Alumnus H. Stan Cavendish has a distinguished record as a corporate leader, civic volunteer and opinion leader in West Virginia, and for his various contributions to the state and WVU, he has been named a recipient of the Eberly College Alumni Award.

The Eberly College Alumni Award recognizes individuals whose life reflects the commitment and excitement which broadly educated arts and sciences people bring to their life pursuits. The award seeks to acknowledge the important contributions Eberly alumni are making in their community and within their professions.

Cavendish believes the future of the state’s economic growth is directly linked to its ability to create a more universal approach to education that has led him to develop several partnerships among higher education, government, and private sectors.

A native of Charleston, Cavendish earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1969, and worked editing prize-winning newspapers in Buckhannon and Weston, W.Va. He soon after entered a career in telecommunications with C&P Telephone in 1976 that carried on to his recent retirement as president of Verizon West Virginia, where he also worked as executive director of Corporate and External Relations.

Under his leadership, he brought telecommunication access to rural areas, developed “Office of the Future,” an economic development program that leveraged Verizon’s network to attract more than 20,000 teleservices jobs to West Virginia, and developed Verizon’s Flexible Regulation Plan. As a result of his commitment to lifelong learning and the state, Cavendish led West Virginia to be the first in the nation to bring high-speed Internet to every K-12 public school through a program called “World School.”

His concern for career preparation and workforce development earned him a seat on the College of Human Resources and Education’s Visiting Committee from 1997-2006, of which he was chair for six years. During that time, he worked through Verizon to establish a computer laboratory in the College of Human Resources and Education in 2001 that prepares students to use technology as they teach. The lab has since been used to update the skills of teachers already in the field.

Cavendish was also involved in WVU Extension Service first Wired & Wonderful technology camp at Jackson’s Mill and his and Verizon’s efforts were named “Development Partner of the Year” by WVU Extension Service in 2006.

Aside from his professional career, Cavendish has been active in his community holding many positions in regulatory and public relations groups, and volunteering numerous hours of service to non-profit and community agencies. He was chairman of West Virginia Workforce Investment Council, and served as a board member for organizations like West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education, West Virginia Roundtable, Discover the Real West Virginia, Advantage Valley, West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development, Capital Area Development Corporation of West Virginia (CADCO), Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center, West Virginia Research League, Charleston-area Salvation Army, and Children’s Home Society.

Recipients of the Eberly College Alumni Award have their names are added to a memorial plaque in Woodburn Hall. Cavendish will accept his award at Eberly’s Homecoming Reception on Oct. 23.

For more information, contact Bonnie Fisher at 304-293-4611 or Bonnie.Fisher@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

lp/10/19/09

CONTACT: Rebecca Herod, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
304-293-7405, ext. 5251, Rebecca.Herod@mail.wvu.edu