Fairmont State University’s director of global engagement, Dr. Rosemarie Igbo, will receive the Honorary Woman of the Year Award for the 47th annual West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival. Each year, the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival is held on the streets of downtown Clarksburg to celebrate its rich Italian culture and the Italian-Americans in the state. Igbo will receive the award at the annual Honorees Award Ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, with the festival to follow on the weekend of Sept. 4-6, 2026.
Igbo said, “I am extremely honored to receive the Honorary Woman of the Year award. North Central West Virginia maintains some of the deepest and most enduring Italian-American roots in the state, with many families tracing their ancestry to Calabria and Southern Italy.”
