Weisburgs, Tomblin receive honorary degrees

HUNTINGTON -- Marshall University bestowed honorary degrees upon three community leaders during its 171st commencement ceremony Saturday at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.

Arthur Weisburg and wife Joan Myer Weisburg received the Doctor of Humane Letters degree, while commencement speaker and West Virginia Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin received the Doctor of Laws degree.

Tomblin, who also is the state's lieutenant governor, already has an advanced degree from Marshall, a master's he earned back in 1975. But Tomblin, who has served as Senate President in West Virginia since 1995, said he was just as honored, if not more so, in receiving the honorary degree.

"I'm absolutely thrilled," he said, as he was lining up to march out into the arena with the graduation procession. "It's one of those things that, as a student here 33 years ago, I would have never dreamed of. It's one of those things I'll cherish for the rest of my life."

Marshall President Stephen Kopp said Tomblin has "brought honor to Marshall University" through his accomplishments across the state.

The Weisburgs, Kopp said, were deserving of recognition because they have been "staunch supporters of higher education" while their business has excelled.

"It was a rather inauspicious beginning," Kopp said of State Electric Supply Co., which began as a one-man operation in 1952 with Arthur Weisburg selling light bulbs, extension cords and fuses out of the back of his truck.

Now, the Huntington-based business has 41 branches in five states, and Arthur and Joan Weisburg have gone on to found Arthur's Enterprises and Service Wire Co.

The couple are behind a namesake endowed professorship, as well as the Arthur and Joan Weisberg Division of Engineering and Computer Science at Marshall.

Both are members of the Marshall Business Hall of Fame.

"The couple has displayed incredible generosity to Marshall University," Kopp said.

Both Arthur and Joan Weisburg embraced Kopp after having their honorary cloths placed over their robes.