Ware Family Creates Campaign's First Distinguished Professorship
By Pam Fronko
The Ware Family has established the first-ever distinguished professorship in WVU's School of Physical Education and has created four new scholarship endowments.
According to Scot Ware, the gift honors his parents, WVU alumni Alfred F. and Dolores Jamison Ware. In addition to the Ware Distinguished Professorship, the gift includes two Ware Presidential Scholarships, one for students from Greenbrier County and one for Monongalia County students, and two Ware Student-Athlete Scholarships. The Presidential Scholarships, made possible through the Ware Family Foundation, are in recognition of his parents' heritage. Al Ware is from Rupert, while Dolores hails from Morgantown.
Al and Dolores Ware stated, "The professorship is our family's expression of gratitude for the gift of education that changed our lives some 50 years ago. The results are reflected in our life experiences, careers, and multidimensional family . . . What an exciting, stimulating, and enjoyable journey it has been! 'Thank you WVU' seems hardly sufficient to declare the depth of our gratitude."
The gift was made to the WVU Foundation in conjunction with the $250 million Building Greatness Campaign: West Virginia University. Al Ware serves on the National Campaign Committee. The Wares also have been members of the WVU School of Physical Education's Visiting Committee. He has served as chair for the past two years.
School of Physical Education Dean Dana D. Brooks said, "The Ware Distinguished Professorship will be a significant step in enhancing the School of Physical Education's commitment to quality education by attracting, retaining, and supporting an exceptional faculty member. The Ware Distinguished Professorship enhances the School of Physical Education's academic reputation in a highly competitive market. An appointment as the Ware Distinguished Professor is one of the highest honors the University can bestow upon a faculty member."
Al Ware received his B.S. in physical education in 1950 and his M.A. in speech/communications in 1952. His career has been spent in international trading, finance, manufacturing, and operational management. He is the former chairman of the board of Amherst International Inc. (Amherst FiberOptics), which he founded in 1977. The company manufactures and markets fiber optics, opto-electronics, and allied laser products for telecommunications and cable companies. He has served as vice president of Manufacturers Hanover Bank, vice president and director of Manufacturers Hanover World Trade Corporation, as president of the International/Export Division of Burlington Industries Inc., and was the founder and CEO of Mitsubishi-Burlington Ltd. (Tokyo). Ware and his family resided in Tokyo from 1969-1974. He serves on the WVU Alumni Association's Board of Directors and has been inducted into the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni and the WVU School of Physical Education's Hall of Fame.
Also a WVU School of Physical Education graduate, Dolores Ware received her bachelor of science in 1952. She began her teaching career in the school's dance program and also assisted with the Orchesis dance troupe. She taught public school in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Connecticut. In 1980 she became managing director of the Color Association of the United States in New York City. Founded in 1917, this international fashion industry association is the most prestigious color-forecasting group in the nation. Dolores Ware has been both a leader and benefactor in the development of WVU's Stansbury Hall Fitness/Wellness Center. She also is a member of the Blaney House Visiting Committee.
The couple has two sons and nine grandchildren.
WVU Geology Alumnus Establishes Professorship
By Mark Dalassandro
West Virginia University alumnus Marshall S. Miller has pledged $250,000 to establish the Marshall S. Miller Energy Professorship in the Department of Geology and Geography.
"Marshall is one of our college's most distinguished alumni and a longtime member of our advisory board," said M. Duane Nellis, dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. "This gift is an example of his loyalty and commitment to WVU, the Eberly College, and the geology and geography program."
The endowment was created through the WVU Foundation in conjunction with the Building Greatness Campaign. Miller is currently the chair of the Foundation's Board of Directors and serves on the Building Greatness National Campaign Committee. He also is a member of the Eberly College's Advisory Board.
Miller received his bachelor's and master's degrees in geology in 1966 and 1973, respectively. He built a successful geology consulting business, Marshall Miller & Associates Inc. (MM&A), during a period of time characterized by swings in the financial fortunes of the energy industry. Over the years, MM&A has expanded throughout the Appalachian region and into China.
"Marshall's success is certainly due in large measure to hard work and to the family-like atmosphere he maintains throughout his company, but it is also due to his ability to perceive and offer innovative technological services at affordable prices to the energy industry," said Thomas Wilson, associate chair and professor of geology and geography. M&MA offers a wide variety of environmental, geographic information science, and engineering services, including investigative engineering, analyses of environmental hazards and reclamation liabilities, and professional communications and marketing consulting. MM&A now employs more than 180 people.
In addition to this latest pledge, the Marshall Miller Geology Endowment Fund provides a scholarship that is awarded annually to the student receiving the top grade in the geology capstone field course. This fund also enriches the department's teaching mission.
Monies provided by the Marshall S. Miller Energy Professorship endowment will be used to enhance the salary of the Miller Energy Professor, increase assistantship awards for qualified graduate students, and support graduate student research during the summer months. The intent of the professorship is to provide outstanding academic leadership for students who are preparing for careers in the energy industry.
"Marshall Miller has been a faithful friend of the department for many years," Wilson said. "The Marshall Miller Energy Professorship brings a focus to what has been one of the long-standing strengths of this department-education and research into the exploration and development of mineral and energy sources. We are grateful for Marshall's continued expression of trust and support of our work through this endowment." Meet the Leaders of the
Building Greatness Campaign Reaches $233.5 Million
By Pam Fronko
The Building Greatness Campaign has reached the $233.5 million mark in gifts and pledges. The campaign's goal is to raise a minimum of $250 million by December 31, 2003.
Commitments to the campaign from alumni are at $53.3 million; friends of WVU, $86.8 million; foundations, $24.4 million; corporations, $49.6 million; and other organizations, $19.4 million.
Gifts and pledges to campaign priorities include $35.8 million for student support; $21 million for faculty development; $93.4 million for academic research and initiatives; $3.9 million for library enrichment; $25.3 million for campus development and technology; and $34.7 million for the 21st Century Opportunities Fund. Commitments awaiting designation by donors total $19.4 million.
Thirty-one new chairs and professorships have been created, and 287 new scholarship funds, including 43 student-athlete scholarship funds, have been established.
The WVU Foundation is conducting the Building Greatness Campaign, a five-year effort, on behalf of the University.
Meet the Leaders
of the Building Greatness Campaign
By Cathy Goffreda
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 continue spotlighting the members of this elite
group.
Curtis H. Barnette
is chairman emeritus of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the nation's
second-largest steel company. In 1956 he graduated from WVU with
a B.A. in political science and served as the student body president.
He studied international law as a Fulbright Scholar at the University
of Manchester in England. Barnette earned a J.D. from the Yale
Law School in 1962, and an A.M.P. from the Harvard University
Business School in 1975. He also has received honorary L.L.D.
degrees from WVU (1995), Allentown College (1996), the University
of Charleston (1998), and Lehigh University (1999).
A director and former chair of the WVU Foundation Board, he also
chairs the University's Board of Governors and was inducted into
the Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 1993. Barnette is vice
chairman of the Foundation for a Drug Free Pennsylvania and the
Pennsylvania Business Roundtable, and is a member of the American
Law Institute. He is a director and past chairman of the American
Iron and Steel Institute and of the International Iron and Steel
Institute, serves as a director of the Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company and Owens Corning, and is a trustee of Lehigh University.
Barnette resides in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with his wife Joanne.
Glen H. Hiner is
the retired chairman and CEO of Owens Corning, a world leader
in advanced glass and building material systems. Before assuming
his position at Owens Corning, Hiner had a distinguished 35-year
career with General Electric. He is a former member of the Toledo
Symphony Band, a past Toledo United Way Campaign chair, and was
named the 1996 Peacemaker of the Year by the University of Toledo's
College of Business Administration.
A WVU alumnus, Hiner received his B.S. in electrical engineering
in 1957 and an honorary doctorate of science in 1989. In addition,
he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1990.
His extensive WVU affiliations include serving on the WVU Foundation
Board of Directors, being inducted into the Academy of Distinguished
Alumni in 1989, and receiving the Most Loyal Mountaineer Award
in 1990. Hiner resides in Pebble Beach, California, with his
wife, Ann.
Rodney K. Thorn
is the president and general manager of the New Jersey Nets of
the NBA. In 2002 he was named the NBA Executive of the Year by
Sporting News.
Thorn, who previously served as the NBA's senior vice president
of basketball operations, has been involved in professional basketball
for over three decades as a player, assistant coach, head coach,
general manager, and league official. In 1984, while working
with the Chicago Bulls, he made the decision to draft Michael
Jordan. As a player, Thorn averaged 10.8 points per game in eight
NBA seasons.
He attended WVU in 1963 and was an All-American guard on the
WVU basketball team. He earned a board of regents degree in 2000.
Thorn resides in Rye, New York, with his wife, Margaret, and
three children.
Family Honors Mother
By Deborah Miller
Rose Burton Isaacs wrote these words in 1931 as she sat in her
tiny Wheeling, West Virginia, home:
"And I hope when work has ended,
At the setting of life's sun,
When I've made my own life's record,
That the Master shall say, 'Well done!'"
This is the last verse of a poem entitled, "Life's Record,"
which has been published in the book Rosebuds.
The book is a tribute to Rose Burton Isaacs, who died in 1939
leaving behind her husband, five children, and many fine expressions
such as this on scraps of paper and yellowed ledgers. Rosebuds
began as a family project to preserve her writings and to honor
her memory. It was first published in 1976 and is now in its
third printing. Recently, this inspirational book became a part
of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection at West
Virginia University.
The Isaacs children, however, wanted to honor their mother in
another way that related to education.
Russ Isaacs '58, a prominent financial advisor in Charleston,
West Virginia, suggested that his sister, Maxine Isaacs, create
an income-producing gift with the WVU Foundation. Maxine had
retired in Clarksburg, West Virginia, after 30 years of service
with C&P Telephone. The gift for WVU provides a lifetime
retirement supplement to Maxine now and will create the Rose
Burton Isaacs Scholarship when the income ends.
Using stocks, Russ followed his own advice and created another
income-producing gift for himself that will add to their mother's
scholarship for students in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
Income-producing gifts also provide a partial income tax deduction
and are a way to avoid capital gains taxes when appreciated assets
are donated. Each counts in the Building Greatness Campaign and
is an important way to fund faculty support, library resources,
research, facility upgrades, and other valued efforts at WVU.
The Isaacs' gifts have been commemorated, along with other scholarship
gifts, in the Scholars Walk located in front of the new Downtown
Library Complex. A brick imprinted with their mother's name serves
as another tribute to her.
Considering the many benefits income-producing gifts yield, Rose
Burton Isaacs would surely be pleased that her children made
these opportune choices—just as WVU is!
Foundation's Scholarship Web Site Wins National Award
By Pam Fronko
The WVU Foundation was honored by the Council
for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for its innovative
private scholarship web page.
The Foundation received a Seal of Excellence Award in CASE's
2002 Circle of Excellence Awards Program for Philanthropy Programs,
which annually honors those institutions and professionals who
excel in fund-raising programs and services. The awards were
featured in the October issue of Currents magazine.
Entries were assessed for development efforts that could be both
used as models for other institutions and incorporated into CASE's
core curriculum framework. Of the more than 3,700 individual
entries, 346 awards were granted and only 12, including the WVU
Foundation, were profiled in Currents.
The web site identifies more than 750 privately funded scholarships
at WVU that provide assistance to more than 2,800 students. Visitors
to the site can obtain scholarship descriptions and eligibility
requirements, interactively search through scholarship funds
based on criteria entered, apply/self-identify on-line, and learn
about the donor or individual for whom the fund is named.
The site may be accessed three ways: directly from http://domino.wvuf.wvnet.edu/fundsch.nsf,
from the Foundation's web site at http: //www.wvuf.org, or from the WVU web
site at http://www.wvu.edu.
Alumnus Makes Tribute for Faculty
WVU alumnus Dr. George V. Podelco has presented
a tribute for several people who made an impact on his life.
He made a contribution to the WVU Libraries' Special Initiative
to have plaques with the names of 13 professors and others attached
to chairs in the Downtown Campus Library.
"I started thinking about how much I owed to West Virginia
University, and particularly those professors who inspired me,"
Podelco said. "I thought it would be nice to pay tribute
to them."
Ten of the people Podelco is honoring were in the Political Science
Department when he was a student in the late 1950s. The others
include an economics professor, a philosophy professor, and a
librarian.
The latter individual played an instrumental role in Podelco
developing a love for reading and thus his success in life.
"Reading is the foundation of education," Podelco said.
Podelco graduated from WVU in 1959 with an A.B. degree in political
science. He later received his doctorate from the University
of Maryland, College Park. He recently retired as executive director
of a dual government agency, the Area Agency on Aging and the
Community Action Agency.
He and his wife, Mary Lou, live in Onancock, Virginia.
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The Irvin Stewart Society is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Its many members have included gift provisions in their wills or revocable trusts, created income-producing gifts, designated retirement account funds, donated life insurance, or created real estate remainder gifts to benefit West Virginia University, Potomac State College of WVU, or West Virginia 4-H in the future. The members who have joined since July 2002 include: |
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Lee C. Bakalarski '74 Pamela J. Bakalarski Jennifer L. Belcastro Robert L. Belcastro '70, '74 Cynthia Ann Craig James W. Craig '58 Claudia N. Goldberg '93, '95 David S. Goldberg '94 Don Hoylman Marcella Hoylman |
Helen W. Johnson Clarence Pritchard McKinley '54, '57 Eunice Hatfield McKinley '56 Gary L. McKown, '60, '65 Jill M. Meuser Wanda B. Mitchell '32 Arch A. Moore Jr., '48, '51 Shelley Riley Moore '48 Martha L. Nelson '42 Michael A. Petruski '74 |
Catherine D. Raese '40 Firman G. Raese '34 Monroe L. Rosenthal Gary J. Schweitzer '77, '78 Henry G. Theierl Judith Jacob Theierl '64, '72 Thomas L. Thomas '81 David L. Wickham '92 In Memoriam |