No one can accuse H. Leo Mehl, Meredith Sue Willis and David Selby of treading lightly in the professional pursuits they took up after college.

The trio of Mountain State natives receiving honorary degrees at West Virginia University’s 135 th Commencement on May 16 have stayed true to their home state while notching international success in careers encompassing tires, tales and television.

Mehl is a retired motor sports executive who backed into racing by way of the chemical engineering degree he earned from WVU in 1959. The Parkersburg native, who will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree during the ceremony, showed the racing world and his bosses at Goodyear that he was just as much about laps as he was about labs.

It was Mehl who developed the tire tread compounds that allowed legendary driver A.J. Foyt to roll into the winner’s circle at the 1967 Indianapolis 500, and that victory marked the first time in 42 years a Goodyear-equipped car had taken the checkered flag at the storied track in central Indiana.

Willis has cut a wide swath in the literary world since she left her Shinnston hometown at 18 to go to college and craft novels and short stories. Her catalogue includes 12 novels, numerous short stories and threehow-tobooks for writers. She now finds herself in a happy place for any writer to be: loved by readers and praised by critics.

While she isn’t a graduate of WVU , the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters recipient has lent her name and her expertise to WVU over the years, conducting countless workshops and serving as a reviewer for the University’s burgeoning WVU Press.

Selby’s performing career has taken him from Charleston to Hollywood to London, but when he talks about cominghometo WVU , the actor isn’t acting. He’s a Morgantown native who stayed home to further his education. The honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree he’ll receive will be added to the two degrees he earned here in 1963 and 1964.

Selby made his name on the small-screen, with starring roles inDark ShadowsandFalcon Crestand parlayed those roles into appearances on Broadway and behind the microphones of the British Broadcast Corp., where he’s acted in several radio adaptations of major literary works.

What follows are more detailed biographies of the three:

H. Leo Mehl

H. Leo Mehl, who earned his bachelor of science in chemical engineering at West Virginia University in 1959, became one of the most powerful men in automobile racing, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. As a chemical engineer with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, he developed the tread compounds that A.J. Foyt used in 1967 to return Goodyear to the winner’s circle at the Indianapolis 500 after a 42-year absence. (more)

Mehl retired in 1996 as general manager of that company’s worldwide racing division.

During his 25-year tenure there, the company won more than 83 percent of all events, in competition with 14 other tire companies, in 23 North American racing series and one international racing series.

Countless teams and drivers owe a major part of their success to the technology, support and commitment of the Akron-based company and to the fair and even-handed manner in which Mehl led its racing program.

After his first retirement, Mehl accepted the position of vice president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and simultaneously served as executive director of the Indy Racing League (IRL). In that position, he was the chief administrator of the league and oversaw day-to-day operations until his retirement in 2000, which was the subject of an article in _ USA Today_ .

Mr. Mehl was elected to the WVU Academy of Chemical Engineers in 1995 and currently serves as its president. The academy is a group of alumni who have distinguished themselves in professional activities and who have brought honor to WVU and the Department of Chemical Engineering. New members are inducted into the academy by election of the existing members.

Mehl also was a generous supporter of the WVU Foundation’s Building Greatness capital campaign and made a substantial pledge to benefit the renovation of the chemical engineering undergraduate laboratory. He has a sustained record of support and philanthropy towards WVU .

The WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni inducted Mehl as a member in 1994. He currently chairs the Board of Trustees of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and is a consultant with the Indy Racing League.

WVU will present Mehl with an honorary doctor of science degree based on two criteria: his national/international pre-eminence in his field and his sustained record of support for WVU and its goals.

Meredith Sue Willis

Meredith Sue Willis grew up creating stories and writing them down. She imagined a world beyond her home town of Shinnston, but, as she says, always carried West Virginia wherever she went. She left home at 18, armed with an active imagination, her father’s love of storytelling, and a desire to write professionally.

She’s spent four decades traveling, studying and writing prolifically. She attended Bucknell University and spent a year as a Volunteer in Service to America. Willis then graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College, where she was an anti-war activist and Phi Beta Kappa inductee. She later earned a master of fine arts degree from Columbia University.

Her first novel,A Space Apart,received high praise from reviewers. Her”Blair Morgan”trilogythe novelsHigher Ground,Only Great ChangesandTrespasserschronicled the life and times of a young woman from West Virginia coming of age in the 1960s.

For young readers, she has writtenThe Secret Super Powers of MarcoandMarco’s Monster,about a young peacemaker in the streets of New York. Many of her short stories have appeared in leading publications and have been collected in the book,In the Mountains of America.Of this collection, The New York Times said, __ Ms. Willisprovides a[n]...important lesson on the nature and function of literature itself.

While Willis no longer lives in West Virginia, she continues to write about the state and promotes a positive though complex image of it on the national scene. Her 12th book,Oradell at Sea,is set largely in a coal mining town in West Virginia. It was published in 2002 to excellent reviews.

As a teacher, Willis also excels. She teaches novel writing at New York University and has written three successful books for writers:Blazing Pencils,Deep RevisionandPersonal Fiction Writing.

She has visited the WVU campus to discuss her stories, her life’s work, and her philosophy of writing with students. She admits that she thought she had to leave the state to write and publish, only to discover that she found herself returning again and again for her subject matter. She tells young writers that they can achieve their goals in West Virginia or away.

She also has become a strong supporter and reviewer of the West Virginia University Press. She offered her expertise and guidance on marketing imaginative writing and regularly serves as a reader of fiction manuscripts.

WVU will present Willis with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree based on two criteria: her national/international pre-eminence in her field and her sustained record of support for WVU and its goals.

David Selby

David Selby’s extraordinary career as an actor, writer and producer spans more than four decades and encompasses theater, film, television and radio.

His acting credits include leading roles in many Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions, from Shakespeare to such American classics asThe CrucibleandA Long Day’s Journey into Night,as well as in his own stage play,Lincoln and James.

He has also had a long and active career in film and television, in which he has worked with many leading performers and directors. He achieved international recognition for his starring roles in the television seriesDark ShadowsandFalcon Crest.He has starred in many radio broadcasts of major literary works for PBS , the BBC and Voice of America. Selby’s play,Final Assault,was performed last spring in Charleston. He enjoyed performing the voice of”The Griffin”for West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s award-winning animated film,The Griffin and the Minor Canon.He has written several screenplays, stage plays and three books.

To sustain his high level of professional productivity with such a variety of roles requires more than consummate acting skill; it also requires a profound dedication to researching and preparing for each role. This is the foundation of Selby’s achievement and is one of the reasons he was inducted into the Cleveland Playhouse Hall of Fame in 1994 and received the Millennium Recognition Award from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., in 1999.

While earning international recognition in his field, Selby has remained devoted to WVU , where he earned his bachelor of science in business administration in 1963 and his master of arts degree in 1964.

A Morgantown native, Selby has expressed his love for his home state in his poems and plays. He is particularly devoted to the young people of West Virginia and has graciously shared his professional expertise with WVU students. He and his wife have endowed a Visiting Artists Series at the Creative Arts Center, and The David Selby Excellence in the Arts

Scholarship is granted by the Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund of the WVU Alumni Association to a deserving junior enrolled in the College of Creative Arts.

The WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni inducted Selby in 1989, and he received the WVU College of Creative Arts’first Life Achievement Award in 1998. In 2002, Gov. Bob Wise presented him with the Distinguished West Virginian Award. He also holds a doctor of philosophy degree from Southern Illinois University, where he received the Alumni Achievement Award in 1992.

WVU will present Selby with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree based on two criteria: his international pre-eminence in his field and his sustained record of support for WVU and its goals.