West Virginia University Institute of Technology launches WVU Tech Golden Scholars program

West Virginia University Institute of Technology received a gift of $1.8 million from alumnus Larry Pack and his wife, Lisa, to establish the WVU Tech Golden Scholars program. The program will cover remaining tuition, room and board, and meal plan costs after students’ financial aid and other grants and scholarships have been applied.

According to an article on West Virginia University Institute of Technology’s website, the university’s president T. Ramon Stuart was quoted as saying of the gift, “We are deeply grateful to Larry and Lisa Pack for their generosity and their vision. 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 change the trajectory of so many talented students right here in southern West Virginia. 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.”

Beginning in the Fall 2027 semester, students from Boone, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming counties will be eligible for the Golden Scholars program. They can be enrolled in any bachelor degree program. Thirteen students annually will be brought into the program, with the award covering any remaining tuition, room and board, and meal plan costs after other financial aid and grants are applied, for four consecutive years. The first seven cohorts of students will be called Pack Fellows.

Larry Pack graduated from WVU Tech with a bachelor degree in accounting. Lisa also earned a bachelor degree in accounting from the University of Charleston. The couple founded their own CPA firm, Pack Hawley Lambert and Burdette. Larry went on to work in healthcare, starting Stonerise Healthcare with Lisa. He began a career in public service in 2020, representing Kanawha County in the West Virginia House of Delegates. He then became Secretary of Revenue and Senior Advisor until 2024, when he was elected as West Virginia State Treasurer. Lisa is currently a member of the University of Charleston Board of Trustees.

Speaking of their decision to make this gift and start the Golden Scholars program, the couple said, “We’ve experienced firsthand how education opens doors and changes the direction of a person’s future. 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. Our family understands the impact scholarship support can have on a student and their family. 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.”

For more information about WVU Tech, visit the school’s website.