Emeritus is a term generally used as an honorary title for a distinguished career. It is quite often used to honor retiring faculty members with ten or more years of service to the institution.
At student-centered WVWC, we also have an Emeritus Club. Alumni who have graduated more than 50 years ago are invited to join this group. It was organized and established on May 20, 1961 by alumni with a great love for the college and appreciation for the education received here.
The Club was the vision of one of Wesleyan’s greatest leaders and benefactors, Dr. Clyde O. Law 1909, Hon. 1952. It provides members a fellowship for remembering their time in college, a way to express their appreciation and support, a way to honor those who have been important in their lives, and a way to stay connected to each other and to the college. To get an idea of Clyde Law’s state of mind, here is an article he wrote in 1947, entitled Wesleyan, Of Thee I Dream.
Remember – Appreciate – Honor – Connection
These people arrived here as Dreamers, with many questions, plans, options and their whole lives before them.
Their lives after graduation have been full.
Many became Giants in their families, their churches, their professions, their communities, and more.
- Clergy
- Doctors
- Lawyers
- Educators — at all levels from early childhood to higher education. Some have become Professors at WVWC as well as many other colleges and universities
- College Administrators at many colleges and universities, and some have used their education and experience to strengthen and lead West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Many have served as Trustees of the college.
As a group, the members of the Emeritus Club have been generous in their support of building projects and other needs of the school. They have helped to upgrade classrooms, sound systems, and have been major contributors in academic, arts, and athletic areas of the college. They do these things because they want to make sure that the Wesleyan that helped to form their lives always stays relevant for the students of today.
The Emeritus Club Newsletter tells stories of their lives, helps keep them connected to each other and to WVWC. For many years, this newsletter has not been available to those outside of this group. During the summer of 2021, in honor of their 60th anniversary, I scanned and uploaded all of them (166 issues) to PagesInTime. (Many thanks to Brett Miller and Michael Winston for their help!)
Editors who have made these newsletters possible include the following:
Click Here to Browse or Search the Emeritus Club Newsletters from 1973-2021.
You will find out things about the college that you may not have known! Sadly we do not have copies of the first newsletters in our archive. We begin with Volume 3, Number 4 (March 1977). If you have earlier issues, please contact historian@wvwc.edu.
The latest issue has not yet been uploaded to PagesInTime, but you can read it in full by Clicking Here. This issue is a true celebration of all that the Emeritus Club has meant, and a history of the organization is included. Please take the time to read it!
Emeritus Club (By Graduation Year)
Please Note:
Information for these lists has been gathered from Pharos, Sundials, and Emeritus Club Newsletters, by an ongoing process that I call Information Mining. Any further information or corrections you may have can be sent to historian@wvwc to be added to these lists.