LANDMARK EXECUTIVE-IN-RESIDENCE SERIES BRINGS BUSINESS LEADERS TO OLD DOMINION
Frank Batten Jr., chairman of the board of Landmark Communications, will give the inaugural talk for the Old Dominion University College of Business and Public Administration's Landmark Executive-in-Residence Speaker Series Thursday, Jan. 25.
The new program is designed to provide students an opportunity to learn firsthand the strategies and experiences of great leaders by bringing accomplished businessmen and -women to campus to share their history and vision. The series is funded by group of former Landmark executives in honor of Frank Batten Sr., chairman of the executive committee of the Landmark board.
"The Landmark Executive-in-Residence program will enrich students' entrepreneurial spirit, sense of global mobility and awareness of the success that can be built on their academic experience," said Bruce Rubin, interim dean of the College of Business and Public Administration.
Each lecture in the series, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 12:30 p.m. in room 136 of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center. Prior to the public talk, executives will meet with a small group of students for an informal question-and-answer session.
As chairman of Landmark Communications, Frank Batten Jr. oversees a diversified media company that includes The Weather Channel, television stations in Nashville and Las Vegas, and daily newspapers in Norfolk, Roanoke and Greensboro. The company also owns half of Trader Publishing Co.
Beginning his career as a newspaper reporter and advertising salesman, Batten later became general manager and publisher of The News-Enterprise in Elizabethtown, Ky., before joining The Virginian-Pilot in 1989. He served as marketing director, vice president and associate publisher of The Pilot until being named president and publisher in 1991.
In 1995, Batten was named executive vice president of Landmark, responsible for corporate development and new ventures, before becoming chairman in 1997.
Other speakers in the Landmark Executive-in-Residence series include: David W. Faeder, vice chairman of Sunrise Assisted Living, Feb. 22; Deborah K. Stearns, president of Advantis GVA, March 1; and Wallace G. Haislip, chief financial officer and treasurer of Scientific Atlantic Inc., April 3.
For more information call 683-3520 or visit the Web site, web.odu.edu/execspeakers.