At their meeting on Friday, March 24, in Morgantown, the University System Board of Trustees approved honoring longtime West Virginia University supporters W. Gerald and Carolyn Eberly Blaney by naming the WVU Presidents Home the Blaney House.
The Blaneys of Chalk Hill, Pa., have made major contributions supporting numerous WVU programs and projects over the years, including the facility addition to the Presidents Home.
Trustee Chairman Cathy Armstrong said the Blaneys are”long time supporters of West Virginia University,”and noted that the family also supports higher education in Pennsylvania and beyond through the Eberly Foundation and Eberly Family Trust.
Their generosity has come at a”most appropriate time,”she noted,”when fund-raising from private sources is becoming ever more critical.”
WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. called the Blaneys”great ambassadors for West Virginia Universityfrom giving of their time, energy and talentsto their financial gifts. I thank them for their generosity and for their leadership as the WVU Foundation prepares to enter a major capital campaign on behalf of the University,”he said
Mrs. Blaney is a 1946 WVU arts and sciences graduate in speech. In honor of the Eberly Foundations generosity, the College was named the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences in 1993.
Mrs. Blaney is a member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors, the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Visiting Committee and is a trustee of the Uniontown Hospital Foundation.
She received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from WVU in 1998, and in 1999 received the College of Creative Arts Deans Award for her contributions to the arts.
She was inducted into the Order of Vandalia in 1995 and was the 1992 Most Loyal Mountaineer.
Gerald Blaney was the recipient of the 1999 WVU Shining Star Award for exemplary service to the University.
He is retired from the oil and gas industry, and is a distinguished World War II veteran who was a tailgunner in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific.
The Blaneys are members of the WVU Foundations Irvin Stewart Society, which honors those who have made estate gifts in support of the University.
Well respected in the region, Mrs. Blaney received the key to the City of Uniontown in 1997, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from California University of Pennsylvania and Theil College in 1996.
The approximately 8,000-square foot addition to the Presidents Home and renovations to approximately 775 square feet of the existing structure will be entirely funded through private donations. The home will be formally dedicated at a later date.
The project, to be bid on a state contract, is expected to get under way this summer, with an expected completion date of Summer 2001.
The estimated cost of demolition, construction and site work is approximately $985,000, with the primary space devoted to a large dining room area, gallery, guest suite, handicapped accessible restrooms, a catering kitchen and basement/storage.