Contact: Jack Bailey (304) 766-4109 jbaile19@wvstateu.edu

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Dr. Brian O. Hemphill will be inaugurated as the 10th president of West Virginia State University (WVSU) on Saturday, Sept. 21, during an investiture ceremony beginning at 9 a.m. in the P. Ahmed Williams Auditorium of Ferrell Hall.
“On behalf of the State family, we look forward to welcoming past, present and future Yellow Jackets to campus to honor President Hemphill and the excitement his visionary leadership has brought, and will continue to bring,” said Ashley Schumaker, WVSU chief of staff and co-chair of the Inauguration Planning Committee. “President Hemphill’s inauguration will focus on the great work of our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends to make West Virginia State University the most student-centered, research and teaching, land-grant University in the state of West Virginia, and beyond.”
The investiture ceremony will feature remarks from state political and higher education leaders including: Kay Goodwin, cabinet secretary for the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts; Dr. Paul Hill, chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission; and Tom Susman, chair of the WVSU Board of Governors. The ceremony will also feature representatives of other higher education institutions in West Virginia.
Tickets are required to attend the investiture ceremony and seating is limited.
Following the investiture ceremony, there will be a home football game at Lakin Field featuring the Yellow Jackets taking on West Liberty beginning at 1 p.m. Tickets are required for the game and will be available for purchase at the gate beginning at 11:30 a.m.
After the football game, at approximately 4 p.m., there will be a post-game gathering including food and fellowship at the Student Plaza outside of the James C. Wilson University Union.
Hemphill has served as president of WVSU since July 1, 2012. He came to WVSU following an eight-year tenure as vice president for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management and associate professor at Northern Illinois University (NIU).
Prior to joining NIU, he served as an associate vice chancellor and dean of students at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville and associate dean of students at University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Hemphill served as a member of the Board of Trustees for St. Augustine’s College in North Carolina. He currently serves on the Charleston Area Alliance Board of Directors, the Thomas Health System Board of Trustees and as a member of the West Virginia Roundtable.
Hemphill earned a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Iowa, a master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State University of Science and Technology and a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication from St. Augustine’s College.
Hemphill is married to Dr. Marisela Rosas Hemphill and has four children: Jada, 18, Jordan, 14, and twins Cruz and Catalina born in October 2012.
More information about the Inauguration, including ticket requests, can be found at , by emailing or by calling (304) 766-5700.