2005 Recipients

• Bonnie L. Yegidis
  Provost, Florida Gulf Coast University
  
  The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to honor Dr. Bonnie L. Yegidis with the College’s Alumni Recognition Award for 2005.
  Dr. Yegidis graduated from West Virginia University in 1976 with a Master’s of Social Work. Upon receiving her doctorate in social work from the University of South Florida in 1983, she spent three decades in academia. Dr. Yegidis is also an accomplished author, having cowritten four text books, and contributed chapters to eight books, as well as having produced numerous conference papers and book reviews, and articles published in peer reviewed journals. She has also edited three professional journals. Her book, Research Methods in Social Work, is widely used by social work faculty at West Virginia University and in other universities around the nation.
  Dr. Yegidis began her teaching career in 1976 at Fairmont State College. She moved backed to Florida in 1977 in order to join the faculty of the University of South Florida in Tampa. Her positions there included faculty assistant to the president, director of the School of Social Work, chair of the Department of Social Work, director of the Bachelor of Social Work program and professor. In 1995, Dr. Yegidis went to the University of Georgia, where she was dean and professor in the School of Social Work, and a full member of the graduate faculty. She went on to become the associate vice president and associate provost at the University of Georgia. In 2004, Dr. Yegidis accepted the position of Provost at Florida Gulf Coast University.
  Among her many other accomplishments, Dr. Yegidis was designated a “Master Teacher” in the area of research methods by the Council on Social Work Education. In 1998, she was named the Social Worker of the Year by the Georgia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Dr. Yegidis has been very active in the development and promotion of social work education at the national level. She has twice served as a member of the Educational Policy Commission and the Commission on the Role and Status of Women for the Council on Social Work Education.
  The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences salutes Dr. Bonnie Yegidis for her lifelong dedication to developing, promoting, and teaching within the field of social work. She has made valuable and lasting contributions to her field at the local and national levels.



• A. L. Emch
  Chief Executive Officer, Jackson Kelly PLLC
  
  The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to honor Alvin L. Emch with the College's Alumni Recognition Award for 2005. Mr. Emch graduated from West Virginia University in 1969 with a BA. in English Literature and a minor in history. Upon receiving his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1977, Mr. Emch returned to his home state to begin practicing law. His career at Jackson Kelly has spanned 27 years. In January 2002, he became the Chief Executive Officer of the firm, having previously held positions as the Administrative Manager of the Litigation Department, a member of the Executive Committee, and an Assistant Managing Member.
  In 1987, Mr. Emch, along with then-Chief US District Court Judge Robert Maxwell, planned, organized, and implemented the first district-wide mediation program in a United Stares District Court, a program that continues to this day. He has served frequently as a mediator in matters pending before courts and administrative tribunals. Mr. Emch was a member of the three-person committee that drafted the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in 1994, and later chaired the committee that revised the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure from 1996 to 1998.
  Among other honors, Mr. Emch is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an Associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a Permanent Member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America and America's Leading Lawyers, illustrating his distinguished career.
  Mr. Emch also dedicated many years to serving his country. He is a veteran of American military service in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, and has served as a pilot in the United States Air Force and West Virginia Air National Guard for more than 23 years. Mr. Emch retired from the National Guard in 1994 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In addition, he has remained connected to West Virginia University by returning to the Department of English to speak to current majors about his interests and his profession.
  The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences salutes A. L. Emch for his lifelong dedication to learning, civic involvement, and public service. He has made several important and lasting contributions to his field and the state of West Virginia through a wide and consistent involvement in the legal world.



• Richard M. Adams
  Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
  United Bankshares, Inc. and United Bank
  
  The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to honor Richard M. Adams with the College’s Alumni Recognition Award for 2005.
  Mr. Adams graduated from West Virginia University in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Upon receiving a Master’s degree from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University in 1973, Mr. Adams began his banking career at Wachovia Bank and Trust in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Later that year, he returned to his Mountain State roots to join Parkersburg National Bank, where his father had served as president since 1965. He began as an assistant cashier and manager of the credit card department. Mr. Adams spent the next few years advancing up through the bank’s hierarchy, and achieved the position of executive vice president in 1975.
  In 1976, Mr. Adams was named president of the Parkersburg National Bank, which at the time was a community bank with $100 million in assets. The Parkersburg National Bank is now known as United Bank, one of the two banking subsidiaries owned by United Bankshares Inc., the largest bank holding company headquartered in West Virginia and the only corporation listed among the Forbes 500 that is located in the Mountain State.
  Among his many awards and accomplishments, Mr. Adams earned an Ernst & Young special Lifetime Achievement Award, was honored as the recipient of the West Virginia Banker of the Year, the Who’s Who in West Virginia Business Award, and has been recognized as Boss of the Year by the Parkersburg Area Jaycees, and as Citizen of the Year by the YMCA. In 2002, he was inducted into the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame. In 2004, Mr. Adams was named to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.
  In addition to his work on numerous boards and professional organizations, Mr. Adams is an active participant in charitable organizations. He worked with the West Virginia Kids Count Endowment Fund, served as chair of the Salvation Army’s building campaign, and founded the Kids Count Golf Tournament which aids the Boys and Girls Club of Parkersburg.
  The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences salutes Richard Adams for his visionary business techniques which have shaped the West Virginia business economy, for his compassionate involvement in his community, and for his commitment to the future of higher education in the State of West Virginia.


• Jon L. Jordan
  Federal Air Surgeon (retired)
  Federal Aviation Administration