Ask Alumnus Graydon ‘Ed’ Richards, Ph.D. (class of 1953) what his fondest memories are of his time spent at West Virginia University Potomac State College and he might just tell you, “My two years spent in Keyser at Potomac State were some of the most formative years of my life.”
The foundation of his career and its trajectory was greatly enhanced by his experience as a student in the 1950’s at Potomac State. So much so, he wanted to ‘pay it forward’ so other students would have the same opportunity. This January, Dr. Richards established a student scholarship through a generous philanthropic gift at WVU Potomac State that will live on in perpetuity. The Graydon M. and Thelma Richards Scholarship honors both his parents who understood the value of a good education, yet also enables first-year and second-year students, who might not otherwise, due to financial considerations, attend college.
Dr. Richards is both a humble and generous person who worked his way through college at WVU Potomac State as an honors student. “I endowed a scholarship so that WVU Potomac State students, unlike myself, and others with limited or no family financial support and modest grades, and especially those first in their family to go to college, could attend college without depending on their own efforts or placing a financial burden on their family.”
Dr. Richards was one of the first twenty individuals to be certified as a professional soil scientist and agronomist. He was later appointed to the certifying board, serving twice as chairman. He served as a research and technical service agronomist at various companies, was director of the Southeast Research and Extension Center at the University of Arkansas and led the Department of Agriculture at the Monticello campus.
In addition to authoring numerous technical articles and books, Dr. Richards published “Cows, Classes & Co-Eds” a depiction of his experiences centering around the Potomac State College farm, his classes, and the camaraderie he shared with faculty and classmates. He received the American Society Agronomy’s Crop and Soils Award for Excellence in Agriculture Journalism and was listed in Who’s Who in the Midwest and in American Men and Women of Science.
Dr. Richards also graduated from the WVU Morgantown campus earning a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture & forestry, and The Ohio State University where he received his Ph.D. in agronomy in 1961.
Later, he was recognized by Potomac State College with the Alumni Achievement Award in 2013, and his name was inscribed on the Duke Anthony Whitmore/Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Academic Achievement Wall in 2023.