West Virginia State University Professor of English Dr. Barbara Ladner has been named a finalist for the 2025 West Virginia Professor of the Year Award. 

Each year, the Faculty Merit Foundation of West Virginia honors an outstanding faculty member from a West Virginia college or university. Ladner is one of five finalists for the 2025 Professor of the Year honor.

Interviews with the five candidates are being held on February 9, 2026. The finalists will be honored on April 9, 2026 at a banquet in the Great Hall of the West Virginia State Capitol Culture Center, where the 2025 Professor of the Year will be announced.

The Faculty Merit Foundation was created in 1984 to provide a means to recognize and reward innovation and creativity among the faculties of West Virginia’s public and private colleges and universities. Through the Professor of the Year program, the outstanding achievements of those individuals are brought to the attention of the public. A $10,000 cash award is given to the candidate selected as Professor of the Year, with smaller awards to the other finalists.

The Professor of the Year award is sponsored by individual donors and: United Bank; Bowles Rice LLP; Greene, Ketchum, Bailey & Tweel LLP; Maier Foundation; and The Daywood Foundation, Inc. For additional information, please call (304) 347-2131.