[ Dr. Stephen L. Henry ] - [ Billy Joe Miles ] - [ Dr. Frank Otha Moxley ]
[ Zuheir Sofia ] - [ Brig. Gen. Herbert M. Wassom ]
Dr. Stephen L. Henry
RealVideo Clip (4 min. 17 sec.)
Stephen Henry graduated from Western in 1976 with a degree in biology. While at Western, 
Henry served as class president in 1973 and '74 and was president of the Student Government Association and student regent in 1976.From Western, Henry went to medical school at the University of Louisville. When he received his medical degree, he joined the staff of the University Medical School.
Henry, who continues to live in Louisville, helped develop a new tool for use in trauma patients and on battlefields: beads containing massive doses of antibiotics that can be packed directly into wounds on the battlefield or by emergency first responders. The beads were used by American forces in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. The political influence resurfaced in 1992 when Henry ran for and won the "A" district seat on the Jefferson County Commission. He was re-elected in 1994 and tabbed by then-Lt. Gov. Paul Patton to be his running mate in the 1995 gubernatorial election. Gov. Paul Patton and Lt. Gov. Steve Henry were re-elected in 1999 to an historic second term.
Billy Joe Miles
RealVideo Clip (5 min. 4 sec.)
His father started by selling seed corn in a one-room building in 1960. Today, the family
operation Billy Joe Miles runs has expanded tremendously. Miles, of Owensboro, graduated from Western in 1962 with a degree in agronomy and began working with his father, William. More than three decades later, he holds the titles of president of Miles Farm Supply, president of Marathon Fuels; vice president of Miles L.P. Gas; and chairman of ExSeed Genetics. He has served as past president of the Kentucky Fertilizer and Agricultural Chemical Association, Kentucky Soil Conservation Districts and the Kentucky Soybean Association. He is also director of the Governor's Task Forces on Agriculture and Efficiency and a board member of National City Bank of Kentucky.
Miles has received several honors for his accomplishments, including the 1993 WKU Alumni Award; 1990 March of Dimes Man of the Year Award for the Western Kentucky Chapter; Kentucky's Man of the Year in 1987; and the 1992 Mayor's Award for Excellence. He was also the 1996 chairman of the Fertilize Institute.He serves on the Owensboro-Daviess County Planning and Zoning Commission and as a board member of Owensboro Community College and Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville. He has four children: Debra Miles Seymour (secretary and general manager of Miles Enterprises), George Sterett Miles, Paul Allen Miles and Vera Suzanne Miles.
Dr. Frank Otha Moxley
RealVideo Clip (4 min. 45 sec.)
In 1958, Dr. Frank O. Moxley became the first American to earn a master's degree in 
psychology and guidance from Western Kentucky University. Dr. Moxley has also been an educator, coach and was the first guidance counselor in the state of Kentucky. He formed the first Negro Athletic League in Kentucky (serving as its commissioner for 10 years), the Southern Negro Athletic Conference and helped establish Cumberland Trace Legal Services. Dr. Moxley began his career as a pre-med student at Wilberforce University in Ohio. From there he attended graduate school programs at Ohio State, Indiana and Indiana State universities before coming back to Bowling Green at Western in 1956. In 1974, he earned his doctorate in psychology from East Coast University/National Christian University. In 1931, Dr. Moxley began a 24-year career as a teacher and assistant coach at State Street High School in Bowling Green. He then spent 10 years as a counselor and basketball coach at High Street School in Bowling Green and a year as a counselor and assistant basketball coach at Bowling Green High School.
Dr. Moxley is active in the Bowling Green-Warren County Chamber of Commerce, the Southern Kentucky Economic Opportunity Council, the Kentucky Coaches Association, the Kentucky Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Warren County Democratic Executive Committee. He was recognized for his service when a local recreation center was named for him. He has been married to Pearlee Goodbar for more than 50 years and they have three children: Warren D. Moxley, Shirley Hill and Mary A. Sands.
Zuheir Sofia
RealVideo Clip (5 min. 45 sec.)
Sofia earned degrees in economics and business administration from Western in 1969. He is 
also a graduate of Washington University and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. Sofia began his career at The Huntington in Columbus, Ohio, as an assistant vice president in 1971. By 1986, he worked his way to president, chief operating officer, treasurer and director of Huntington Bancshares Inc., a $28 billion multi-bank holding company in Columbus. He left the company in June to form Sofia & Company Inc. and is now chairman of the private investment firm which provides financial and investment services. Sofia is also a published author, with article appearing in "The American Banker," "Ohio Banker" and "Euromoney." He is also the author of the book "External Debt of Developing Countries: Its Applications to Country Risk Analysis."
Sofia serves as a trustee of The Ohio State University; is chairman of the board of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, and serves on the board of The Ohio State University Hospitals and The Ohio State University Foundation and the WKU Board of Advisors. He is married to the former Susan Owen Ryburn of Charlotte, N.C., who received bachelor degrees in French and English from Salem College. She is the vice chairman of the Ohio Arts Council, an appointment by Ohio Gov. George V. Voinovich. The Sofias have one daughter, Sarah, 21, and twin sons, Joseph and Zachary, 19. They reside in Bexley, Ohio.
Brig. Gen. Herbert M. Wassom
RealVideo Clip (5 min. 10 sec.)
Brig. Gen. Herbert M. Wassom is one of a few graduates of Western's ROTC program to earn
the rank of general in the United States Army. He was killed August 17, 1988, when the plane carrying Wassom, the president of Pakistan and the U.S. ambassador crashed in Pakistan. Wassom came to Western in the late 1950s where he proved himself to not only be a leader in the ROTC, but also on the football field. He was named all-Ohio Valley Conference in 1959 and '60 and was captain of the 1960 squad. After graduating with a degree in industrial arts in 1961, Wassom began his commission in the Army and started a career that took him all over the world. He also earned a master's degree in international relations from George Washington University.
Some of his command assignments included Chief, U.S. Defense Representative to Pakistan; Chief of Staff, 101st Airborne Division; Deputy Director of the Army Staff, Office of the Chief of Staff, Army; and Commander, 528th Field Artillery Group. Wassom also received numerous decorations, including: Defense Distinguished Service Medal; Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster; Bronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters; Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters; Air Medal; and Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. He is survived by his wife, Judy, who lives in Melbourne, Fla., and two children, Doug and Tara, both Western graduates.
