From Down the Hall

As summer begins to wind down, Morgantown starts to come alive again! A lot is happening this month that I've been looking forward to for a while now - one being the start of the 2022-23 academic school year. While it's been nice not having to wait for a table at Mario's and drive around Morgantown with little traffic, I think all of us on campus agree that we've been looking forward to students returning. With the return of students, football season beginning in less than a month and events on and off campus picking back up, I'm excited to provide you an update on everything that's happening!

As you may know, the start of the 2022-23 academic school year is an especially big deal for the John Chambers College of Business and Economics. This month marks the opening of Reynolds Hall, the stunning new home for the college along the Monongahela River. Describing the building won't do it justice, so I encourage you to look at some of the images here. You may notice that Reynolds Hall stands where the old Field House, or Stansbury Hall, previously stood. While it's never easy saying goodbye to a building where many of us had classes and created memories during our time at WVU, Reynolds Hall pays homage to Stansbury and the ground it stands on with pieces of history spread throughout the building. If you go on a tour, be sure to take a look.

I hope you had a fantastic fourth of July weekend with friends and family as we continue to enjoy the summer season. The last several weeks have been an exciting time for our growing team at the WVU Alumni Association. We’ve added two talented individuals to our staff and have re-aligned responsibilities so that your Alumni Association can better serve our university and its largest constituency, our alumni. With that said, it is my privilege to introduce you to the leadership team that will implement our engagement strategies, providing opportunities for greater connection with fellow Mountaineers and West Virginia University.

Meridith Balas, whom some of you may know, has been named executive director of alumni engagement after previously serving as our director of alumni engagement. She is now responsible for implementing the organization's strategic vision and priorities while focusing on organizational effectiveness and culture. Dr. Balas’ service has been invaluable to the Association, and I'm grateful she will continue in this new capacity.

While campus has been a bit quieter since Commencement last month, our chapters and interest groups around the country have been busy planning signature events, engaging alumni, and showing their communities what it means to be a Mountaineer. Our volunteers were forced to adapt when in-person programs were put on hold two years ago, but now we’re hitting the ground running and can’t wait to celebrate WVU in cities nationwide! Since I can’t highlight every event that’s being hosted this summer,  be sure to visit our website to find gatherings in your hometown, or wherever you’ll be vacationing!

Our Potomac Valley Chapter is kicking off the summer with a meet and greet at Dig Deep Brewing Company in Cumberland, MD. I invite you to stop by, learn about your local chapter and some exciting things happening on campus, and connect with staff from the Alumni Association and local Mountaineers.

With the exception of August and the beginning of an academic year, the month of May is easily my favorite time in Morgantown. It is a time of both appreciation and celebration, as our graduating students close the last chapter of their current academic journey and begin a new one as WVU alumni.

At Commencement next week, we will welcome thousands of graduating students in the Class of 2022 into our alumni community. It is a time for many to reflect on years of dedicated work and special memories. Memories that forever bond them with their alma mater. For parents, family members, and supporters, many of whom are also WVU graduates, it's an opportunity to share in the pride of this momentous occasion. On a personal note, I'm excited to be joining many of you at the weekend's ceremonies, as my family gathers to celebrate my son's graduation.

As we excitedly welcome the spring season in Morgantown, I'm thrilled to share a few upcoming events that will remind Mountaineers of the gold and blue spirit. We will soon celebrate graduating students and welcome alumni back to Morgantown as they connect with each other and their alma mater. I hope you'll consider attending or spreading the word about some of the especially exciting spring and summer events:

In just a few weeks, the WVU Black Alumni Association will celebrate their Spring Alumni Weekend on April 22-24. The three-day reunion will include themed social and networking events, a tailgate, the Gold-Blue Spring Football Game and a brunch. If you're able to visit Morgantown to be a part of these events, I can't wait to welcome you home to The Erickson Alumni Center and to hear some of the stories from your time at WVU. Alumni and friends interested in attending can purchase tickets and learn more about the event at WVU Black Alumni Weekend [link no longer available].

(The significance of From Down the Hall harkens back to my early days at the WVU Alumni Association when the Erickson Alumni Center was in what we now call the West Virginia University Museum Education Center. As you entered the facility, there was a long hallway. At the end was the office of Executive Director Steve Douglas. Each quarter, a message in our printed newsletter was specially authored from down the hall. It is with a full heart that I reintroduce you to From Down the Hall. I hope you enjoy! ~ Kevin)

I was raised in a family of Mountaineers. As a matter of fact, I honestly cannot remember a time that WVU was not a part of my life. Fond childhood memories include asking for just about every type of WVU birthday cake imaginable and waking up way too early on fall Saturdays to make the two-and-a-half hour trip north for a day of comradery and fellowship with 60,000 Mountaineers. To this day, I still have one of my most prized childhood treasures: the first WVU hat I ever purchased, adorned with collector’s pins from WVU bowl games.

As we welcome students back to a snowy campus this week, it’s easy to feel the excitement and anticipation of a new semester. Our team at The Erickson Alumni Center is fortunate to experience that excitement firsthand as we interact with Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund (LPEF) scholarship recipients. Those interactions allow for the opportunity to talk with them about their goals and aspirations. Based on those conversations, it is more apparent now than ever, that scholarship contributions are making a difference in the lives of our beloved University and its student body.

For some of our students, scholarship funds help to cover the cost of their books and tuition during their time at WVU. For others, it may contribute to things like childcare, technology, and other living expenses necessary for student success. Often, the impact of a scholarship allows for more time to focus on the academic and extra-curricular pursuits of their college experience, encouraging learning and growth inside and outside of the classroom

When 2021 began, we all hoped it would be much better than the year prior—if you're like me, taking a step back to reflect on the last twelve months is a gratifying experience. There's plenty for us to be thankful for as Mountaineers, no matter where in the world you may be.

This year, we had fans cheering on the football team in Milan Puskar Stadium again. The Alumni Association welcomed graduates and friends from around the country back home to the Erickson Alumni Center for our annual Marmaduke Dent Benefit. Students returned to campus for classes in person and our alumni groups connected with new people. All of the things that we may have taken for granted in years past seemed a bit sweeter this year. I hope that you feel the same as you sit back and reflect on your 2021.

As the leaves in Morgantown begin to fall and we enter a season of gratitude, it’s easy to enjoy the beauty of our campus while reflecting on the incredible progress taking place here at West Virginia University.  While this season always seems to remind us of what we are most grateful for, I can genuinely share that I feel lucky year-round to be a part of the Mountaineer family, seeing first-hand the transformations occurring on-campus and beyond that are sure to have a lifelong impact on our students and alumni.

Soon, WVU will launch the very first Purpose Institute on any college campus, allowing alumni to explore and discover their passions and purpose. I can’t wait to see the impact this will have on Mountaineers of all ages as they reconnect with their individual purpose through newly awakened possibilities.

One of my favorite weekends in Morgantown has come to a close! What a weekend it was - thousands of alumni came back to Morgantown and celebrated everything we love about WVU. There was no shortage of things to do - from seeing all of the changes happening around campus, to the Homecoming Parade and football game against Texas Tech, it was a weekend filled with excitement. Our alumni are what make this University so special and it was great to see so many of you in Morgantown wearing your gold and blue.

If you attended the game on Saturday, then you got to see the WVU Alumni Association honor eight fantastic alumni who won the 2021 Homecoming and Alumni Service Awards. Each of the awards is unique, and all recipients embody what it means to be a Mountaineer. I encourage you to read about each winner and their connection to WVU here. I was fortunate enough to spend time with our recipients over the weekend and of course, I had to ask them about their favorite memories during their time at WVU. Their responses were all different but shared one common thread: there's no place on earth like WVU.