Six members appointed to Foundation Board of Directors

The West Virginia University Foundation Board of Directors appointed six new members at its annual meeting Aug. 14.

Six new members replaced the Board's seven outgoing directors, bringing the total number of members to 28, said Bill Nevin, director of communication for the WVU Foundation.

The six new members include:

Gregory S. Babe, president and CEO of Bayer Corporation and senior Bayer representative for the United States.

Susan Brewer, attorney and CEO of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC.

William "Billy" McCartney, Jr., partner and energy trader with Vitol Capital Management.

Robert R. Ruffolo, Jr., retired president of research and development for Wyeth (now Pfizer) Pharmaceuticals and corporate senior vice president of Wyeth.

Kathryn "Mikki" Van Wyk, worked the past four years to improve dental care in West Virginia by establishing Healthy Smiles Community Oral Health Center in Martinsburg.

Alan Zuccari, president and CEO of Hamilton Insurance.

Babe, McCartney, Ruffolo, Van Wyk and Zuccari will serve three-year terms, and Brewer will complete a two-year term.

Each of the new members have made significant contributions to their communities in their area of expertise, Nevin said.

"It appears to be a very impressive group of new members with incredible backgrounds and experiences," said Becky Lofstead, assistant vice president for communications at WVU. "One of the key things with this group is they're all volunteers, which, given their busy lives, is very great of them to give back to the University."

The Board of Directors is the governing body for the Foundation, which is the private fundraising arm for WVU, and meets quarterly, Nevin said.

"They look at issues that pertain to the administration of the Foundation, get reports on day-to-day operations and approve the operating budget," Nevin said.

The board's new chairman is Verl O. Purdy, former owner and president of AGDATA in Charlotte N.C., and the new vice chair is Robert R. Reynolds from Boston, Ma. and president of Putnam Investments.

Purdy, James H. Chamberlain of Thousand Oaks, Calif., J. Franklin Long of Bluefield and Robert A. McMillan of Martinsburg were re-elected to three-year terms.

The seven outgoing directors include: Curtis "Hank" Barnette of Bethlehem, Pa.; Ralph J. Bean, Jr. of Clarksburg; C. Richard Daniel of Beckley; Sue Seibert Farnsworth of Wheeling; David W. Hamstead of Frederick, Md.; Marshall S. Miller of Bluefield, Va.; and Vivien P. Woofter of Arlington, Va.

The Foundation's mission is to "enrich the lives of those touched by WVU by maximizing private charitable support," Nevin said.

Generating private gifts and donations help the University operate by supporting academic programs, student scholarships, new laboratories and facilities, Lofstead said.