Over the last half-century, few Mountaineers can say they’ve left their mark on West Virginia University like James “Jim” Gardill.

His journey began as a student and eventually led to roles as an adjunct professor, WVU Alumni Association chairman and donor, current Chairman of the Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund, and a member of the Order of Vandalia with more than 40 years of annual giving committed to helping his alma mater.

Now in his late 70s, Gardill looks back on his relationship with WVU as one of appreciation and mutual commitment to what makes the state’s flagship institution so special.

After growing up in West Virginia’s northern panhandle and attending a Catholic seminary in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Gardill began his collegiate journey at Wheeling University before transferring to West Liberty University. While he was a Hilltopper as an undergraduate, Gardill used his early networking abilities to help form his future path.

“As I was going through West Liberty, I had a great political science professor who got me interested in law,” Gardill said. “Obviously, the law school at Morgantown appealed to me. So, I applied and was accepted into WVU College of Law in 1968.”

That same year, the United States eliminated graduate school deferments for selective service, so Gardill was forced to postpone his WVU plans when he was drafted into the Army the fall before his first semester.

When Gardill contacted the WVU College of Law and told them he would not be able to attend as a result of getting drafted, the response he received was one that would cement his status as a Mountaineer for the rest of his life.

“They held my place,” Gardill said. “You don’t forget that. When you have something like that so early that is that significant, it stays with you a long time.”

Two years later after spending his time at the Armor Center at Fort Knox, Gardill completed his service and began law school in 1970. As he pursued his graduate degree, Gardill met his wife, Linda, who was a graduate student teaching courses in English. The two married in 1972.

After completing his education at the College of Law in 1973, Gardill went on to a career in the legal profession, becoming a partner at Phillips, Gardill, Kaiser & Altmeyer, PLLC, in Wheeling, where his firm practiced commercial, tax and estate planning, for more than 50 years.

Building support over time

During this time, Jim and Linda started a family and began giving back to the University that meant so much to them. What began with a $35 donation to the Mountaineer Athletic Scholarship in 1980 has progressed into more than 40 years of annual giving to WVU, with gifts supporting the Mountaineer Athletic Club, WVU Medicine Children’s, the WVU Alumni Association and the WVU College of Law.

As his career grew and financial means increased, Gardill continued to give back and was happy to help provide his alma mater with resources that could benefit others at WVU.

“We had children by 1980, but I felt like I needed to do something,” Gardill remembered. “They were rather modest gifts to start with, but you felt like you were putting something back. That started the process. I appreciated the opportunities I had at the University and being able to go to school and the fact that they held my place, I just felt I had to do something.”

Throughout his adult years as his children grew up and started families of their own, Gardill took it upon himself to help as much as he could at WVU and beyond. In addition to his law practice, Gardill served as chairman of Wesbanco and held seats on the boards for Wheeling Hospital, Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center, Inc., the Reynolds Memorial Hospital Foundation, Inc., the Wheeling Hospital Foundation, Inc. and the West Virginia Catholic Foundation, Inc.

As he worked through his legal and philanthropic career over the next 50 years, Gardill stayed involved with his Mountaineer family, lecturing and teaching as an adjunct professor at the College of Law, where he also served on the visiting committee. Through his role with Wesbanco, Gardill helped facilitate relationships with WVU, allowing the bank to partner with the University in business, medicine and alumni ventures.

“We always found ways to provide support through the bank and through trusts and foundations that the bank manages,” he said. “I’ve always appreciated the networking that we can do. It’s not so much what I do, but it’s more about how we can facilitate assistance and support to the University.”

Connecting with alumni

A desire to expand those networking opportunities at WVU led Gardill to the Alumni Association, an organization that allowed him to share his WVU passion with Mountaineers all over the country. He credits the late Steve Douglas and Kevin Berry with giving him the opportunity to work with alumni throughout the country.

“As you start to meet additional people and alums throughout the country, you get a real feel for what we can do together and how you can build networking,” Gardill explained. “It became an interesting and rewarding way to give back. You can do so much more together than you can do individually. I could see how that was beneficial to the University.”

Gardill became more involved with the Alumni Association as time passed, meeting and talking with many like-minded alumni and encouraging them to get involved. What he’s seen and learned from his fellow Mountaineers is that so many are grateful for the experience they had at WVU and, given the opportunity, are eager to help others have the same experience they had.

“Once you open an avenue for them to participate, or you invite them in so that they feel welcome, it gives them a place they can call home,” he said. “At that point, that familiarity bears results, and they also want to support WVU, so you build a bigger network.”

From 2001-08, Gardill was a member of the WVU Alumni Association board before serving as chairman from 2005-07. In these roles, Gardill was instrumental in many initiatives, including the construction of the Erickson Alumni Center building that houses the organization today.

“What we ended up with is a signature building that was a collective design of both engineers and architects that we had on the board at the time, as well as development individuals who had a great eye for detail,” Gardill said. “We produced a result that I thought was really productive long-term for the University.”

In collaboration with the Alumni Association, Gardill has used his expertise and passion to support the Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund, for which he has served as the chairman of the board of trustees since 2011.

“It’s very rewarding to be able to participate with the LPE Fund to provide scholarships to students at the University,” Gardill said. “We’ve been working on that for a number of years. It’s nice to see them graduate. If we can help them financially to complete their education, it gives them a chance to give back.”

Gardill passed his love for WVU to his family, with all three of his children, Christopher Gardill, Catherine Gardill Ballard and Rebecca Gardill Wagner, attending the University. As he did years before, two of Gardill’s children met their spouses during their time at WVU, furthering the family bond with the University.

Looking back — whether as a donor, Alumni Association chair or simply a fan — Jim Gardill is proud to call himself a Mountaineer and more than willing to share his passion with others.