Founders Day is coming up on Friday of this week.
It is, to be sure, a time to say thanks to those who planted the college here in Buckhannon in 1890. We thank them by highlighting examples of how their dreams have turned to reality.
Alumni
Graduates of WVWC have excelled in all walks of life. They have done heroic things. They are leaders in science, education, government, political realms, music, healthcare, business, sports, and religious eneavors. The education they received here set them on paths that have led them all over the world to make a difference. Each year, we honor some, but for each one that receives this honor there are hundreds who would be deserving recipients.
Alumni Service and Achievement Awards
Young Alumni Service and Achievement Awards
The Extra Mile Award is also offered – sometimes to Alumni (and sometimes to people who we would love to claim!)
Speakers
In 1933, Bishop Adna W. Leonard (Resident Bishop of the Pittsburgh Area of the Methodist Episcopal Church) spoke at an event that became known as Bishop’s Day. It was a day set aside to celebrate the college and church connections springing from our original Founders. Bishop Leonard and his successor, Bishop James H. Straughn were generally the speakers for that event, and it was held in Atkinson Chapel. Bishop Straughn changed the name of the event in 1941 to be known as Founders Day.
In 1952, the dedication of the New Men’s Residence Hall (which we now know as Fleming Hall) was mentioned in the October, 1952 issue of the West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin:
The program marks the observance of Founders Day, a tradition instituted by Bishop Straughn while the resident bishop of the Pittsburgh area and originally known as Bishop’s Day.”
In the 1950s speakers other than bishops were included, and they were a mixture of prominent Methodist leaders, heads of foundations, civil rights leaders, and alumni who had risen to the ranks of leadership in many areas of work. Some were also Trustees of the college.
On Founders Day 1989, the speaker was Carl Rowan. He was a journalist who began his career by covering the Civil Rights Movement in the south as one of the country’s first African-American reporters at a major daily newspaper. Later in his life, he became the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and the Ambassador to Finland. In the year before he retired in 1965, he was the Director of the United States Information Agency. He spoke on the real value of an education.
Another speaker that stands out as I look through the list is J. Roy Price. A member of the class of 1923, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1949. At the Founders Day Convocation on October 28, 1955, Dr. Price presented the Founders Day Address entitled A Charter for a College of Liberal Arts. This charter looks both back and toward the future. A Trustee from 1949-73, you can read more about him here.
These are but a couple of examples, but there have been many powerful Founders Day speakers challenging us to keep going and to keep growing.
Trustees
Trustees are present at the Founders Day Convocation, and new ones sign the book which has the names of the leaders and decision makers throughout the years. Some, but not all, are also Alumni. Some, but not all, are United Methodists. All have been duly elected by the West Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church…..who started the entire story.
Leaders of church, government, industry, medicine, law, business, and more, the Trustees are those who guide and make decisions and hire presidents. They are people who are dedicated to West Virginia Wesleyan College. Some, but not all, have been Founders Day Speakers.
Alumni and Speakers and Trustees, Oh My.
I hope that the Founders are proud of the school that they planted so long ago.