“Although, as a newcomer to West Virginia, I never got the pleasure of meeting Ken Hechler, he and I shared many of the same goals and interests. I believe I would have liked him very much.
“He was an esteemed faculty member of our university. Truly a man for all seasons, he was a teacher, historian, author, political consultant, presidential advisor, civil rights activist and a dedicated public servant. He devoted his life to those in need and to the safety and well-being of the people he served in his distinguished public service career. He held a lifelong commitment to keep government accountable to the people it serves.
Surely, West Virginia and the entire nation are poorer for the loss of this statesman.”
Hechler was on Marshall’s political science faculty two different times–once right before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and again after leaving office as West Virginia’s Secretary of State. The university awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in May 2007, and a celebration of his life was held at Marshall on his 100th birthday. Hechler donated his Congressional papers to the university’s archives.