FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, Nov. 5, 2007
Contact: Dave Wellman, Director of Communications (304) 696-7153
 

Honoring of Mary and Churchill Hodges among special events
this week involving Marshall University Libraries

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Two events and one honor involving the Marshall University Libraries are making news this week.

Here is a brief look at each event or accomplishment:

Mary and Churchill Hodges to be honored: The Marshall University Foundation, Inc. is hosting a High Tea in honor of Huntington natives Mary and Churchill Hodges from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 in the third-floor atrium of the Drinko Library on Marshall’s Huntington campus.

The High Tea will celebrate a recent gift of $15,000 from the Hodges to the Marshall University Libraries in the form of an endowed fund known as the Mary H. and J. Churchill Hodges Library Endowment.

The Library Endowment will benefit the Library Associates’ fund, which is used to supplement the libraries’ book and journal budget and to provide book- and author-related social and cultural opportunities for the Tri-State region.  This annual giving fund will now have added stability because earnings from the endowment will boost the fund on a regular basis.

The Hodges are long-standing major contributors to Marshall University. Their generosity has supported many areas including the academic and athletic scholarships, including the J. Churchill Hodges Summer Scholars, the library, the Geography Department GIS Laboratory, the President’s home and the Erickson Alumni Center.

The Hodges’ contributions to science were recently honored and recognized with the naming of the Mary H. and J. Churchill Hodges Biotechnology Capstone Research Laboratory in the new Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center.

The Hodges are natives of Huntington and are Marshall alumni. Mary attended Marshall in 1950 and 1951, and Churchill earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948 and Master of Arts in 1953.

For more information about the Mary H. and J. Churchill Hodges Library Endowment, contact Barbara Winters, dean of Marshall University Libraries, at (304) 696-2318.

Marshall Libraries to unveil restored centennial mural panels: Restoration of the final two panels of the mural painted during the celebration of the Marshall University Centennial in 1937 by MU faculty member Marion Vest Fors is complete and the panels are ready to be unveiled, according to the Marshall University Library Associates.

A reception to celebrate the unveiling will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11 in the Hoffman Conference Room, which is located on the second floor of the Morrow Library on the Huntington campus.

The three murals were dedicated and hung in the reading room of the Morrow Library in 1937 during Marshall’s centennial celebration.  The three panels, chronicling Marshall and West Virginia history, are entitled Marshall University, West Virginia Literature and American Literature. 

The paintings were removed and placed into storage during a renovation of the Morrow building in the 1960s. Although the paintings were in safe cold storage, it was discovered by library staff that they had deteriorated somewhat. This prompted the need for a comprehensive restoration of the panels. 

The first of the three panels was restored and unveiled to the public in May 2005, with Mrs. Helen Chambers Hensley (model for the Marshall University Alma Mater) in attendance.

Mrs. Hensley also plans to attend the Nov. 11 unveiling, as do Mrs. Fors’ two children, Jack Fors and Peggy Fors Grimes. Fine Arts Conservator Michael Ruzga, who completed the delicate restoration work, also is scheduled to attend. 

Parking will be available on the 3^rd Avenue parking lot directly across from the Morrow Library, and a golf cart will be provided to transport guests with mobility problems to the Morrow Library building.

For more information, contact Winters at (304) 696-2318.

Patsy Stephenson receives award: Patsy Stephenson, a library associate with the Marshall University Libraries, was awarded the West Virginia Library Association (WVLA) Certificate of Merit for 2007, according to Winters.

Stephenson, a 25-year Marshall library employee, received the award at the WVLA’s Fall Conference in October at the Lakeview Country Club in Morgantown. Winters said Stephenson was given the award in honor of her hard work with WVLA marketing efforts.

“One of the highlights of each WVLA conference is the recognition of constructive accomplishments and meritorious achievement of groups and individuals in West Virginia library service,” Winters said. “We at Marshall University Libraries are proud that Patsy Stephenson was chosen by the WVLA Resolutions and Awards Committee to receive her Certificate of Merit, given in recognition of her longstanding efforts to market WVLA services and messages to libraries in communities across West Virginia.”

Linda Blake, Electronic Journals Coordinator at West Virginia University, nominated Stephenson for the award. 

Stephenson began working full time at Marshall in April 1982 at the circulation desk, and in 1984 joined the cataloging staff where she serves today. She graduated from Marshall in May 2007 with a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree. Stephenson plans to continue her education, and wants to pursue a degree in Library and Informational Sciences online.

Stephenson began working with the West Virginia Library Association in 1999 and started working with the WVLA Marketing Committee in 2000. 

As a member of the WVLA Marketing Committee, Stephenson travels throughout West Virginia selling items for WVLA to help support conference speakers and workshops. 

“Being a part of the West Virginia Library Association has encouraged me to be stronger in self confidence, and I’ve met and worked with library professionals from all over West Virginia,” Stephenson said.  “Working with the WVLA has given me a strong understanding of the importance of libraries and the people who are dedicated to the enhancement of education. It is awesome to be apart of this working group of people.”

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