For their loyalty and service to West Virginia University, six Mountaineers will be inducted into the Order of Vandalia during a Friday ceremony.
The 2024 inductees are Patricia Bibbee, Sue Day-Perroots, Mike Fulton, Ranjit K. Majumder, Robert Orders and Sophia Peterson.
Bibbee, a Pittsburgh native and interior designer, has been an advocate for WVU alongside her late husband, Chuck Bibbee, a WVU graduate and tennis letterman, for more than 50 years. Her dedication has included service on the College of Creative Arts Visiting Committee and the Blaney House Committee.
Day-Perroots, a native West Virginian focused on serving the state, started her education career teaching elementary and middle school in Monongalia County before transitioning to higher education at WVU, where she taught a variety of courses opening up education opportunities statewide. She also served as dean and director of WVU Extension.
Fulton, a university alumnus, manages the Washington office for Asher Agency, a full-service public relations, marketing and advertising agency. He is an active member of the WVU Alumni Association, including past service for a six-year term on the association’s national board of directors.
Majumder has conducted psychophysiological research on brain damage and sleep disorders throughout his career, which has included work as a research associate in what is now the WVU School of Medicine Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry. He is also a past director of research at the West Virginia Rehabilitation Research and Training Center and president of the West Virginia Mental Health Association.
Orders, a university alumnus and registered professional engineer, is CEO of Orders Construction, which was founded in 1964 primarily as a bridge contractor. It has since expanded its scope of service to include industrial/mechanical construction, heavy highway construction and utility construction in multiple states. He is a current member of the WVU Foundation Board of Directors.
The founder and former director of the International Studies program, Peterson taught and conducted research on international relations and news coverage along with global issues for decades. She also created and led the statewide West Virginia Consortium for Faculty and Course Development in International Studies.
The induction ceremony will also honor the memories of three Vandalians who have died in the past year — Billy Lee Coffindaffer, Class of 2005, George Ogden Nutting, Class of 2002, and Don Wilcox, Class of 2008.
The Order of Vandalia dates back to 1960 when WVU President Elvis J. Stahr outlined his idea for a special honor to be bestowed on the university’s most loyal servants. Inductees through the years have included U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, Carolyn Eberly Blaney, Joseph Gluck, John T. Chambers, Earl L. Core and Milan Puskar.
