Governor Cecil H. Underwood served six terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates (Tyler County, 1944-1954), the last four terms as Minority Leader. He was first elected Governor of West Virginia in 1956 at age 34, the youngest Governor in state history. In 1996, Governor Underwood was elected as the 32nd Governor of West Virginia.

A Tyler County native, he was educated in West Virginia’s public schools and graduated from Salem College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received a Master of Arts degree from West Virginia University. Governor Underwood completed additional studies under a Graduate Research Fellowship with the Amelia Earhart Foundation at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Subsequently, he has been awarded ten Honorary Doctoral Degrees from American colleges and universities.

Governor Underwood is President of the National Association of State Councils on Vocational Education and has been President of the West Virginia State Council since 1987. From 1972-75, Governor Underwood was President of Bethany College and was also a member of the Visiting committee. College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University. He was taught school at both the high school and college levels and is now Adjunct Professor in Political Science at Marshall University. In addition to his present position, Governor Underwood is active in the educational community of West Virginia serving on the board of Trustees of Salem-Teikyo University and the Boards of Directors of the West Virginia State college System and the West Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges. He is past Chairman of both groups.

Active in civic affairs, Governor Underwood is President of the Huntington Foundation, on the Board of Directors of both the state and national American Cancer Societies. He has been a member of the Board of Appalachian Regional Health Care since 1973 and served as its Chairman for three years. He is Lay Leader of Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church in Huntington and is a former Director of the United Methodist Charities of West Virginia. He was elected as a delegate to the General and Junsdictional Conferences of the United Methodist Church in 1988, 1992, and 1996. In 1992 Governor Underwood was selected as West Virginian of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America.

Governor Underwood is Chairman of Morgantown Industrial/Research Park, Inc., a company formed to bring high-tech industry and employment to central West Virginia. He is a past President of the Software Valley Foundation a former Vice-President of the Monsanto Corporation and of Island Creek Coal Company.

Governor Underwood and his wife, Hovan, maintain a house in Huntington, West Viriginia. They are the parents of three adult children and have five grandchildren.

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