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VIENNA – The governor’s wife will deliver the keynote address 10 a.m. Saturday at the 54th annual Ohio Valley University Commencement, the school has announced.
Joanna Tomblin was born and raised in New York and moved to West Virginia to study journalism at Marshall University. During an assignment to cover the legislative session at the state Capitol, she met freshman legislator Earl Ray Tomblin, who is now overnor.
She has served as president of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College since 1999.
In October 2011, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College was ranked as the 14th best community college in the nation by Washington Monthly.
“First Lady Tomblin has a passion for higher education and we are pleased to welcome her to the Ohio Valley University campus. We look forward to hearing her address during this special milestone event for our students,” said OVU President Harold Shank.
OVU Chancellor E. Keith Stotts and Vice President for Academic Affairs C. Joy Jones will preside over the commencement exercises.
Tomblin has a bachelor’s and a master’s in journalism and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Marshall University. In 2010, she was the recipient of the Marshall University Outstanding Alumnus Award.
The Tomblins have been married for 35 years and they have one son, Brent, who graduated from Marshall University with a master’s in health care administration. He works for Charleston Area Medical Center.