West Virginia University Student Affairs is proud to announce the recipients of the 2011 Hall of Fame and Outstanding Achievement Award at an induction ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 in the Mountainlair Ballrooms.

The Student Affairs Outstanding Achievement Award will be presented to Garrett Ford. The 2011 Student Affairs Hall of Fame award will be presented to Kenton Colvin, Marion “Mun” Kostka and Carolyn McDaniel.

Student Affairs Outstanding Achievement Award

Garrett Ford was responsible for providing educational guidance to thousands of male and female WVU student-athletes and monitoring their academic progress.

Ford was involved with career and personal counseling of WVU’s student-athletes and worked with the certification of athletic eligibility. He was responsible for all areas of academics as WVU athletes worked toward their goal of graduation and was instrumental in the development of such projects as the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll, the newly retooled Athletic Academic Performance Center in the WVU Coliseum and the Milan Puskar Center study area. In addition, Ford helped former athletes return to school to complete their degrees.

He began to work at WVU in 1970 as an assistant football coach for the legendary Bobby Bowden. He was named academic counselor in 1977 and assistant athletic director in 1985.

Ford received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from WVU in 1969 and earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from WVU in 1973.

A relatable role model for all Mountaineer student-athletes, Ford was an outstanding running back for WVU in the mid-1960s. His 1965 record for most all-purpose yards in a WVU game (356 yards) still stands as the top Mountaineer mark. Additionally, Ford holds WVU’s eighth-best non-touchdown run from scrimmage (67 yards), ninth-most career rushing attempts (453) and fourth-best freshman rushing season (148 carries for 733 yards).

Ford was inducted into the WVU Hall of Fame in 1995 and into the School of Physical Education Hall of Fame in 2004.Dr.

Student Affairs Hall of Fame

Kenton Colvin received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from WVU in 1967 and a Master’s of Science degree in industrial and systems engineering from Ohio University in 1971.

After a 26 year successful career in manufacturing management, he became assistant director of admissions and records/administration in July 1993. The highlight of his career at WVU was serving as the director of the four-year Banner/STAR Student Information System Implementation Team. Under his direction, the team successfully implemented the new STAR System which was operational for the fall 1997 semester. STAR currently serves as an integrated student information system for recruitment, student registration, admissions, records, housing, financial aid and student accounts. He then served three years as assistant director of student systems development.

In June 2000, Colvin became the interim assistant director of Student Affairs business operations overseeing payroll and human resources. In January 2001, he moved back to Admissions and Records as assistant director. He supervised the supplying of student data, application data entry and student withdrawals. He received great satisfaction helping students and parents during the withdrawal process. He enjoyed giving campus tours to students and parents during Student Orientation. In July 2009, he served as assistant registrar for academic services in the Office of the University Registrar until he retired at the end in February.

Also, in January 2000, Colvin became an adjunct professor in the Industrial and systems engineering department. After his retirement, Colvin continues to teach courses and enjoys the interaction with students.

Marion “Mun” Kostka came to WVU from Weirton as a freshman in 1963. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education and had begun a Master’s in counseling when the Vietnam War draft interrupted his education.

Returning to WVU after discharge, Kostka was awarded a graduate assistantship with the University’s Counseling Service, now the Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services. After he completed his Doctorate of Education, the Counseling Service hired Kostka on the spot. Since then, thousands of students, faculty and colleagues have benefited from his professional skills and personal warmth.

In the nearly 40 years with the Carruth Center, Kostka’s name became synonymous with student service, collegial support and professional mentoring. He provided counseling to innumerable students and supervised hundreds of graduate assistants, contributing to the center’s reputation as one of the best in the region. In response to ever-changing student needs, Kostka created and ran dozens of programs.

In addition to working with WVU’s students, Kostka befriended and encouraged many University professionals. He coordinated the nationally recognized WVU Hypnosis Training Workshop for more than 25 years in cooperation with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and the Erickson Foundation. The Foundation has recognized Kostka as a Contributor of Note for his work in training health professionals in therapeutic hypnosis.

Although retired, Kostka continues to support graduate students at the Carruth Center as an emeritus “Senior Mountaineer” and to participate in a program that welcomes military veterans returning to campus life.

Carolyn McDaniel, a 1972 Fairmont State College graduate, began her career at WVU in the biology department in 1973 after a stint in the private sector. Before the first PRT car moved, she became the system’s first business manager in 1976.

She began a 10-year term in public television in 1986 as finance and personnel director for the newly created WNPB-TV. While there, she oversaw and helped develop the station’s first automated accounting system and successfully led the station’s first external audit.

In 1996, McDaniel returned to WVU as the first Mountaineer Card manager and later Student Affairs business office assistant director. She developed and oversaw the first issuance of the Mountaineer Card, which combined the student ID, PRT, library and meal card. Incoming freshmen over the years knew her as “the card lady.”

She helped develop and expand the card’s Mountie Bounty debit card services to University computer printing and copying throughout the institution, extended those services to Potomac State and WVU Institute of Technology, established vending services such as the snack machines in buildings and athletic venues to work with Mountie Bounty and worked with off-campus businesses and services such as MountainLine to establish Mountaineer Card acceptance.

In addition to overseeing operation and maintenance of software/hardware systems necessary for card production and use over the years, she led the installation of WVU’s first electronic door lock program on WVU’s campuses. Her team was successful in bringing leading edge vendor technology, such as hand geometry readers and others, to WVU.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Sonja Wilson, Mountainlair
304-293-2702, Sonja.Wilson@mail.wvu.edu

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