Gee
MORGANTOWN -- E. Gordon Gee, the former West Virginia president and law dean who helped grow the University during his tenure, will deliver the Edward G. Donley Memorial Lecture this week at the College of Law.
Gee, who is now chancellor at Tennessee's Vanderbilt University, will speak at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, in the Lugar Courtroom.
Gee was WVU president from 1981-85. According to a press release, Gee, during his tenure at WVU:
* successfully divested WVU Hospitals, allowing that entity to survive and thrive;
* created the WVU Research Corp., which has fostered the growth of research efforts on campus;
* restructured the WVU Foundation Inc., the University's fundraising arm; and
* oversaw the construction of the Business and Economics and College of Mineral and Energy Resources (COMER) buildings.
Gee was also dean of the College of Law from 1979-81, and his colleague, current dean John Fisher, said the lecture will make for a nice homecoming.
"We are extremely pleased that Chancellor Gee is coming here to speak and returning to our College of Law," Fisher said. "It's been 25 years since he has been here as our dean, and we are looking forward to his visit."
Gee has also held university presidencies at the University of Colorado at Boulder (1985-90); Ohio State University (1990-98); and Brown University (1998-2000). He assumed Vanderbilt's top post in 2000.
He earned dual degrees in law and education from Columbia University. He was a judicial fellow and senior staff assistant to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren Berger. He belongs to numerous outreach groups and philanthropic organizations across the country.
In 1997, he delivered keynote remarks and was awarded an honorary degree during WVU's 128th Commencement.
The Edward G. Donley Memorial Lectures are conducted annually under the direction of WVU law faculty and bring to the University distinguished legal professionals to lecture in a field of current interest and development in the law.
Donley, an 1899 graduate of the College of Law, practiced in Morgantown from the date of his graduation until his passing in 1952.
The lectures are made possible by his late wife, Eleanor, and late son, Robert T. Donley, with a trust now administered by the WVU Foundation Inc.