The West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will present its Alumni Recognition Award to a respected professor and orthopedic surgeon on Friday, Oct. 18, at the colleges Annual Homecoming Dinner at Café Bacchus �€immediately following the WVU Homecoming parade.

M. Duane Nellis, dean of the EberlyCollege, will present the award to John A. Cardea, M.D., who recently retired as professor and chair of orthopedic surgery, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Cardea earned a pre-medicine degree from the EberlyCollege in 1962 and went on to earn his medical degree at the WVU School of Medicine in 1966. He completed his residency in orthopedic surgery in the School of Medicine, VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity, and built a distinguished career there for more than three decades as a professor and surgeon, especially in his specialty of total joint replacement and reconstructive surgery.

A native of Welch, Cardea is a national leader in orthopedics. He has published more than 25 journal articles and is a sought-after speaker worldwide. His research has explored various techniques for joint replacement and the development of new materials and products useful in orthopedic surgery.

Through the Alumni Recognition Award, which was first presented in 1999, the EberlyCollege honors accomplished alumni whose lives reflect the outstanding commitment, knowledge and excitement that people broadly educated in the liberal arts and sciences bring to their professions, communities and our collective culture. Nominations are made to the Advisory Board, which provides recommendations. The final selection of recipients is made by the dean.

Past recipients include state Poet Laureate Irene McKinney, community foundation executive Rebecca C. Cain, Federal Judge M. Blane Michael and college president William R. Haden among other distinguished alumni.

Since 1999, the college has presented the award annually to between three and five alumni. In 2002, the college will present five awards at events scheduled throughout the year. The other recipients are Laura L. Carstensen, professor of psychology, Stanford University; Harlan Janes, retired vice president, ACNielsen; Mark Royden Winchell, professor of English, Clemson University, and Thomas A. Lyson, professor of rural sociology, Cornell University.