WVU Tech launches scholarship program for southern WV students with $1.8M Pack gift

West Virginia University Institute of Technology is empowering the next generation of Mountain State leaders to excel with a new scholarship program that will cover outstanding education costs for high-achieving students from southern West Virginia.

The WVU Tech Golden Scholars program is launching with a generous $1.8 million personal gift from Larry and Lisa Pack, of Charleston. Larry Pack earned his bachelor's degree in accounting at WVU Tech, completed a successful career in accounting and the healthcare industry, and now serves as West Virginia State Treasurer.

The Packs joined WVU Tech President T. Ramon Stuart, West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Chancellor Sarah Armstrong Tucker, and other officials Tuesday, Sept. 15, at the WVU Tech Library to announce the program and their gift.

"We are deeply grateful to Larry and Lisa Pack for their generosity and their vision," Stuart said. "Their gift is not just an investment in individual students. It is an investment in the future of this region, and it will open doors for generations of leaders to come."

The Golden Scholars program will accept 13 students annually, beginning with the Fall 2027 semester. The scholarship program will cover any remaining tuition, room and board, and meal plan costs - after other scholarships and available financial aid are applied - for four consecutive years.

Students from Boone, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming counties will be eligible. Participants may be enrolled in any bachelor's degree program at WVU Tech.

The Golden Scholars program is designed to encourage college access, scholarship, servant leadership, community engagement, and collaboration with cohort-based programming and a leadership development curriculum rooted in service principles.

"The Golden Scholars program will change the trajectory of so many talented students right here in southern West Virginia," Stuart said. "Too often, our region's brightest young people face real financial barriers to pursuing higher education. This program removes that barrier and tells them clearly: Your ambition matters, and we believe in your potential."

The Golden Scholars program reflects a commitment to leadership and service demonstrated by the Packs, both natives of eastern Kanawha County and graduates of East Bank High School. In recognition of the Pack family's generosity, the first seven cohorts of Golden Scholars - 52 students total - will be known as the Pack Fellows.

"We've experienced firsthand how education opens doors and changes the direction of a person's future," Larry and Lisa Pack said. "We wanted to invest in students from southern West Virginia and provide them with the opportunity to pursue an education, develop as leaders, and ultimately use what they've learned to make a difference in their communities and the state of West Virginia."

After earning their accounting degrees, the couple worked for a local CPA firm before founding their own firm, Pack Hawley Lambert and Burdette, which later merged with Suttle & Stalnaker.

Larry began his career in healthcare in 1995 and later founded Stonerise Healthcare with Lisa's support. After 27 years working in the healthcare industry, he retired in 2022.

Larry started his public service career in 2020. He represented Kanawha County in the West Virginia House of Delegates before joining Gov. Jim Justice's administration as Secretary of Revenue and Senior Advisor until 2024, when he was elected as West Virginia State Treasurer.

The Pack family understands the impact of scholarship support. Lisa earned scholarships to help make her education at the University of Charleston affordable, and several of their six children received scholarships, as well.

"Our family understands the impact scholarship support can have on a student and their family," the Packs said. "Scholarships do more than make a college education possible - they expand a student's potential and give them the confidence to pursue their dreams and their God-given gifts. We feel very blessed to be in a position to give back, and we believe our support will create more opportunities for students in southern West Virginia."

Lisa Pack is a member of the University of Charleston Board of Trustees, along with other volunteer roles. The couple has also generously given back to the state through philanthropy, including scholarships established at Lisa's alma mater.

The Pack gift to WVU Tech was made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University and its affiliated entities.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: Cassie Rice
Director of Strategic Communications
WVU Foundation
304-554-0217; [email protected]

Molly Farrell
Assistant Director, University Relations
WVU Tech
304-929-1402; [email protected]

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