Inducted
Degrees
The rural community of Pliny produced one of the state's most devoted Mountaineers and talented civil engineers. Kenneth Meeks Dunn grew up in Pliny, graduating from Point Pleasant High School.
Following three years as B-17 navigator during World War II, he attended Marshall University and received his BSCE from WVU in 1950.
A registered Professional Engineer since 1951, Dunn had a 34-year career improving the water distribution, storm and sanitary sewer systems across the state.
After working with private firms and the Road Commission as district engineer, director of Prison Labor Division and state equipment engineer, he formed the Kenneth M. Dunn Company in 1959 and built it into one of the leading utility contracting firms in West Virginia.
Dunn served as president of the West Virginia Contractors Association and on the boards of directors of the American Road Builders Association, the Associated General Contractors of America and Kanawha Banking and Trust.
He was treasurer for John D. Rockefeller's two gubernatorial campaigns, and Governor Gaston Caperton appointed him the first Secretary of the Department of Transportation.
Dunn and his wife, Mary, have five children and are long-standing members of Highlawn Presbyterian Church in St. Albans.