Marshall University announced it received a gift which granted access to fiber-optic cable worth $3.8 million during the annual scholarship Thursday. The dinner was held at the Grand Pointe Conference and Reception Center in Vienna and featured hundreds of current and former MU students.

Marietta resident James Vuksic said he liked the university President Brad Smith a lot and liked what the university was doing for the community.

Vuksic was in ownership of a few strands of fiber-optic cable which ran high-speed internet from Ashburn, Va. to Columbus.

The university will partner with Alpha Innovations to utilize the cable and use it for the benefit of the staff and students. The partnership with Alpha Innovations would assist the university with the details on how to fully optimize the resource.

Fiber-optic cable is used for high-speed data transmission at long distances which can be used to improve internet speed and accessibility, according to Verizon.

The announcement was made towards the end of the ceremony with Smith and Vuksic signing formal papers that documented the donation.

Vuksic was thanked on behalf of the university and Smith for his donation.

Guests enjoyed an evening of community, reflection and celebration with updates from Smith about the university’s future.

“This is the annual scholarship fundraiser for the Mid-Ohio Valley (Marshall University Alumni) Chapter and they are one of our strongest chapters in the country,” said Smith. “We’ve got hundreds of people here tonight.”

He said there are 156 students that have been sent to MU and after Thursday the chapter will have raised over $500,000 worth of scholarship money that will be given to the students.

“Continue to dream big, if you shoot high and you fall a little short, you’re always going to do better than if you aim low and hit the target,” he said.

The evening included remarks from current university freshman and alumni who pursued their career path upon graduating.

“We’re capable of anything here in West Virginia, so let’s show them who we are,” said Smith.

The evening concluded with a live auction by Jeff Little and special performances by Jimmy Fortune.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com