Arthur Weisberg Family Engineering Laboratories

The plaque on the wall behind the students is in honor of Arthur and Joan Weisberg. It consists of the picture shown below, a brief biography of Arthur and Joan Weisberg and a tribute by Marshall University's President Stephen Kopp, Ph.D.

Arthur and Joan Meyer Weisberg

Art and Joan Weisberg founded State Electric Supply Company in Huntington in 1952. Art, with his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from City College of New York, began selling light bulbs, extension cords and fuses out of the back of his truck to grocery and hardware stores. Today, State Electric has grown to 41 branches in five states. In 1968, Art and Joan established Service Wire Company, a specialty wire fabrication company that today serves customers throughout the world. Joan, who earned her Bachelor of Science degree from The Ohio State University, is also owner and manager of Twelve-O-Six Virginia, Inc., a real estate holding company in Huntington.

Art and Joan have been honored for their creativity, vision, entrepreneurial spirit and philanthropy. Art received the Charles D. Scott Distinguished Career Award in 1994 for service to the American wire industry, was named ‘Citizen of the Year” by the Herald-Dispatch in 1995, and was inducted into the City of Huntington Wall of Fame in 1995. Together, Art and Joan were elected to the Marshall University Business Hall of Fame in 1996, were elected West Virginia Area Master Entrepreneurs of the Year in 1998, and received the highest Marshall University honor in 2008 when each were bestowed with honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees.

Joan and Art are committed to bettering communities through public service and philanthropy in Huntington and Charleston, West Virginia and in the State of Israel. For many years they have been major contributors to Marshall, including their dedication and support of the Arthur and Joan Weisberg Chairs in Software Engineering and the Arthur and Joan Weisberg Division of Engineering and Computer Science. In recognition of their enduring commitment to Marshall University, Art and Joan Weisberg are hereby honored and recognized with the naming of the Arthur Weisberg Family Engineering Laboratories.

Marshall University

"Art and Joan Weisberg long ago recognized the importance of engineering education and creating, developing, and advancing an educated workforce in Huntington and West Virginia. They understood, as well as anyone, how important education, and especially higher education, can be in the lives and futures of people. Education is the gateway to abundant opportunity. Without it, horizons become very limited and opportunities very sparse. Art and Joan have transformed their believe structure, their passion for education, in to action to create a very tangible benefit for the lives of future generations of Marshall University students. Their generosity has created a legacy that will enable us to realize the incalculable, positive impact that future engineers educated at Marshall University will have on our state and region."
Stephen J. Kopp, Ph. D.
President, Marshall University