A $1 million donation to the West Virginia University John Chambers College of Business and Economics was announced on May 18, expanding support for Data Driven WV, an outreach center that connects students and faculty with businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations to address real-world challenges.
The contribution from alumnae Dori Lewis Smith and Jeannie Lewis includes $210,000 for two existing family funds and $790,000 to establish the Doris and Albert Lewis Tech Support Fund. This new endowment honors their parents’ memory by providing financial resources for undergraduate and graduate students selected as Albert Lewis Fellows. The fund will also support travel, technology needs for the Data Analytics Lab, experiential learning projects through Data Driven WV, and awards recognizing exceptional students.
“For years, students across WVU, especially at the Chambers College, have been impacted by the generosity of the Lewis sisters,” Josh Hall, Milan Puskar Dean of Chambers College said. “Endowments like this help to further student success by supporting experiential learning opportunities such as Data Driven WV. Those opportunities give students hands-on experience that helps to jump-start their careers and allow them to become impactful business leaders.”
Smith described her reaction after hearing about student efforts: “Giving back to their communities during floods, raising money through coin donations to support flood-ravaged rural areas — I just sat there in shock,” Smith said. “It blows me away that our little gift goes a long way with each of these students. We don’t deserve any credit.”
Data Driven WV recently began work on an 18-month assessment project focused on understanding substance use disorder among state residents. “Students are delivering real solutions that create measurable impact for real organizations,” Joshua Meadows, executive director of Data Driven WV said. “In a single year, our teams have implemented customer relationship management systems for nonprofits serving veterans and athletes with disabilities, built data solutions for startups, supported advanced analytics for WVU Medicine and WVU Athletics and partnered with organizations working to reshore manufacturing in West Virginia.”
The donation pays tribute to Dori and Jeannie’s late father Albert Lewis—a 1951 business graduate from West Virginia University who became a Korean War veteran as well as an aerospace glass developer—and their mother Doris. Their family history includes work on fuel tanks used in Apollo missions as well as military aircraft containers.
West Virginia University has produced notable scholarship recipients including 25 Rhodes Scholars and 27 Truman Scholars; it fosters an inclusive community across distinctive campuses while aiming to build a stronger future beyond state borders—all inspired by its motto ‘Mountaineers Go First,’ according to the official website.
