Bluefield University honored alumni for volunteerism, Christian service, and professional excellence at the annual Alumni Awards Luncheon on Saturday, October 17, 2026.
The awards were presented by Dr. Steve Peterson, University President; Scott Polhamus, President of the Alumni Association Board of Directors; Sarah Nipper, Vice President of the Alumni Association Board of Directors; and Megan Vencill, Director of Alumni Relations.
Wanda “Wendy” Wingo ‘61 was presented with the Alumna of the Year.
Wendy Wingo earned her Associate of Arts degree from Bluefield College and her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Radford College. She spent 32 years teaching in the Roanoke City school system and 12 years as a Registered Radiologic Technologist at Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley. In 1987, she was elected to the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors, where she served for 20 years.
Wingo also served in numerous regional and state leadership roles, including President of the Virginia Association of Planning Districts, President of the Virginia Association of Counties, and a member of the National Association of Counties Board of Directors. She received the Dixon Award for outstanding leadership in promoting regionalism. Her dedication to public service continued through appointments by Virginia governors to the Blue Ridge Education and Training Council and the Commission on Local Government, where she served as chair. She was also honored by the YWCA with its Women of Achievement Award in Government/Politics.
A longtime member of Bonsack Baptist Church, Wingo has served as church clerk, Sunday School teacher, sign language interpreter, greeter, and usher.
Dr. Lewis Brogdon ‘02 was inducted into the Hall of Distinguished Graduates. He was represented at the Alumni Awards Luncheon by his sister, Christina Brogdon.
Dr. Lewis Brogdon is an educator, a religious scholar, an author, and a national faith leader who has maintained deep ties to Bluefield University and the Southwest Virginia community that helped shape his life and vocation. Since 2018, Dr. Brogdon has served the university in leadership roles related to institutional effectiveness and academic quality, as well as strengthening student achievement, assessment, and the culture of continuous improvement.
As the Executive Director of JustFaith Ministries, Dr. Brogdon leads national efforts to form, educate, and mobilize faith communities to pursue justice, build relationships across difference, and live more fully into the moral vision of the gospel. He is widely known for his work on African American religion, the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., reparative justice, biblical interpretation, and the intersection of faith, justice, and public life. He has spoken at the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent and the Vatican in Rome, in addition to offering prayers at the National Press Club and the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C. His international teaching includes lectures in Jerusalem, Haiti, Oxford, and the Bahamas. He has also served in leadership and teaching roles at Simmons College of Kentucky, Claflin University, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and BSK Theological Seminary.
Bluefield University established the Alumni Awards to honor distinguished alumni for their professional and personal accomplishments as well as their service to the community. The Alumni Association Board of Directors accepts nominations through the Alumni Award Nomination Form on the university’s website and appoints a committee annually to select award recipients.