Peter Love, a West VirginiaUniversity senior from Charleston, can add one more accolade to his growing record of achievement �€membership on the select 2001 All-USA College Academic First Team.


Love, a political science and finance major, is one of 20 college students recognized in todays (Thursday, Feb. 15) _ * USA Today* _ newspaper. The All-USA College Academic Team spotlights a composite of the”best and brightest”undergraduates from the various academic fields who excel not only in scholarship but also in leadership roles on and off campus. The 20 first team members were chosen from 683 nominees. Each will receive a trophy and a $2,500 cash award.


“Peter Love is a mature and effective leader at a relatively young age,”commented WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr.”I have known him for a long time and know him to be an honest person to whom public service is a priority. _ * USA Today* _ recognition of Peter is well deserved and reflects well on WVU and our talented students.”


Love, who has been instrumental in lobbying for rental housing reform in Morgantown, said he was shocked when he received the call from a _ * USA Today* _ representative informing him of his selection, but after the initial shock wore off he made a realization.


“I realized that I felt the same. It makes you realize why you do all of these things,”Love said.”Its not for the awards. The real reward is watching Morgantown evolve in the next 10 years. Its already come a long way.”


Love obtained his real estate license at the age of 18, at that time the youngest person in West Virginia to do so. At age 19, during his freshman year at WVU , he began tackling housing reform in Morgantown while serving as student administration attorney general.


After a summer internship with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, D.C., Love used what he had learned about HUD programs to write a formal proposal to Morgantowns City Council, a proposal that eventually led to the creation of a joint WVU -Morgantown task force to study the citys rental housing and propose a plan for revitalization. Mayor Frank Scafella and WVU President David C. Hardesty headed the panel.


Many of the task forces suggestions have been implemented: more frequent mandatory inspections of rental housing; new city ordinances to deal with over-occupancy and to increase minimum fines and penalties; the hiring of an additional inspector; and the creation of a full-time off-campus housing coordinator at WVU .


“Today, Morgantown and the state of West Virginia are well on their way to better rental housing and better communities for all people. This is an ongoing mission, but one that I am most proud of for I know my efforts have helped create and lay the foundation for a better quality of life for all West Virginians,”Love said.


M. Duane Nellis, dean of WVU s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, nominated Love for the All-USA honor, commenting,”As a citizen of Morgantown, I have had the good fortune to benefit from and marvel at the impact he has had on our community, an impact that few are able to accomplish in a life-time, much less as a student resident of the community for just a short time.”


Paul J. Speaker, associate professor of finance in the College of Business and Economics, said it is Loves”quiet, selfless contributions”that set him apart.”His greatest contributions are those that do not translate into a line on a resume. He willingly provides opportunities for others without any consideration for personal recognition,”he noted.


The recipient of a WVU Scholars Program Berry Belmont Leadership Scholarship, Love was named one of 25 WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Scholars in 2000 and received one of two Russell Newman Outstanding Finance Student Awards in 1999. He has twice received a Henry Luce Foundation Scholarship, which is awarded by The Washington Center for Academic Seminars and Internships to promising students throughout Appalachia for work and study in Washington, D.C.


Besides his rental housing reform work, Love has served the community by serving three years as Morgantown City Councils Citizens Advisory Committees co-chair and volunteering in Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northern West Virginia, for which he earned the United Ways Presidents Service Award. Through his fraternity, Phi Sigma Kappa, Love helped develop a volunteer program with the United Way after-school mentoring program.


In addition to his academic and civic honors, Love was voted WVU s 1999 Homecoming King by members of the student body.


After graduation in May, Love plans to work for at least a year before entering a dual degree program in law and business administration.


“My future plan is clearly public service on a national level, wherever I can do the most good,”said Love, who lists”President of the United States”as his long-term career goal.


He is the son of Charles M. Love III and Sally Love of Charleston.


Love is the fourth WVU student to make the first team, joining Brian Caveney of Wheeling (1991), John Unger of Martinsburg (1992) and Carmella Evans of Kopperston (1997). Caveney earned All-USA Academic First Team honors as a high school student in 1991 and later was profiled at WVU during the 10th anniversary of the awards program in 1996.