Katherine “Kitty” Dooley Appointed to WVSU Board of Governors

12/4/2017

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Contact: Jack Bailey
(304) 766-4109
Jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
 
   
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Charleston attorney Katherine L. “Kitty” Dooley was been appointed to the West Virginia State University Board of Governors effective immediately.

A native of Fairmont, Dooley is a practicing attorney and the principal of The Dooley Law Firm, P.L.L.C.

“Katherine Dooley is a wonderful addition to the Board of Governors, and I look forward to working with her as we work together to make West Virginia State University a premier regional research university that is recognized nationally for its quality education, innovative teaching and experiential learning,” said WVSU President Anthony L. Jenkins.

Dooley is a 2015 recipient of the Charleston YWCA’s Woman of Achievement Award.  In January 2013, she was the recipient of the Governor’s Civil Rights Award sponsored by the West Virginia Human Rights Commission. She was awarded the 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Living the Dream Award for “Human and Civil Rights” from the State Holiday Commission. Also, in 2012, she was named a West Virginia History Hero for her work with the J.R. Clifford Project recognizing West Virginia’s first African-American attorney.

“It is an honor and privilege to join the esteemed members of the Board of Governors of West Virginia State University an institution with a storied history, unparalleled avenues for advancement today and a bold vision for the future,” Dooley said. “I have been genuinely impressed with the leadership of President Anthony Jenkins and look forward to advancing his initiatives as well as those of the Board in making West Virginia State University the best institution of its kind in the State of West Virginia for its students, faculty, staff and our community.”

She is a currently a Director Emeritus and a past Chair of the Board of the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia and is a Board member of the Kanawha Institute for Social Research and Action (KISRA) and the Charleston YWCA.  In addition, she is a founding member of African-American Philanthropy in Action (AAPA).

She served two terms as a member of the Board of Governors of the West Virginia State Bar. She is a Past President of the Mountain State Bar Association, Inc. and Past Chair of the Minority Committee of the West Virginia State Bar.  She has also served as a member of the State Bar's Young Lawyer’s Executive Committee, and is a past member of the West Virginia University College of Law’s Visiting Committee. She formerly served as a part-time Administrative Law Judge for the West Virginia Human Rights Commission.

A 1990 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law and a 1980 graduate of Marshall University, following her undergraduate work, Dooley served in the U.S. Army.  As a Military Intelligence Officer she attained the rank of captain. She was awarded the overseas service medal, the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Parachutist Badge.

Established in July 2001, the Board of Governors provides oversight to WVSU on policy issues and affairs.

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West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.