Rebecca Clingan credits her successful career to her time spent at West Virginia University and is giving back to her alma mater with a $25,000 gift that will enhance learning opportunities for students.

Clingan, of Millersville, Md., graduated from the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and accepted a position with the U.S. Department of Defense as a mathematician immediately after graduation. After working there for almost 10 years, she took a job with Oracle, a computer technology corporation where she was the lead database designer on several large-scale projects for state governments and the DOD.

A few years later, the opportunity presented itself for Clingan to start a business. Working with a business partner, she founded Nanavati Consulting, Inc., a company that caters to federal, state and local governments as well as the DOD and private industries. This company has expanded and become very successful since its creation 13 years ago.

“I credit a great deal of my success to my time at WVU,” said Clingan.”I learned to be very independent and self-sufficient while in Morgantown, and those skills help me every day to be the best consultant, parent and partner I can be. I chose to give back to WVU because I want every student to have the opportunity to achieve all of their goals, learn to be independent, and become a success in their chosen field.”

The Rebecca Clingan Academic Enrichment Fund will provide undergraduate students from the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences opportunities to enhance their academic experience, including support for research projects, conferences, internships, study abroad and public service work.

“The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences thanks Ms. Clingan for her gift, as it demonstrates the commitment our alumni have for enriching the lives of our students,” said Drew Chelosky, assistant dean of development for Eberly. “The academic enrichment fund will help to enhance the quality of education students receive while also increasing the value of a WVU degree.”

The gift was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $750 million comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2015.

-WVU-

ab/11/22/13

CONTACT: Bill Nevin, WVU Foundation
304-284-4056; wnevin@wvuf.org

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.