tebay, AB, Wheeling, WV, celebrated her 100 birthday in May 2009.

th

1939

Kenneth Eugene Pyle, BS, Marine City, MI, turned 94 in December and is still going strong.

1941

Walter S. Carpenter, AB, ’41 MS, St. Marys, WV, is still living the good life at 92 years old. . .Fred Toothman, BS, ’46 MS, Barboursville, WV, celebrated his 90th birthday in 2008 by attending a WVU game and enjoying lunch with the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. . .

Robert S. Wilson, BS, Chapel Hill, NC, retired to a continuous care community in 1998.

1942

Christine M. Bean, AB, Dartmouth, MA, is still married and has three grandchildren. She enjoys painting and selling her watercolor paintings. . .Ernest E. Grimm, BS, Marietta, OH, retired after 33 years and lives at Glenwood Retirement Village with his wife of 67 years. . .Ralph Mann, BS, Union, WV, has been the president and CEO of the Bank of Monroe for over 60 years.

1943

Warren Kelly, BS, ’49 MS, Arthurdale, WV, retired from teaching after 37 years of service.

1944

Alice Reidler Dahlberg, BS, Houston, TX, established the Reidler-Dahlberg scholarship at the WVU Foundation in 1987. . .Ruth Van Der Walt, BA, Pompano Beach, FL, retired after teaching music in Broward County for almost 32 years.

1946

Mary E. Forman, BS, Pinellas Park, FL, enjoys taking cruises.

1947

Julian E. Ballard Jr., MA, Belle, WV, retired from Miami Dade County School as coordinator of student services. . .

James R. Hartman, BA, Charleston, WV, is enjoying retirement. . .Peter E. Kaites, BS, Clarksburg, WV, is retired . . .Richard W. Lee, BS, Fairmont, WV, is retired. . .Joseph E. Mams, BS, Elkins, WV, is happily retired.

1948

Robert C. Doolittle, BS, Spencer, WV, retired from General Motors in 1981. . . Bryant L Galusha, BA, Charlotte, NC, is a retired physician. . .Elizabeth Shelhamer Soles, BA, New Market, VA, devoted more than 40 years of service to library work. The circulation area of the new “green” library in New Market is named in her honor. . .J.R. Dick Torrent, BS, Morgantown, WV, has been happily retired for 22 years.

1949

Sterling Bonnett, BA, The Villages, FL, retired as a controller at Electrode Corp.. . .Ronald L. Cook, BS, ’53 MA, Gloucester, VA, retired as a high school principal, supervisor, and member of the board of education. . .John A Crogan, AB, Kingwood, WV, is a retired WWII veteran. . .Carmen DiCarlo, BS, Bel Air, MD, is retired and lives near her children. . .Wendell Hardway, BS, ’53 MS, Fairmont, WV, retired in 1988 after 16 years of teaching and 22 years as president of Bluefield and Fairmont State colleges. . .William R. Lutman, BS, Charleston, WV, has been married for 65 years and is still a loyal Mountaineer. . .Vivian “Dee Dee” Dillon Martin, BS, and husband, Allan “Ike” Martin, BS, ’51 MS, Springfield, VA, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Merrell and Cornelia December 25, 2009. . .Merrell, BS, and Cornelia McIlwain, BS, South McIlwain

Charleston, WV, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a private party hosted by their children, grandchildren, and great-grandson. . .Nick Oliver, BS, Morgantown, WV, is a member of VFW-9916 and Marine Corps League.

He retired from the Department of Energy as manager of engineering and construction, as well as MTEC, where he was an electrical course instructor. . . Francis J. Nardi, BS, Roanoke, VA, is retired. . .Jeann S. Rymer, BA, San Diego, CA, retired after practicing interior design in three states . . .James A. Wroe, BA, and Maronee F. Wroe, ’83 MA, Georgetown, SC, married in December 2004. They both belong to the WVU Grand Strand Alumni Chapter.

1950

Malcom M. Crawford, BS, Raleigh, NC, is still active with the WVU class of 1950 forestry group and is busy coordinating a 59th reunion. . .Harold Crist, BA, ’51 MS, Arbovale, WV, celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary and 85th birthday. . .Arnold O. Dehart, BS, Naples, FL, retired from GM research labs. . .Clovis E. Faltat, BS, Parkville, MD, has been retired since 1981. . .Everett Cecil Flesher Jr., BS, Bryan, OH, worked for 30 years with the USDA Soil Conservation Service as a soil scientist. . .Chas R. Henry, BS, Andover, KS, is going strong at 84 years of age. . .Richard J. Lane, BS, Palos Heights, IL, is 83-years-old and is living with his son and dog. . .Neil Lohr, BS, Princeton, WV, is a retired pharmacist. . .Bonnie Hensley Onks, BS, Sealy, TX, is keeping busy by volunteering and doing church work. . .Robert G. Purdue, BS, Escondido, CA, has four children, seven grandchildren, and enjoys traveling across the US and overseas.

1951

James L Andrick, BS, New Cumberland, PA, is married with two children and recently retired from Eli Lilly & Co . . .Edward M. Burkhardt, BA, Huntington, WV, a retired dentist living in Woodland Retirement Community, is happily married to Nancy Cooper-Burkhardt. . . Charles J. Fickey, BA, Silver Spring, MD, is retired and just finished his novel, Sworn to Secrecy. . .Max H. Lawson, BA, Greeneville, TN, retired as an automobile dealer with two sons, seven grandchildren, and one great grandson…Edwin J. Littlewood, BS, Titusville, FL, enjoys living in Florida. . .Edwin M. Nestor, BS, ’57 MA, Washington Court House, OH, served on the city council in Washington Court House for four years. . .William L. Nice, BS, Moundsville, WV, retired in 2009.

1952

William F. Black, BS, Cleveland Heights, OH, celebrated his 80th birthday in July 2009. . .Donald L. Brown, BA, Birmingham, AL, is retired. . .Benjamin J. De Cinque, BS, Salem, NJ, is a retired physical therapist and enjoys traveling, golfing, and gardening. . .Charles F. Duling II, BA, Huntington, WV, is retired and has a WVU athletic life pass. . .John P. Gay, BS, Huntington, WV, retired as an environmental engineer for Ashland Petroleum Co. . .Oliver Perry Morgan Jr., BS, Fairmont, WV, retired as a construction engineer for WV Department of Highways and is active in Gateway United Methodist Church. . .Jack R. Statler, BS, Tucson, AZ, is retired.

1953

Wayne H. Davis, BA, Lexington, KY, retired in 1993 as a professor of biological sciences at the University of Kentucky. . .Sue Hines, BS, Claremore, OK, a retired realtor, is living in Oklahoma with family where she is active in church and community activities.

1954

Joseph M. Minard, BA, Clarksburg, WV, is a state senator . . .Albert M. Reese, BA, Durango, CO, is enjoying retirement. . .Howard E. Smith, BS, Warner Robins, GA, retired in 2007 after serving in the US Air Force. . .Leah A. Williams, BA, ’58 MS, ’70 PhD, Morgantown, WV, retired as

professor of biology after 36 years of service and is a past chair of the biology department.

1955

Herb Arnett, MA, Dover, OH, works full-time for the Ohio State Department of Education. . .Charles E. Bennett, BA, ’62 DDS, Grafton, WV, celebrated his 55th wedding anniversary with his wife, Martha. . .Creed Matthew Cooper, BS, Princeton, WV, is a retired teacher and social worker. . .Bill McDaniels, BS, Tallahassee, FL, is a pastor at Calvary United Methodist Church. . .J. Richard Murphy Jr., BA, ’56 BS, San Anselmo, CA, is retired with four children and eight grandchildren.

1956

Luther Bolen, BM, Chillicothe, OH, is a retired band director. . .Thomas D. Gerkin, BS, Vienna WV, is a pharmacy inspector for the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy. . .

Jack Kosuh, MA, Paulsboro, NJ, retired after 35 years as a guidance director. . .Ethel C. Montiegel, MS, Morgantown, WV, has been a biology professor for 37 years and has earned many awards.

1958

James M. Clark, BS, Oak Island, NC, retired from AT&T. . .

Lowell P. Haywood, BS, Paducah, KY, retired from Westvaco Corp. in 1998. . .Betty Loyd, BS, ’77 MS, Philippi, WV, is retired and active in her church and community . . .Margradel Richmond, MA, Beaver, WV, retired as an elementary teacher after 33 years of service. . .Charles W. Snider, MA, Martins Ferry, OH, retired. . .James Gary Walker, BS, Ocala, FL, retired in 1999. . .Leonard P. Waltz, BSEE, Newport News, VA, retired.

1959

Keith L. Conrad, BS, Lake Charles, LA, is retired and spends his time gardening, golfing, and visiting his four children, 13 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren . . .Ralph G. Eberly Jr., BS, Pittsburgh, PA, retired . . .Robert F. Fretwell, BS, St. Albans, WV, is retired from the Charleston Gazette. . .Charles S. Garvin, BS, is retired . . .Glen R. Harrah, BS, Leesburg, VA, is retired. . .Lee O. Hill, BS, ’61 JD, Charleston, WV, was recognized for corporate law and public finance law. . .William B. Ludwick, BSBA, Fairfax, VA, retired. . .Ron Raad, BS, Lawrenceville, GA, has been happily retired since 1994 and is still a great Mountaineer fan.

1961

Elvin D. Frame, BS, Charlottesville, VA, is enjoying retirement. His oldest grandson attends WVU. . .William Alt, BA, Ridgeley, WV, retired. . .Kittie J. Blakemore, MS, Manassas, VA, retired. . .Nikolaos Caravasos, BS, Swarthmore, PA, worked for Boeing for 38 years as an aircraft engineer and research and development manager of future aircraft designs. He has written two books, Recollections of Survival and My American Dream. . .Bill W. Dumbauld, BS, Lubbock, TX, is retired and enjoying west Texas. . Charles W. Hall, BS, Newark, DE, retired from Hercules, Inc. in 1995 after working there for 33 years. . .

Eston T. Leatherman, BS, Williamsport, MD, is enjoying retirement after working for 44 years in education.

1962

Michael A. Oliverio, MA, Morgantown, WV, taught chemistry and physics from 1958-1963. . .Robert G. Wolpert, BA, ’65 JD, Charleston, WV, retired in 2006. He practiced law from 1965-2004. He served on the West Virginia Workers Compensation Board of Regents from 2004-2006.

1963

Mabel F. Barth, BS, Denver, CO, celebrated her 100th birthday in August 2008. She is still CEO of a nonprofit organization, The Listening Post Inc., which she founded . . .Dorval H. Donahoe, MD, Logan, WV, retired. . .Tim

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

55 53

CLASSCHATTER Haught, BS, ’66 MA, Sardis, OH, retired in July 2008 after 45 years as a school administrator. He was principal of Magnolia High School. . .Joseph J. Potoczny, BS, Farmington, WV, is co-owner of Red Dot Pharmacy in Mannington.

He has been married to Betty since 1964 and has four children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

shuttle and space station programs, providing engineering support for testing and launching.

1972

Dixie Love-Jarvis, MA, Procious, WV, retired in 2002 after 34 years of service in education. Dixie is a five-year breast cancer survivor. . .Elona Polach, BS, ’72 MA, Williamsburg, VA, and her husband Michael Polach, MBA, retired from northern Virginia and moved to Williamsburg.

1966

C. Edward Balog, BA, ’68 MA, Grand Rapids, MI, has been president of Aquinas College since 2006. . .James Bartlett, BS, Bethesda, MD, is retired but still active as a program management consultant to the federal government and an avid genealogist. . . Martin Lee Collin, MS, ’67 PhD, Tel Aviv, Israel, is retired and happily married with two daughters. . .Charles R. Early, BS, Pittsburgh, PA, retired from American Electric Power Company as a senior tax manager. . .Paul Eaton, BS, Longmont, CO, is VP of an IT company in government contracting. . .James E. Hamrick, MA, Meadow Bridge, WV, retired as an executive secretary of West Virginia Secondary School Activities commission . . .Elizabeth E. Hiner, BS, Silver Springs, MD, retired after 28 years in USPHS. . .John C. Lobert, BS, ’69 JD, Lisle, IL, retired as the senior VP of Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and is the principal in Lobert Legislative & Regulatory Consulting. . .John Loyd, MS, Philippi, WV, is retired and active in his church and community. . .Richard W. Matzko, BA, Punta Gorda, FL, had a reunion this summer with fellow fraternity brothers David L. Johns, ’66 BA, and John B. Whitehead, ’66 BA, at David’s home in South Hampton, NY. . .Sandra S. McPherson, BS, Bethel Park, PA, retired after teaching high school English for 40 years . . .Sheridan Armbrecht Molinari, BS, Westlake, OH, is retired and has two sons. . .Benjamin W. Morey, BS, Falconer, NY, retired. . .R. Grant Mullen, BS, Fredericksburg, VA, is a real estate broker. . .Ronald Noonoo, BS, Las Vegas, NV, retired from being president of HOA and is taking courses at UNLV. . .Thomas O. Patterson, BM, St. Thomas, VI, is the controller at Coral World Ocean Park. . . Sarah L. Paugh, MS, Jane Lew, WV, lobbies every January. . .Jane S. Ross, BS, Washington, DC, is a retired foreign service officer. . .Rachel Tompkins, BA, Marlinton, WV, retired in July 2009 and now lives on the family farm in Pocahontas County. . .Charlie Toth, BA, Ashburn, VA, is principal deputy director and associate director for Education for the Department of Defense Education Activity.

1968

N.A. Ammar Jr., BA, Roanoke, VA, was recognized for employee benefits law and trusts & estates. . .Kenneth Arbogast, BSBA, Bridgeport, WV, retired from the Dominion Resources Group. . .Ruth J. Bowen, PhD, Denton, TX, is a retired college professor. . .Lewis G. Brewer, BA, ’71 JD, joined Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC, where he practices labor and employment law. . .Thomas G. Burger, BS, Charleston, WV, retired from the WV United Methodist Church as director of communications and now enjoys rowing on the river. . .Phil Cook, BS, Thornville, OH, retired in 2008 after working for 40 years and celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary with his wife, Kandi. . .Barbara J. Davis, BS, Wichita, KS, retired from Cessna Aircraft Company in 2009 and now spends time with her family and volunteers with the Society of Women Engineers. . .

Caryl E. Gray, BS, Blacksburg, VA, was awarded the title of assistant professor emerita for University Libraries by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. . .Ross MacKenzie, BS, Fort Worth, TX, retired after working at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. . .Bill Murdock, BS, Huntington, WV, works at St. Mary’s Medical Center Pharmacy.

1969

Tomas W. Brado, BS, Camp Hill, PA, retired after 40 years of service in the transportation industry . . .Nancy Bremer, BS, Upper Marlboro, MD, published a book of prayers called 40 Problems, 40 Prayers. . .Mary K. Chittum, 56 54

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

1973

Alumnus Al Babcock retired before the start of the 2009–10 season as the official men’s basketball scorekeeper for WVU, a position he held for 65 consecutive years.

He also served several years as steward of WVU’s press box for home football games. “I’m 90 years old now, and it’s been a long but great ride for me,” Babcock said. “I loved my work. I wouldn’t have traded it for all the tea in China.”

Babcock endorsed his scorekeeping checks and donated them to WVU athletics. A part of the WVU sports information unit is named in Babcock’s honor.

BFA, Sharpsville, IN, completed her MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2008. . .David S. Francis, BA, Faber, VA, is interim principal of Western Albemarle High School.

1970

Robert G. Bonar, BA, ’74 MA, Grantsville, WV, is a principal at Pleasant Hill Elementary in Calhoun County . . .Roy Brant, MA, and Marjorie Brant, ’76 PhD, live in Saegertown, PA. Roy is on the Crawford County Planning Commission, and many other committees. Marjorie is a professor emeritus at Edinboro University. . .Roger A. Carter, BA, Kennesaw, GA, is treasurer of the WVU Peach Alumni Chapter in Kennesaw. . .Susan Killeen Conner, BA, ’81 MA, ’88 JD, Charleston, WV, serves on the Association for Conflict Resolution as the tri-chair of the workplace section. . .Cheryl Cooper-McElhany, BS, Rancho Murieta, CA, is a retired school administrator and business owner . . .Earl W. Kennedy, BA, ’83 MS, Ft. Myers Beach, FL, retired from Consol Energy and was elected national commander of the Combat Infantrymen’s Association. . .Robert Kulp, BA, Camp Hill, PA, is a retired chief of Division of Compliances & Enforcement, Bureau of Air Quality, for the PA Department of Environmental Resources. . .Edward T. Kynch, Jr., BA, resides with his wife in Minneapolis, MN . . .William Rasengarten, BS, Raleigh, NC, is the communications manager for REA Contracting Company. . . Ashok M. Sanghavi, MSCE, Charleston, WV, is president of a consulting engineering firm.

1971

R. Allan King, BS, Fredericksburg, VA, is manager of Wilderness Presidential Resorts. . .Marlene K. Marchant, BS, Sebring, FL, teaches physical education at Sebring Middle School and is also a licensed massage therapist. . .

David G. Pyles, BS, Fletcher, NC, travels extensively in the eastern US and is a proud parent of four daughters and five grandchildren. . .Larry R. Tucci, BS, Mims, FL, is a program manager for NASA and KSC. He works on space

John M. Wright, DDS, Dallas, TX, was installed as president of the International Association of Oral Pathologists in September 2008. . .R. Paul Brown, BS, Eugene, OR, is an investigator with the Federal Public Defender’s Office. . .William F. Byrne, MA, ’77 JD, Morgantown, WV, is John M. Wright mayor of Morgantown. . .Chapman Hood Frazier, BA, Harrisonburg, VA, received tenure at James Madison University and is chair of the Virginia Council of English education. . .David M. Hughes, BSBA, Summersville, WV, is the president of L.J. Hughes & Sons, Inc. . .

Greg Kozera, BS, Elkview, WV, is a regional sales manager for Superior Well Service. His first book, Learned Leadership, has been released on CD. . .Kulanand Jha, MS, Indianapolis, IN, is the senior geotech engineer at the Indiana Department of Transportation.

1974

Debra Ebert, BS, Virginia Beach, VA, is a high school teacher. . . Linda Hartman, BS, Carnegie, PA, teaches seventh grade art. . .Ellen Leonard, MS, Newington, CT, is happily married and has three successful stepsons.

1975

Michael T. Antalosky, BS, Russell, PA, retired from the US Forest Service. . .Valerie Veltri Cross, BS, Springboro, OH, is an associate professor of computer science at Miami University. . .Linda S. Dormes, BS, St. Clairsville, OH, has been a pharmacist for 33 years at Ohio Valley Medical Center. . .Sue Hannabass Furlong, MBA, Sellersville, PA, is a financial contractor at Merck Basic Research. She lives on a 75-acre farm with her husband. . .John F. Gardner, BS, ’76 MS, Austin, TX, has been working for Emerson Electric Corp. for 28 years and is now the senior VP of global sales, process management group. . .William T. Holmes, BS, ’79 JD, Morgantown, WV, was named a “Best Lawyer” for real estate law. . .Mary E. Hopkins, MA, Beckley, WV, retired from teaching in Raleigh County. . .Roger D. Hunter, BA, Charleston, WV, was recognized as a “Best Lawyer” for corporate law. . .Stephen Joseph, BS, Winfield, WV, has been teaching for 35 years. . .Mike Joseph, BS, has been teaching special education and coaching since he left WVU. . .

John W. Searight, BS, Philadelphia, PA, retired from the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. . .Crystal Stevens, PhD, Atlanta, GA, was the alumni director at Fairmont State and a member of the WV Alumni Director’s Association. She manages the prospect research and management department at Spelman College.

1976

Charles J. Kelly, BS, Stephens City, VA, is director of industry human resources issues at Edison Electric Institute . . .Kathy Beradinelli Moore, BS, Richmond, VA, lives in Richmond with her husband and three sons. She teaches part time for a local community college.

1977

Francis Zumbrun, BS, LaVale, MD, is a forest manager at Green Ridge State Forest and has been a professional forester for over 30 years.

1978

Paul A. Becilla, BS, Morgantown, WV, completed 30 years of service with Rite Aid Corp. in 2008. . . Wallace

M. Cackowski, BS, ’81 MS, Greensburg, PA, is a safety and training specialist for Allegheny Power. . .Michael E. Ellis, BS, Houston, TX, owns his own oil and gas company. . .

Kenneth Oldfield, PhD, is co-editor of the book Resilience: Queer Professors from the Working Class. . .Randy Palmer, BS, Herndon, VA, is working at the headquarters of the Department of Army at the Pentagon. He has been married for nearly 30 years and has a son and a daughter.

1979

Cynthia R. Barry, BS, Marion, OH, is an intervention specialist with the Marion City School District. . .Sandy Chapman, MA, ’83 JD, Wheeling, WV, a lawyer at Burns, White & Hickton, became president of the West Virginia State Bar in April 2009. . .Richard J. Crowley, BS, Hollywood, SC, is director of field service operations for Force Protection Industries, Inc. . .Glen Feinberg, BS, Monroeville, PA, is a partner at Deloitte Consulting. . .Nancy Ferguson-Noges, MS, Scarborough, ME, is a child and adolescent psychiatric nurse practitioner. She opened a private practice in Portland, ME. . .Libby DeMuth Fitzgerald, BS, Denver, CO, is a speech and language specialist for Denver public schools and has three children. . .Ron Forse, BS, Hopwood, PA, is president of Forse Design, Golf Course Designers. . .Susan Good, formerly Brown, BS, ’80 MS, has been the owner of Johnstown Better Hearing for 25 years . . .Tom Holden, BS, Warwick, RI, is a physical therapist in the stroke unit at Kent Hospital. . .June Speranza Kerr, BA, Irmo, SC, is married with three boys and works for Westinghouse as a human resources manager. . .John T. Madden, JD, Moundsville, WV, retired in 2008 as circuit court judge in West Virginia’s Second Judicial Circuit. . .John T. Riggleman, BS, Denver, CO, is general manager of the Elitch Gardens theme park. . .Darlene R. Simmons, BS, Morgantown, WV, retired from teaching high school after 37 years of service. . .Dave Wakely, BS, Lakeland, FL, owns a small business selling floor covering to the public.

1980

Joyce F. Bernatowicz, BS, ’84 BS, Kingwood, WV, is a partner and CPA at Maloney and Associates, PLLC. . .

Elizabeth Bradford, MA, Camden, WV, is retired and loving it. . .Jeanne Bugyis, MA, Parkersburg, WV, is a fourth grade teacher. . .Donna M. Walker Cook, BS, ’81 MS, Bethel Park, PA, is president of the Board of School Directors for the Bethel Park School District. . .

Stephanie Jacobs Crittenden, BS, Charleston, WV, and her husband, Joe, have two sons. Her son, Thomas, attends WVU where he majors in computer science and computer engineering. . .Michele DeCarlo, MA, Westover, WV, is a library media specialist at Skyview Elementary . . .Charles D. “Chuck” Farmer, BS, Beckley, WV, is the owner of Rouster WRR. . .Larry M. Harris, MSW, Clarksburg, WV, retired in May 2010 after 30 years as a medical social worker. . .David Hill, BS, Charleston, WV, is the 91st president of the West Virginia Society of CPAs. He is a partner in the CPA firm of Arnett & Foster. . .David D. Horst, BSBA, Milton, WV, earned an MBA degree from Marshall University in December 2009. . .Matthew Howell, BS, Morgantown, WV, is general manager and part owner of Fox Systems in Morgantown. . .J.K. Ferrell, BA, ’84 MA, Union Bridge, MD, is director of safety at the Arc of Baltimore, where he has worked for 25 years. . .Edwin R. Longanacre, BS, Deridden, LA, is the senior VP of information technology at Amerisafe, Inc.. . .Michael E. Nogay, BA, Weirton, WV, is included in the 2009 publication of Virginia and West Virginia “Super Lawyers”. . .Gordon R. Snurr II, BS, Short Gap, WV, is VP of Navy Restoration at ATK Tactical Propulsion & Controls Allegany Ballistics Laboratory. He is the liaison for restoration, moderation, and sustainment at the Navy-owned facility. . .Renee Turonis, BS, ’03 MS, Hoboken, NJ, is a school nurse. . .

Jeffrey A. Wilson, BS, Richmond, VA, owns Wilson Energy Advisors, LLC, a consulting firm serving industry, financial groups, and government.

1981

Terry McWatteus, BS, ’86 DDS, Hurricane, WV, owns a dental practice in Eleanor and Nitro, and is married with three children. . .Sara Viers Monroe, BS, Allen Junction, WV, is an assistant program director with Mountain Heart Childcare Resources and Referral. She is a proud grandmother of three.

1982

Mark D. Kessinger, BS, Huntington, WV, is a certified project management professional with the Project Management Institute. . .Tony Nagy, BS, Aliquippa, PA, is the owner and operator of a residential and commercial lawn and landscape treatment business.

1983

Wayne Reese, MA, Nicholasville, KY, served as an elementary school principal for 12 years.

1984

Kent. E. Saylor, BA, Frostburg, MD, has been married for 25 years and has three children. He has been a geologist for 20 years. . .Kimberlee Mercer Stone, MA, North Wilkesboro, NC, earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Phoenix and is an instructional specialist for Wilkes County Schools. . .Stanley P. Wellman, BA, Richmond, VA, was elected president of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys and president-elect of the Henrico County Bar Association. He is a founding partner of Harman, Claytor, Corrigan & Wellman, P.C., law firm. He and his wife have three children.

1985

Kendra Calhoun, BS, ’86 BA, ’04 MS, Knoxville, TN, is president and CEO of the Amputee Coalition of America, the leading national educational organization providing information and support to the more than 1.7 million individuals living with limb loss in the US. . .Gus R. Douglas, BS, Lion, WV, was elected to his 11th term as Commissioner of Agriculture, a state record. . .James R. Lasche, BS, Weatherford, TX, an ROTC graduate, retired from the US Air Force as a full colonel, commander, and command pilot. . .James H. Thomas Jr., EdD, Aliquippa, PA, is assistant dean of arts and sciences at Point Park University.

1986

Julia Wallace Carr, BS, Linville, VA, is an associate professor in kinesiology at James Madison University in campus recreation leadership. She is married with one child, Brody. . .Jennie L. Deitz, BA, ’94 BA, Huntington, WV, a professional writer, worked in Annapolis as an intelligence analyst for the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. She lives in Huntington with her husband, Erik. . .Nanette Heide, BA, ’87 BS, New York, NY, joined Duane Morris as a corporate finance attorney. . .

George J. Schuller Jr., BS, Chesterfield, MO, is VP of engineering and technical services globally for Peabody Energy.

1987

Mark A. Haught, BS, Ladson, SC, and his wife, Donita, have two children. He teaches physics at Goose Creek High School. . .Timothy M. Stephens, BA, Colorado Springs, CO, retired from the US Air Force. He is a senior engineer with Shafer Corp., where he supports the Air Force Space Command Headquarters. . .Jason A. Yianilos, BS, Alexandria, VA, is program director at Sirius XM Satellite Radio in Washington, D.C.

1989

David Theron Allen, BA, King George, VA, is chairman of the science department at King George High School. . .

Julian Jacquez, BS, Fairmont, WV, is VP of business and

product development for BCN Telecom. . .Michele Kirk, BA, Upper Saddle River, NJ, is living with her husband and two children outside of New York City. She is chief employment counsel in the Honeywell Specialty Materials legal department.

1990

George W. Bowman, BA, Jackson, MS, is an associate professor of law and director of the International Law Center at Mississippi College of Law. In 2008, he launched a study abroad program in South Korea and received tenure from Mississippi College.

1991

Brian M. Hanlon, BS, Red Bank, NJ, is VP of investments at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. . .David M. Rosenberg, BS, Dallas, TX, was named a member of the Catholic Foundation’s Board of Trustees for a threeyear term. . .Duane Smith, BA, Washington, WV, purchased a bowling center in Parkersburg in 2007.

1992

Jeffery H. Anderson, MA, Sumerduck, VA, is athletic director at Auburn Middle School. He and his wife, Valene, have three children. . .Stephanie Cleavenger-Gosset, BA, Medina, OH, is marketing manager for Lubrizol Corporation in Brecksville, OH. . .Kurt Miller, BS, Atlanta, GA, is VP of Kilgannon, an advertising agency. . .Shawn Neice, BS, Neptune, NJ, opened the Children’s “Please Touch” Museum in Neptune. . .

Andrew J. Turner, JD, Washington, D.C., has rejoined Hunton & Williams LLP as senior attorney. He previously Andrew J. Turner served as chief of general law in the US Coast Guard.

1993

James Azzaro, BA, Washington, PA, is senior gift officer for Washington and Jefferson College where he is responsible for managing the cultivation of major gifts to the institution. . .Amy Bircher Hammond, BS, Cleveland, OH, is president and owner of MMI Textiles Inc., one of Weatherhead’s 100 fastest growing, best upstart small businesses in northeastern Ohio.

1994

Karen Dusha, BS, Alexandria, VA, is a sales manager for a major telecommunications provider. She is married and has a daughter.

1995

Andrea Taylor Bucklew, BS, ’98 JD, Tunnelton, WV, was named the Outstanding Professor of the year for 2007–2008 at Potomac State College of WVU. She was also granted tenure. . .Stephen D. Hamilton, BS, BA, has been with Delaware Investments for more than ten years, serving as VP of institutional sales of client services. . .Jason Nulton, BA, Eagle River, AK, earned a master’s degree in air mobility from the Air Force Institute of Technology and is now commander of the 611th Air Support Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base. . .Ron Opel, BA, Grantsville, MD, is head coach of the boy’s basketball team at Northern Garrett County High School in Accident, MD . . .Margaret Rateau, MS, Moon Township, PA, is an associate professor of nursing at Kent State University. . .Arlan Shingleton, BS, Garner, NC, is assistant VP with First Citizens Bank in Raleigh. He also serves as a board member of the local WVU alumni chapter in Raleigh. . .Melissa Wanzer, EdD, Amherst, NY, is a professor at Canisius College in the communication studies department.

1996

Gerald Cottril, BS, ’98 MS, Beavercreek, OH, began the doctorate program at the Air Force Institute of Technology in aeronautical engineering in fall 2008 at Wright-Patterson AFB. . .Jason D. Farabaugh, BS, Scottsdale, PA, is a

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

55 57

CLASSCHATTER wildlife conservation officer for the PA Game Commission . . .Heather Frazier, BS, Hurricane, WV, is a 2008 graduate of Marshall University in reading education.

1997

Thomas Jones Jr., BS, ’99 MS, Earlington, KY, practiced social work for about three years. before entering the coal industry in 2002 where he sells conveyor equipment. He also runs an underground construction company with 200 employees, a retail store, and a mine supply company. . .

Richard Pushkin, MD, San Francisco, CA, is assistant professor of medicine of the Division of Hospital Medicine at UCSF Medical Center.

1998

Anthony Deal, BS, Bruceton Mills, WV, is CFO at Insurance Centers Inc.. . .Brandy Mullins, BS, ’02 MD, Summersville, WV, is a general surgeon practicing at Summersville Surgical Associates. She is married with three children. . .Parween Qazi, MA, Nitro, WV, taught junior high school and worked for staff development for Kanawha County Schools.

She is now retired. . .Christine Sansevere, BA, Tinton Falls, NJ, owns her own fitness and massage business.

1999

Alison Steele, BS, Chapel Hill, NC, celebrated her oneyear anniversary of A+S Design, a women-owned interior design firm that focuses on commercial and residential spaces. . .Larue D. Williams, MPA, Morgantown, WV, is director of Homeland Security Programs at WVU. He has two children, Summer and Randy.

2000

Tricia Cartisano, BS, ’03 MS, Moon Township, PA, is engaged to Frank “Pancho” Timmons. . . Danielle Kinser, BS, Paw Paw, WV, teaches PE/health at James Wood High School in Winchester, VA. She and her husband, Eric, have two children, Parker and Colson. . .Justin Papucci, BS, Blasdell, NY, is VP of Attica Lumber Company. . .Jeremy Sibert, JD, Denver, CO, is a major in the US Marine Corps Reserve. He works in the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado in the major crimes section. . . Kelly A. Stepp, JD, Waynesburg, PA, has a daughter, Sara, who is a WVU student.

2001

Kent A. McBride, BA, ’05 DDS, Morgantown, WV, is an endodontist. In 2009 he and Jeffrey G. Minchau,’04 DDS, also an endodontist, celebrated the grand opening of their Uniontown office.

2003

Jonathan M. Shaffer, BS, Mt. Pleasant, PA, earned his doctorate in biochemistry and molecular genetics from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. . .Trina E. Martin Snyder, BS, Scottsdale, PA, teaches fourth grade in the Connellsville area school district and is married with a child. . . Christopher Webb, BS, Charles Town, WV, attends West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2008.

2004

Kristin G. Bailes, BS, Canvas, WV, is an RN. She is happily married. . .Aaron J. Peoples, BS, Somerville, MA, is starting his third year at Novo Biotic Pharmaceuticals as a drug discovery chemist in natural products while earning an MBA at Boston University . . .Christina Scripps, BS, Rockville, MD, works for TMG strategies, a PR firm in Washington, D.C.

2005

2010

Richard Paul Ingram, BS, Elkridge, MD, is a designer for Charles P. Johnson & Associates, Inc. in the land development department. He is acquiring his RLA license. . .Colin Myers, BS, Huntington, WV, graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a master’s degree in education. He is an assistant football athletic trainer at Marshall University. . .Anntwanette Nicholas, BS, is mobilized for the US Army as a pre-deployment trainer. . .Elizabeth A. Whitacre, BS, Augusta, WV, is a school nurse.

2007

Christopher Duckworth, BS, Bakersfield, CA, is a field service engineer at Baker Hughes Inteq . . .Zachary W. Henry, BA, Clarksburg, WV, attends the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg. . .Sarah Liberatore, BS, Morgantown, WV, is in her first year of dental school. . .James Lively III, BS, Fayetteville, WV, attends the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, WV. . .Jay Mason, BS, Morgantown, WV, is a project manager for the West Virginia Rural Health Research at the Health Sciences Center. . . Jennifer N. Rose, BS, Hillsboro, WV, attends the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, WV. . .Nicole Sabatina, BS, Wheeling, WV, attends the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, WV. . .Michael H. Shehl, BS, ’08 MS, Clarksburg, WV, works for Pepsi Bottling Group in Somers, NY, as a human resources representative. . .Katelyn Sykes, BS, Clarksburg, is employed at WDTV in Clarksburg as a news reporter and weekend anchor. . .Faith Thomas, MS, Houston, TX, is a senior technical writer for the technical operations department at Continental Airlines.

2008

Alyesha P. Asghar, JD, Charleston, WV, is an associate at Spilman Thomas & Battle. . .Rawan El-Amin, MPH, Morgantown, WV, is a student at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg. . .Thomas Full, BA, Pittsburgh, PA, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in the delayed entry program. . .Roma Grover, BS, Morgantown, WV, is a student at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg. . .Brian Hannan, BS, Woodbridge, VA, works for Exterran in Houston, TX. . .Andrew H. Peterson, BA, Fayetteville, WV, is a student at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg. . .

Alexandra Potock, BA, Weirton, WV, attends the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg. . .

DiAngela Prunesti, BS, Beckley, WV, attends the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg.

In May, the Alumni Association rolled

out the Mountaineer Connection, an online community for alumni and friends of WVU. The site, a joint partnership with the WVU Foundation and the University, is a one-stop shop for all things WVU. You can update your

George Harrison III, BS, Clarksburg, WV, is a graduate assistant at WVU under Coach Bill Stewart. . .Nancy Sartor, MPH, Lewisburg, WV, is a real estate broker and landlord. . .Tamara B. Williamson, JD, Morgantown, WV, is an associate at the Morgantown office for Spilman Thomas & Battle.

58 56

2006

information, add new details, search for classmates, and get the latest news and events. Join the community at www.

Tamara B. Williamson

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

mountaineerconnection.com.

2009

Megan Harman, BS, Jamie Latos, BA, Kyle Muscari, BS, Jeremy Parsons, BS, Lance Shinn, BS, and Ann-Marie Stazenski, BS, were all accepted into the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Marriages

Jamie Latos

Ashley Arman, ’05 BSBA, ’07 MS, to Timothy Gerken, ’08 MS, MBA, Columbia SC, on August 15, 2009. . .Rene Burger, ’99 BS, ’02 JD, to Todd Frymyer, ’01 BS, November 15, 2008. . .Scott Campbell, ’04 BS, to Julia Blair, Hagerstown, MD, September 2008. . .Jonnette Douglass, ’69 BS, to Theodore B. Walter Jr., Parkersburg, WV, on January 1, 2009. . .Julie Ferruso, ’95 BA, to Michael Capello, Red Bank, NJ, on July 25, 2008. . .Abigail Foster, ’01 BSBA, to Ryan Quinn, Richmond, VA, on April 25, 2009. . . Lyndsay Hamm, ’99 BS, to John Putnam, Charlotte, NC, on August 30, 2008. . .K. Shanee’ Holmes-Moore, ’02 BS, to Jabari A. Moore, Dallas, TX, on April 18, 2009. . .Damien Keemss, ’98 BS, to Courtney A., Bloomfield, NJ, on June 6, 2009. . . Lauren Kosmal, ’07 BA, to David VanDyke, ’07 BA, Morgantown, WV, on January 10, 2009. . .Nancy Scott Kittle, ’64 BS, ’84 MA, to Dr. Sam Schneider, Austin, TX, October 27, 2007. . .Joni Beth Mauritz, ’05 BS, ’08 MPH, MPA, to Peter J. Micklewright, Key West, FL, January 4, 2009. . .Caroline Palmer, ’06 BS, to RJ Zitzelsberger, Pittsburgh, PA, on April 17, 2009. . .Laura Pfeifer, ’06 BS, ’08 MS, to Nicholas Hornbeck, ’07 BS, ’08 MS, Gahanna, OH, May 23, 2009. . .John “Doc” Richmond, ’70 BA, ’74 MD, to Agnes L. Cloud, Dalton, GA, June 7, 2008. . .Tamika Shockley, ’99 BS, to Kevin McPherson, Bowie, MD, February 6, 2009. . .Tori Snively, ’03 BS, to Matthew Snively, Powhaton Point, OH, March 17, 2007. . .Jessica Spinozzi, ’94 BS, ’06 MS, to Mitch Posel, Plano, TX, September 6, 2009. . .Edie Statton, ’05 BA, to Scott Dunham, ’05 BA, Downingtown, PA, on May 23, 2009. . .Doug Taylor, ’05 BA, to Jeanette Bendele, Las Vegas, NV, on August 29, 2009. . .J. Brian Townsend, ’96 BS, to Jessica Turner, Huntersville, NC, November 1, 2008. . .Kristian E. White, ’96 BSBA, ’99 JD, to Nicole R. Myers, Wheeling, WV, on September 12, 2009.

Births/Adoptions

Rebekah Doak to Martha Alexander, ’97 BA, and Martha Langmuir, New York, NY. . . Jayden and Jordan to Michael Bohrn, ’93 BS, and Jaylaine Bohrn, Wyomissing, PA. . .

Maydelyn Patricia to Lori Klein Brennan, ’91 BA, and Edmund Brennan, Broomall, PA. . .Regan Elizabeth to Jan Chancey, ’97 BS, ’03 MA, and James, Inwood, WV . . .Jackson Stafford to Kim Stafford Corbin, ’00 BS, ’03 MBA, and Steven Corbin, Crosslanes WV. . .Charles Jacob to Jennifer Fields, ’02 BS, and Andrew Fields, Fairmont, WV. . .Aubrey Nicole to Brandy Haines, ’00 BSW, and Nathan Fisher, ’99 BS, Keyser, WV. . .Lily Ann to Brian M. Hanlon, ’91 BSBA, and Jenny Lynne, Redbank, NJ. . .

Brenna Elizabeth to Jodie Robinson Gardill, ’98 BA, ’02 JD, and Christopher Gardill, ’02 JD, Wheeling, WV. . .Lily Ann to Brian M. Hanlon, ’91 BS, and Jenny Lynne Hanlon, Redbark, NJ. . .Elliot Charles to Susan Heilmann Holsclaw, ’97 BS, and Greg Holsclaw, ’98 BS, ’99 PhD, Lafeyette State, CO. . .Nolan Matthew to Aliesha Petronis Hunter, ’02 BS, and Nick Hunter, ’02 BS, Cornelius, NC. . .Gideon Lane King to Christopher Wayne King, ’99 BA, and Jennifer King, Gulfport, MS. . .Carter Thomas to Matthew Kingery, ’00 JD, and Christine Kingery, Hurricane, WV. . .Elliot to Ann Sullivan Lambert, ’01 PHRD, and Joseph Lambert, ’99 BS, Parkersburg, WV. . .Tessa Jane to Melissa Larzo, ’00 MD, and Cris Larzo, ’96 BA, ’01 MD, Morgantown, WV. . .Luca John to Eugene M. Montemore, ’95 BS, and Amanda, Scottsdale, AZ. . .Evan Scott to Michael Scott Moore, ’95 BS, and Christy Moore, Gibsonia, PA. . .Parker Lauren

Elizabeth to Jaime N. Morris, ’00 BA, and Robert A. Smith, Point Pleasant, NJ. . .Alessandro Michael and Sofia Marie to Michael Motta, ’94 BA, Macungie, PA. . .Declan John to Monica Niland Mulkern, ’94 BA, and John Mulkern, Foxboro, MA. . .Reece and Alister to Jon J. Parrinello, ’96 BS, Schaumburg, IL. . .Thomas Parisi to Lesley Kessel Parisi, ’03 BS, Stockholm, NJ. . .Liam Perry to Erin Burgess, ’05 BA, and Jonathan Perry, ’05 BS, Poca, WV. . .Joshua David to Christopher Protho, ’95 BM, and Amy Protho, Mars, PA. . .Marli Jo to Alissa Short Reymond, ’03 BS, and her husband, Point Pleasant, WV. . .Alexander William and Veronica Jane to Holly Cucarese Roach, ’98 BS, and husband Daniel Roach, Saint Louis, MO. . .Emily Kate to Amanda J. Smith, ’97 BS, Beverly, WV. . .Tanner William to Melinda Tripp, ’92 BS, ’99 MA, and Brent Tripp, Hopedale, OH. . .Isaac Michael to Dawn Welling, ’99 BS, ’00 MS, and Shayne Welling, ’02 JD, Wheeling, WVCollin William to Julie Westfall, ’96 BS, ’06 MBA, and Phillip Stark. . .Ethan Urijah to Harold B. Wolfe III, ’91 JD, Bluefield, WV. . .

Finley Jospeh to Megan Parry Yuska, ’94 BS, and Joseph Yuska, ’95 BS, Strongsville, OH. . .Aaron Michael to Nicole Newhouse Zeitlin, ’96 BA, Silver Spring, MD.

Deaths

Thomas Albright, ’57 MA, Boca Raton, FL, April 14, 2009.

Joseph Page Adams, ’83 MA, Bruceton Mills, WV, February 17, 2009.

Michael “Mike” Francis Badzek II, ’78 BA, Morgantown, WV, September 18, 2008.

Laurie Anderson Barbour, ’73 BS, Newberry Township, PA, October 19, 2008.

James L. Bartley, ’50 BA, Elizabeth City, NC, May 27, 2009.

Blaine Andrew Beeghly, ’40 BS, ’48 MS, Washington, PA, October 14, 2008.

Damon S. Benedict, ’91 BS, ’93 MBA, Morgantown, WV, May 1, 2009.

William Blizzard, ’39 BA, Ripley, WV, December 29, 2008.

Dorothy Comley Bird, ’39 BS, Morgantown, WV, December 21, 2009.

Wilbur H. Bluhm, ’48 MS, Morgantown, WV, November 15, 2008.

John Douglas Blue, ’65 BS, Eagleville, TN, July 7, 2009.

Ruth Hurts Bowyer, ’43 BS, ’63 MS, Elkview, WV, January 3, 2009.

Virginia Boyles, ’61 AB, Philippi, WV, July 5, 2009.

L. Wallace Brake, ’43 BA, Clarksburg, WV, August 8, 2008.

Mary Bowne Bricker, ’52 MS, Tazewell, VA, November 19, 2008.

Mark A. Brodsky, ’68 BS, Brewer, ME, December 30, 2008.

Frederick Jackson Brothers, ’51 BS, Rome, GA, September 11, 2009.

David K. Brown, ’74 PhD, Morgantown, WV, October 28, 2009.

Elizabeth Welch Brown, ’41 BS, Green Valley, AZ, November 27, 2009.

Joseph Ray Bruno Sr., ’50 BS, Morgantown, WV, August 20, 2009.

Charles E. Buchanan, ’68 BS, ’71 MS, Charleston, WV, September 30, 2008.

Clarence Paul Bungard Jr., ’65 BA, ’69 MA, Morgantown, WV, August 9, 2009.

Eugene L. Burner, ’41 AB, ’48 MS, Cass, WV, August 6, 2009.

Amerigo S. Cappellari, ’39 BS, Hartsville, SC, January 17, 2009.

Bryan Michael Carey, ’91 BA, ’96 MD, Atlanta, GA, May 14, 2009.

Lawrence L. “Larry” Christian, ’63 BA, Naples, FL, February 28, 2009.

Larry John Comberiati, ’75 AB, Morgantown, WV, January 22, 2009.

A Focused Alumnus

by Cordia Lucas Mark Stryker chalks his achievements up to two things: luck and dedication. He likes to say, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

He believes, “It’s a bit of luck— being in the right place at the right time—and a lot of hard work. It doesn’t mean that everything goes your way all the time. It just means that when it doesn’t go your way, it is what it is. You keep going and eventually win.”

Stryker lives in Texas and is the chief operating officer for Extreme Technologies, Inc., an information technology company that supports clients on three continents and five countries.

“We really focus on people,” he says. “Most [of our clients] aren’t versed in technology. They’re business professionals trying to achieve commercial goals.

One of the things we talk about is seeing through the technology to the business of our clients, because at the end of the day the technology is only a tool. And if it’s not doing the things it should be doing for the client, then it’s not a very good tool.”

Giving advice to upcoming graduates, Mark says, “The education you get at WVU and the experiences you gain are a great platform to go and explore.

Take a few chances and really see how much you can accomplish. See how far you can go.”

William Edgar “Bill” Correll, ’61 BS, Westover, WV, March 12, 2009.

Jere Taylor Craig, ’60 BSJR, Morgantown, WV, August 14, 2009.

Robin M. Crum, ’93 JD, Wheeling, WV, May 9, 2008.

Alf Robert Dahlberg, ’49 BS, Houston, TX, January 21, 2009.

Michele Luttrell Daniel, ’83 BS, ’86 MS, Morgantown, WV, August 28, 2009.

Charlotte L. Davis, ’54 BS, ’56 MA, Morgantown, WV, November 12, 2009.

William E. Decker, ’40 BS, September 9, 2008.

Catherine DeMarco, ’06 BS, Bridgeport, WV, December 7, 2008.

Martin William “Bill” Downey, ’50 BS, Martinsburg, WV, June 12, 2009.

James Thomas Dukas, ’51 BA, New York, NY, December 13, 2008.

Thomas Coleman Dumire, ’56 BS, Front Royal, VA, December 2, 2009.

Darst Corbin Dyer, ’35 BA, Morgantown, WV, February 9, 2009.

James David Emerson, ’61 BS, Palm Harbor, FL, April 16, 2009.

Nicholas “Nick” George Evans, ’61 MA, ’80 EdD, Morgantown, WV, April 24, 2009.

George E. “Ed” Fasching, ’54 BS, ’67 MS, Morgantown, WV, January 20, 2009.

Emil J. Ferrara, ’45 AB, Morgantown, WV, June 22, 2009.

Thomas E. Fortner, ’66 BA, ’70 MD, Hurricane, WV, June 13, 2008.

Ronald H. Fortney, ’75 PhD, Buckhannon, WV, September 11, 2009.

Jo Ann Budd Fraley, ’72 MS, ’79 JD, Reedsville, WV, April 9, 2009.

Florence “Flo” Freedman, ’62 MA, Morgantown, WV, February 28, 2009.

Calvin H. Furfari, ’48 BS, Penn Township, PA, June 19, 2009.

Thomas J. Gabonay, ’63, MA, Upland, CA, April 8, 2009.

Edward DuBose Gaker, ’09 BS, Oregonia, OH, June 5, 2009.

Alfred F. Galli, ’44 BS, ’47 MSCH, Morgantown, WV, September 29, 2009.

Joseph T. Galusky, ’56 MS, Safford, AZ, February 10, 2009.

Elizabeth E. Glass, ’52 AB, Morgantown, WV, October 9, 2008.

Richard J. Glass, ’49 BS, ’55 MS, Morgantown, WV, December 21, 2009.

Benjamin L. Glasscock, ’37 AB, ’49 JD, Morgantown, WV, March 13, 2009.

W. Herbert Glenn, ’48 BS, Clawson, MI, December 19, 2008.

William “Bill” Grafton, ’61 BS, ’67 MSF, Morgantown, WV, September 11, 2009.

Michael A. Grant, ’68 AD, ’72 MD, Fairmont, WV, June 6, 2009.

Creed Collins Greer Jr., ’57 BS, Panama City, FL, August 7, 2009.

Margery Wilson Gross, ’42 BS, Morgantown, WV, December 24, 2009.

Ann A. Griffin, ’55 BS, Old Hickory, TN, November 8, 2007.

Louis James Guiliani, ’51 AB, Westover, WV, October 15, 2009.

Jay Ramsey Haislip, ’54 AB, ’56 MS, Cherry Hill, NJ, September 24, 2008.

Virginia D. Hays, ’36 BA, Columbus, GA, October 4, 2008.

William Thomas “Bill” Herndon, ’73 BS, Annapolis, MD, July 10, 2008.

Martha Louise Hornor Hickman, ’48 BS, Morgantown, WV, December 10, 2008.

Billy Lee Higginbotham, ’60 BS, West Columbia, SC, November 2, 2009.

Hay K. Ho, ’68 MS, San Ramon, CA, April 20, 2009.

Robert M. Horrell, ’49 BS, Powhatan, VA, October 10, 2008.

Ralph Clark Huston Jr., ’62 BS, St. Petersburg, FL, October 25, 2009.

William E. Iman Jr., ’69 BS, Oregon, OH, November 4, 2008.

Anne Garner Jenkins, ’51 BS, ’67 MS, Morgantown, WV, March 19, 2009.

James R. Jones, ’67 BS, ’68 MS, McMurray, PA, January 10, 2009.

Marilynn Jean Davis Jones, ’66 MS, Rose Hill, NC, August 1, 2009.

William Forrest Kendall, ’58 BA, Fayetteville, NC, January 12, 2009.

Avinash S. Khatter, ’91 MD, Phoenix, AZ, August, 19, 2009.

Gretta Guyton La Rue, ’54 BS, Sistersville, WV, June 5, 2009.

John Robert “J.R.” Kiger, ’66 BA, Morgantown, WV, January 8, 2009.

David J. Lambiotte, ’63 MS, Camarillo, CA, November 8, 2008.

Stanley Lawton, ’37 BS, Florence, AL. Walter H. Layman Jr., ’76 BS, Morgantown, WV, December 17, 2009.

Sara Stevens Lee, ’62 BS, ’71 MA, Milledgeville, GA, December 13, 2009.

Arnold David Leonard, ’68 PhD, Westerville, OH, October 30, 2009.

Ted T. Lewis, ’65 BS, ’71 MD, Huntington, WV, March 25, 2009.

Kathleen Vande Linde, ’50 BS, Glenn Falls, WV, March 7, 2009.

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

59 57

CLASSCHATTER Jay Roy “Bud” Lipscomb II, ’40 MA, Aurora, MD, January 31, 2009.

Hope Harper Loar, ’39 BS, Morgantown, WV, May 11, 2009 Sandra L. “Sandy” London, ’70 BS, Maidsville, WV, December 18, 2008.

JoAnn L. Lorenson, ’71 BA, ’78 MA, Morgantown, WV, June 22, 2009.

Thomas K. Lowry, ’64 BS, ’65 MBA, Grosse Point Shores, MI, April 3, 2009.

Susan Rhodes Luther, ’59 BS, Meadville, PA, January 3, 2009.

Joan N. Lynch, ’81 MA, Greensboro, NC, May 4, 2009.

Michael Ray “Mickey” Malone, ’67 BS, Morgantown, WV, October 3, 2009.

Elsie Board Markley, ’53 BS, Austin, TX, June 30, 2008.

Boyd H. May, Jr., ’52 BS, Richmond, VA, September 22, 2009.

M. Dale Martin, ’52 BS, Port Charlotte, FL, October 8, 2009.

Theodore Roosevelt McClain Jr., ’55 BA ’61 MA, Morgantown, WV, October 2, 2009.

Jacqueline McCrum, ’76 MA, Kingwood, WV, July 2, 2009.

Mark Douglas McIntyre, ’81 BS, Cheat Lake, WV, December 7, 2009.

James Leonidas Michael, ’59 BS, Romney, WV, October 17, 2008.

Robert Lyle Miles, ’54 BS, Albuquerque, NM, November 20, 2008.

Michael Minutelli, ’54 MA, Fairmont, WV, February 16, 2009.

George Robert Muha, ’48 BA, Mercer, PA, January 12, 2009.

Robert Edwin Muffly, ’48 BS, North Strabane, PA, September 12, 2009.

Paul E. Nabors, ’52 BS, ’55 MA, Pemberville, OH, July 25, 2009.

Joseph Patrick Nieto, ’77 AB, Princeton, WV, April 19, 2009.

William C. “Nick” Nicholas, ’70 BS, ’74 DDS, Grafton, WV, March 18, 2009.

Dominick E. Olivito, ’43 BA, Steubenville, OH, July 2, 2009.

Albert Pantalone, ’42 AB, ’44 MD, Pittsburgh, PA, June 25, 2007.

Russell Paptick, ’68 MA, Morgantown, WV, December 25, 2008.

Jordan C. Pappas, ’42 BA, ’48 JD, Morgantown, WV, August 13, 2009.

Thomas Parrish, ’58 BS, ’59 JD, Tempe, AZ, December 26, 2008.

Victor S. Peelish, ’48 BS, ’50 MS, Beckley, WV, August 3, 2009.

Richard Anson Phillips, ’84 BA, Morgantown, WV, May 11, 2009.

Barbara Pisapia, ’60 AB, ’61 MS, Boca Raton, FL, April 8, 2009.

Leon Plevin, ’53 BA, Cleveland, OH, October 2008.

Richard Polen, ’68 BS, Athens, OH, November 25, 2008.

Phyllis Janes Popovich, ’51 BA, Morgantown, WV, July 6, 2009.

William Henry Powers, ’50 BS, Tallmadge, OH, October 9, 2009.

Robert “Bob” Pyle, Mt. Pleasant, SC, January 6, 2009.

Charlotte Ann Coulthard Reed, ’60 MA, Buckhannon, WV, April 14, 2009.

Eloise Virginia Hall Richmond, ’37 AB, Lexington, KY, January 9, 2009.

Walter J. Ridd, BS, Dayton, OH, March 13, 2009.

Stella Riffle, ’72 MA, Webster Springs, WV, November 23, 2008.

Lydia Jeanine Roach, ’77 BS, ’82 MA, Baltimore, MD, June 27, 2009.

Judith Yost Robinson, ’67 BA, Fairview, VA, November 24, 2008.

Robert C. Robinson, ’54 BS, Lake Lynn, PA, March 16, 2009.

John Luttrell Robson, ’39 AB, Laurel, MD, March 7, 2009.

Rebecca Ann Woodford Rogers, ’81 BS, ’86 MS, Westminster, CO, May 29, 2009.

60 58

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

Don’t Say “No”

by Cordia Lucas Beverly Plocki is known for not taking “no” for an answer.

Fresh out of WVU’s master’s program in sports management and administration in 1989, she began a head coaching career in gymnastics at the University of Michigan—a program that was slated to be dropped. Plocki fought for her program’s survival and wouldn’t accept “no” as an answer. Now, in her 21st season at Michigan, she keeps on winning.

After inheriting a virtually winless team in 1990, she earned seven wins in her first season as head coach. By 1991, her team reached 13 wins, and a year later, racked up 20 victories, a Big Ten title, and second place in the NCAA Central Region. She also was given the first of four-straight Big Ten Coach of the Year awards in 1992 as well as earning the first of four NCAA Regional Coach of the Year trophies.

Plocki resides in Saline, Michigan, with her husband and two children.

Mary Suzanne Roh, ’85 BSBA, Bridgeville, PA, October 21, 2009.

Elizabeth Smith Rose, ’37 BA, Fairmont, WV, October 14, 2008.

William Robert Ross, ’38 BA, ’39 MA, Satellite Beach, FL, February 19, 2009.

Anna Rae Wheeler Ruckman, ’63 BS, ’85 MS, Morgantown, WV, December 1, 2009.

G. Preston Russell Jr., ’43 BS, Charleston, WV, October 30, 2009.

Judith A. “Judy” Sams, ’65 BS, Morgantown, WV, February 27, 2009.

Grace Pharr Sangston, ’44 BS, Morgantown, WV, December 10, 2008.

Isadore M. Scott, ’34 AB, ’35 MA, Haverford, PA, October 29, 2008.

John Raymond Scott, ’47 BS, ’48 MS, Rockville, MD, April 19, 2009.

Carolyn Crane Sears, ’70 MS, Bozeman, MO, September 29, 2008.

Arthur William Selders, ’59 BS, Morgantown, WV, May 23, 2009.

Leon Z. Seltzer, ’57 BS, Escondido, CA, September 23, 2009.

Spencer Alan Shriver, ’62 BS, ’71 MS, Grafton, WV, May 31, 2009.

John Sichina, ’64 BS, Edgewood, MD, February 17, 2009.

Donna Sue “Susie” Simpson, ’81 BS, Morgantown, WV, December 20, 2009.

Burhl Dale Sisler, ’61 BS, ’67 MS, Oakland, MD, January 24, 2009.

Genevieve J. “Jenny” Sisler, ’40 BS, ’47 MS, Morgantown, WV, November 4, 2008.

John M. Sisler, ’60 BA, Morgantown, WV, September 7, 2009.

Margaret Elaine Cather Slonneger, ’45 BS, Morgantown, WV, January 9, 2009.

Lawrence J. Smith, ’49 AB, Nokomis, FL, February 19, 2009.

William M. Smith, ’58 BS, Staunton, VA, October 26, 2009.

Thomas M. Snyder, ’40 MA, Clarksburg, WV, June 16, 2009.

John Solomon, ’51 JD, Morgantown, WV, and Jupiter, FL, February 15, 2009.

Leon H. Sperow, ’37 BS, May 23, 2009.

Christine M. Spiker, ’00 BRBA, ’04 MSW, Vienna, WV, September 26, 2006.

Todd Lyle Stoops, ’97 BA, ’98 MS, ’05 EdD, Pittsburgh, PA, May 19, 2009.

Ronald L. Stump, ’48 BS, ’64 MS, Morgantown, WV, July 30, 2009.

Terry T. Tallman, ’63 MD, New Martinsville, WV, July 24, 2009.

Carl Sherman Thomas, ’43 BS, ’50 MS, Charleston, WV, December 26, 2009.

Richard G. Thomas, ’51 BA, Deposit, NY, May 31, 2008.

Bryan A. Thompson, ’87 BS, Fayette Township, PA, October 3, 2009.

Send Your News to Class Notes Have you changed jobs recently? Gotten married or earned a degree? Send your information to: Alumni Magazine Class Notes Editor, The Erickson Alumni Center, One Alumni Drive, PO Box 4269, Morgantown, WV 26504-4269. E-mail: alumni@mail.wvu.edu. Fax: (304) 293-4733. Web: http:// alumni.wvu.edu. You may also submit class notes via our online community. To register, visit http:// www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/WVU/.

Name__________________________________________________________________________________ Address_________________________________________________________________________________ City_________________________________________________________State_ _______Zip_____________ Class Year(s)_______________________________Degree(s)_______________________________________ News________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Due to space limitations, notes may not appear for several issues.

We do our best to publish all items received.

Lewis Mike Troxell, ’57 BS, Chesterfield, VA, May 21, 2009.

Arles William “Bill” Truman, ’49 BS, Morgantown, WV, November 10, 2009.

Jerome G. Urda, ’57 BS, Franklin, TN, September 28, 2008.

Morton J. Victorson, ’72 MA, Charleston, WV, July 27, 2009.

Calmon Voice, ’82 MS, Naples, FL, June 17, 2009.

Jessie Platt Walker, ’37 BA, Mount Vernon, OH, December 22, 2008.

Roy Warman, ’49 BS, Ames, WV, February 28, 2008.

Marjorie Depoy Warner, ’61 JD, Charleston, WV, September 14, 2009.

Leighton G. Watson, ’38 AB, ’71 MSJR, Morgantown, WV, July 24, 2009.

William Alan Watson, ’80 BS, Morgantown, WV, September 14, 2009.

James Neal “Jim” Waycaster, ’81 BS, Elkview, WV, August 10, 2009.

Theodore C. Weeks Jr., ’48 BA, Columbus, NC, July 10, 2009.

Charles Vincent Wehner, ’43 AB, ’46 JD, Kingwood, WV, September 11, 2009.

Patricia F. Wells, ’91 BS, Morgantown, WV, January 9, 2009.

Harriet Camden Jones White, ’58 BA, Sterling, VA, March 9, 2009.

Berlin H. Wilhelm, ’52 MA, Oakland, MD, September 12, 2009.

Ray Wilkins Jr., ’63 BS, Wilmington, NC, January 14, 2004.

Paul Wilkinson, ’54 PhD, Wilmington, DE, January 19, 2009.

Helen Hope Sauerwein Wilson, ’47 BS, Charleston, WV, September 20, 2008.

William “Bill” Wiltrout, ’53 BS, ’58 MA, Anchorage, AK, December 15, 2008.

N. Gene Wright, ’53 BS, Tucson, AZ, January 11, 2008.

“ Luck ” Lady $2,200

Limited Edition

•

Run of 50

Standing 8.25” high, this solid bronze statue inspired by Mountaineer Rebecca Durst is available in a limited edition, exclusive run.

Burl Jones, renowned sculptor, created the piece to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Women’s Studies Program at WVU. A portion of the proceeds of each sale will provide scholarship and programming support to the Center for Women’s Studies.

Own a piece of Mountaineer history while supporting the work of the Center.

Contact wmst@mail.as.wvu.edu for more information, or to purchase this beautiful work of art.

ENTER here for your

chance to win an autographed BOB HUGGINS mask just like the ones used on the cover of the Alumni Magazine: http:// wvualumnimag.wvu.edu For behind-the-scenes footage of the Alumni Magazine cover shoot go to: http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Ha9vqheqYlI

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

59 61

The Waterfront Place Hotel staff offers over sixty years of wedding experience, customized wedding packages and an onsite wedding coordinator. Our exquisite, yet affordable accommodations and facilities bring your wedding day to life. The wedding of your dreams awaits you at the Waterfront

Place Hotel!

Call (304) 581. 2823 for more information.

Free activity planning and assistance available through the Greater Morgantown Convention & Visitors Bureau. Call now to receive a free Visitor’s Guide or log on to: www.tourmorgantown.com

1-800-458-7373

Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau 68 Donley Street Morgantown, WV 26501 304-292-5081 Waterfront Place Hotel Two Waterfront Place Morgantown, WV 26501 www.waterfrontplacehotel.com

62 60

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

stayconnected Reconnecting with old friends through reunion programs and other events

Keeping up with alumni success stories and University events Mentoring current students and new graduates

Cheering for the Mountaineers Stay connected to your Mountaineer family through membership in the WVU Alumni Association.

For more information, visit alumni.wvu.edu.

let’s go

mountaineers!

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine

2010

63

WVU

Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID PPCO

West Virginia University Foundation Inc. One Waterfront Place, 7th Floor PO Box 1650 Morgantown, WV 26507-1650 Change Service Requested

65,829

fans

Thank you Facebook fans!

WVU is the seventh-most-popular university Facebook site. According to a Washington Post blog written by an education reporter, WVU is listed just behind The Ohio State University and just ahead of Stanford. As of June 1, we had 65,829 fans!

Why join? The WVU Facebook page is a great place to connect with fellow grads, get current WVU news and athletic updates, ticket information and promotions, and information on special events. If you’re not a fan yet, go here to become one: http://www.facebook.com/ wvumountaineers.

64

2010

West Virginia University Alumni Magazine