Meet the Leaders
of the
Building Greatness Campaign
By Pam Fronko
and Ann Mangold
The WVU Foundation's $250 million Building
Greatness Campaign is the most important private undertaking
ever made on behalf of West Virginia University.
At the core of the effort is the 28-member National Campaign
Committee, a dedicated group of individuals who hail from Connecticut,
California, and points in-between. Members include CEOs and presidents
of national and international corporations, leaders of venture
capital firms and professional sports teams, educators, and philanthropists.
They volunteer their time, energy, and financial support to the
University they love and respect.
In this issue we begin spotlighting the members of this elite
group.
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John C. Allen is president of J.F. Allen Company, a highway
construction firm with offices in Buckhannon, Clarksburg, and
Elkins. He attended WVU, then graduated from Virginia Military
Institute in 1962. He and his wife, Joyce, recently endowed the
Sara Crile Allen and James Fredrick Allen Comprehensive Lung
Cancer Program in honor of his parents. The West Virginia Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals recently recognized the Allens as outstanding philanthropists. In 1996, the J.F. Allen Company was named Industry of the Year by the Buckhannon-Upshur Chamber of Commerce. Allen serves on the WVU Foundation Board of Directors. He and his wife reside in Coalton. |
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W. Marston Becker
is chairman of Hales & Company
in Hartford, Connecticut. He earned a B.S. in business administration
in 1974 and a law degree in 1977, both from WVU. Inducted into
the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 1997, he is a member
and past chair of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors and a
member of the College of Business and Economics Visiting Committee.
Becker was involved in the earlier Campaign for West Virginia University, serving as chairman of the planning committee and as a member of the executive committee. He attended the American Management Association's Management Course for Presidents, the Wharton School's Management for the Service Sector, and Harvard's IBM Executive Continuing Education. He and his wife, Katharine, reside in West Hartford, Connecticut. |
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Carolyn Eberly Blaney is a member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors
and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Visiting Committee,
and is a trustee of the Uniontown (Pennsylvania) Hospital Foundation.
She is a trustee of the Eberly Family Trust and the Eberly Foundation
and was instrumental in providing the Eberly family's numerous
gifts to WVU, which have significantly enhanced academic programs
in the arts and sciences. The West Virginia Chapter of the Association
of Fundraising Professionals recognized the Eberly Foundation
as the Outstanding Foundation for 2001. |
Fondness for Animals Inspires an $18.4 Million Gift
By Becky Lofstead
Two Morgantown sisters devoted to their
pets and the care of animals gave their life savings—an
astounding $18.4 million—to WVU.
The gift from the estates of Gladys Gwendolyn Davis and Vivian
Davis Michael is the largest private donation from individuals
in WVU's history, and targets $16.2 million to the agricultural
college. The college has been renamed the Davis College of Agriculture,
Forestry, and Consumer Sciences in their honor.
The money will fund scholarships in pre-veterinary medicine,
endowed professorships in the college's five academic divisions,
faculty development programs, internships, seminars, facilities,
technology, and equipment.
The remaining $2.2 million is earmarked for the College of Law
and the College of Creative Arts ($945,000 each), and the WVU
Libraries ($250,000).
John Ball, the Davises' attorney, said it was the example of
the women's mother, Estelle Conaway Davis, that inspired their
philanthropy.
Ball said he began working with Estelle Davis in 1964. When she
died in 1984, she left her daughters $500,000 each from money
she made from the sale of coal land.
Vivian, a social studies teacher in Monongalia County for 41
years, read the Wall Street Journal daily. She invested
her money in more than 20 blue chip companies. She also was a
civic leader, Ball noted, and earned three degrees from WVU:
bachelor's degrees in education and home economics in 1938 and
an M.A. in 1950. She died in 1998 at age 82.
Gladys also attended WVU, but never finished. She worked as a
clerk for the federal government in Washington, D.C., for more
than 30 years. She also worked in a local drugstore, but preferred
to stay home and look after the house and the women's household
pets—usually three dogs and two cats. She died in 2001 at
age 88.
The sisters lived modestly in the South Park area of Morgantown.
One of their "greatest extravagances" was the purchase
of a new Buick every four years, Ball said.
Vivian, in particular, because of her schoolteacher background,
had a real understanding of young people. She was impressed with
WVU's student-centered philosophy and programs. Before she died,
Ball said, she expressed a desire to support WVU programs and
students in veterinary science.
With Ball's help, the women began funding scholarships for pre-veterinary
students and courses in companion animal care, among other things.
They did not seek public recognition for their gifts, Ball said,
but were delighted when students and faculty came by their home
to thank them and "to play with their puppies."
The sisters were descendants of John Davis, one of the first
lot owners of Morgan's Town in 1775.
"This is just an unbelievable act of giving," said
President Hardesty. "Gladys and Vivian Davis were not only
generous, but very compassionate individuals. To think that their
love of animals, particularly their own pets, and their understanding
of WVU's animal and veterinary programs led them to this decision,
is just astounding. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts."
WVU Foundation President F. Duke Perry said that, all totaled,
the Davis family's gifts to the University amount to $19.7 million.
Creative Arts Center Enjoys Alumni Support
By Pam Fronko
and Charlene Lattea
Thanks to the generosity of three former students, the WVU College
of Creative Arts is achieving great improvements in performance
facilities and in its ability to teach, support faculty, explore
the creative arts, and serve the citizens of the state.
Concert Theater
Renovation Underway
Lyell B. Clay, a Charleston philanthropist and patron of the
arts, has pledged $2 million to renovate the WVU Creative Arts
Center Concert Theater. The facility will be renamed the Lyell
B. Clay Concert Theater.
"It will promote arts education in West Virginia and be
a great addition to the state," Clay said. "I hope
it also will enable the college to develop a close relationship
with the new Clay Center in Charleston."
The 1,400-seat Concert Theater is the premier public performance
space at WVU. It is used by the college's musical groups, the
WVU performing arts series, Festival of Ideas speakers, and West
Virginia Public Theater.
Renovations made possible by Clay's gift will improve acoustics,
lighting, and aesthetics in the theater. The project includes
dressing rooms, a green room, a production room, a technical
office, and wheelchair-accessible ramps. The existing red carpet
will be replaced by a gold and blue color scheme at the entrances
to the theater.
"Lyell Clay's foresight and generosity will create the finest
theater between Pittsburgh and Charleston," said Bernard
Schultz, dean of the College of Creative Arts. "It also
will significantly contribute to the education of future generations
of artists—ensuring that the arts will remain a living experience
for all of us."
Clay is the former chairman of Clay Communications and publisher
and owner of the Charleston Daily Mail. He earned an MBA
from WVU in 1975.
He is also the retired co-chair of the Clay Foundation, which
he and his brother, Buckner Woodward Clay II, established in
1987 to enhance the quality of life of the citizens of West Virginia.
Clay and the Clay Foundation's contributions to the state include
the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences in Charleston.
Studio and
Laboratory Theaters Renovated
The late Gladys Davis of Morgantown provided $500,000 to the
College of Creative Arts to fund the renovation of the former
Creative Arts Center Studio Theater, which has been renamed the
Gladys G. Davis Theater.
The theater features new seating, improved climate control, new
control booths, and elimination of the former all-black interior.
A goal of the renovation was to improve the theater for classroom
use. This was accomplished by adding seats with tablet arms,
a motorized projection screen, and wiring for long-distance technology.
Davis also provided funding for the Vivian Davis Michael Laboratory
Theater in the CAC, which was renovated in the summer of 2000
and named for Davis's sister.
Endowed Deanship
Established
Edna A. Falbo has pledged $1.5 million to establish the Philip
J. Faini and Falbo Family Endowed Deanship in the College of
Creative Arts. It is the first endowed deanship at WVU.
Named in honor of former Dean Phil Faini, the fund recognizes
his years of service and dedication to WVU and the arts throughout
West Virginia. Faini, a music, jazz theory, and African music
professor, became dean of the college in 1993. He founded the
WVU World Music Center and brought steel drum inventor Ellie
Mannette to the CAC as an artist in residence. During his seven
years as dean, he established international exchange programs
with schools and arts institutions in Africa, China, Germany,
Italy, and Cuba.
Falbo lives in Washington, D.C. She earned a B.A. from WVU in
1937, majoring in social science, English, and library science.
She had a long, distinguished career with the U.S. Navy, the
State and Labor Departments, and the Civil Service Commission.
Since retiring in 1981, she has worked as a volunteer with senior
citizen and children's programs and with orchestras, symphonies,
and operas in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
Falbo has made many contributions of time, expertise, and financial
support to WVU and is a member of the board of visitors for the
College of Creative Arts.
Donating Real Estate Provides Income
Owning real estate can actually be a special
pathway to retirement income—and a gift for WVU.
John and Elizabeth Traubert Lane of Wheeling have found that
to be a worthwhile combination. Last year, they donated to the
WVU Foundation a two-family rental unit they purchased years
ago as a way to provide income for the college educations of
their three children.
As part of the special gift arrangement, the Lanes will receive
lifetime income. They also earned an income tax deduction and
avoided any capital-gain taxes. Their gift counts in the Building
Greatness Campaign.
When their income payout ends, the remaining funds will create
an endowment fund to benefit the College of Human Resources and
Education's program in industrial arts education, and they will
supplement the Elizabeth Traubert Lane Music Scholarship established
in 1998.
Many members of the Lane and Traubert families, 42 in all, have
studied at WVU. John received his master's degree in education
in 1961, and Betsy earned a bachelor's in 1953 and a master's
in 1958 in music. Both had long careers as educators in the Wheeling
area.
"We view this as an investment in
the growth and future success of the state of West Virginia through
the educational and nurturing opportunities offered at the University,"
John says.
"It is also a means of giving something in return for the
many opportunities opened to us from our WVU education,"
Betsy adds.
Betsy has a special awareness of the benefits of scholarships
because she was the first recipient of the Presser Foundation
Scholarship given to the most outstanding music education major
at WVU. She also recalls that, in the fall of 1949, she was among
the first women admitted to the previously all-male WVU concert
band, and held the first chair in the saxophone section.
Betsy serves on the board of the WVU Music Alumni Association,
and she and John are life members of the WVU Alumni Association.
"This gift will benefit many future students at the University.
It has no finale," she says.