Honorary Doctor of Engineering (presented at Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources ceremony)
Jon Hammock is a proud Mountaineer alumnus born and raised in West Virginia. In 1988, he earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from West Virginia University. He credits the University for offering him invaluable resources to succeed while also teaching him a unique life lesson about the importance of believing in yourself. After graduating, Jon Hammock attended the University of South Carolina, where he earned his MBA while working full-time.
In 1999, he founded KeyLogic, an integrated consulting firm that specializes in critical energy and defense initiatives. As founder and CEO, he created opportunities for graduates to stay in West Virginia. Under his 20 years of leadership, KeyLogic was recognized as the West Virginia Small Business of the Year, the U.S. Small Business Administration National Prime Contractor of the Year, and the U.S. Department of Energy National Small Business of the Year.
Throughout his career, Jon Hammock has been committed to serving the community that shaped him into the entrepreneur he is today. He has served as board member for organizations including the Morgantown Chamber of Commerce; the United Way of Monongalia and Preston County; the Mon General Hospital Foundation; and the Morgantown Airport Advisory. Currently, he serves on the board for the Sandbox Children’s Museum in South Carolina, and the Clear Mountain Bank, headquartered in Morgantown.
Jon Hammock is an active Mountaineer alumnus supporting both academics and sports. He serves on the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources visiting committee. Previously, he received the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Distinguished Alumni Academy Award and the WVU Outstanding Alumnus Award.
He is a proud husband and father. He and his wife Lynn have been married for 22 years and share a beautiful daughter, Sarah. Jon Hamock is an avid pilot and enjoys flying with his family, returning to West Virginia often to cheer on the Mountaineers. He and his family reside in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he maintains his entrepreneurial spirit by investing in small businesses in West Virginia and across the nation.
Honorary Doctor of Business (presented at John Chambers College of Business and Economics ceremony)
Harry H. (Hap) Esbenshade is chairman and CEO of The Mountain Company, Laurel Management Group, and Tri-State/Service specialty contracting companies covering the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and the southeastern United States. The group celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. He leads real estate and investment businesses, as well.
He is a native of Vienna, West Virginia, and is a graduate of Duke University.
Hap Esbenshade has been active in board, trustee, or leadership roles with a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, including youth, educational, healthcare, arts, and business and industry associations. Esbenshade and his related companies have a history of contributing to their communities, supporting a broad range of charities. He oversees the Esbenshade and Spartan Foundations.
Hap and his wife, Meg, have four daughters, Abby, Kate, Rachel, and Molly.
Honorary Doctor of Business (presented at John Chambers College of Business and Economics ceremony)
W. Marston Becker has over 35 years of insurance industry experience in both insurance and reinsurance with a variety of public and private entities.
Marston Becker currently serves as chairman of Axis Capital (NYSE-AXS), a global property/casualty insurance company headquartered in Bermuda and as chair of MVB Financial (Nasdaq - MVBF), a regional bank focused on fintech and digital banking. From 2014 until April 2020, he served as chairman of QBE Insurance Group headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
He currently also serves as a director of Encova Mutual Insurance Company, Amynta Group, and the Mountain Companies. He is also on the Board of the Clay Center for the Arts and previously served on the Board of Governors of West Virginia University as well as the Board of the West Virginia University Foundation. He is an advisory board member of the American Securities Fund, Cohesive Capital, and Madison Dearborn Capital financial advisory board.
During Marston Becker’s career he has served as CEO of insurance, reinsurance and insurance brokerage entities.
W. Marston Becker is a certified public accountant and an admitted attorney in West Virginia. He holds both a BS and JD from West Virginia University. He and his wife Kathy live in West Virginia and Florida. They have two sons, James and Todd.
Honorary Doctor of Science (presented at Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Public Health ceremony)
After graduating from the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy in 1976, Bruce Roberts opened Leesburg Pharmacy later that same year. He went on to own three additional pharmacies and a home healthcare company over the next 33 years before turning the reins over to his staff in 2009.
Roberts was named CEO of the National Community Pharmacist Association in 2001. Over his 10-year tenure he grew the association’s presence in the U.S. and around the world. USA Today named NCPA one of the top healthcare lobbies in the United States in 2009.
During his tenure at NCPA he helped found Surescripts, a company focused on connecting prescribers and pharmacies to facilitate electronic prescribing. SureScripts has grown to be the dominant means for prescription prescribing in the U.S. Roberts served as the co-chair of the SureScripts board of directors from its founding until 2010.
Bruce Roberts also led the formation of Mirixa, a company focused on connecting the pharmacist with health plans for the delivery of clinical services. Mirixa grew to be an industry leader in the delivery of Medication Therapy Management. In 2008, he was instrumental in launching Mirixa in Australia, where it has become the dominant means for Australian pharmacy to engage in clinical activities. Roberts served as the chairman of the Mirixa Board of Directors until his retirement.
Since leaving NCPA, Roberts has been engaged as a consultant in the healthcare industry until he joined Synerio Technologies, a company focused on using artificial intelligence to revolutionize patient engagement for pharmacies and other healthcare providers.
He has received many awards recognizing his leadership and service at the local, state, and national level. He was also recognized by being the first non-Australian to receive the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Distinguished Honor Metal.
Currently he serves on the boards of the Northern Virginia Science Center and the General George C. Marshall International Center as well as chairing the WVU School of Pharmacy Leadership Council.
Bruce Roberts and his wife of 45 years, Rachel, live in Leesburg, Virginia. They have four children and 15 grandchildren.
Honorary Doctor of Letters (presentd at Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources ceremony)
Mark Damian Duda has devoted his career to wildlife conservation.
He studied wildlife biology at West Virginia University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1982. In 1985, he graduated from Yale University with a master’s degree with an emphasis on natural resource policy and planning, after attending on two academic scholarships.
Mark Duda is a certified wildlife biologist® and social scientist. In 1990, he founded Responsive Management, an internationally recognized research firm specializing in natural resources and outdoor recreation and has employed more than 2,200 people. Over the past 35 years, Duda has managed more than 1,200 studies on how people relate to conservation and the outdoors. He is the author of more than 200 journal and popular articles as well as four books on wildlife and outdoor recreation. He has taught at Yale, Texas Tech, and the University of Florida.
His work has been featured in many of the nation’s top media, including NPR’s Morning Edition, Fox News, CNN, The New York Times, Newsweek, and the front pages of The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and USA Today. For seven years, he served as a columnist for North American Hunter and North American Fisherman magazines.
Mark Duda has been named Conservation Educator of the Year by the Florida Wildlife Federation and National Wildlife Federation, was a recipient of the Conservation Achievement Award from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and was named Wildlife Professional of the Year by the Virginia Wildlife Society. He also received the Conservation Achievement Award in Communications from Ducks Unlimited and an award from the Potomac Ducks Unlimited Chapter for his contributions as a researcher and writer. He was also honored as Qualitative Researcher of the Year by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Hunters’ Leadership Forum.
Mark Duda is an avid birder, hunter, sport shooter, angler, and boater.
Honorary Doctor of Science (presented at Eberly College of Arts and Sciences ceremony)
Along with his brother Steve Brodie, Don Brodie founded the Purolite Company in 1980 in the basement of his home. During a 40-year period the brothers led a team of over 1,600 employees that transformed Purolite into a global enterprise. They established five state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities globally as well as many profound research facilities. Purolite was a major innovator in biotech and industrial water treatment and was a leader in the field. In December of 2021, Purolite was acquired by EcoLab of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Before founding Purolite, Don Brodie held various positions in both food and chemical companies, including manufacturing and sales positions at Sybron Chemical.
He was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended public schools until starting his college career in 1965 at West Virginia University in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. He initially sought a liberal arts degree, but later chose to study chemistry and the sciences, as he saw better opportunities to advance in this field. He ultimately earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1969.
As a WVU alumni, he has an interest in the success of the school and its students and served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences for over 15 years. In 2012, WVU inducted him into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni for international distinction in his discipline.
He and his wife Linda reside in Boca Raton, Florida, and are dedicated to spending time with their three children and five grandchildren. Through their foundation and philanthropic planning, the Brodies want to continue their long-term desire to give and impact the communities in which they live and places of higher learning such as West Virgina University.