The West Virginia University Alumni Association will welcome many familiar faces to campus this fall during 2019 Homecoming ceremonies, as the University celebrates accomplishments of alumni around the globe. The Alumni Association will recognize Dana Brooks, former College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences dean, as the 2019 recipient of the Paul B. “Buck” Martin award.
The Alumni Association is honoring Brooks for his efforts to preserve, maintain and promote the traditions of WVU. Buck Martin served as president of the Alumni Association and was former editor of The Martinsburg Journal and noted WVU historian.
A highly devoted and beloved Mountaineer, Brooks will be honored during the 2019 Homecoming parade and game, after having served for more than 40 years at WVU, the last 26 as dean of CPASS.
At the time of his retirement, Brooks was WVU’s longest serving dean. He has an extensive list of awards and accomplishments. During his time as an educator, he served on more than forty WVU committees, maintaining the role of graduate teaching assistant, professor and University-wide minority recruitment and retention coordinator, to name a few. Most recently, he was honored with the WVU Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Brooks is known as the unofficial curator of the black student-athlete history at WVU. Over the years, Brooks has worked to conserve and maintain the black student-athlete history in Morgantown, while contributing a large portion of his memorabilia collection related to race and integration of sports within the state of West Virginia to the WVU library.
Jimmy Lewis, one of four black student-athletes at WVU who, in 1964, integrated the men’s basketball team, praises Brooks for fostering the legacies of the WVU student-athletes who integrated WVU athletics. “History has story tellers from all types of disciplines. Dana is that person for us. He is the conduit that has the passion to dig and find the facts of what went down, where it happened and who made it happen,” Lewis said.
CPASS Dean Jack Watson agrees with Brooks’ impact on research in sports integration at WVU. “There is no question that Dana Brooks is an outstanding recipient of this distinguished honor. His service to CPASS, WVU and the state of West Virginia have made an impact that will be remembered forever,” Watson said.
Andrew Ostrow, retired WVU CPASS professor who taught Brooks as a graduate student, says Brooks has earned the accolades. “When I look over the list of individuals who previously have received the Paul B. “Buck” Martin Award, I am confident that the selection of Dana Brooks for this award will further extend and honor the legacy of Buck Martin,” Ostrow said.