West Virginia University Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center Development

Giving News

2012:
Jan
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WVU Children’s Hospital receives donation from PPG Industries

(Left to Right): PPG Natrium employees Steve Jarvis, Josh Balcerek, Neil Meyers and Cindy Parson present a check for $8,000 to WVU Children’s Hospital Director Cheryl Jones and Pediatric Infusion Center Manger Shannon Koty.

04/24/2009

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University Children’s Hospital received an $8,000 donation from the PPG Natrium plant. The donation will go toward the hospital’s Child Life Program.

PPG Industries, which has a safe-workplace goal of zero safety incidents at all facilities, has in the past rewarded employees for continued safety compliance with food or small gifts. This time, employees chose to donate to WVU Children’s Hospital the money that would have been spent on those items.

PPG Natrium employees are celebrating their accomplishment of 92 days without a reportable safety incident. The previous benchmark was set at 80 days.

Employees chose WVU Children’s Hospital because it is the only children’s hospital in the state, and some employees have had children and grandchildren treated at the hospital as well, Plant Manager Jim Rock said. “The response from our employees has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re happy to do it and to impact the lives of children who are not as fortunate as we are.”

In operation since 1943, the PPG Natrium plant, north of New Martinsville, employs about 540 people. Four employees — Neil Meyers, Josh Balcerek, Steve Jarvis and Cindy Parson — made the trip from Natrium for today’s check presentation.

“We are very honored that PPG chose us as the recipient of their donation,” Cheryl Jones, R.N., director of WVU Children’s Hospital, said. “Hospitalization can be very scary for our patients, which is why the Child Life Program is so important. It helps make their stay a little less scary and less stressful. The money from PPG will help keep that program going strong.”

The Child Life Program works as part of the healthcare team, making hospitalization a little easier for patients and their families by providing support, education, recreation and assistance.

One of the main components of the Child Life Program is play, an important part of children’s lives. During times of stress, such as hospitalization, play can provide something safe and familiar — an opportunity for children to express fear, anxiety and misunderstandings about their hospitalization.

To encourage playtime for pediatric patients, WVU Children’s Hospital has an activity center equipped with toys, video games, an air hockey table and other child-friendly items.

Each year, WVU Children’s Hospital provides care to more than 7,000 newborns, children and women, who come from every county in West Virginia and also from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio. On average, 1,600 babies are born annually at WVU Children’s Hospital. Almost three-quarters of the deliveries are high-risk. WVU Children’s Hospital physicians provide care for children at the hospital in Morgantown and at clinics throughout the state.

written by HSC News Service

Ruppert named first Statler Chair in Breast Cancer Research Chair

(Left to Right): Michael Ruppert, Jo Statler, Ben Statler

04/15/2009

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — J. Michael Ruppert, M.D., Ph.D., was installed as the first Jo and Ben Statler Eminent Scholar and Chair in Breast Cancer Research at West Virginia’s Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.

The chair was made possible by a $5 million gift to the Cancer Center from the Statlers in 2007. The gift was part of an overall gift of $25 million from the Statlers to WVU that included underwriting for Bonnie’s Bus, a mobile digital mammography unit.

A WVU graduate with a degree in chemistry, Dr. Ruppert earned his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Johns Hopkins University, where he trained in the laboratory of Bert Vogelstein, a leader in the field of colorectal cancer genetics.

He was then awarded a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Postdoctoral Fellowship, which he used to study in the lab of Bruce Stillman at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on New York’s Long Island.

From 1993 to 2008, Ruppert was on the faculty in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). From 2000 to 2008, he was co-director of the Program in Cancer Cell Biology of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In 2008, Ruppert returned to his alma mater to become holder of the Statler Chair and co-leader of the Breast Cancer Research Program.

He has served as a professional consultant to federal, state and private funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Medical Research Council of Great Britain, the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, the Kentucky Lung Cancer Research Program and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Ruppert was officially installed as the Statler Chair in the WVU Health Sciences Center’s Patteson Auditorium. He lectured on “Breast Cancer Prevention and Treatment: A 15-Year Journey from Cancer Models to Cancer Patients.”

written by HSC News Service

Doroshow gives inaugural Hardesty Lecture

(Left to Right): James H. Doroshow

04/09/2009

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — James H. Doroshow, M.D., director and senior investigator of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, will give the inaugural Hardesty Lecture at West Virginia University April 14. The speech is part of the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center’s Celebration Week and Gala.

At the National Cancer Institute, Doroshow works with outside scientists and clinicians, patient advocates and professional cancer organizations. In addition to his lab work, he leads more than 800 professional staff members who represent scientific specialties. He received his bachelor’s and medical degrees from Harvard. After internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, he spent three years as a clinical associate in the NCI’s Medicine Branch. He is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology.

The Hardesty Lecture was established in honor of another Harvard graduate — former WVU President David C. Hardesty, Jr., and his wife, Susan Brown Hardesty.

The series, which will bring renowned cancer scientists and physicians to the WVU campus, is a tribute to the couple’s service to their alma mater and their impact on the university’s growth and development.

David Hardesty, WVU’s 21st president, served from 1995 to 2007. A former WVU student body president and Rhodes Scholar, he established more than 25 student-centered programs during his tenure, all aimed at creating a culture of achievement and excellence among students.

Several teaching and research initiatives — including neurosciences, energy, forensics and biometrics — earned national and international accolades under Hardesty’s leadership. During his administration, research funding more than doubled to $150 million and the university invested almost $1 billion in capital improvements.

Hardesty, who continues to serve WVU as a professor of law, holds degrees from WVU, Oxford University and Harvard Law School.

Susan Brown Hardesty was the founder and national chair of the WVU Mountaineer Parents Club, which was created to connect parents and family members with the WVU student experience. Today, the club includes more than 20,000 members and 66 local clubs nationally and around the world.

She also planned and hosted trips for WVU’s “Gold and Blue Travelers,” which visited 26 countries during the 12 years of the Hardesty administration. Susan Hardesty is a charter member and former chair of the College of Creative Arts Board of Visitors. In recognition of her higher education leadership activities, she was inducted into the Order of Vandalia, the highest recognition for service awarded by WVU.

Hardesty holds degrees from WVU and the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies.

The inaugural Hardesty Lecture is the first of several events to be held in celebration of the expansion of the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center. The remainder of the week will feature a ribbon-cutting event, patient story forum, and will end with the annual black-tie gala.

written by HSC News Service

Friends and family remember Matt Mathias
with an endowment to Dentistry

(Left to Right): Matthew Mathias, Penny Mathias

04/2009

On November 5, 2008, Matt Mathias passed away from gastric cancer. He left behind his wife Penny, his family, and an established partnership, Cruikshank and Mathias Dentists in Martinsburg, WV.

Matt’s commitment to dentistry was exceptional. While attending the West Virginia University School of Dentistry, he was named president of his class and earned a Doctorate of Dental Surgery in 1996. For the next eight years, he served as a dentist in the US Navy, achieving the rank of Lieutenant.

Upon his discharge, Matt and his wife, Penny Hott Mathias, moved to Martinsburg where he became an active member of the community; he served as secretary/treasurer of the Eastern Panhandle Dental Association and was a member of the American Dental Association, Rotary Club of Martinsburg, WVU Alumni Association, Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Rio, Vicki Bell Hunt Club in Mathias and the American Legion Post 134 in Kirby.

But more than any professional achievement the finest quality about Matt was his selflessness. He always considered others before himself and demonstrated a deep commitment to his patients, taking time to personally consult them about their health care choices. In addition, Matt had a special interest in treating children. He often expressed his concern for the oral health of West Virginia’s children.

Please help to continue Matt’s commitment to dentistry with a donation that will endow a scholarship in his name at the West Virginia University School of Dentistry. The scholarship will provide money to a student in the DDS program each year in perpetuity. By offsetting educational costs, students will be encouraged to follow Matt’s example of dental excellence.

To contribute to the John Matthew Mathias Endowment, please contact Patty Showers Ryan, Director of Development for Dentistry, 304-293-1868, psryan@hsc.wvu.edu

West Virginia University