May 17, 1998
We are pleased to welcome Cecil H. Underwood, Governor of West Virginia, to campus as our 1998 commencement speaker.
Governor Underwood is in his second tenure as the Mountain State’s Chief Executive. He was elected first in 1956, and was elected again in 1996. He has the discinction of being elected as the state’s youngest governor 42 years ago, and then elected as its oldest two years ago. Betwen his tems he assembled a distinguished record in business, education, public service and philanthropy.
He was Chairman of Morgantown Industrial/Research Park, President of the Software Valley Foundation, and Vice President of both Monsanto Corporation and Island Creek Coal Company.
Governor Underwood taught at the high school and college levels and served as President of Bethany College. Most recently, he was adjunct Professor of Political Science at Marshall University. He is on the Board of Trustees of Salem-Teikyo University, and is past Board chairman at the West Virginia State College System and the West Virginia Foundation for Independent Coleges. A year ago, Governor Underwood was elected Chairman of the Southern Technology Council, a unit of the Southern Growth Policies Board. He will serve as Chairman of the SGPB in 1998-99.
The Governor has been Chairman of the Huntington Foundation, has been on the state and national boards of the American Cancer Society, and since 1973, has been on the board of Appalachian Regional Health Care. He is a former director of United Methodist Charities of West Virginia, and has been a delegate fo the General nd Jurisdictional Conferences of the Church.
A native of Tyler County, W.Va., Governor Underwood holds a bachelor’s degree from Salem College (now Salem-Teikyo) and a master’s from West Virginia University. He also has been honored with 12 honorary degrees, one of which, Doctor of Public Administration, was conferred by Wesleyan in 1958.
Sources and Related Pages:
- Commencement Program: 1958
- Commencement Program: May 17, 1998
- Honorary Degree (1958) – Cecil H. Underwood
PLM 7/10/18