POSTED: Sept. 21, 2012 – Hundreds of West Liberty University students will benefit from a recent $75,000 gift from the Bordas and Bordas law firm of Wheeling.
From left: standing just behind Jamie and James Bordas are some of the journalism students who will benefit from their recent gift, Emily Unnone, Jake Flatley, Kelsey Kolinski, Kirstie Kalany, WLU-TV Director Theresa Gretchen, Danielle Zacherl, Austin Wright, John Renforth, Kayla Stickley and WLU-TV producer Jared Thompson.
“We are grateful to Jamie Bordas and appreciate his willingness to support higher education at West Liberty University. This money will greatly enhance our journalism and communications department and give our students an edge as they prepare for their professional careers. The students are very excited to work with the new technology that this gift is funding,” said Jason Koegler, WLU vice president of institutional advancement.
“We are pleased to partner with West Liberty University and to help students to develop their skills in broadcasting. Bordas and Bordas knows the value of college and the expense involved in providing students with up-to-date programs and technology and we want to support this work and the Ohio Valley community,” said Jamie Bordas, a partner in the firm, which has offices in both Wheeling and St. Clairsville, Ohio.
The Bordas and Bordas gift has already provided West Liberty with two new high definition cameras that will be put to use for the first time, this Saturday during the 1 p.m. football game when WLU Hilltoppers take on Fairmont State University at Fairmont. The resulting film will air (tape delay) at 10 p.m., Saturday on WLU-TV14.
“The ability to use these state-of-the-art cameras and gain hands-on work experience is invaluable to our broadcast students,” said Theresa Gretchen, executive director of WLU-TV14. The two high definition studio configured cameras offer real world experience.
Bordas and Bordas also will host a 30-minute talk show, “Bordas and Bordas Legal Review,” on a weekly basis that will focus on today’s legal issues. This new show will debut Monday, Sept. 24.
“I’m very happy to work with the students and the WLU broadcast program. It is our hope that our talk show will give the students a chance to practice their skills and add to their journalism experience,” said Bordas, who was a sports editor for the University of Notre Dame yearbook, while he was in college. Currently, 125 students and 26 crew members are active in the WLU broadcasting studios, which develop and produce more than 12 television shows weekly that are seen on Comcast Cable Channel 14. In addition, WLU-TV14 is streamed live via Flash technologies and the Internet to an unlimited number of viewers, which reaches 100,000 homes everyday.
WLU’s College of Arts and Communications is composed of the department of journalism, communication studies, visual arts and the department of music and theatre. West Liberty University is a forward-looking, four-year public university steeped in a rich heritage as West Virginia’s oldest institution of higher education. Led by President Robin C. Capehart, West Liberty is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. For more information, please visit westliberty.edu or call 1.866.WESTLIB.