Barnette Collection, Lawyer, Businessman, Educator, Philanthropist, and Chairman Emeritus of Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 3974
Barnette Collection, Lawyer, Businessman, Educator, Philanthropist, and Chairman Emeritus of Bethlehem Steel Corporation. These materials document Barnette's leadership and service.
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Curtis H. "Hank" Barnette (b. 1935) is a distinguished lawyer, businessman, educator, and philanthropist, best known as Chairman Emeritus of Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Born on the Barnette Family Farm in St. Albans, West Virginia, Barnette graduated from St. Albans High School in 1952. He earned a Benedum Scholarship at West Virginia University, where he studied political science and history and graduated with high honors in 1956. A Fulbright Scholar, he studied international law at the University of Manchester in England before serving as a Counterintelligence Officer in the U.S. Army in Germany (1957–1959). Barnette completed his J.D. at Yale Law School in 1962, where he also served as a research assistant and director of moot court. He later attended Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program while at Bethlehem Steel.
Following his graduation from Yale Law School in 1962, Curtis H. Barnette began his legal career at Wiggin & Dana in New Haven, Connecticut. He joined Bethlehem Steel Corporation in 1967, advancing to Senior Vice President and Director by 1976, and ultimately serving as Chairman and CEO from 1992 until his retirement in 2000. Barnette’s legal expertise at Bethlehem Steel encompassed antitrust, corporate, litigation, labor relations, and international trade. He held leadership roles in prominent legal organizations, including President of the Association of General Counsel and Chairman of the American Society of Corporate Secretaries. After retiring from Bethlehem Steel, he served as an Of Counsel Attorney to the international law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, with an office in Washington, D.C. until his retirement in 2011. Barnette is recognized as a Life Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of both the American and Pennsylvania Bar Foundations. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and in several states and federal courts.
Barnette served the Bethlehem Steel Company for 33 years, starting as a lawyer in 1967, becoming General Counsel, and retiring as Chairman and CEO in 2000. He was CEO of Bethlehem Steel when decisions were made to end steel operations at the Bethlehem Plant on the 1800-acre tract of land in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Barnette was a leader, along with others, through public-private efforts to preserve the Bethlehem Plant Site as the largest Brownfield Redevelopment in America. After planning, rezoning, infrastructure construction, and environmental assessments, Beth Works (200 acres) and Bethlehem Commerce Center (1600 acres) were established and developed.
In addition to his tenure at Bethlehem Steel, he served as a Director and Chairman of the International Iron and Steel Institute in Brussels, Belgium, and as a Director and Chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington, D.C. and held membership in the Business Council and the Business Roundtable and was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Business Roundtable. He was a director of Bethlehem Steel, MetLife, and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and a member of the Norfolk Southern Advisory Board.
Notably, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and Secretary Dole named him to the Coal Commission. President George W. Bush appointed him to the President's Trade Advisory Committee for Trade Policy (ACTPN), and President William “Bill” Clinton reappointed him. Governor Richard Thornburg appointed him to a Judicial Advisory Selection Committee, and Governor Tom Ridge named him to the 21st Century Environmental Commission. He was elected as a Director of the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, VA, and was named to the Independent Review Commission on Doping Control by U.S. Track and Field and the U.S. Olympic Committee. He has been appointed by the Mayor of the City of Bethlehem to the Bethlehem World Heritage Commission to help Bethlehem achieve World Heritage status.
Barnette served as Chairman of the West Virginia University Board of Governors and, upon retirement, was named Chairman Emeritus. He was Chairman and a Director of the West Virginia University Foundation and, upon retirement, was elected Director Emeritus. He is a member and served as Chairman of the Yale Law School Fund Board, was a Trustee of Lehigh University, and is a Trustee of Moravian College. Hank and his wife, Joanne, have established student scholarships, including those at West Virginia University, Yale Law School, Moravian College, Lehigh University, DeSales University, the University of Charleston, St. Luke's University Health Network, and Manchester University, and have provided other contributions and support to those and other schools. They have been long-time members of the Tocqueville Society of the United Way and supported various other charitable organizations.
The family farm where Barnette grew up in St. Albans, WV, was donated to the State of West Virginia and the Coal River Group. It is now the Barnette Landing on the Coal River, and the Barnette Conservation Preserve.
Business Hall of Fame. John Chambers College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University. Accessed June 19, 2026.
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Curtis H. Barnette. Accessed June 19, 2026.
WVUToday, West Virginia University, WVU Foundation Honors Philanthropists. June 4, 2014. Accessed June 19, 2026.
57.18 Linear Feet (57 ft. 2 1/4 in. (44 record cartons, 15 in. each); (3 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (2 oversize folders, 0.1 in. each); (1 unboxed painting, 3 in.); (1 unboxed painting, 2 in.))
English
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