WVU Journalism School Creates Fund to Honor Esper West Virginia University's journalism school is creating a fund to honor a professor and former Associated Press correspondent who died earlier this month. The George Esper International Study Enhancement Fund will support students participating in either study abroad or a faculty-led international trip. Esper taught at WVU after retiring from a 42-year career with the AP, much of it as a war correspondent. He refused to leave his post at the end of the Vietnam War, staying behind to cover the fall of Saigon. Dean Maryanne Reed said the fund pays tribute to Esper's career and to the transformative power of an international education and experience. Reed says anyone can contribute to the fund, which will be administered by the WVU Foundation.