Glen H. Hiner Deanship Benefits Engineering
by Melissa Soave
Throughout his lifetime, WVU engineering graduate Glen H. Hiner has shown extraordinary business leadership, integrity, and vision, along with loyalty to his alma mater and home state of West Virginia. Mr. Hiner, retired chairman and CEO of Owens Corning, and his wife Ann, recently announced the creation of an endowment to support the deanship of WVU’s College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. To commemorate the many achievements of this exceptional alumnus, the College is proud to announce the establishment of the Glen H. Hiner Deanship.
The Hiner gift will provide discretionary funds to support the deanship and for special projects. The holder will be known as the Glen H. Hiner Dean and Professor. The first recipient is current dean Dr. Eugene Cilento: “I am most honored and privileged to be the first recipient of this deanship,” said Dr. Cilento. “Both Glen and Ann have been extremely generous with their time and resources to the University for many years, and this most recent gift will be immeasurable to the growth and recognition of the College for generations of students and faculty to come.”
“WVU cannot fully express its gratitude and appreciation for the remarkable dedication Glen Hiner has shown for the state and the University,” said WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. “We are proud to name the dean’s position in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources in honor of a proven leader.”
Hiner is a true West Virginian. A native of Morgantown and the son of a West Virginia coal miner and an elementary school teacher, Hiner acknowledges his home state’s culture as the source of his values and formula for success. He has served on several College of Engineering and Mineral Resources advisory committees, and in 2002 he began sharing his leadership and expertise with WVU students as a visiting professor for the College of Business and Economics. He thus demonstrates two of the most important attributes of a leader—the desire to teach and the desire to give back to those who played a part in your success.
In 1957, Hiner earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from WVU and began his 35-year tenure with the General Electric Company. During the 13 years he led GE Plastics, the business grew from less than $1 billion to $5 billion in annual sales. Following his own advice to “look to the highest goal you can achieve,” Hiner left GE to accept the leadership of Owens Corning in 1992. In his decade as chairman and CEO, he established a global vision focused on three guiding principles: customer satisfaction, individual dignity, and shareholder value. The company introduced new products, built new manufacturing facilities around the world, launched its System Thinking business strategy, and underwent a major restructuring initiative. When Hiner took the reins, Owens Corning sales hovered at $3 billion. When he retired in 2002, sales had grown to $5 billion, with operations in more than 30 countries on six continents.
His achievements have brought him deserved recognition. He received an honorary doctorate in science from WVU, was inducted into the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni, and spoke as an Acordia Royal/SunAlliance Distinguished Lecturer at the WVU College of Business and Economics. In 2004, Mr. Hiner was inducted into the Order of Vandalia for distinguished service to the University and state. The Society of the Plastics Industry bestowed its highest honor, the Dan Fox Lifetime Achievement Award, on Mr. Hiner in 1994. He also received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1997.
Not surprisingly, Glen Hiner’s leadership is much sought-after, and he serves on the board of the WVU Foundation and is a director for several companies, including the Dana Corporation, Prudential Financial, Inc., and the Kohler Company. He also has served as an advisor to a number of civic organizations in the communities where he has resided.
WVU Foundation’s Endowment Minimums to Increase
The West Virginia University Foundation’s endowment has been a cornerstone of private giving to WVU for the past 50 years. The Foundation’s endowment, more than $365 million, ranks in the top 150 endowments of higher education institutions in the country.
Minimum levels required to create endowments with the Foundation increased on July 1, 2005. Academic scholarships were increased to a minimum of $25,000 in 2000 during the Building Greatness Campagin. The initial minimum gift or pledge required to create an endowment will increase to $25,000 from $10,000. Endowed professorships will increase to $350,000 from $250,000, and presidential scholarships to $100,000 from $75,000. The $10,000 endowed student textbook scholarship will be eliminated. The $5,000 minimum level for WVU Library endowments will increase to $10,000.
“A $10,000 endowment only generates approximately $400 a year, and that is not consistent with the increased costs associated with obtaining a college education in today’s economy,” said F. Duke Perry, Foundation president and CEO.
Endowments may be created with a one-time direct gift of at least $25,000 or through pledge payments for a period of up to five years. Funds are activated 12 months after reaching the fully endowed level. Accordingly, no funds are available for the first year the endowment level has been reached. As for scholarship awards, a donor may fund the spending for the initial year by making an additional gift that allows the scholarship to be awarded immediately. Additional gifts may be added to an established endowment at any time.
The Foundation also is creating a new endowed scholarship memorial fund for a gift of $5,000 or more. These gifts will be pooled in a University Memorial Fund, and scholarships will be awarded based on financial need. The name of the person being memorialized will be placed on a plaque and on the scholarship Web site. Donors may make additional gifts.
WVU Foundation Board Profiles
Members of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors are leaders in business, the professions, and civic affairs, and hail from across the nation. All serve without compensation. They volunteer their time and energy, contribute their considerable expertise, and give of their own resources to support the University they so love and respect.
Meet Board members Michele Vigneault McNeill and Verl O. Purdy.
Michele Vigneault McNeill
Michele McNeill, a native of Charleston, West Virginia, joined the WVU Foundation Board in 1999. She is the founder and former chief executive officer of Kern McNeill International (KMI).
McNeill received her BS in pharmacy from WVU in 1975, where she was elected president of the Rho Chi Honor Society. She earned a doctor of pharmacy degree from Duquesne University and completed a residency in hospital pharmacy at Mercy Hospital, both located in Pittsburgh.
In her early career she held key management positions in clinical pharmacy at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Erie County Medical Center and in the pharmaceutical industry at Warner Lambert (now Pfizer), Hoffmann La-Roche, and Ciba Geigy(now Novartis).
In 1988, she founded KMI, a contract research organization (CRO) providing clinical drug development services to research-based pharmaceutical manufacturers. This process entails overseeing all phases of investigational drug research and the drug approval process. KMI pioneered work in providing access to investigational drugs for serious and life-threatening illnesses such as AIDS, hepatitis, and cancer. More than 80,000 patients were treated in programs managed by KMI. In 1998, Ingenix, a subsidiary of United Health Group, acquired KMI (now Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services). McNeill remained president of the CRO operations for almost three years, during which time the organization grew from 150 U.S. employees to over 1,300 employees in 20 countries.
McNeill’s commitment to the treatment of AIDS has been recognized nationally and internationally. She is an executive appointee on the National Institutes of Health Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council and the HIV/AIDS Therapeutic Working Group. In addition, she is a member of the American Foundation for AIDS Research Board of Directors.
She has been inducted into WVU’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni and the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame. McNeill also served on the WVU Foundation’s Building Greatness National Campaign Committee.
She and her husband, Douglas, who earned a master’s degree in physical education from WVU in 1975, reside in Longboat Key, Florida.
Verl O. Purdy
Verl Purdy became a member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors in 2004. He is president of AGDATA, which provides Internet and business-to-business solutions.
A native of Poca, West Virginia, he graduated from WVU with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1964 and received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina in 1973.
After working for B.F. Goodrich Chemicals, Purdy joined FMC Corporation as an area production manager in 1967. He joined the BASF group in 1969 and played a major role in developing the company into a multibillion dollar corporation. At BASF, Purdy held numerous positions before becoming vice president of the Intermediate Chemicals group, a corporate officer, and a member of the executive committee.
In 1980 he became CEO of Rio Tinto Zinc Chemicals. He shaped the company into a leader in the chemical treatment industry. In 1984 Purdy cofounded the AGDATA group of companies, now one of the largest agricultural, animal, and human health data analysis and marketing companies in the world. It has offices in Europe, Canada, and the U.S.
Purdy is a member of the WVU Alumni Association’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni, of the WVU Chemical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni (where he serves as second vice president), and of the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame. He also served on the Building Greatness Campaign committee of WVU’s College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
In addition to serving on numerous boards throughout the world, Purdy is a Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary International and was a Rotarian for more than 15 years. He is also a sponsor of the Technology Forum at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and the Business Advisory Committee of the Belk College of Business at UNCC. In addition to his commitment to WVU and various business and community associations, Purdy is actively involved with Habitat for Humanity.
He and his wife, Joyce, have three grown children: J. Scott, Susan, and Steven. The couple resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.
DAR Chapter Establishes Scholarship
By Chris Feaster
The Elizabeth Ludington Hagans–Col. John Evans chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has endowed a scholarship that allows descendants of West Virginia DAR members to attend West Virginia University.
The scholarship will be awarded in the name of Elizabeth Ludington Hagans, the first native-born West Virginian to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (in 1893). The scholarship honors Hagans not only for her DAR involvement, but also as one of the first ten women to attend WVU.
A native of Morgantown, West Virginia, where her father served as a judge, Hagans passed away at the age of 25 in 1900. Her two sisters, aunt, and niece were among 17 women who established a DAR chapter in her name in 1904. This local chapter currently includes 75 members from 13 states.
First preference for the scholarship will be given to descendants of a living or deceased West Virginia DAR member who have at least a 2.8 grade point average (GPA) and demonstrate financial need. Second priority will be given to a junior or senior history major with a 2.8 or above GPA, who is a West Virginia resident, and has an emphasis in American history, with an interest in either education or historic preservation.
New Scholarship for Music Majors
By Deborah Miller
Very strong feelings for his parents and for WVU motivated Kyle Lusk to ensure through his will that there will be future support for music majors.
A Beckley, West Virginia, attorney, he earned political science and law degrees in 1975 and 1978, respectively, from WVU, but said he also grew up appreciating music because of his mother’s influence.
“Our house was always full of music because she loved it, especially music reflecting her Irish heritage,” recalled Lusk.
When preparing his estate plan, he included a gift provision in his will to supplement the Iris Lusk Memorial Scholarship for music majors, which he already has created. Lusk said that when he has the chance, he stops by the Hogan Scholars Walk to see the brick with his mother’s name imprinted on it. The Scholars Walk is located in front of WVU’s Downtown Library Complex.
“People always think they’re going to get around to doing something and, particularly in my job, I see people who don’t follow through. I’m taking care of my family and WVU through my will,” said Lusk.
“When I came to WVU and became involved with the debate team, the fraternity, and other interests, many doors opened for me. Even my hobbies and friends came from being at WVU. I picked up martial arts as a hobby in 1972, and I still have many friendships with my fraternity brothers. Plus, I got my job from my education at WVU.”
Combining his legal expertise with his long-time hobby, in his spare time, Lusk is working on a legal guide for martial arts. He also recalled being in the political science honorary at WVU as a formative experience.
“I was exposed to many people and their ideas. It was great to argue politics in Dr. Whisker’s class. In the last state election, I knew a number of the candidates and their staff from my days at WVU,” he said.
Lusk added that commemorating his mother’s faith in him by funding an endowed scholarship in her memory and enhancing it through his estate plan were natural choices. He knows she would be very proud of him for doing that.
Stating Your Intentions
Thinking of making a gift to benefit WVU, West Virginia 4-H, Mountaineer Athletic Club, or Potomac State College of WVU in your will, living trust, IRA, or other manner? If so, the correct wording is very important in getting your gift to work out the way you intended.
Please be sure to include the proper 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 other unit, the wording must be: “to the West Virginia University Foundation Inc., for the benefit of . . . .”
For sample bequest language, call 1-800-847-3856 or visit our Web site at www.wvuf.org.
Members of the Irvin Stewart Society have included gift provisions in their wills or revocable trusts, created income-producing gifts, designated retirement account funds, made a checking, savings, or stock account “payable on death,” donated life insurance or created real estate remainder gifts to benefit West Virginia University, the Mountaineer Athletic Club, Potomac State College of WVU, or West Virginia 4-H in the future.
We’re proud to add the newest members who have joined since
November 2004:
Frank Cerminara ’70
Hummelstown, PA
Susan Klatskin Cerminara ’69
Hummelstown, PA
G. Richard Childs ’50
Forest Hill, MD
Vudara Chuop ’80
South Houston, TX
Dick Dlesk
Wheeling, WV
Rosalie Dlesk
Wheeling, WV
Anthony E. Licata ’70
Blakeslee, PA
James Mancuso
Austin, NV
Gayle Moore
Elkins, WV
Richard Moore ’54
Elkins, WV
Ethel L. Sayre
Wilmington, DE
In Memoriam
Mildred S. Atkins ’76
June Ritchie Chambers,’45, ’47
Norma Kincaid ’52
Jules Klein, ’34
John M. Summerfield ’49
John L. Sutton ’38
James W. Word Jr. ’50