James”Buck”Harless, West Virginia businessman and philanthropist, will deliver a lecture titledSuccessat 5 p.m. Thursday, April 20, in Room 113 of the Mineral Resources Building on the WVU Evansdale Campus.

The talk is part of the WVU Department of Mining Engineering’s William N. Poundstone Lecture Series, established in 2000 to honor Poundstone, a distinguished alumnus of the department.

A native of Logan County, Harless went to work at a young age to help support his family, first working for the Red Jacket Coal Co. and later becoming part-owner and manager of a saw mill in Gilbert.

He grew the Gilbert Lumber Co. into International Industries, a multimillion-dollar business with interests in coal mining, timber, manufacturing, the hotel industry and real estate.

He never forgot the importance of education, though, or the lessons of his maternal aunt and uncle, who raised him to give back to his community. From the Student Athlete Program and June Harless Center for Rural Education Research and Development at Marshall University to two professional scholarships at the WVU College of Law, his support of higher education has been significant.

Harless is a past member of the University System of West Virginia Board of Trustees and is an honorary member and past chair of the West Virginia University Foundation Board.

He is also well-known for his contributions to West Virginia’s coal mining industry. He has been inducted into the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame and the West Virginia Mining and Reclamation Association, and was named Coal Man of the Year in 1976 and the Charleston Gazette West Virginian of the Year in 1983.