The man who shepherded West Virginia University’s most successful fund-raising campaign in historyand three other distinguished public servantswill join an elite honorary for those who have demonstrated outstanding and distinguished service to the school.
NationalBuilding GreatnessCampaign Chairman Raymond J. Lane, also a member of WVU ’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni and the recipient of an honorary doctor of science degree, will be inducted into the Order of Vandalia at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 15, at Erickson Alumni Center. Joining Lane is retired corporate executive Glen Hiner, attorney Stanley Hostler and Harrison County businessman John Allen.
The induction ceremony coincides with WVU ’s 135 th Commencement on May 16.
West Virginia University has many great friends, but the Order of Vandalia is reserved for those who stand above the restand the four men being honored this spring have built and led companies, reinvested resources in our state and University, and most importantly volunteered their time and energy to make this institution an extraordinary place,said WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr.I am pleased that they have accepted our invitation to join the Order.
Raymond J. Lane
An executive with the venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins Caufield&Byers, Raymond J. Lane grew up in McKeesport, Pa. He graduated from WVU in 1968 with a degree in mathematics and held positions with IBM , Electronic Data Systems and Booz-Allen&Hamilton before rising to the top of the American business scene as president and chief operating officer of Oracle Corp.
After leaving Oracle in 2000, Lane’s work with the California-based venture capital company has guided established businesses to take advantage of new strategic Internet opportunities and helped entrepreneurs with organizational development, team building and sales.
Lane, a member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors, served as the national campaign committee chair of the recently concludedBuilding Greatnesseffort, which raised more than $336 million for WVU during a five-year effort.
His and his wife Stephanie’s personal support of the campaign includes a $5 million gift to the WVU Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering to endow a professorship, graduate fellowships and enhance lab and library resources. In their honor, the department now bears the couple’s name. They also are members of the Woodburn Circle Society.
Lane is also a member of WVU ’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni and gave the 2002 commencement addressriding in on a high tech scooter called a Segway to make a point that it’s brilliant design and engineering is changing the way some professionals do their jobs.
Lane received an honorary doctorate at the ceremony. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Golden State University.
He also serves on the international board of Special Olympics.
John C. Allen
President and treasurer of the J.F. Allen Co. in Buckhannon, John C. Allen owns one of the largest road building companies in the United States. He also operates quarries, produces concrete, operates a block manufacturing facility and has a trucking company, among other interests
Employees of his companies have been instrumental in building sections of Corridor H, Interstates 79, 68 and 81, and even the Stonewall Jackson Dam.
Best of all, his friends claim, he employs at times more than 300 West Virginians.
Outside of his business interests, Allen’s public and community service interests are broad. He is past director of the Virginia Road Builders Association, the West Virginia Contractor’s Association and was national director of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.
In 1996, J.F. Allen Co. was namedIndustry of the Yearby the Buckhannon-Upshur Chamber of Commerce, and the West Virginia Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals recognized the Allens as outstanding philanthropists in 2001.
Allen serves on the WVU Foundation Board of Directors and WVU ’s College of Creative Arts Visiting Committee. He was a member of theBuilding GreatnessNational Campaign Committee. He and his wife, Joyce, are members of the Woodburn Circle Society.
He also established the Sara Crile Allen and James Frederick Allen Comprehensive Lung Cancer Program at WVU , and actively supports research at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.
Allen attended WVU and graduated from the Virginia Military Institute. VMI and numerous other organizations throughout the state and country are recipients of Allen’s generosity. The Allens reside in Coalton.
Glen H. Hiner, Jr.
Retired chairman and chief executive officer of Owens Corning, Glen H. Hiner Jr. may call Carmel, Calif., home but his West Virginia roots run deep. He grew up in Morgantown and graduated from Morgantown High School and WVU .
Armed with a degree in electrical engineering and leadership roles with many student groups from Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity to Student Government, Hiner credits WVU ’s influence for his climb to international corporate success.
He served General Electric for 35 years, including 13 years as CEO of GE Plastics, and was chairman and CEO of Owens Corning, the world leader in advanced glass and building material systems, for nearly a decade (1992-2002). Under his leadership, both companies introduced new products, launched major restructuring initiatives and grew sales by the billions.
Today, he serves on the WVU Foundation Board of Directors and the College of Engineering Visiting Committee. Hiner also was a member of theBuilding GreatnessNational Campaign Committee. He recently mentored WVU students as executive-in-residence in the College of Business and Economics, and during his tenure at GE established the first endowed professorship in engineering.
He holds honorary doctorates from WVU and Trinity College in Connecticut and is a member of WVU ’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni and the WVU Business Hall of Fame. He received the Most Loyal Mountaineer Award from WVU in 1990. Hiner and his wife, Ann, are members of the Woodburn Circle Society.
Hiner also is the recipient of the Society of Plastics highest honor, The Dan Fox Lifetime Achievement Award.
His community and business involvements are many, including serving on the boards of the National Association of Manufacturers, the Industry Policy Advisory Committee, the Dana Corp. and Prudential Insurance, among others.
Stanley M. Hostler
Charleston attorney Stanley M. Hostler’s service to WVU began in 1959 when he moved to Morgantown to establish and lead the WVU Institute for Labor Studies.
A native of Bellwood, Pa., he is a graduate of Gettysburg College and Penn State University, and received his doctor of jurisprudence from WVU . He is a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War.
He is a retired partner in the law firm of Goldberg, Persky, Jennings, White and Hostler, specializing in labor and employment law and serving as special counsel to the West Virginia AFL -CIO.
His generous support of the arts and education in West Virginia, particularly the under served, is most evident through his contributions, both financially and through his time, to a program that links minority and disadvantaged high school students to health professionals on college and university campuses. The WVU Health Sciences and Technology Academy is designed to encourage these young students to pursue their dreams of a career in the health sciences.
He also created a scholarship fund to enable under represented WVU students to attend medical school and provides support for hundreds of West Virginia and Pennsylvania youth to visit the world class Carnegie Science Center each year.
Hostler also supports programs at the College of Law, WVU Children’s Hospital, the WVU Alumni Association, WVU Athletics, Extension and other campus units.
His hometown of Bellwood has benefitted from his community efforts as well through an expanded library, a community center and improved public schools.
He is a member of the West Virginia Bar and American Bar associations and serves on the WVU Foundation Board of Directors. Hostler and his wife, Virginia, are members of the Woodburn Circle Society.
In 1997, he was honored as the Most Loyal Alumni Mountaineer, and in 1999 WVU ’s health sciences auditorium was dedicated in his honor.