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Charles T. Jones, president and CEO of Amherst Industries, is pictured during his induction into the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame at The Greenbrier earlier this year.

The West Virginia University College of Business and Economics has confirmed the fifth and final inductee into its renowned B&E Roll of Distinguished Alumni during WVU Homecoming Weekend. A total of five WVU business school graduates will be inducted during a ceremony and celebratory luncheon on Friday, October 13, at 11:30 a.m. at the Erickson Alumni Center in Morgantown.

When it comes to the Mountain State and West Virginia University, you could say Gary LeDonne has come full circle. Growing up in Fairmont, West Virginia, he earned his undergraduate degree in accounting from Fairmont State University and then went on to earn his Master of Professional Accountancy (now known as the Master of Accountancy or MAcc) in 1985 at the WVU College of Business and Economics.

After graduation, he stepped out of West Virginia and into a 30-year-long career with one of the Big Four accounting firms, then Ernst & Whinney (which became Ernst & Young and eventually its current name of EY), which took him to many different areas of the country.

The week of events included a gathering for cake and punch, a jumpstart breakfast for students, a giveaway booth at the B&E Career Fair and an ice cream social, all leading up to the main event – the “Tastes From B&E” Tailgate Celebration.

In a time when national trends have seen dips in college-going students, universities and colleges — and business schools — across the country have felt that shockwave.

But thanks to an assertive philosophy and some changes in undergraduate recruiting policies, the WVU College of Business and Economics experienced a substantial uptick in new freshmen for the start of the Fall 2017 semester.

Stephen He’s childhood dream was to be a scientist and today, as an assistant professor of marketing at the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics, he has made that dream come true. As a researcher with work in top marketing journals in the marketing field, He is pushing the boundaries of the field with his cutting-edge research and creating value for human knowledge.

He was born and raised in the metropolis of Shanghai, China. When he moved to the United States after earning an undergraduate degree in business administration at Fudan University in Shanghai, the digital marketing guru landed in another populous area, Atlanta, Georgia. And after earning his Ph.D. at the Georgia Institute for Technology, he took off for the Big Apple to start his career in academia at Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York. 

Last month, the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics partnered with WVU’s Extension Service 4-H unit to host 20 high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from around the West Virginia and the local region at the inaugural Summer Youth Business Camp.

Social media is an integral part of the communications plan for the WVU College of Business and Economics, and that commitment to engagement with critical audiences has fueled two new landmark records for the business school.

On August 15, B&E’s @wvucobe Twitter account topped 5,000 followers, a major milestone for the College. In late spring, B&E also surpassed 1,000 followers on Instagram.

While campus is not jam packed with students this summer, the hustle and bustle has not ceased for students, faculty and staff at the WVU College of Business and Economics. B&E folks are catalyzing – striving to build new skills and continuing to transform the business landscape as we head into the Fall 2017 semester.

As summer passes by, you probably won’t find Dr. Jodi Goodman in the classroom. But you can certainly find the WVU College of Business and Economics professor of management transforming the field as she works on her research.