Detroit automotive executive pledges $250K to WVSU scholarship program

A Detroit business leader is donating $250,000 to a scholarship program at West Virginia State University.

The university says William F. Pickard made the financial pledge to the Judge Damon J. Keith Scholars Program, which supports scholarships for students from Detroit area public schools. The program was established last fall in honor of Keith, a WVSU alumnus who has served on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1977. A new dormitory under construction also is being named in Keith's honor.

Pickard is chairman and CEO of Global Automotive Alliance, a consortium of automotive-related companies with operations in 12 states.