Dr. John Wright (at left) and wife Joanne (at right) pose with grandchildren (from left) Elliott, Eden and Evelyn Bradley. The couple’s scholarship gift benefits future doctors studying at WVU. (Photo courtesy of Wright family.)
Mountain State students pursuing a medical degree from the West Virginia University School of Medicine will benefit from an alum’s $100,000 scholarship gift.
Dr. John C. Wright Jr. and his wife, Joanne, established the scholarship to pay tribute to his roots in West Virginia and celebrate his family’s Mountaineer legacy.
The Dr. and Mrs. John C. Wright Jr. Family Scholarship will be awarded to full-time medical students from West Virginia who demonstrate financial need. First preference will go to students from Tyler, Wetzel, Doddridge, Pleasants and Wood counties.
“We are so thankful for this scholarship provided by Dr. and Mrs. Wright,” Dr. Norman Ferrari III, chief academic officer for medical education, vice dean for education and academic affairs at the School of Medicine and chair of the Department of Medical Education, said. “This is so important to our students who are balancing the rigors of the curriculum and worrying about mounting debt. This will provide them some relief.”
A native of Sistersville, West Virginia, Wright is an obstetrician-gynecologist who lives in Beaver, Pennsylvania, and works in nearby East Liverpool, Ohio.
“My heart’s always been in West Virginia, and it always will be,” Wright said. “You can’t take the Mountaineer out of the person, no matter where they live. I love the state. I love the people.”
Wright earned his undergraduate degree from Denison University and attended medical school at WVU on a U.S. Air Force ROTC scholarship. He did his residency at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and settled near his wife’s hometown – Pittsburgh – after completing his military commitment.
Wright partnered with another doctor to launch his own practice in 1985. The business has evolved over the years, and he’s been grateful to work in a specialty that brings joy into people’s lives. Now semi-retired, he continues to see gynecology patients and teach family practice residents on a part-time basis.
Wright established the scholarship following his father’s passing. He said his parents, Becky and John Wright Sr., were generous people who were particularly committed to Sistersville, and he hopes to honor their memory by making a positive difference in the community.
“I’m hoping to commit these monies to young people from my neck of the woods in West Virginia,” Wright said. “I want this to be focused on folks who really need it, who are not necessarily from doctor’s families but are young people who’ve made it on their own. If it would help them have less debt and it would also perhaps help them stay in West Virginia, then I feel like that would be something I have accomplished for the state and its people.”
Wright noted that he has tremendous respect and appreciation for Ferrari and Dr. Clay Marsh, chancellor and executive dean for health sciences at WVU. He has been impressed by their leadership, and he is confident in their efforts to train the next generation of doctors to serve West Virginia and beyond.
Being a proud Mountaineer is a family tradition for Wright. His sister and brother-in-law earned undergraduate degrees from WVU and later graduated from the College of Law, and many extended family members on his mother’s side also earned degrees from WVU. His son, John C. Wright III, is the latest to attend, earning a bachelor’s degree in sport management. He now works as an attorney in Ohio, where he attended law school at Capital University.
Wright hopes his scholarship gift will encourage his School of Medicine classmates to give, particularly as the class of 1978 marks 45 years since graduation. Interested alumni can visit give.wvu.edu/medicine to make a gift online or contact Patricia Lonsbary, senior director of development, at 304-293-1448 or plonsbary@wvuf.org for more information.
The Wright family’s gift was made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.
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