West Virginia State University Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Dr. Leighann Davidson has been named a finalist for the 2023 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. Davidson is one of five finalists this year. 

Interviews with the five candidates are being held on Feb. 27, 2024. Traditionally, finalists are honored at a springtime banquet in Charleston, where the Professor of the Year is announced. Plans for this year’s banquet are underway, but a date and time have not been determined.

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.