Students in West Virginia University’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources and the College of Education and Human Services will benefit from a $330,000 donation from alumni Robert “Bob” Orders, Jr. and his wife, Ann.
The Charleston couple is creating the Bob and Ann Orders Civil Engineering Scholarship and the Ann and Bob Orders STEM Teaching Scholarship in the colleges where they earned degrees.
“Ann and I have been blessed in this life, in large part due to a great education foundation from West Virginia University,” Bob Orders said. “It is our hope that these scholarships will provide worthy students with assistance in achieving their degrees and finding their dreams.”
The engineering endowment will provide one or more two-year scholarships annually to students of junior status from West Virginia majoring in civil engineering.
“Bob Orders is a perfect example of someone who has given back to his alma mater and his home state through his business endeavors, his time and his financial resources,” said Gene Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler College. “We are very proud to count Bob among our distinguished alumni and greatly appreciate his and Ann’s generous scholarship support. It will help talented students in civil engineering complete their degrees and prepare for similarly successful careers.”
The teaching endowment will provide one or more two-year scholarships annually to fourth year students from West Virginia enrolled in the Benedum teaching training program. Recipients must have a concentration of studies leading to a science, technology, engineering or mathematics related degree or certification at the middle school and/or high school levels.
“We are honored and grateful that the Orders have chosen to support our future STEM educators in this generous way,” said Lynne Schrum, dean of the College of Education and Human Services. “The students who are recipients will be delighted to learn about these two exemplars; they represent the best of Mountaineer spirit.”
Bob Orders graduated from WVU in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He is president of Orders Construction Co. Inc., a highway, utility and industrial construction company with operations in West Virginia and Virginia, and currently serves on the board of directors of the WVU Foundation.
Ann Orders also graduated from WVU in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in human resources/education.
The Orders’ gift was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $750 million comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2015.
