ALUMNI “WALL OF HONOR” The West Liberty University Alumni Board of Directors instituted a project in 1990 to demonstrate to current students, visitors, and friends that the college has some very successful graduates. This project, known as the “Alumni Wall of Honor,” is a dramatic way to honor some of the college’s most distinguished alumni and display pride in the accomplishments of its graduates. The concept was suggested by then Associate Professor of Physics Robert W. Schramm, who is a 1958 graduate of the college and a 2002 Alumni Wall of Honor inductee. The Alumni Wall of Honor is housed in the south end of the Union known as the Alumni Lounge.
Maria Pappas
Inducted 2001A psychologist, lawyer and public official, Maria Pappas, was elected treasurer of Cook County, Illinois, in 1998, after two four-year terms as county commissioner. She reformed the Treasurer’s Office of the nation’s second largest county with typical speed, raising interest earnings eight times, an now manages a $12 billion budget. The granddaughter of Greek immigrants, she grew up in Warwood, West Virginia, where she was an honor-roll student who played the clarinet and piano, and twirled the baton at championship speed. It was at West Liberty State College in 1970 that she earned the first of her four degrees – a bachelor’s in sociology. She did it in three years while working three jobs. Next Pappas earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from West Virginia State University in 1972, then, in 1976, a Ph.D. in counseling and psychology from Loyola University in Chicago. She received four scholarships over the course of her education. Helping those with internal struggles was a passion, but the rigor of the law also drew her. In 1982, while practicing psychology, she earned a degree from Kent College of Law in Chicago. After graduating from West Liberty State College and while earning her additional degrees, she also taught and lectured in eight foreign countries.