HAMPTON ROADS LEADERS TO SPEAK AT COMMENCEMENT MAY 10
Hampton Roads leaders David R. Goode, chairman of Norfolk Southern Corp., and Thomas C. Schievelbein, president of Northrop Grumman Newport News, will speak and receive honorary doctor of humane letters degrees at Old Dominion University's 98th commencement exercises Saturday, May 10.
In a new format, the university will hold two ceremonies in the Ted Constant Convocation Center for the more than 2,000 candidates eligible for graduation. Each graduate's name will be announced as they walk across the stage and have their photo taken with President Roseann Runte. A 9 a.m. ceremony featuring Goode as speaker will be held for the colleges of Arts and Letters, Education and Health Sciences. The ceremony for the colleges of Business and Public Administration, Engineering and Technology, and Sciences will begin at 3 p.m., with Schievelbein giving the address.
As chairman, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern, Goode oversees the fourth-largest railroad in the country. A Roanoke-area native, Goode began working at the then Norfolk and Western Railway Co. in the tax department in 1965. He held various positions before being appointed to his current role in 1992.
Locally, Goode serves on the board of trustees for the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial Foundation and The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges. Additionally, he serves on the boards of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, Caterpillar Inc., Delta Air Lines, and the Center for Energy and Economic Development, among others.
Goode earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Duke University in 1962 and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1965, and is a graduate of Harvard's Advanced Management Program.
Schievelbein has served as president of Northrop Grumman Newport News since 2001. In this position, he oversees some 18,000 employees at the nation's sole designer, builder and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two companies capable of designing and building nuclear-powered submarines.
Prior to his appointment as president, Schievelbein served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Newport News Shipbuilding. He also served as vice president for human resources and administration, vice president of strategy and naval program development, and vice president for naval marketing.
Schievelbein serves on the board of directors for the American Shipbuilding Association, the Navy League and the Virginia Career Foundation. He also serves on the board of trustees for the Mariners' Museum and the Dolphin Scholarship Fund.
Schievelbein earned a bachelor's degree in marine engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master's in nuclear engineering from the University of Virginia.