Alumni establish science and engineering scholarships for West Virginia students

Alumni Barbe and Charles Meredith have established a scholarship with preference for West Virginia students.

Future students in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will benefit from an endowed scholarship created by a generous estate gift from West Virginia University alumni Charlie and Barbe Meredith.

By Olivia Miller
Communications Specialist

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

The Charles E. and Barbara R. Meredith Scholarship will recognize rising full-time sophomores, juniors and seniors within the Statler and Eberly Colleges who have maintained a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Preference will be given to West Virginia residents.

The Merediths, both West Virginia natives, hope their funds will propel West Virginia students forward in the science fields, specifically engineering. Neither of them studied engineering, but they see a need to support future engineers and scientists in West Virginia and the United States.

“Our degrees did well by us, but our country is running behind many others in producing engineers and scientists,” Charlie Meredith said. “If we are going to keep up and hold our place in the world, we are going to need huge numbers of them. We want to do something that would have a lasting effect.”

Barbe Meredith said they are looking forward to helping West Virginians through the endowment.

“We knew we could leave enough added income for our kids throughout their lives and then we thought, let’s put the capital back to nourish our roots,” she said. “We’re hoping we can make an impact, and help West Virginia students, even when we’re no longer around.”

Charlie Meredith is a 1954 graduate of the College of Business and Economics and Barbe Meredith, a 1955 graduate of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. The two of them met on Halloween of 1952 at a WVU Wesley Foundation dance.

After graduating, Charlie Meredith spent 17 months in Korea in the Army, and upon returning to the U.S., started a career with Western Electric in Chicago. Barbe also worked with Western Electric before having the first of their two children, Steven and Deborah.

Charlie Meredith retired from Western Electric as a supervisor in material management and has spent time in his retirement teaching ski lessons at Eldora Mountain Resort, Colorado.

The Merediths currently reside in Boulder, Colorado as “born again natives,” and enjoy traveling and biking, riding 4,000 to 6,000 miles per year including those on their tandem bicycle. The couple will celebrate 63 joyful years of marriage this October.

The gift from Charles E. and Barbara R. Meredith was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University . The $1 billion fundraising effort by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December.

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