Tag: Morris Harvey College

September 11, 1935: Morris Harvey College Relocates to Charleston

On September 11, 1935, Morris Harvey College relocated from Barboursville to Charleston. Founded in 1888 by the Methodist Episcopal Church South, the school was originally known as Barboursville Seminary. The seminary struggled financially until Fayetteville coal operator Morris Harvey paid off the school’s debt. In appreciation, the institution changed its name to Morris Harvey College.

By the 1930s, the school was again in debt. Dr. Leonard Riggleman pushed to move the college to Charleston, where it affiliated with Kanawha Junior College and Mason College of Music and Fine Arts. In 1941, Morris Harvey broke from the Methodist Church, becoming an independent college.

During World War II, Riggleman acquired a permanent campus—located across the Kanawha River from the state capitol. By the time he retired as college president in 1964, enrollment had surpassed 3,000. The next decade, however, brought more financial woes. In 1978, new President Thomas Voss dismissed faculty and renamed the school the University of Charleston—with little positive effect.

Over the last quarter-century, though, fortunes have turned around under President Edwin Welch, with the university adding new buildings and a school of pharmacy.

June 8, 2004: Judge Elizabeth Hallanan Dies at 79

Judge Elizabeth Hallanan died on June 8, 2004. She was 79 years old.

Hallanan was born in Charleston in 1925. After attending Morris Harvey College—now the University of Charleston—she earned a law degree from West Virginia University. In the mid-1950s, she served on the State Board of Education and in the House of Delegates before being appointed assistant commissioner of public institutions by Governor Cecil Underwood. In 1959, she became judge of the first full-time juvenile court in Kanawha County, making her the first woman judge of a court of record in West Virginia history.

Next, Hallanan served as executive director of the West Virginia Association of College and Universities and chaired the West Virginia Public Service Commission. In 1975, she opened her own legal practice in Charleston.

In 1983, Hallanan was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, making her West Virginia’s first female federal court judge. She’s best remembered for presiding over a case resolving problems with the state’s child support system. Throughout her career, Judge Elizabeth Hallanan was a groundbreaker for women in the field of law.

June 8, 2004: Judge Elizabeth Hallanan Dies at 79

Judge Elizabeth Hallanan died on June 8, 2004. She was 79 years old.

Hallanan was born in Charleston in 1925. After attending Morris Harvey College—now the University of Charleston—she earned a law degree from West Virginia University. In the mid-1950s, she served on the State Board of Education and in the House of Delegates before being appointed assistant commissioner of public institutions by Governor Cecil Underwood. In 1959, she became judge of the first full-time juvenile court in Kanawha County, making her the first woman judge of a court of record in West Virginia history.

Next, Hallanan served as executive director of the West Virginia Association of College and Universities and chaired the West Virginia Public Service Commission. In 1975, she opened her own legal practice in Charleston.

In 1983, Hallanan was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, making her West Virginia’s first female federal court judge. She’s best remembered for presiding over a case resolving problems with the state’s child support system. Throughout her career, Judge Elizabeth Hallanan was a groundbreaker for women in the field of law.

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