The West Virginia University Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2013 Outstanding Philanthropy awards.
The awards, first presented in 2005, were established to honor donors who display exceptional generosity, commitment, leadership and proven records of outstanding civic and charitable devotion to WVU.
“We salute our honorees for their willingness to give to our University in so many ways from financial and in-kind support, to time, effort and expertise,” said Wayne King, president and CEO of the WVU Foundation. “Our award winners this year are truly game-changers. WVU is a better place as a result of their generosity and commitment.”
This year’s recipients are Robert and Laura Reynolds, Milan Puskar Outstanding Philanthropists; Douglas Van Scoy, Outstanding Volunteer Philanthropist; Carl DelSignore Foundation, Hazel Ruby McQuain Outstanding Philanthropic Foundation; and BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company, Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation.
Robert and Laura Reynolds
Bob and Laura Reynolds are being honored for their history of generosity and leadership at WVU.
In 2011, the couple made a $1 million commitment to the new 64,000-square-foot basketball practice facility to support the continued growth of WVU basketball.
Four years prior, they gave a $1.25 million gift for renovations at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Reynolds Family Academic Performance Center, which is more than five times the size of the old study center, occupies nearly 5,600 square feet on the upper floor of the Puskar Center. The Reynolds Family Academic Performance Center enhances WVU’s commitment to academic excellence and the well-rounded student-athlete, as well as serving as a key recruiting tool for prospective Mountaineers.
A native of Clarksburg, W.Va., Mr. Reynolds is president and CEO of Putnam Investments. Prior to joining Putnam in 2008, he was vice chairman and COO of Fidelity Investments. He graduated from the WVU College of Business and Economics in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, majoring in finance. He later received an honorary doctorate in business administration from his alma mater.
Mr. Reynolds is currently chairman of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors. He serves as co-chair of the national campaign committee for “A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University,” and as a member of the College of Business & Economics’ campaign committee.
Mrs. Reynolds graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in psychology and earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Auburn University. She entered the financial services industry where she worked for 15 years with various firms including T. Rowe Price and Dewey Square Investment Advisors of Boston. When their son, Will, was born, she turned her energies to family and an active volunteer life.
Mrs. Reynolds is a member of the board of directors at the Boys and Girls Clubs’ of Boston, a member of the board of trustees at the Fenn School for Boys in Concord and the Nantucket Historical Association. She has been president of the Concord Museum Board of Trustees, a member of the task force for the Lahey Clinic’s Women’s Health Initiative Leadership Council, and corporator for Emerson Hospital of Concord.
Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are members of the Woodburn Circle Society and Old Gold Life Members of the WVU Alumni Association.
The Reynoldses live in Concord, Mass.
Douglas Van Scoy
Doug Van Scoy is being honored for his commitment and generosity to the University.
Van Scoy graduated from WVU in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree from the College of Business and Economics and went on to earn his master’s degree from the College in 1968.
In 1969, he started his investment career as a financial consultant in Baltimore. In 1974, he went to work for the investment firm of Smith Barney until his retirement in 2001. During that period he held various positions including deputy director and senior executive vice president.
Van Scoy is founder and partner of Pit Partners, a hospitality business in South Carolina, where he and his partners own and operate several restaurants. He is also a partner in several restaurants located in Morgantown.
In 2010, Van Scoy and a business partner opened Taziki’s Mediterranean Caf� in the WVU Mountainlair. The restaurant serves as a training lab for the business school’s Hospitality & Tourism program.
In 2012, Mr. Van Scoy and his wife, Pam, made a $1.5 million commitment to the College of Business and Economics to fund the WVU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Hospitality & Tourism Program, and the B&E Dean’s Discretionary Fund.
In addition to monetary donations, Van Scoy has contributed his time, connections and vast knowledge of the business world to WVU. He is a member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors, and has played a key role in the “A State of Minds” comprehensive campaign, serving as chair of the southeast region as well as chair of the College of Business and Economics’ campaign committee.
Van Scoy is a member of the Woodburn Circle Society, the Irvin Stewart Society, and the All American Society. In 2011, he was inducted into the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame. He was named Most Loyal Alumni Mountaineer in 2012, and was inducted into the Business and Economics Academy of Distinguished Alumni that same year. He is an Old Gold Life Member of the WVU Alumni Association, and has served on its board of directors.
The Van Scoys live in Sullivan’s Island, S.C.
Carl DelSignore Foundation
As part of his estate, Buffalo Coal Company executive Carl DelSignore established the Carl DelSignore Foundation. Since its inception, the Foundation has faithfully supported residents in communities in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia and western Maryland.
The Foundation’s first major gifts to WVU came in 1989 and 1990 with the establishment of a fund for pulmonary care. This designation was based on DelSignore’s reliance upon WVU physicians to care for him. The fund supports continuing research in compliance measurement of patients with lupus and pulmonary immunologic abnormalities in coal miners.
The WVU Foundation is consistently the largest single beneficiary of the Foundation’s funding through the non-endowed scholarship program to support children and grandchildren of Buffalo Coal Company employees. The Carl DelSignore Memorial Scholarship was established in 2001 with an initial gift of $69,000. The scholarship continues to support dependents of Buffalo Coal employees who worked for the company during the time that DelSignore and his family were owners.
In addition to the Carl DelSignore Memorial Scholarship, the Foundation pledged $50,000 in 2008 to establish the Carl DelSignore Foundation Graduate Fellowship. This gift was one of the first to be eligible for state Research Trust Fund matching. The Foundation typically also makes an additional unrestricted gift each year to WVU.
To date, the Carl DelSignore Foundation has donated nearly $850,000 to WVU for scholarships and programs. The Foundation demonstrates a dedication to serve the sons and daughters of its community and to protect the health of the local workforce.
BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company
BrickStreet is being honored for its charitable giving to WVU and commitment to enhance the state of West Virginia for its citizens and visitors.
BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Company began its historic role as West Virginia’s first private workers’ compensation carrier on January 1, 2006. BrickStreet is a mutual company owned by its policyholders and is among the largest writers of workers’ compensation coverage in the nation. The company carries half of the worker’s compensation policies in the state of West Virginia.
Earlier this year, BrickStreet, through its foundation, donated $3 million to WVU to establish the BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the College of Business and Economics. This is the largest corporate donation ever received by the College. Additionally, BrickStreet donated $1 million to WVU’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics for improvements to athletic facilities for student-athletes.
In 2008, the company established the BrickStreet Neurology Fellowship to demonstrate its commitment to the betterment of WVU and the state of West Virginia.
BrickStreet’s philanthropic vision is not limited to WVU. In January 2013, BrickStreet provided $2.5 million to establish a research endowment at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. The company also donated a new scoreboard for Fairmont State University’s football team in the fall of 2012.
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CONTACT: Bill Nevin, WVU Foundation
304-284-4056; WNevin@wvuf.org
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