Ben Wattenberg, author, editor and syndicated columnist, will be the guest speaker at this fall's first Economics Club of Hampton Roads luncheon Wednesday, Sept. 12.

Co-sponsored by the College of Business and Public Administration, the luncheon will begin at noon at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in downtown Norfolk. Due to limited space, reservations are required. The cost of the luncheon is $30 for nonmembers.

A syndicated columnist in more than 200 newspapers nationwide, Wattenberg is known for his political and social commentary. He currently serves as senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and senior editor of The American Enterprise magazine.

A former contributing editor for U.S. News and World Report magazine and a radio commentator on "CBS Spectrum," Wattenberg has been the host of several public-affairs television series, including "Ben Wattenberg at Large" and "In Search of Real America."

Wattenberg also serves as moderator of "Think Tank," the popular national public-television series, and "Trends," the new series of prime-time PBS specials examining long-term trends and their impact.

Other upcoming speakers for Old Dominion's Economics Club of Hampton Roads include:

- Oct. 10 - Macon Brock Jr., president and CEO of Dollar Tree Stores Inc., the nation's leading operator of discount variety stores;

- Nov. 8 - Jeffery Gaten, dean of Yale University's School of Management, author, monthly columnist for Business Week and former undersecretary of commerce in the first Clinton administration; and

- Dec. 12- John Bogle, founder and former chairman of The Vanguard Group, a pioneering firm in the area of index-fund investing.