Virginia Business- June 2016 by Virginia Business

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46 | Business legislation has big impact 49 | Executive education for women

Leaving a legacy

Sweet Briar alumnae devote money and talent to collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revival President Phillip Stone says rescue gives school a compelling message

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Contents

June 2016

COVER STORY

20 Leaving

a legacy

Notable gifts are aimed at long-term goals. by Robert Powell Photo by Mark Rhodes

THE GENEROUS VIRGINIANS PROJECT

22 Redefining college ties Alumnae devote money and talent to Sweet Briar’s revival. by Gary Robertson

35 Transforming treatment Schars’ $50 million gift boosts efforts to build a cancer research center focused on personalized treatment. by Heather B. Hayes

40 Continuing a cause Media General’s donation celebrates Stewart Bryan’s passion for journalism. by Jack Cooksey

INTERVIEW: SHERRIE ARMSTRONG The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia, Richmond

30 New role for a familiar leader Community foundation CEO was longtime United Way executive. by Robert Powell

PAULA C. SQUIRES managing editor

VERONICA GARABELLI special projects editor

KEVIN DICK production manager

bniemeier@virginiabusiness.com

psquires@virginiabusiness.com

vgarabelli@virginiabusiness.com

kdick@virginiabusiness.com

ROBERT C. POWELL III editor

JESSICA SABBATH senior editor

ADRIENNE R. WATSON art director

KAREN CHENAULT circulation manager

rpowell@virginiabusiness.com

jsabbath@virginiabusiness.com

arwatson@virginiabusiness.com

kchenault@virginiabusiness.com

(804) 225-1366

Cover photo by Mark Rhodes

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contents VirginiaBusiness.com Vol. 31

JUNE 2016

No. 6

VIRGINIA BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS LLC

President & Publisher Editor Managing Editor Senior Editor Special Projects Editor Intern Contributing Writers

Bernard A. Niemeier Robert C. Powell III Paula C. Squires Jessica Sabbath Veronica Garabelli Devon Bortz

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

46 A busy body

COMMUNITY PROFILE: CHARLOTTESVILLE AREA

General Assembly session was packed with businessrelated legislation. by Jessica Sabbath

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Jack Cooksey Heather B. Hayes Shawna Morrison Gary Robertson Carlos Santos Joan Tupponce

Art Director Adrienne R. Watson Contributing Photographers Steven Mantilla Jay Paul Don Petersen Mark Rhodes Production Manager Kevin L. Dick Circulation Manager Karen Chenault Accounting Manager Ashley Henry

ADVERTISING CENTRAL VIRGINIA 1207 East Main Street, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23219 (804) 225-9262 Fax: (804) 225-0028 Vice President of Advertising Hunter Bendall Account Manager Courtney Johnson

49 Training female 62 A new story executives line? Companies want help in developing management talent. by Gary Robertson

Nightmarish events overshadowed area’s growth as a hotspot for entrepreneurs.

by Carlos Santos

UNIVERSITY PROFILE: ROANOKE COLLEGE

HAMPTON ROADS 4211 Monarch Way, Suite 104, Norfolk, VA 23508 (757) 625-4233 Fax: (757) 627-1709 Sales Manager Susan Horton

66 Untangling traffic Region addresses road and parking problems.

ROANOKE 210 S. Jefferson St., Roanoke, VA 24011-1702 (540) 597-2499 Sales Manager Lynn Williams

by Carlos Santos

departments VIRGINIA BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS LLC A portfolio company of Virginia Capital Partners LLC Frederick L. Russell Jr., chairman Virginia Business (USPS 001-387, ISSN 0888-1340) is published monthly by Virginia Business Publications, LLC, 1207 E. Main Street, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23219. Subscriptions: U.S. and possessions: $48. Periodicals postage paid at Richmond, Va. Postmaster: Send address changes to Virginia Business, 1207 East Main Street, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23219. Copyright 2016 Virginia Business Publications, LLC. All editorial material is fully protected and may not be reproduced in any manner without prior permission. For additional reference: SRDS #20A – Business-Metro, State and Regional

56 Punching above its weight class Cregger Center should expand small college’s regional impact. by Shawna Morrison

Letters to the Editor .................. 6 Events calendar........................ 7 Our View ................................... 9 Followups .............................. 10 Out & About ....... 11, 18, 45, 61 Regional Views ...................... 12 Inside View ............................ 67 Index...................................... 68 Preview .................................. 69

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@VirginiaBiz

Robert Powell

Letters to the Editor

rpowell@va-business.com

Reagan’s policy initiatives led to era of economic prosperity To the Editor: I realize that Bernie Niemeier’s publisher’s column in your May issue [“Who’s the real Trojan horse?”] was intended to be light, tongue-in-cheek fare. But buried in the middle of it was this statement: “[T]rickle-down economics, popularized during the Reagan era, have never performed as promised. If anything, they’ve contributed to economic inequality.” If I had heard this from a Democratic Party spokesman, I would just roll my eyes and move on. From the publisher of the state’s leading business publication, however, I expect more objectivity. While the economy has indeed performed poorly for going on 16

years now, the period our lifetimes. Who’s the real Trojan horse? from 1982-1999 — You should also I the period ignited know that “trickle-down by Reagan’s policy economics” is a pejorative initiatives — was term, used during the one of the strongest, 1980s by Reagan’s sustained periods of opponents. Using that economic expansion term is not persuasive. in this nation’s history. It merely identifies the There is a wealth of writer as a partisan, not an objective economic objective commentator. Most of the article was data proving that the a joke, by design. The greatest beneficiaries attempt to revise history of this were the to massage Mr. Niemeier’s middle and working personal political beliefs was not classes, who saw benefits directly, not funny. as scraps falling from the tables of the upper crust. I am sure most of your Brad Marrs readers would join me in hoping that Richmond we will see that kind of success recur in Bernie Niemeier

bniemeier@va-business.com

magine a most imaginary conversation that could have taken place shortly before the unpleasantness of the 2016 presidential campaign began: “Bill, this is The Donald returning your call. Hope you’re doing super.” “Well, gosh, um, that’s just it. I need your help. You’re such a great supporter, and you know, this next presidential race — it’s really Hill’s time. And me, I just can’t wait to be back in the Lincoln bedroom.” “Yes, that’s gonna be great, that’s gonna be fantastic, terrific! How much? You and I both know it takes somebody else’s money.” “Well, this time it’s more than money and a few appearances. Here’s the problem; it’s this Bush thing, this whole Bush-Clinton dynasty thing. Our family legacy is on the line. If it comes down to a choice between stupid and crooked, we’re just not sure who America will pick to win.” “Yeah Bill, I get that. People are so unpredictable. You’ve got a legacy; it’s huge; it’s huge, terrific! You know I love winning.” “Right Big D, and that’s just it — gosh, you’re so big, sooo popular; people just love you! The whole ‘Apprentice’ thing, just masterful! And Obama, that whole birther thing, ridiculous, brilliant! You’ve really got it all dialed in. “Here’s the catch: we need more of this. We need you to go under deep cover and run for president as a Republican. You’re great under the covers, right? It will totally annihilate their party. We both love winning. It will be fabulous, fabulous for your ratings. We’ll both win! Super!

Photo by Mark Rhodes

OurView from the Publisher

“How about it, Donald? You can’t say no. Remember, the Lincoln Bedroom? It’s yours or mine; it’s ours either way! Win-win! You’ll be big, really big! Too good to be true, you can’t say no!” “Bill, gotcha, super, super idea, let me think, you know me, that doesn’t take long. Just between the two of us, right? Let’s get together soon on one of my many, many courses, we’ll have to put the kibosh on golfing together for a while after this goes live. This is gonna be wonderful, wonderful...” Okay, so much for the hypothetical. Maybe this isn’t exactly how these campaigns started, but fast-forwarding to the spring of 2016, the primaries have unfolded with the same result. Following his loss to Ted Cruz in the Wisconsin primary, Donald Trump called Cruz a “Trojan horse for GOP bosses.” But, who’s the real Trojan horse? The Trump candidacy has splintered the Republican Party, repeatedly foreshadowing an independent run in the general election, which would eliminate the possibility of a Republican majority. Less attention has been focused on divisions among Democrats. Who knows what kind of negotiations between Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren resulted in Warren rejecting the idea of a run this year. Still, almost inevitably, Bernie Sanders has risen as a standard bearer for disaffected Democrats — coming across as the kind of crazy grandfather that every kid finds hilarious — and also irresistible. Sanders may not be a Trojan horse, but he’s certainly gotten the camel’s

nose into the tent. The elite Republicans and Democrats alike have proven themselves Washington-centric. They’ve completely lost touch with their respective voter bases, which are shrinking demographically and shrinking away from both parties’ worn-out electoral platforms. For example, it’s well documented that church attendance has been shrinking for decades, yet evangelicals still cling to the idea of a majority, even a white majority. On the policy front, trickle-down economics, popularized during the Reagan era, have never performed as promised. If anything, they’ve contributed to economic inequality. The wealthiest Republican loyalists have reaped rewards. The less-well-to-do have waited three decades for the party’s populist promises to materialize. Their patience has served their party well, but it’s now past the breaking point. On the Democratic front, clinging to a monochromatic black and white worldview for votes in the South, as well as a laborcentric paradigm for votes in the Northeast and Upper Midwest also is increasingly outdated. Decades-old, civil rightsdriven loyalty is much to be admired. But how ironic to see the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement during the final term of the country’s first African-American president. Ongoing growth of Latino and Asian voters is dramatically and permanently altering the politics of race. Much like shrinking church attendance, labor unions have been on the de-

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cline for decades. Today, even Michigan is a right-towork state. Policy-wise, protectionism is just as much a broken populist promise as it is a failed economic one. Traditional thinking on independent voters is that they ultimately side with one party or the other. That may no longer hold true. The number of so-called independents is on the rise; increasing extremism in both major parties has alienated voters. Late July will bring the political conventions. The Republicans will convene in Cleveland, followed a few days later by the Democrats in Philadelphia. Imagine this very imaginary scenario: A brokered Republican Convention leads to a third-party candidacy. The following week, Democratic dysfunction pops loose a fourth candidate. The camel’s nose comes out of the tent. Now who’s the real Trojan horse?

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Mega-region proposal would create more auto-oriented sprawl justification is offered To the Editor: other than the claim I suppose it is that Virginia’s economy well not to have high needs a boost because expectations from a A of defense cuts and the business magazine, big league larger region will have which, after all, is move? more political leverage. about promoting Business groups believe a Richmond-Hampton Roads mega-region will be a major competitor Nothing is said of business. But I guess smart growth, alternaI had higher expectaW tive transportation or tions from Virginia quality of life. Nor is Business than a unithere any recognition dimensional piece for that a lot of businesses a new mega-region are not just looking between Hampton for a plot of green Roads and Richmond space near an inter[“A big league move?” state interchange to March issue], perhaps cheaply destroy but want a region that because of its excellent coverage of the is attractive — culturally, recreationally urban renaissance in Norfolk, Richmond and elsewhere, and its recognition of the and beauty-wise — to educated young people that are uninterested in a region benefits. offering little but banal auto arteries The mega-region you outline lined by corporate chain big boxes, appears to be little more than massive, fast-food franchises, convenience stores auto-oriented suburban sprawl destroyand isolated auto subdivisions. Nor is ing the farms, forests and natural lands there any discussion of economic costs, currently existing in eastern Henrico, e.g., will the Historic Triangle’s national Charles City, New Kent and what is reputation and tourism be damaged left of James City and York counties’ by the vast auto sprawl you advocate, non-sprawled areas. Why do this? Little COVER STORY

by Paula C. Squires

hen Tom Frantz envisions the future, he doesn’t see Richmond and Hampton Roads as separate places. He sees a “mega-region” of 3 million people, stretching from the sands of Virginia Beach to the stately columns of Richmond’s state Capitol.

The chairman emeritus of the Williams Mullen law firm and a leader in economic development initiatives, Frantz foresees collaborative alliances in biosciences and advanced manufacturing. They would be supported by transportation systems linking the two metros. People and goods could travel back and forth via a widened Interstate 64, an improved U.S. 460, a high-speed train or a barge on the James River. With the Port of Virginia in Hampton Roads serving as a global gateway and Richmond’s growing prominence as a logistics hub, Frantz believes both areas would benefit by touting their related synergies. The idea isn’t entirely new. When Virginia Business began publication 30 years ago, there was talk of a Golden Crescent of

Illustration by Matt Brown

JUNE 2016

www.VirginiaBusiness.com

prosperity in Virginia, arcing around the Chesapeake Bay from Washington, D.C., to Hampton Roads (see story on Page 43). At that time there wasn’t much development east of Richmond to Williamsburg. That has changed with new housing developments and businesses locating in New Kent and James City counties. So to many people, the idea makes more sense now. Plus, there’s a sense of urgency. Virginia’s economy, hard hit by defense cuts, needs a boost. The Brookings Institution’s recent Metro Monitor Report ranked the Richmond region 59th economically among the top 100 in metro areas, while Hampton Roads was 97th. The rankings are based on job growth, gross regional product and aggregate wages from 2009 to 2014. VIRGINIA BUSINESS

or how will the resulting environmental degradation affect us (what will become of the James River or Chesapeake Bay as forests are cut down and more tainted storm water pours into the watershed?). Nor are alternatives discussed — why not better revitalize urban Newport News and Hampton, as well as continue Norfolk’s and Richmond’s renaissances? Why not get a higher-speed rail link going, with frequent trains — between Main Street Station in Richmond, downtown Norfolk and downtown Newport News — connected to a region-wide, light-rail system that goes most everywhere in Hampton Roads? Now that‘s a vision with the potential to create lots of good jobs for both regions. I fear the vision you espouse is all about a lot of easy money for influential landowners, lawyers, accountants, developers, bankers and other entrenched interests, who see the damaging pathways of the past as more certain and obtainable in the near term than alternatives. Mark Perreault Norfolk

Events Items on the calendar are just a sample of statewide business events in the commonwealth this month. To see more events visit VirginiaBusiness.com. To submit an event for consideration, email Veronica Garabelli at vgarabelli@virginiabusiness.com about two months before the event.

June 9

June 17

Mix & Mingle, Meet & Eat

Corporate Challenge Golf Tournament

Tysons The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce event at Silverline Center Atrium offers opportunities for networking and food sampling.

Front Royal

www.novachamber.org

The Top of Virginia Regional Chamber of Commerce gathering will be held at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club.

June 14

www.regionalchamber.biz

Business Basics Roanoke

June 23

The class, held at the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office, provides an introduction to owning a business.

Virginia CFO Awards

www.rrsbdc.org

June 15

Economic Development Outlook Breakfast

Richmond Virginia Business honors five chief financial officers at The Jefferson Hotel.

www.virginiabusiness.com

June 23

Staunton

Hot Ticket Awards

The Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce event will be held at Holiday Inn Staunton Conference Center.

Northern Virginia Technology Council celebrates innovative technology companies.

www.augustava.com

Photo by Rick DeBerry

McLean

www.nvtc.org

www.VirginiaBusiness.com

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Bernie Niemeier

bniemeier@va-business.com

OurView from the Publisher

It’s a long road to Wise

his magazine takes me all across Virginia, figuratively as a reader and literally as its publisher. I’m a participant in a multitude of business and economic development events. During a two-week period last month, I found myself in Norfolk, Chantilly, Charlottesville, Richmond, Lexington, Irvington and Wise — in that order! That’s a lot of time crisscrossing the commonwealth. The road to Wise started on a foggy morning in Richmond. For those who don’t know Wise County, it’s in far Southwest Virginia. As the crow flies, it’s closer to state capitals in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and West Virginia than it is to Richmond. Driving west on I-64, a light rain started in Louisa County. I hit my usual pit stops, the Fifth Street exit in Charlottesville for gas at the Sunoco, and the Starbucks in Waynesboro for coffee. Traffic slowed in a shroud of fog atop Afton Mountain. On the other side of the pass, the rain was gone, and a bit of blue began to peek out from behind the clouds. Pushing on westward to Staunton and the I-81 merge, I then headed south. I stopped at the Pink Cadillac off the Natural Bridge exit for a quick lunch. Not the best taco salad I’ve ever eaten, but it beats most of what else is quickly available without leaving the interstate to drive into Roanoke. Lots of folks complain about the number of trucks on I-81. I don’t mind them. It’s good to see business on the move. This section of the interstate follows the ridgeline of the Appalachians and includes some of the best

Photo by Tim Cox

scenery Virginia has to offer. I-81 rolls on, passing Lexington, Roanoke, Christiansburg and the exits for Blacksburg and Floyd. If it’s possible for a road to have a rhythm, this one is made up of the small towns ticking by — Dublin, Pulaski, Draper and Wytheville (home of my all-time favorite name for a newspaper, The Bland County Messenger). Keep going past Rural Retreat (how idyllic!), Marion and Chilhowie (another favorite name, everyone should be able to say, “I’ve been to Chilhowie!”) The long ride south ended at the Abingdon exit, turning west on Route 58. This is the same highway that begins in Virginia Beach and crosses the entirety of Southern Virginia to its westernmost tip. For much of that distance, U.S. 58 features two lanes, lots of curves, lots of trucks and a long-standing reputation for highway danger. But that’s not so much the case by the time the road gets west of Abingdon. In this part of the state, one sees the benefit of an in-

dustrial heritage, the need to move coal trucks eastward from the mines. The need to haul coal has intersected with Virginia’s complex and arcane highway funding formulas to produce in Route 58 a road that is the equivalent of an interstate. It is a divided highway with two lanes each way and cloverleaf exits. Thanks to coal, Southwest Virginia has solid transportation infrastructure. Furthermore traffic congestion is non-existent, especially when compared with much of the rest of the commonwealth. But still, the Southwest is rugged mountain country. Following my car’s GPS I headed west, distracting myself from the long ride with phone calls. When I got off the phone, the GPS kicked back in exhorting me to “Please make a U-turn.” Obviously, I’d gone a bit off route. Paying attention to directions and getting off the four-lane highway, the road began to narrow. After taking a right turn, the road narrowed even more, winding up and down.

www.VirginiaBusiness.com

This was fun road for a lone driver, but it would have made a passenger with even the strongest stomach queasy. Pulling hard uphill around a curve, a big yellow school bus suddenly appeared in the opposite lane. The car barely shot between the passing bus and a steep roadside ditch. Whew! Deep into beautiful farm country, the road finally began to widen, eventually to the point of having room for a yellow line again. Another short stretch of U.S. 58 took me past the Dominion Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, then through a big cut in the rock (you know it when you see it) to St. Paul, and onward into the town of Coeburn. Next, it was up over Tacoma Mountain Road. After another tire burning climb and brake-beating descent, I finally pulled up in front of the Inn at Wise, six-and-a-half hours after leaving Richmond. Wise County is also the home of University of Virginia’s College at Wise. I was there to attend the 2016 Southwest Virginia Economic Forum. This part of Virginia is ground zero for the muchmaligned coal industry. The people are hard working and they are also working hard to reinvent the local economy. More than 300 attended the forum; that’s bigger than some economic events I’ve been to in Richmond. Much credit is due to U.Va.-Wise for serving as a place-making convener. If you haven’t been to Southwest Virginia, you should visit. It’s a beautiful place, full of friendly people and opportunity. The drive may be long, but it’s well worth it. You might even find yourself wanting to locate a business there.

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Robert Powell

Followups VDOT announces $125 million in Richmond-area paving projects The Virginia Department of Transportation says the paving program for its Richmond District is the largest ever for the region, in terms of lane miles and total spending. The district will spend $125 million in resurfacing 1,540 lane miles of state-maintained roads, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Richmond district is responsible for about 18,000 miles of roads. It oversees maintenance and construction in Amelia, Brunswick, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Lunenburg,

Mecklenburg, New Kent, Nottoway, Powhatan and Prince George counties and the cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg. The newspaper reported that $27 million will be spent on local interstate sections, including 78 miles of asphalt paving and 18 lane miles of concrete repairs, on sections of Interstates 95, 295, 85 and 195. Mayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s issue of Virginia Business included an interview with Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne, who discussed the commonwealthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new formula for transportation funding.

rpowell@va-business.com

Volkswagen to pay $8.8 billion to repair or buy back diesel vehicles Volkswagen Group expects to spend about $8.8 billion to repair or buy back diesel vehicles affected by an emissions software scandal. Volkswagen Group of Ameri-

ca is based in Herndon. USA Today reports that the German automaker has struck a tentative civil settlement with the U.S. government, California authorities and consumers over the episode, which affects 11 million vehicles worldwide. The settlement gives U.S. owners the option of buybacks or compensation. The agreement also includes a requirement to invest in environmentally friendly vehicles. Volkswagen estimates that the total bill for the scandal will top $18 billion. Volkswagen engineers installed â&#x20AC;&#x153;defeat deviceâ&#x20AC;? software in its diesel vehicles. The software lowered emissions during testing but allowed higher emissions during normal driving to give the cars more power.

Stop Searching, Start Finding. Everything your business needs to grow and thrive is in Harrisonburg, VA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; access to major markets, a growing technology base, an educated workforce, business and university partnerships, and a 5-star rated quality of life. Visit HarrisonburgDevelopment.com today to ďŹ nd your perfect Harrisonburg location with our new property locator.

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JUNE 2016

Left photo: Courtesy Virginia Department of Transportation Right photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire URN:26140152 (Press Association via AP Images)

Out & About Virginia’s Fantastic 50 The Virginia Chamber of Commerce announced the names of 50 of the state’s fastest-growing companies at the 21st annual Virginia’s Fantastic 50 Awards Banquet in late April in Chantilly. Virginia Vanguard Awards were given to the company with the highest overall revenue growth rate and the growth leaders in four industry categories.

1. Virginia’s Fantastic 50 winners for 2016.

2. Virginia Vanguard Award - Top Retail / Wholesale Company, Morooka USA, Ashland.

3. Virginia Vanguard Award – Top Manufacturing Company, Devils Backbone Brewing Co. (from left to right) Katie Nigsch, Heidi Crandall, Maddie Holt and Cara Flynn. 4. Larry Dickenson, The Branch Group Inc.; Van Knick, Capital One; Robert Powell, Virginia Business; and Barry DuVal, Virginia Chamber.

Share photos of special events at your company with Virginia Business E-mail your candid photos with identifications to Adrienne R. Watson, arwatson@va-business.com. Photos not used in the magazine may be posted on our Web site at VirginiaBusiness.com

4 Photos courtesy Virginia Chamber of Commerce

www.VirginiaBusiness.com

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Regional View

Eastern Virginia

Northern Neck firm aims to create IT jobs by Joan Tupponce

ohn May wants to bring technology jobs to the Northern Neck.

John May is the president and CEO of the Center for Innovation and Development in Kilmarnock.

ON THE WEB Complete list of For the Record and People at VirginiaBusiness.com FOR THE RECORD Bon Secours Health System Inc. and one of its surgical oncologists, Dr. Eugene Y. Chang of Suffolk, have agreed to pay $400,000 to settle civil fraud allegations that, while at Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth, Chang billed Medicare and other federal health-care payers for non-covered breast examinations and ultrasounds. The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability. (Richmond Times-Dispatch) The restoration of The Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach is costing $20 million more 12

May worked in the telecommunications industry in Northern Virginia for more than 30 years. Three years ago, he realized the benefits of working in a rural area after moving to Weems. May discovered that an area along Route 3 in the than anticipated and taking more time to complete, according to a letter from Bruce Thompson, manager of Cavalier Associates LLC, which is developing the property. The company is spending more than $200 million on the Cavalier property. Thompson did not ask the city for additional money and said that he and his partners plan to honor their commitment to restore the 89-year-old hotel and develop the adjacent properties. The anticipated opening date is next April. (The Virginian-Pilot) Dollar Tree Inc. announced the former CEO of Family Dollar has resigned from the Chesapeake company’s

JUNE 2016

Northern Neck has fiber-optic cable that can provide unlimited broadband capacity and speeds. “In places where you have broadband, you can write software anywhere,” he says. “You can support areas like Washington, D.C., Richmond, Dahlgren [Naval Surface Warfare Center] and Hampton Roads at a price that is less expensive.” Today, May is the president and CEO of the Center for Innovation and Development (CID) in Kilmarnock. CID opened in April 2015 and now has eight employees. The mission of the nonprofit organization is to promote economic development and create jobs in the Northern Neck.

CID’s services include software development, userinterface design and back-office computing. “We are a hightech hub,” May says. He says companies can use CID as an extension of their facilities or they can contract with Advanced Network Systems, a for-profit entity created and supported by CID, for consulting or project services as well as customer development services. CID also offers the services of Business Re-engineering Corp., another forprofit company it created as a HUBZone (historically underutilized business zone) business. “Federal contractors can get credit for doing business in a HUBZone,”

May says. He hopes that, while bringing jobs to the Northern Neck, CID will help U.S. companies avoid offshoring jobs to foreign countries. “I headed a company that had 100 people in India, so I am familiar with offshoring,” May says, adding there are disadvantages to offshoring, such as problems controlling product quality. “I’ve learned it’s better to keep work close to home.” May says one advantage that companies would discover in using CID is the Northern Neck doesn’t have Northern Virginia’s traffic congestion. Employees are not sitting “in a car in traffic when they can be here working,” he says.

board of directors. Dollar Tree said Howard R. Levine resigned April 19, adding there were no disagreements between Levine and the company. Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar and its more than 8,200 stores last year in a deal worth $9.2 billion. Levine stepped down as CEO of Family Dollar in January. (The Virginian-Pilot)

and SharePoint services as well as project management. (Daily Press)

Award. The award honors women who have blazed a trail for other women through professional leadership, volunteer efforts and civic involvement. (News release)

Endurance IT Services, which has offices in Virginia Beach and Newport News, acquired the information technology support team of Virginia Beach-based Doran Consulting Technology Group. Endurance specializes in managed services and IT infrastructure. Doran will continue to offer web, data

PEOPLE Kenny Alexander, a state senator and Norfolk native, will become Norfolk’s mayor in July. He will be the first African-American to hold the post. Elected in May, Alexander will succeed Paul Fraim, the city’s mayor since 1994. (The Virginian-Pilot) Jennifer Boykin, vice president of engineering and design for Newport News Shipbuilding, is a recipient of a 2016 YWCA Women of Distinction

Victoria Dietz has been promoted to vice president of The Curtis Group in Virginia Beach. She joined the firm in 2013 as a consultant. (News release) Norfolk Planning Director George M. Homewood was named to the American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows for his achievements in urban planning. (Daily Press)

Photo courtesy Center for Innovation and Development (CID)

Shenandoah Valley

Regional View

Chamber of commerce marks 100th anniversary by Joan Tupponce

s part of its 100th anniversary celebration, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce dug up a time capsule it had buried 50 years ago. “We wanted to dig it up on the official day that we got our charter signed, which was April 26, 1916,” says Frank Tamberrino, the chamber’s president and CEO. The chamber invited to the ceremony some people who had been present when the capsule was buried in 1966. The group included Ed Seidel who was executive vice president of the organization from 1965 to 1968. “He helped put the time capsule in the ground 50 years ago,” Tamberrino says. “We hosted a reception in advance of digging

up the capsule, and we had about 20 past presidents and chairmen there.” The time capsule contained items from area companies, such as Merck and Reynolds Metals (which was acquired by Alcoa in 2000), as well as a number of canned turkey and poultry products. (Poultry remains a significant industry in the Shenandoah Valley.) Tamberrino notes that many of the items were covered by shrink-wrap made by the former Reynolds Metals plant in Grottoes (now Reynolds Flexible Packaging, a part of Pactiv Foodservice).“They wrapped a lot of products so there wouldn’t be any problems if the cans leaked, and one had leaked.” Other items in the capsule included a tube of Brylcreem,

some annual reports, a zoning code, a land use plan and two pairs of pants, one from Metro Garments and the other from H.D. Lee, two garment companies in the area at the time. “Garment companies were important here in the 1950s and 1960s,” Tamberrino says. During the event, the son of a former H.D. Lee employee read a note his father had put in one of the pairs of pants. The note explained the permanently creased pants were from the company’s facility in Broadway. All of the artifacts are now on display in Tamberrino’s office. “We are scanning some of the items and they will eventually make their way to either James Madison University’s special collections library or the Harrisonburg-

FOR THE RECORD

Faded Poppy ($7,000) and Make Waynesboro ($6,000). Grow Waynesboro seeks to find, fund and support startups in the area. (The News Leader)

Edinburg-based Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. (Shentel) has completed its acquisition of Waynesboro-based NTELOS Holding Corp. The deal, announced in August, will more than double Shentel’s wireless customer base. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

A small cidery in Highland County received nods at the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition in April. The contest awarded Big Fish Cider Co. a Best-in-Class award, which marks the first time in the competition’s 11-year history that a Virginia cidery has earned that distinction. The cidery received four medals in the competition, which drew 1,003 entries. (The News Leader) Eight finalists competed for $21,000 in startup money in April as part of a new program called Grow Waynesboro. Three local business projects received funding — Ula Tortilla ($8,000). The

Photo courtesy Daily News-Record

The city of Harrisonburg, James Madison University, and dpM Partners are collaborating on the Hotel Madison & Shenandoah Valley Conference Center, which will be located on the southern end of downtown Harrisonburg, on the edge of JMU’s campus. The 235-room boutique hotel is slated to open in fall 2017. The $36 million hotel will be privately owned and operated by dpM Partners. (News release)

Augusta Health’s Wal-Mart Convenient Care Clinics in Waynesboro and Staunton have closed. During the past five years, Augusta Health has opened Urgent Care Centers in Staunton, Waynesboro, Stuarts Draft and Weyers Cave. During that time, patient traffic at the Wal-Mart-based clinics has significantly declined. (The News Leader) www.VirginiaBusiness.com

Rockingham Historical Society, which has The Heritage Museum in Dayton,” he says. The chamber plans to bury another time capsule in the same spot on Court Square in June or July. “We are taking suggestions from folks as to what should go in there,” Tamberrino says.

Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Frank Tamberrino (left) and its chairman, Mike Garber, pull up a time capsule buried by the organization 50 years ago on Court Square.

ON THE WEB Complete list of For the Record and People at VirginiaBusiness.com PEOPLE Mike Ahrnsbrak has been named general manager of The Lexington Golf and Country Club. Ahrnsbrak has served as general manager at the Blue Ridge Shadows Resort and Golf Club in Front Royal and the Musket Ridge Golf Club in Myersville, Md. (News release) Front Royal Mayor Tim Darr announced in April that he will not seek a fourth term. Darr, a security specialist with the Department of Defense, was elected mayor in 2010 and re-elected in 2012 and 2014. The election will be held in November. (The Warren Sentinel)

The Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative has hired Michael Hastings as president and CEO. He will begin work by Aug. 1, succeeding Myron D. Rummel, who is retiring. Hastings is president and CEO of Jo-Carroll Energy in northwestern Illinois. (Daily News-Record) The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association elected a slate of officers to its board of directors. Appointments include Augusta Health President and CEO Mary N. Mannix as chair and Valley Health System President and CEO Mark H. Merrill as secretary-treasurer. (News release)

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Southern Virginia

Regional View

The Launch Place invests $1.94 million in eight companies by Joan Tupponce

Eva Doss, the president and CEO of The Launch Place, says the companies are good fits for Danville.

ON THE WEB Complete list of For the Record and People at VirginiaBusiness.com FOR THE RECORD Dominion Virginia Power’s Brunswick Power Station began producing electricity in April. The 1,358-megawatt natural gas plant is expected to generate enough power for 325,000 homes. The company said the power plant was needed to meet growing demand and to replace electricity from older, coal-fired plants. The plant will have 43 employees with an annual payroll of $7.5 million. The station will pay about $4 million a year in local property taxes until 2017 and up to $5 million annually beyond that year. (VirginiaBusiness.com) Nationwide Custom Homes is expanding production at its Martinsville manufacturing 14

ason Barton, cofounder and chief technology officer for KSI Video, wasn’t sure that opening his company in Danville was the right move until he learned about The Launch Place. “It has turned out to be the best thing for us,” he says. “We do video and data management for drones and ground and underwater robots, and Danville wound up in the heart of an area for drone research.” The Launch Place is constantly searching for companies like KSI — firms with ideas for the next best thing that are willing to turn those ideas into businesses in Danville. The organization’s latest investment — $200,000 — will go to Roobrik, a company that provides an interactive software tool

for making decisions about long-term care. The program began in 2012 when the Danville Regional Foundation approved a $10 million grant to transform the Southside Business Technology Center and rebrand it as The Launch Place. To date, The Launch Place has made nine investments totaling $1.94 million in eight companies. Six of the investments came from a seed fund for companies that are well along in developing products. Another three investments came from a pre-seed fund for companies that are not as far along in that process. The companies receiving investments represent fields ranging from information technology software development to advanced manufacturing.

Additional companies are in the pipeline. The organization has received 283 applications for investments from the two funds. “All of these companies we invested in were a good fit for Danville and met the requirements of creating five jobs in a three-year period,” says Eva Doss, the president and CEO of The Launch Place. “We didn’t want companies to make a commitment just because of the money. They have to take advantage of our Danville location.” The organization’s biggest challenges are finding strong companies that want to create a presence in Danville and helping those companies get additional investments as they grow. “We have had success in establishing partnerships

with venture capitalists and angel funds,” Doss says. “If the companies need additional funding, we can introduce them to other angel funds and share professional due-diligence info.” The program has helped Barton of KSI find additional investors. “We have raised $1.2 million over three years,” he says, noting his company initially received a $250,000 investment from The Launch Place and a year later got an additional $100,000. Doss believes The Launch Place has burnished Danville’s reputation as a community that takes entrepreneurship seriously. “Danville is interested in helping new businesses to form,” she says. “This is definitely an atmosphere where entrepreneurship occurs.”

operations, creating 59 jobs. Nationwide President Andy Miller said the $986,342 project involves renovating one of its four plants at its Rives Road site to extend its production line. Nationwide produces modular housing for the single and multifamily residential markets. It also serves commercial markets, producing apartments, hotels, student housing and rental cottages. It is an operating division of Palm Harbor Homes, which is part of the Phoenix-based Cavco family of manufacturers. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

location on Halifax Road. According to URW’s website, members of the United Rubber Workers Local 831 Labor Union started the credit union in 1970. URW also has branches in Danville and Chatham. (The Gazette-Virginian)

an accident. According to Jennifer Rose, safety director for the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Compliance Program, Goodyear is contesting the citations, so the case remains open. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Virginia’s Department of Labor and Industry has issued three citations and recommended a fine of nearly $17,000 for violations it deemed serious at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Danville after the death of an employee at the plant last summer. Since then, two other plant employees have died on the job, and a third suffered second-degree burns in

Danville Regional Medical Center (DRMC) announced that Dr. James Klena — a Duke Medicine-affiliated cardiothoracic surgeon now practicing at Danville Heart & Vascular — has joined its medical staff. Klena comes to DRMC from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he was assistant professor of surgery and medical director of the adult intensive care unit. (Work It, SoVa)

Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham has named Dewitt “Hunter” Powell academic dean. Powell previously led schools at three locations around the country and also served as an instructor at Virginia Military Institute and a TAC Officer at St. Jones Military Academy. His military experience includes service with the Marine Corps and the Army National Guard. (Work It, SoVa)

URW Credit Union held a ribbon-cutting and grandopening ceremony in April at its new South Boston

JUNE 2016

PEOPLE

All four Danville City Council incumbents — Lee Vogler, Sherman Saunders, Larry Campbell and Fred Shanks — were re-elected in May and will be joined by Madison Whittle. Sheila WilliamsonBranch also was elected the city’s next treasurer. (Danville Register & Bee) Photo by Steven Mantilla

Southwest Virginia

Regional View

Virginia Tech web series aims to help small towns by Veronica Garabelli

monthly web series is targeting an unconventional audience — smalltown mayors and town managers. Virginia Tech’s “Save Our Towns,” program aims to guide and inspire Appalachian leaders working to improve their towns. The show has mostly been filmed in Virginia’s Appalachian region. The region includes 24 counties and 80 towns and cities. Some areas have been hit hard by the decline of the coal, tobacco and furniture industries. “We’ve had a lot of great response and feedback to show us that this is something of value,” says Andrea Brunais, the show’s executive producer who is director of communications for Virginia Tech’s office of outreach and international affairs. Each season, the

video series follows a small town and chronicles its triumphs and challenges in economic development. The first season focused on St. Paul, a Brunais small town in Southwest Virginia with a population of just under 1,000. “It went well,” St. Paul Mayor H. Kyle Fletcher says about the experience. “We were able to cover the town, talk about small towns in general, some of the problems we had and some of the things we wanted to do.” Every 10-minute episode also features an economic development tip from an expert. More information from that expert can be found on the “Save Our Towns” website, including contact information. Past experts

have included James Baldwin, head of the Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission, and Basil Gooden, state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development. Virginia Tech also will hold the Save Our Towns Summit Sept. 15 in Blacksburg. The event will explore challenges and opportunities facing small towns and rural communities. It also will look at best practices and examples of projects that are underway or completed and available resources. About 80 people attended the event last year when it was held for the first time, and Virginia Tech hopes to increase that to 100 this year. The show recently got a boost from the Virginia Cooperative Extension. The extension, a partnership

FOR THE RECORD

A multiproperty deal worth just over $90 million has placed the New River Valley’s only mall in new hands. Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust — PREIT — announced that it completed the sale of four “non-core” mall properties, placing the nearly three decades-old New River Valley Mall under the ownership of an affiliate of global asset management firm Farallon Capital Management LLC. (The Roanoke Times)

commander of the U.S. Armyowned, contractor-operated plant, Lt. Col. Alicia Masson, also said that $7 million has been released by the Army Contracting Command for the design of an enclosed incinerator to handle much of the waste that now is disposed of at the facility’s much-criticized Open Burning Ground. (The Roanoke Times)

Developers of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline anticipate delaying the start of construction of the $5.1 billion project until summer 2017. The pipeline would be about 600 miles long, beginning in West Virginia and terminating in North Carolina. Its route in Virginia would pass through 14 counties and cities. (The Roanoke Times) The Roanoke nonprofit Local Environmental Agriculture Project has opened The Kitchen in the city’s West End neighborhood. The Kitchen is designed to support development of small, food-related businesses. (The Roanoke Times)

Photo by Andrea Brunais

Radford Army Ammunition Plant officials broke ground on a gas-fired electricity and steam plant in April, saying the $60 million project will reduce the facility’s environmental impact. The

The Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau has a new name: Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. After operating for 31 years under the old name, the time had come for a new identity, according to bureau President Landon Howard. The organization represents the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the www.VirginiaBusiness.com

between Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided a $5,000 grant to cover the show’s travel and equipment expenses. The show also has won three awards this year, including two in the Bulldog Reporter competition, which is the only public relations competition judged by journalists. The third season of “Save Our Towns” will begin by Sept. 1 and can be viewed at www.saveourtowns. outreach.vt.edu. counties of Roanoke, Franklin and Botetourt. (The Roanoke Times)

PEOPLE Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech civil engineering professor who was instrumental in exposing a water crisis in Flint, Mich., was named to Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people. (The Roanoke Times) The Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau announced the following awards: Vicki Gardner, Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ambassador Award; Matt Hankins, Harvester Performance Center, Golden Star Award; and Jeff Marks,

A “Save Our Towns” film crew sets up in Big Stone Gap.

ON THE WEB Complete list of For the Record and People at VirginiaBusiness.com Gray Television Inc. (formerly with WDBJ), Chairs’ Tourism Excellence Award. (The Roanoke Times) Radford University President Penelope W. Kyle was honored April 22 with a series of commemorative events at the university, including the dedication of Kyle Hall, the home of the College of Business and Economics. Kyle will retire in June. (News release) The Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council inducted into its Technology Hall of Fame a new member, Joe Meredith, president and CEO of Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Northern Virginia

Regional View

Fast-growing Ingenicomm aims for the stars by Joan Tupponce

Amit Puri is president and CEO of Ingenicomm, which ranked eighth on this year’s Fantastic 50 list of high-growth companies.

ON THE WEB Complete list of For the Record and People at VirginiaBusiness.com FOR THE RECORD Capital One Financial Corp. plans to open a café branch in Richmond’s Carytown shopping district. The McLean-based company also plans to open other banking cafés in Chesterfield County and western Henrico County, sources close to the deal say. (Richmond Times-Dispatch) Event management company Cvent has agreed to be acquired by affiliates of Vista Equity Partners for $1.65 billion in an all-cash deal. Under the agreement, Cvent stockholders would receive $36 per share, a 69 percent premium over Cvent’s closing price on April 15. Cvent’s headquarters would remain in Tysons. The transaction is 16

ngenicomm can legitimately say business is out of this world. Products developed by the Chantilly-based company are used by NASA, the International Space Station, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and Canadian Space Agency. “Targeting the international market is a natural for our company,” says Amit Puri, the company’s president and CEO. The company’s programmable telemetry processor (PTP), for example, is designed to process spacecraft telemetry. A spacecraft sends collected data to operators on the ground with information that includes the status of the spacecraft as well as scientific data gathered by its instruments.

“It’s an extraordinarily flexible product,” Puri says of PTP. “The standard PTP contains more than 200 different software modules that perform different types of processing for spacecraft data. Users can select and configure individual modules as they need for their unique mission needs.” Puri and three colleagues started the business in 2010 after working at companies that worked with international and domestic space agencies. “My first job out of college was as a ground-systems engineer at Avtec Systems, a small aerospace contractor located in Fairfax,” Puri says. “At the time, Avtec was a key supplier of dataprocessing equipment to NASA, and the job introduced me to the aerospace market.”

The market has been good for Ingenicomm. It ranked No. 8 on the 2016 Fantastic 50, an annual list of the fastest-growing small companies in Virginia. The company recorded a revenue growth rate of 692.5 percent from 2011 to 2014. Ingenicomm has 40 employees, about half of whom work in Chantilly and an office in Greenbelt, Md. The other employees are located in White Sands, N.M., supporting the NASA facility there. Ingenicomm supports a significant portion of the scientific and exploratory spacecraft operated by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The company also

works with a variety of domestic defense and intelligence programs. Ingenicommdeveloped equipment is used to support critical early warning and missile detection systems such as the Space-Based Space Surveillance and Space-Based Infrared system operated by the U.S. Air Force. Puri is pleased with the support the company has received from the commonwealth in developing international markets. “It’s clear that Virginia is deeply interested in expanding its export footprint in the global marketplace and is prepared to offer practical assistance and not just encouraging words,” he says. “This makes it an ideal location from which to run a global business such as ours.”

expected to close in the third quarter. (VirginiaBusiness. com)

McLean-based Gannett Co. will ask shareholders of Tribune Publishing to withhold their votes for the June election of eight nominees to Tribune’s board of directors. The move is an attempt to prod Tribune’s management to begin negotiations on Gannett’s $815 million takeover bid. Gannett owns USA Today and 107 local news properties. Chicago-based Tribune owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Daily Press in Newport News and eight other dailies. (USA Today)

batch of Advanced AntiRadiation Guided Missiles, or AGM-88Es. The AGM-88E is currently used on U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft. It is a joint program involving the Pentagon and the Italian Ministry of Defense. (Washington Business Journal)

named Sean M. Dell’Orto chief financial officer of the new real estate investment trust (REIT). Dell’Orto will continue to serve as senior vice president and treasurer of Hilton Worldwide. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Fairfax County supervisors agreed in April to allow the county’s Economic Development Authority to accept $1.3 million in state grant funding to help accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP expand operations in Tysons. The state also will provide $227,200 from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. By Dec. 31, 2018, Ernst & Young must invest nearly $12.7 million in the facility and create and maintain at least 462 additional positions beyond the 1,422 employees working for the company in Tysons as of Nov. 1, 2014. (Inside NoVa)

JUNE 2016

Dulles-based Orbital ATK Inc. has received a $121.4 million contract to convert old supersonic air-to-ground tactical missiles into another

PEOPLE McLean-based Hilton Worldwide said Thomas J. Baltimore Jr. will become president and CEO of the hotel chain’s real estate business. Hilton announced in February that it would spin off its real estate and timeshare businesses to create three independent companies. Hilton also has

Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center has appointed Michael Clark as its CEO, effective June 1. Clark was president of LifePoint Health’s American Division, overseeing a 14-hospital system. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

Photo courtesy Ingenicomm

Central Virginia

Regional View

Richmond launches nonstop service to Denver by Veronica Garabelli

ood things come to those who wait. That was the case, anyhow, for the Richmond International Airport (RIC), which in April launched a direct United Airlines flight to Denver. “If I go back to communications with United, I can track solid mentions of requests and considerations of this route to at least 2003, so more than a decade,” says Troy Bell, the airport’s spokesman. According to the airport, Denver is the 11th most popular destination from RIC. More than 60,000 passengers travel between the two cities each year. “United’s new daily service to Denver provides our customers from throughout Virginia’s

Capital Region with convenient access to another major economic center and home to one of our largest hub airports,” Kellie Clough, United’s sales manager in Richmond, said in a statement when the flight was launched. The new flight is welcome news for the Greater Richmond Partnership (GRP), which takes almost 200 flights per year out of the Richmond airport. The organization helps companies interested in locating or expanding in the Richmond area. It now is able to meet with more prospective companies and consultants than before. “I think this is particularly big, not just because it goes to Denver … this is big because Denver gives us access to the whole

Western half of the United States,” says Barry Matherly, GRP’s president and CEO. About 35 percent of GRP’s prospective companies are from the U.S., and almost half of those firms are from the West, Matherly says. United spokeswoman Mary Clark says it’s too early to assess the flight’s performance, but the company is “satisfied with the response so far.” For competitive reasons, she was unable to provide specific passenger loads. RIC spokesman Bell also is mum on specific passenger numbers but says the flight “appears off to a very good start.” The airport used a $750,000 Department of Transportation

grant to help reduce the airline’s risk in establishing the route plus $150,000 in funds from local jurisdictions. The Capital Region Airport Commission also contributed $85,000 in marketing and in-kind donations.

FOR THE RECORD

the Uncommon student apartment building at 1000 W. Main St. It will have a 3.5-barrel brewery, 1,100-square-foot taproom and outdoor beer garden. Hardywood plans to open the brewery and taproom by September. (The Daily Progress)

locations in Richmond, Norfolk and McLean. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

said in April they are working together to identify a location for a new ballpark. They are seeking a site that is near the current ballpark, The Diamond, but not on the city-owned 60 acres bounded by the Boulevard and Hermitage Road. The announcement follows the issuance of a report recommending development of the city property and inclusion of sports and entertainment venues in the larger area. (News release)

Two subsidiaries of Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies Inc. have been awarded $3.1 billion in contracts for the manufacture of naval nuclear reactor components and fuel by the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The reactor components contracts were awarded to BWXT Nuclear Operations Group Inc. while the nuclear fuel contracts were awarded to Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. (VirginiaBusiness.com) Richmond-based Hardywood Park Craft Brewery plans to open a brewery and taproom in Charlottesville later this year. The facility will be located in

Hunton & Williams LLP has launched a 3-D printing team to advise clients as they use the technology, which is being adopted by many manufacturers. The team aims to give clients an advantage as they consider the opportunities presented by using 3-D printing. Hunton & Williams serves clients from 19 offices around the world, including

Photo courtesy United Continental Holdings Inc.

Quirk Hotel in downtown Richmond is officially complete with the opening of its rooftop bar and terrace. Construction on the two-level space picked up last September when the 74-room hotel opened, says Kate Brown, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. The 2,800-square-foot space offers a panoramic view of Richmond from the eight-story, boutique hotel. (VirginiaBusiness.com) Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones, the Richmond Flying Squirrels and Virginia Commonwealth University www.VirginiaBusiness.com

RIC now has 20 direct flights. It served 3.5 million passengers in 2015, up 4.79 percent from the previous year.

PEOPLE Bon Secours Richmond Health System has named Christopher Accashian

More than 60,000 passengers fly between Richmond and Denver each year.

ON THE WEB Complete list of For the Record and People at VirginiaBusiness.com CEO of St. Francis Medical Center in Midlothian. Accashian was CEO of Parkland Medical Center in Derry, N.H., which is part of the Hospital Corporation of America. (VirginiaBusiness. com) Toni R. Ardabell has been named CEO of Bon Secours Virginia Health System, which has eight acute-care hospitals in Richmond and Hampton Roads. She remains CEO of Bon Secours Richmond. (News release)

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Out & About Virginia Maritime Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Annual Banquet The Virginia Maritime Association held the 96th annual Maritime Banquet May 12 at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. The keynote address was delivered by Vice Admiral Charles Michel, vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. The banquet was part of the VMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Trade Symposium.

1 1. John-Garrett Kemper, Kemper Consulting; Del. Chris Stolle; state Sen. Lynwood Lewis; Del. Joe Lindsey. 2. Vice Admiral Charles D. Michel, U.S. Coast Guard and Richard Grahn, National Coast Guard Museum Assoc Inc. 3. Japheth Saecker, Birdsong Peanuts; and Tony Whealdon, Mediterranean Shipping Co. USA. 4. Jim Bibbs, Port of Virginia; Debbie Water, Board of Commissioners of Virginia Port Authority; and Matthew Barnes-Smith, Port of Virginia.

3 18

JUNE 2016

Photo by Mark Rhodes

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5. Chris Abel, Wilcox Savage; Sarah McCoy, Port of Virginia; and Rodney Oliver, Port of Virginia. 6. Del. Chris Jones; and Aubrey Layne, Virginia Secretary of Transportation. 7. Capt. Christopher Keane, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads; and Ashley McLeod, VMA. 8. Chuck Rigney, Norfolk Economic Development; Chris Stuart, Top Guard Security and VMA; and Charles Ciccotti, Coastal Virginia Investigations.

8 www.VirginiaBusiness.com

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

header

Mary Pope Maybank Hutson (left) and Megan Behrle are two Sweet Briar College alumnae who left careers to work for the college after it was threatened with closure last year. 20

JUNE 2016

■ Cover Story: GENEROUS VIRGINIANS PROJECT

Leaving a legacy

Redefining college ties ........... 22 Alumnae devote money and talent to Sweet Briar’s revival. by Gary Robertson

CHART Grants by community foundations ..................... 29

Notable gifts are aimed at long-term goals

New role for a familiar leader .... 30

by Robert Powell

Community foundation CEO was longtime United Way executive. by Robert Powell

ometimes donors give money with hopes of seeing quick results from their contributions — helping people in distress, for example, with food or clothes. Other donors, however, have long-term goals that may not even be achieved in their lifetimes. These contributors are building philanthropic legacies intended to benefit future generations. In this seventh edition of the Generous Virginians Project, Virginia Business examines recent gifts made with that long-term view. The lead story looks at the prospects for Sweet Briar College, a 115-year-old women’s college in Amherst County that was given up for dead last year because of a financial crisis. Alumnae rallied to its rescue, taking control of the school and raising millions of dollars. The college’s current president, who will step down next year, says the startling turnaround could fundamentally alter the relationship between educational institutions and their graduates. Another story looks at the impact of a $50 million gift made by NVR Inc. founder Dwight Schar and his wife, Martha, to an Photo by Mark Rhodes

innovative cancer research center being developed by Inova Health System in Fairfax County. The center will focus on the specific genetic makeup of each patient and type of cancer being treated. A third story examines a $100,000 donation used to establish a fund at the Virginia Historical Society in memory of J. Stewart Bryan III, a fourth-generation Richmond newspaperman, who died in January. The fund, which has attracted many additional donations, will be used to support research on journalism history and freedom of the press issues. Also in the section is an interview with Sherrie Armstrong, the new president of The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia. TCF, the largest community foundation in Virginia, makes grants focused on long-term solutions. The Generous Virginians Project includes a series of charts showing donations made by individuals, corporations and foundations during 2015. The chart information was primarily gathered in a survey of hundreds of businesses, foundations and nonprofit organizations throughout the commonwealth. www.VirginiaBusiness.com

CHART Donations by individuals and family foundations ...... 34

Transforming treatment .............. 35 Schars’ $50 million gift boosts efforts to build a personalized cancer center. by Heather B. Hayes

CHART Donations by independent foundations, groups .......... 38

Continuing a cause .................. 40 Media General’s donation celebrates Stewart Bryan’s passion for journalism. by Jack Cooksey

CHARTS Donations by companies and corporate foundations..... 43 Total corporate donations.... 44

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Redefining college ties

by John Smith

Eighty-one undergraduates and one graduate student received degrees in May at Sweet Briar College. When graduation was held in 2015, no one knew whether or not it would be the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last commencement ceremony.

JUNE 2016

Photo credit

■ COVER STORY

Alumnae devote money and talent to Sweet Briar’s revival

“At Sweet Briar, The Impossible Is Just Another Problem To Solve” — posted on a sign at Sweet Briar College

by Gary Robertson

Photo courtesy Sweet Briar College

hillip C. Stone was working at his Harrisonburg law office in March 2015 when he learned that Sweet Briar College, a 115-year-old women’s college in Amherst County, planned to close because of what its administration and board described as “insurmountable financial challenges.” He was shocked and saddened by the news. A firm believer in the value of a liberal-arts education, Stone was president of Bridgewater College for 16 years before he retired in 2010. The prospect of Sweet Briar’s closure rang like a death knell for a family member. He also was surprised to hear Sweet Briar’s alumnae were starting a movement to save the college. “I wouldn’t have given you a nickel for their chances at success,” he says. Nonetheless, a friend in higher education whom Stone had known for years suggested that he could assist the alumnae in an advisory role. Stone agreed to help because, as a Virginian, he values the state’s great landmarks and the kind of education that young women receive at Sweet Briar. “I took seriously my offer to come and help. But I did think it was a long shot,” he says. The long shot, however, paid off. After a flurry of lawsuits, a hard-won settlement permitted the college to remain open, under a new board and a new president, Stone. The school’s financial position was bolstered by $12 million in cash donations raised by alumnae in over 100 days, with overall pledges totaling $28.5 million, to be paid over several years. Fundraisers had assured donors that, if they were not successful in getting the keys to the college, the donors would not have to fulfill their pledges. “To actually pull it off in litigation, with terms that were favorable to them, was a shocker. To raise the money they raised, it was amazing,” Stone says of the alumnae. By the time he became president of the school in July 2015, many of Sweet Briar’s students already had left for other colleges, and every faculty and staff member had been terminated on June 30, except those absolutely necessary to effectuate the closing. Stone rehired everyone in a posting on the college’s website. Nearly a year later, he says, “I’ve never experienced a more successful academic year in my life. Ours has been a remarkable journey of human exceptionalism and perseverance.”

www.VirginiaBusiness.com

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

The Generous Virginians Project: Cover Story recruited students and even performed many maintenance chores. In return, Stone says, the college needs to provide its alums with an ongoing abundance of information about all aspects of the college’s operations, its finances, its budget, student recruiting and the like. “I would expect this robust engagement of alumnae to continue. I would expect to see volunteer work days,” he says, referring to the surge of alumnae who descended on the college’s campus last summer to paint classrooms, clean buildings and perform a wide range of landscaping chores. Stone says he once stepped out of his office and found an alumna, a medical school professor, weeding a flower bed. That level of passion and can-do spirit, he says, has become a defining element of the Sweet Briar experience. President Phillip Stone makes it a point to talk to every prospective student visiting the campus.

New president next year The journey is not over, but the 73-year-old Stone soon will be leaving. He announced in late April that he would step down around July 1 next year after a successor is chosen. Stone says he always knew that his role in helping to revive the college would not be a long-term assignment. His wife’s health and his age contributed to his decision to retire along with the achievement of financial and enrollment milestones during the past year that have exceeded initial expectations. Until he steps down, Stone says, he will continue to be heavily engaged in raising money and recruiting students. Higher-education officials from across the nation have told Stone that what Sweet Briar has accomplished — in reversing an impending closure — has been historic, if not miraculous, and will be studied for years. 24

JUNE 2016

The Sweet Briar president says that one lesson for him has already emerged: A college must change if its graduates revise the relationship they have with the school. In Sweet Briar’s case, alumnae took over fundraising, acquired legal counsel, Katie Craig says she has learned about tenacity, resilience, loyalty and sisterhood at Sweet Briar.

A compelling message Stone has instructed admissions officers to bring every prospective student to him, whether he is in his office, in a meeting or somewhere else on campus. He wants to say hello and encourage prospects to enroll. Stone believes Sweet Briar has a compelling message to deliver to any student considering the school. “What we are now able to say to young women who are taking a look at us is: Have you seen what the women of Sweet Briar did? Don’t you agree that that represents extraordinary leadership? If you want to be like that, you have to come here to get it.” He is repelled by naysayers who even

now believe Sweet Briar doesn’t have a chance to survive. “Give me a break,” Stone says. “Colleges have faced hard circumstances before. Why are we so wimpish about stuff like this? Let’s have the courage to do the things that are pretty obvious to make it work right.” The future of Sweet Briar, Stone acknowledges, relies very much on numbers: more enrolled students and more donations from alumnae and supporters. According to the college’s 2014-15 fact sheet, the degree-seeking undergraduate enrollment last year at Sweet Briar was 561. This year, it was 236, a 58 percent drop. The freshman class had only 24 students. Aiming for 800 students Stone hopes to have 200 new students this fall, including freshmen and transfers. Sweet Briar had received deposits from about 125 students by May 1, but more continued to come in after that “soft” deadline. “It will take us about three years to get us back to the place where we were,” Stone says, referring to the enrollment at the time of the closing announcement. In its recent history, the college’s high mark for student enrollment came in 2008, when 647 students were on campus. Sweet Briar this year received a record number of applications, nearly 1,400, officials report. To remain financially stable longterm, Stone says, Sweet Briar will eventually need 800 students. He says the space and facilities for that many students mostly exists already. A renovated and expanded library opened in 2014, for example, and a new fitness and athletic center opened several years earlier, along with eco-friendly residential facilities. An $11 million bond issue in 2008 helped finance the fitness center and the new residence halls. Sweet Briar’s tuition for the 2016-17 school year is set at $35,800; with room and board and various fees, the total cost of attendance will be $49,060. The school recently was named to Forbes 2016 lists of Best Value Schools and Best Value Private Colleges. First-year students last fall received an average grant or scholarship totaling $21,032, with all degree-seeking underPhotos by Mark Rhodes

Megan Behrle left the International Monetary Fund to become interim lacrosse coach at her alma mater.

graduates receiving an average of $20,052. Similar aid is expected this year, college officials say. Not a face in a crowd Amelia Currin, a 19-year-old freshman from Coats, N.C., says Sweet Briar’s small classes and the mentoring provided by its professors encouraged her to enroll last year, a time Currin that could not have been more precarious. “A lot of people still ask me, ‘What if the school closes, what will you do?’ And I always answer the same way: It’s not going to close. I don’t have to think about what I’m going to do,’” Currin says. She says that at Sweet Briar she’s not just another face in the crowd, as she would be at a large university. With small classes, she says, everyone has a chance to participate. “Here, the professors say ‘We want to hear your voice,’” Currin says. Katie Craig, a 22-year-old senior from Fredericksburg, says Sweet Briar’s willingness to meld her interests into a customized program sold her on the school. “Business major, dance minor,” Craig says. “I’m incredibly happy with all the experiences I’ve had at Sweet Briar. It’s helped me grow so much as a person.” Craig, who is Sweet Briar’s student www.VirginiaBusiness.com

government president, says she learned about tenacity, resilience, loyalty and sisterhood at the women’s college. “It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the alumnae bound together and saved it. The

Mary Pope Maybank Hutson, class of ‘83, is the college’s vice president of alumnae relations and development. She was executive vice president of the Land Trust Alliance.

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Publisher named to college’s board Virginia Business Publisher Bernie Niemeier recently was named to the Sweet Briar College board of directors. His daughter is a Sweet Briar graduate. He took no part in the assignment of this story or its editing.

ties are so great,” says Craig, who planned to take a job with a major insurance company after graduation. $10 million by June 30 Stone says the aborted effort to close Sweet Briar cost the college approximately $40 million in economic damage. Included in those costs is lost tuition from students who transferred and others who were deterred from enrolling because of the uncertainty. Legal fees, $5 million in severance for faculty and staff, as well as the expense of repurchasing seven faculty homes, under a contractual arrangement, added to the financial burden. Sweet Briar has a goal of raising an additional $10 million by June 30, the end of its current fiscal year. In late April, the college’s governing board reported that more than $6 million had been raised to that point. Overall, the college wants to raise $30 million in its “Next is Now” fundraising campaign to carry it through the next few years as it recovers from the attempted closure, rebuilds its faculty and staff, and implements business and enrollment plans. Among other initiatives, development officials and Stone are asking the college’s biggest donors for major gifts of $1 million each. In addition, those who made pledges in the Saving Sweet Briar campaign will be asked to accelerate payment of their pledges. “Pay them early — get them in this year,” Stone says. The college is looking for every possible revenue source, including reviving the sale of hay on its 3,250-acre campus — once a standard practice — and renting rooms to travelers, wedding parties and others at its on-campus hotel. Under the settlement agreement that kept Sweet Briar open, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring freed $16 million in unrestricted funds from the college’s endowment to use for operational

expenses. College officials had no plans to tap those funds during this fiscal year. As of March 31, total value of Sweet Briar’s endowment was $74.5 million, including about $7 million in a perpetual trust that is held apart from the endowment. The trust provides an annual income to the college. By comparison, the endowment total was $77.4 million at the end of last year and $94 million at end of 2014, according the school. A Moody’s Investor Service report issued in April last year noted that Sweet Briar had operating revenue of only $27 million in fiscal year 2014, the lowest of 14 women’s colleges it follows. Moody’s said the school relied upon unrestricted funds from its endowment to help it meet operating deficits for at least six fiscal years, 2009-14. Sweet Briar’s goal is to limit annual spending from unrestricted funds to no more than 5 percent of the endowment’s total value. That spending rate, however, averaged 8.7 percent from 2011-14 and hit 9.4 percent, $8.5 million, in 2014, according to court documents filed during litigation over the school’s closing. Stone says the school incurred many additional costs last year as a result of the aborted effort to close it. Nonetheless, because of the closure scare, Sweet Briar has been able to negotiate new contracts with vendors on more attractive terms to the college, Stone says. This year, the college also shaved expenses by not contributing to the faculty’s retirement plan, a move that saved half a million dollars. “That’s a painful thing,” Stone says. “But the faculty knew we had to do some things.”

Mary Pope Maybank Hutson, class of ’83, who left a job as executive vice president of the Land Trust Alliance in Washington, D.C., a national land conservation organization, to lead a major donor task force. “We mobilized immediately to organize ourselves in what many of us, having spent 20 or 30 years in the working world, or in the volunteer world, knew we needed to do,” Hutson says. “It was a multifaceted approach that included communications, legal leadership and fundraising leadership.” She says Alexander Haas, a capital

campaign consulting firm in Atlanta, donated 90 days to being the alumnae organization’s back office counsel. Meanwhile, a core of professional fundraisers, public relations executives and web graphic designers and internet marketers were drawn from the ranks of alumnae, and satellite fundraising offices were established in every state and in foreign countries where alumnae lived. Alumnae also recruited students. Hutson says the college had not had a dean of enrollment for two years before its closing announcement.

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Alums fill vacancies Megan Behrle, 28, is among a number of Sweet Briar alumnae who stepped away from their jobs to help the college. In Behrle’s case, she left a position with the International Monetary Fund to become the college’s interim lacrosse coach. She says that like many alumnae she wanted to give back to a college that had helped shape her life. “At the end of the day, empowering young women is something I’m incredibly passionate about,” Behrle says. Perhaps no one has done more to mobilize fundraising at Sweet Briar than

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“As soon as we were able to regain the keys to the college in June, we trained over 450 alumnae through our office, the alumnae relations office and the enrollment office, to go out to college fairs, high schools and tell the story of Sweet Briar College,” says Hutson, now the college’s vice president of alumnae relations and development. Stacey Sickels Locke, a senior director of development at the University of Maryland and a Sweet Briar alumna, says fundraisers had no access to the college’s alumnae records or to annual giving or major gift data, as the former administration moved toward a path of closure. Alumnae created donor lists using donor honor rolls from past issues of the alumnae magazine, and the daughter of a former catering department employee found a seating chart from a fundraising campaign dinner and entered those names onto a spreadsheet. The internet was a godsend, Locke says, allowing alumnae to set up a hub for strategic planning and a portal for keeping alumnae informed about legal updates, news coverage, fundraising progress and the like. “People respond to urgency and they respond to truth,” Locke says, noting one of her main takeaways from Saving Sweet Briar effort. If any single moment can be remembered from Sweet Briar College’s year of tumult, it might be last year’s commencement address by Teresa Pike Tomlinson, the mayor of Columbus, Ga., and now chair of the college’s board of directors. Addressing what many thought would be the college’s last graduating class, Tomlinson inspired the students with a call to leadership in the face of what many perceived to be a hopeless cause — saving Sweet Briar. Reflecting on her speech, and on the actions of alumnae and supporters of Sweet Briar since then, Tomlinson says one lesson of leadership has emerged. “Giving up is always on the table,” Tomlinson says. “Effective leaders, however, are defined by those that do not choose it. They choose to persevere.”

Methodology In compiling lists of major donations, Virginia Business contacted more than 600 companies, foundations and nonprofit organizations. In addition, the magazine reviewed public records, including nonprofit annual reports and forms filed by foundations with the IRS (form 990). Virginia Business asked businesses and grant-making foundations to provide their top 15 donations of at least $25,000 during 2015. The magazine likewise asked nonprofit organizations to identify the top 15 donations they had received last year. More extensive lists of contributions are available at www.VirginiaBusiness.com.

Grants by community foundations A sampling of major grants by community foundations made or reported in 2015. Community foundation

Location

Recipient

The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia

Richmond

VMI Foundation

Hampton Roads Community Foundation

Norfolk

Virginia Symphony

1,226,618

Hampton Roads Community Foundation

Norfolk

ACCESS College Foundation

1,213,720

The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia

Richmond

The New Community School

1,199,140

Community Foundation for Northern Virginia

Oakton

Inova Health Foundation

396,650

Charlottesville Area Community Foundation

Charlottesville

Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia

378,550

Charlottesville Area Community Foundation

Charlottesville

Charlottesville City Schools

208,434

The Peninsula Community Foundation of Virginia

Hampton

George Mason University

175,000

Foundation for Roanoke Valley

Roanoke

Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation

150,000

Community Foundation for Northern Virginia

Oakton

Northern Virginia Family Service

115,000

Foundation for Roanoke Valley

Roanoke

Westminster Presbyterian Church of America

91,445

The Peninsula Community Foundation of Virginia

Hampton

Salvation Army Peninsula Command

67,525

Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region

Fredericksburg

University of Mary Washington

47,364

Williamsburg Community Foundation

Williamsburg

College of William and Mary

32,000

The Greater Lynchburg Community Trust

Lynchburg

Churches for Urban Ministry

25,349

Note: Amounts may contain multiple donations/grants

Grant amount

$2,337,950

Sources: Community foundations, websites, Form 990s

www.VirginiaBusiness.com

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

■ The Generous Virginians Project INTERVIEW with SHERRIE ARMSTRONG President and CEO The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia Richmond

New role for a familiar leader Community foundation CEO was longtime United Way executive by Robert Powell

Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia Founded 1968 Total assets $678 million Gifts received

Grants awarded

$67 million in 2015 $36 million in 2015 $765 million since inception 20 board members

People 28 employees About 300 volunteers

On the web Learn more about The Community Foundation Servng Richmond and Central Virginia at tcfrichmond.org 30

JUNE 2016

herrie Armstrong has a new job and a new last name, but she is a wellknown figure in Virginia philanthropy. Nearly a year ago, she became president and CEO of The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia (TCF), the largest of 27 community foundations in Virginia. “Sherrie is a proven community leader whose commitment to, and influence in, Richmond and Central Virginia is a source of continuing respect,” Tom Chewning, a retired Dominion Resources CFO who is chairman of TCF’s board, said in announcing her appointment. “Her familiarity with the region and her strong record of effective community-building has prepared her well to lead TCF and build on our successes and momentum.” Before taking the community foundation job, Armstrong had served in many leadership positions for 26 years with the United Way, including 11 years as CEO of the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg. Her last job was executive vice president of investor relations with United Way Worldwide in Washington, D.C. While working in Washington, she maintained a residence in Richmond. She was Sherrie Brach then. In April, she married Gary Armstrong,

Richmond regional president for Charlotte, N.C.-based bank Park Sterling. The marriage added three stepdaughters to her family of one daughter, a son and a daughter-in-law. Armstrong sees the United Way and community foundations as complementary parts of philanthropy. The United Way, in part, serves as an on-ramp for philanthropy, providing opportunities for employees to participate in charitable giving that meets immediate social needs in the community. Community foundations, on the other hand, provide grants funded mostly from revenue from endowments rather than annual contributions. The foundations invest and administer permanent charitable funds set up by families, businesses, and organizations to help their communities. Their objectives tend to be long range rather than focused on immediate needs. The scope of community foundation grants often is broad, including the arts and cultural groups, for example, in addition to social services. In addition to serving Central Virginia, TCF has helped create regional community foundations for the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula during the past 20 years. While they now are components of TCF, each fund has its own advisory board and eventually may become independent.

strong at her office in the Boulders Office Park in Chesterfield County on April 8. Virginia Business: What sort of trends are you seeing in philanthropy in Virginia? Armstrong: There is going to be, with the baby boomers, this big transfer of wealth. So, resources are going to be available to support community needs ... We have this opportunity to make sure organizations are well positioned to really take advantage of that. VB: You are talking about the transfer of wealth from baby boomers? It used to be to baby boomers.

Sherrie Armstrong was executive vice president of investor relations with United Way Worldwide in Washington, D.C., before joining the community foundation.

TCF’s endowment is managed through an unusual arrangement with the University of Richmond. Since, 2008, Spider Management Co. LLC, the manager for the university’s endowment, also handles TCF’s investments. Armstrong says the arrangement is a good fit because the university and the community foundation are both investing for long term results. As of the end of last year, TCF had a 5-year rate of return of 7.38 percent on its investments. Around the country, some community foundations are moving beyond their grant-making role to take leadership positions in the transformation of their community. The Hampton Roads Community Foundation, for example, set up study groups to address economic Photo by Mark Rhodes

development issues in a region that is vulnerable to swings in federal spending. Armstrong says TCF is pondering what role it can play as a facilitator of discussions in Central Virginia. The big issue confronting community foundations and nonprofits alike, she says, is the emergence of millennials as the next generation of Millennials are generous, Armstrong notes, but many of them do not define their community as a geographic area. Away from the office, Armstrong stays active — attending concerts, playing golf and exercising. On the day after this interview, she participated in the annual Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k on a chilly Saturday in Richmond. Virginia Business talked with Armwww.VirginiaBusiness.com

Armstrong: [Yes, there was a transfer of wealth to baby boomers], and now it’s going to be from them. There is this mindset, particularly in the older baby boomers and the traditionalists, that giving to the community is part of what you do … There’s a pool of dollars out there, and we’re starting to see that translate into planned gifts and bequests. For organizations that have set themselves up to benefit from that trend, it’s a huge opportunity. The other interesting trend is that everyone is very worried about millennials … Some people think they are self-centered, but they are giving and volunteering their time at a much younger age than baby boomers were … They’re giving more, they’re giving to causes, and they’re less institutional … The other important thing is the way they define community. It’s not the traditional way that we would define community … Somebody who has an online community may have a relationship with somebody in Africa, and they’re willing to try to support them. They’re more cause-oriented, they’re supporting global causes, and they really want to be engaged that way. Engagement translates into giving, and that translates into community. I think we’re having to figure out what’s the best way to attract that type of person. VB: So, being a geographically defined community, is that an issue? VIRGINIA BUSINESS

The Generous Virginians Project: Interview Armstrong: It’s going to be, I think … So we have to understand when we talk about community, there’s the geographic place [where millennials live], and they’re still going to care about where they’re raising their kids, but they also look far beyond their [local] community. They’re just much more knowledgeable globally. They’re traveling more at a younger age. So I think what we’re going to have to do as a region and community is really be on top of the fact we can’t just always talk about our isolated place. We’ve got to look at our region in the context of how we’re playing nationally, how we’re playing globally. Those things impact what people are thinking. There’re some trends coming from the millennials that I think we can learn from in terms of how do we do a better job of engaging people, getting them connected … I think the other thing we’re seeing with millennials is they want to be more part of the solution [instead of being passive donors] ... I think as an organization you have to have the willingness to let people come into your business and help you think about it differently and that just takes a different kind of management. VB: How much of your income comes from the management of your endowment and how much of it is from various sources? Armstrong: The majority of the money that we use to make grants to the community comes from the income, or the investment return, we get off of our endowment. We granted out $36 million last year, and that’s inclusive of money that we’re able to generate that’s unrestricted to us …We do get outright contributions, but that’s small, honestly, and typically when we get con32

JUNE 2016

tributions, they’re in the form of setting up donor-advised funds or endowed donor-advised funds. We don’t necessarily go out and raise certain pools of dollars and then grant them out. VB: This foundation is the biggest in Virginia, and that would include bigger metropolitan areas. How did the one serving Central Virginia and Richmond become the biggest? Armstrong: I think one of the big reasons is that in this organization, particularly under [Darcy Oman’s] leadership over the last 30 years, there was an effort to focus on growth and to build our assets as much as we can. But I also think that it’s reflective, too, of Central Virginia and Richmond and the generosity

we’ve always had here, the ability for people to give. We have a segment of our population here that has done well in their lives, but they’ve also been very generous in giving back. I think that, when the Community Foundation started to evolve, there was a real community effort to help it be successful. So that was a big part of it. The interesting thing about the model is it’s not just these funds we’ve been able to build with families and individuals, but we also have created a support structure for family foundations or other foundations that may not want to do all the back-office [work] of grant making. VB: In reading about community foundations, I’ve seen there is a push in some areas Photo by Mark Rhodes

Armstrong says millennials are giving at an earlier age than their parents, but they don’t necessarily define their community as a geographic place.

seen as a neutral convener, and you can help the community organize work ... Since I’ve been here having conversations with community leaders and community members, I’ve found there’s a real appetite in the community for us to step into those types of things … So, yes, absolutely, I think we’ll be following more in those trends ... One of the big things we’ve done that’s been helpful to Richmond and the region is participate in the Capital Region Collaborative that’s trying to come together around priorities across the region and align different organizations. The Chamber of Commerce and the planning district commission are driving that, but we actually funded the project to get regionallevel community indicators around different areas we all care about. VB: Tell me about some of the programs that you support.

to go beyond grant making, pulling various segments of the community together for a certain purpose. Is that a thrust that the Community Foundation here is going to follow in any way? Armstrong: The board has recognized we’re really in a strong financial position. We’re doing great work, and we have been providing a level of leadership in the community for a long time. Now the question is: How do you move more towards being a strategic organization that can really anticipate what’s coming our way and be that convener and facilitator on certain issues in the community? More and more you’re seeing community foundations involved in thought leadership as well [as grant making] … With so many different stakeholders and partners, you can be

Armstrong: We have four big areas of focus. One is around educational success … We have another area around healthy communities. We’ve got an area around economic prosperity, and we also look at arts and culture. Those are the big areas that we will get involved with. For example, if you look at the education space, we support early education. We may fund several programs that are supporting preschool, kindergarten readiness, those types of things. We also sit on the board of Smart Beginnings, which is driving the systemic side of things. The other area that we’ve been incubating in the education space with other partners is middle school, middle-school success. We’re working with several of our large companies — Dominion, Altria. It’s called NextUp, and we are working in partnership with Richmond Public Schools to create quality out-of-school time for www.VirginiaBusiness.com

middle schoolers. That’s been happening for the last couple of years, and it’s continuing to evolve. In the arts area, we have been trying to pull many of the arts organizations together to figure out how they measure outcomes. It’s more difficult in arts programs to really show outcomes that are tied to individual success, but there’s been a coalition of organizations that we’ve been working with to get agreed-upon metrics where we can demonstrate return on investment for charitable dollars.

“We are working in partnership with Richmond Public Schools to create quality out-of-school time for middle schoolers.”

— Sherrie Armstrong VB: Now I’ve noticed mention of the Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence? Armstrong: Now, that’s a big one. We also believe strongly in capacity building for our nonprofit network. Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence has been part of us for the last 10 years, and that is really focusing on providing training access to technical assistance for the nonprofit sector, helping them to manage their organizations better… Then under that, we’ve got HandsOn Greater Richmond. It works to really promote volunteer engagement, civic engagement. It’s kind of the bridge between people who want to volunteer and agencies. So we bring volunteers into organizations and many of our companies utilize HandsOn to actually create events or opportunities for their corporate employees to really engage in the community and volunteer in nonprofits. VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Donations by individuals and family foundations A sampling of contributions of $500,000 or more made or announced to Virginia nonprofits in 2015. Donor

Dwight and Martha Schar 1

Location

Donation recipient

Reston

Inova Health System

Donation amount

$50,000,000

The late James Frye

Richmond

Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia

20,000,000

C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright FoundationÂ

Glen Allen

Virginia Commonwealth University

16,000,000

Peterson Family Foundation

Fairfax

George Mason University

10,000,000

The late Alan Pearson

Lynchburg

Centra FoundationÂ

6,500,000

Sue H. and John W. Gerdelman2

Williamsburg

College of William & Mary

4,000,000

Inger Rice

Richmond

Virginia Commonwealth University

2,300,000

The late Frances Lightfoot Robb

Williamsburg

College of William & Mary

2,000,000

H. Elizabeth McLeod and J. Goodenow Tyler III

Norfolk

College of William & Mary

1,500,000

Josephine McPherson and Donald Heslep2

Richmond

University of Mary Washington

1,250,000

Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Jr. 3

Henrico

Virginia Tech

1,000,000

The Estate of Robert L. Turner

Blacksburg

Virginia Tech

1,000,000

Norfolk

University of Virginia

1,000,000

H. William Coogan Jr.; Theresa Kost Riddle

Midlothian

University of Virginia

1,000,000

Barbara J. Fried4

Crozet

University of Virginia

1,000,000

Robert D. and Molly G. Hardie4

Richmond

University of Virginia

1,000,000

Manning Family Foundation4

Charlottesville

University of Virginia

1,000,000

The Estate of Paul Mellon4

Middleburg

University of Virginia

1,000,000

Virginia Beach

James Madison University

1,000,000

The Estate of Ian Stevenson

Charlottesville

University of Virginia

1,000,000

The Estate of Robert Thomson4

Charlottesville

University of Virginia

1,000,000

James W. and Sharon K. Todd4

McLean

University of Virginia

1,000,000

Mr. and Mrs. Russell A. Hitt5

Falls Church

Inova Health System

1,000,000

Mr. and Mrs. Gary D. Mather5

McLean

Inova Health System

1,000,000

Lauren Peterson5

Fairfax

Inova Health System

1,000,000 1,000,000

Jane Parke Batten4 4

Richard D. and Shirley H. Roberts 4

Patsy K. Pettus

Richmond

Virginia Commonwealth University

John Rathbone2

Norfolk

College of William & Mary

1,000,000

Richard D. & Shirley H. Roberts

Virginia Beach

James Madison University

1,000,000

Richard Thurmond

Virginia Beach

Old Dominion University

1,000,000

Warren F. Chauncey6

Virginia Beach

University of Virginia

500,000

Mr. and Mrs. Alan J. Dabbiere6

McLean

Inova Health System

500,000

The Estate of Lois Wood Dickerson6

Newport News

Virginia Tech

500,000

Eugene V. Fife Family Foundation6

Charlottesville

Virginia Tech

500,000

Ray D. and Violet T. Frith6

Bassett

Virginia Tech

500,000

Anthony F. Markel6

Manakin-Sabot

University of Virginia

500,000

Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. Moore6

Herndon

Inova Health System

500,000

The Oakwood Foundation6

Charlottesville

University of Virginia

500,000

Allen Fiske Voshell Jr.

Charlottesville

University of Virginia

500,000

Heather and Ryan Zimmerman6

Great Falls

University of Virginia

500,000

Aimee and Frank Batten Jr. Foundation

Norfolk

James Madison University

500,000

Craig C. and Kimberly G. Bram

Richmond

James Madison University

500,000

Kenneth Hall

Virginia Beach

Old Dominion University

1 Bequest 2 Commitment/pledge 3 $1 million+

4 $1 million-$2 million 5 $1 million to $4,999,999 6 $500,000-$999,999

JUNE 2016

500,000 Sources: Annual reports, websites, news releases, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Virginia Business survey

■ The Generous Virginians Project: DWIGHT AND MARTHA SCHAR

Transforming treatment Schars’ $50 million gift boosts efforts to build a cancer research center focused on personalized treatment

Inova CEO Knox Singleton (center) says the gift from Martha and Dwight Schar was critical in building confidence in the project.

by Heather B. Hayes

nova Health System announced plans five years ago to create a first-ever cancer research center focused on personalized treatment. When he learned of the project, Dwight Schar, the founder of Reston-based homebuilding company NVR Inc., was determined Photo courtesy Inova Health System

to help in any way he could. First, Schar drew on his real estate experience to help Inova acquire the property needed for the new center. He served as a negotiator in the 2-year, $180 million acquisition of the former ExxonMobil corporate campus and its 1.2 million-square-foot

former headquarters. Inova will open that building in 2018, after it is renovated, equipped and staffed at a cost of approximately $270 million. The facility will house all of Inova’s existing clinical cancer specialists and treatment facilities — which now are scattered around the Fairfax area —

www.VirginiaBusiness.com

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

The Generous Virginians Project: Dwight and Martha Schar The Inova Center for Personalized Health is expected to open in 2018.

along with new cancer research programs. Once the campus deal was completed last year, Schar and his wife, Martha, decided to give $50 million to the effort to create a world-class cancer treatment and research center for patients and clinicians. The gift is, by far, the largest single donation Inova has ever received (and the largest for any health-care organization in Virginia), and the still-in-development center has been named the Inova Schar Cancer Institute. “That Dwight would come to me and be that generous and reach for such an outsized goal does not surprise me at all,” says Inova CEO J. Knox Singleton, who has been a friend of the Schars for more than 20 years. “He is someone who is extremely humble and doesn’t like the limelight, but he’s also an achiever who loves taking on a challenge, whether it’s a societal problem or a building or a business, and making something where there wasn’t something before.” Seeking $200 million The Schars’ donation jumpstarted Inova’s campaign to raise the $200 million it needs to recruit top physicians, scientists and clinical investigators in the emerging field of personalized cancer genomics. The Schars’ gift, however, isn’t just about providing the money needed to begin hiring. Singleton says the size of the 36

JUNE 2016

gift has been critical to establishing confidence and credibility in the project. “Even getting the first one or two top people to think about moving here is largely dependent upon them believing and trusting that we can raise the total amount of money that we need and that the project is actually going to come to fruition,” Singleton says. “This gift set the bar high enough to give that confidence to the kind of top people that other clinicians and researchers want to work with. And their presence then inspires other philanthropists to give and support us in the next round of giving.” Inova already had recruited several pre-eminent names in the personalized medicine discipline, including Dr. John Niederhuber, a former director of the National Cancer Institute, and Dr. Donald L. “Skip” Trump, the former CEO and president of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, but since the Schars’ gift was announced, a number of prominent clinicians have come onboard. They include Dr. Joan H. Schiller, who is internationally recognized for her work in lung cancer research; Thomas P. Conrads, who previously served as the chief scientific officer of the Department of Defense Gynecologic Cancer Center of Excellence and as head of the Cancer Biomarkers Facility in the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute; and Dr. Stephanie Akbari, a pioneer in breast cancer surgery.

What’s more, Inova has also received a gift of $10 million from developer Milt Peterson and several smaller but significant donations. When added to the $50 million the Schars gave, the campaign has already raised nearly $75 million of its $200 million goal. Singleton says the Inova Foundation will continue to quietly seek out donations (including those as high as $25 million) during the next two years. “For a project like this, you need to set in motion this huge virtuous cycle, kind of a flywheel, and the Schar gift has clearly started that flywheel in a big way,” Singleton says. Touched by cancer For the Schars, the support and hands-on effort they’ve provided to cancer institute is personal. A number of the Schars’ close relatives have battled cancer, including Dwight’s mother, who died in 1968 with a type of cancer that today would be curable. “Everyone is touched by cancer in some way,” Dwight Schar says. “How many of us have known someone who, had they gotten better treatment earlier, could have been a survivor rather than a victim of cancer?” The answer to that question is at the heart of Inova’s vision for cancer research. The new center will focus on discovering and applying personalized cancer treatPhoto courtesy Inova Health System

ments. It will individualize care, focusing on the specific genetic makeup of each patient and type of cancer being treated. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The historic approach with cancer was to give everyone the best drugs we had and hope for the best, but the reality is that one treatment that works on one person doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily work on someone else,â&#x20AC;? says Singleton. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So almost everything that we do here will be identifying the genetic subtleties of different types of cancers and finding drugs that more effectively treat those cancers; discovering new genetic tests that help us determine which drugs work best on which patients; or figuring out which cancers are going to metastasize rapidly and which arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t and being able to tell the difference so we can tailor treatment to the exact type of tumor someone has.â&#x20AC;? The Schar, as the institute is informally called, also will be distinctive because of its integrated, synergistic approach to personalized cancer treatment. Not only will the center have clinical care, applied research programs and an education component for physicians and other clinicians, but in time,

the campus will be further developed to house biotech firms that commercialize the research developed at Inova. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This will not only be a clinical engine, but it will also be an economic engine thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to grow companies, employment, the tax base and, hopefully, the quality of life in Virginia,â&#x20AC;? says Singleton. A study commissioned by The Schars found that the new center will have an economic impact of $2 billion in construction, operations, commercialization and related lodging, restaurant and retail spending. The Inova project perfectly fits the Scharsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; philanthropic philosophy and strategy: They always have tried to give to causes and projects that can have a transformational effect on basic human needs, such as education and health care. The couple, for example, provided the majority of funding for a new nursing school and athletic complex at Dwightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alma mater, Ashland University in Ohio. In May, Dwight gave $10 million to the George Mason University school of policy, government and international affairs, which will be renamed the Schar

School of Policy and Government. Other recipients of major donations from the Schars have included United Way, Elon University, Child Helps and Youth for Tomorrow. The new cancer institute â&#x20AC;&#x153;is clearly a case where the leverage of the gift is going to be many-fold the amount of the actual contribution,â&#x20AC;? Schar explains. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This new center will save lives in a significant way, not just in Virginia and the region, but across the country.â&#x20AC;? Schar, who is a part-owner of the Washington Redskins, also characterizes his efforts with Inova as a small payback to the region that has played such a huge role in his life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Local people in this area will now have access to world-class but timely and convenient cancer care without having to travel to Minnesota or Manhattan or Boston or wherever to get the latest cutting-edge treatment,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And it will bring a lot of jobs and economic opportunity to Northern Virginia. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just an amazing opportunity to be part of something that will make a difference in so many lives.â&#x20AC;?

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VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Donations by independent foundations and groups A sampling of contributions of $50,000 or more made or announced to Virginia nonprofits in 2015. Donor

Location

Donation recipient

Via-Bradley College of Engineering Foundation

Roanoke

Virginia Tech

Harvest Foundation

Martinsville

Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development

1,500,000

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association 1

Mount Vernon

University of Virginia

1,000,000

The Cabell Foundation

Richmond

Virginia Commonwealth University

1,000,000

Williamsburg Health Foundation

Williamsburg

Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools

626,000

American College of Radiology 2

Reston

University of Virginia

500,000

The Soho Center 2

Madison

University of Virginia

500,000

The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation

Richmond

VMI Foundation

300,000

Elevate Early Education (E3)

Richmond

University of Virginia

250,000

Virginia Beach

University of Virginia

250,000

Northern Virginia Community College Educational Foundation

Annandale

James Madison University

244,052

Wythe-Bland Foundation

Wytheville

Wytheville Community College

222,092

E. Stuart James Grant Charitable Trust

Danville

VMI Foundation

205,000

Tidewater Scottish Rite Speech and Language Foundation

Newport News

Old Dominion University

180,000

Robins Foundation

Richmond

Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Inc.

145,000

John Randolph Foundation

Hopewell

Central Virginia Health Services

125,000

National Rifle Association of America

Fairfax

Virginia Tech

111,000

Student Engineers’ Council

Blacksburg

Virginia Tech

103,600

Lansdowne

The College of William & Mary

100,000

Richmond

The College of William & Mary

100,000

Aphasia Foundation

Portsmouth

Old Dominion University

100,000

Beazley Foundation Inc.

Portsmouth

Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Inc.

100,000

Old Dominion University Alumni Association

Norfolk

Old Dominion University

100,000

Williams-Berry Charitable Foundation

Bristol

Virginia Tech

100,000

Commonwealth Transfusion Foundation

Glen Allen

James Madison University

92,065

Women's Health and Empowerment Circle 5

Arlington

Virginia Hospital Center and Arlington Pediatric Center

82,119

Virginia529 College Savings Plan

Richmond

Science Museum of Virginia

79,000

J.T. – Minnie Maude Charitable Trust

Danville

Danville Science Center

50,000

Joan and Morgan Massey Foundation

Richmond

Science Museum of Virginia

50,000

Lee Jackson Educational Foundation

Charlottesville

VMI Foundation

50,000

Petersburg

Crater Community Hospice

LifeNet Health

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation 4 Moses D. Nunnally Jr. Charitable Trust

The Cameron Foundation

4 $100,000+ 5 Multiple gifts and pledges from various donors

1 $1 million-$2 million 2 $500,000-$999,999 3 $250,000-$499,999

JUNE 2016

Donation amount

$1,710,000

50,000

Sources: Virginia Business survey, annual reports, websites

Co Complacency omp is the biggest challenge South Hampton Roads faces. The lack of investment in infrastructure and education could diminish the quality of life and oppor tunities in the region for future generations.

Giving to United Way has been par t of our annual plan since 1980. The Foundation is a wonderful way to continue to suppor t the programs and initiatives for yea yearss to come. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; David and Deborah Stearns ns Tocqueville Legacy Circle Members

Find out how you can leave a legacy and invest in the future. Contact Sherri Stein sstein@unitedwayshr.org 757.853.8500 ext. 106 https://unitedwayshr.giftlegacy.com

SOUTH HAMPTON ROADS

■ The Generous Virginians Project: MEDIA GENERAL

Continuing a cause Media General’s donation celebrates Stewart Bryan’s passion for journalism

The late J. Stewart Bryan III represented the fourth generation of his family in the media business. The wall behind him shows his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

by Jack Cooksey

he death of J. Stewart Bryan III, a fourthgeneration Richmond newspaperman, came in late January as the media empire his family built was changing hands. On the day that relatives,

JUNE 2016

friends and colleagues gathered for prayers and a celebration of life for Bryan at Richmond’s stately Commonwealth Club, Media General Inc., the company established nearly 50 years ago by his father, announced a final agreement under which

it would be acquired by Texasbased Nexstar Broadcasting Group for $4.6 billion. The deal, which will close later this year, resulted from months of negotiations, including the termination of a Media General merger with Iowa-based Meredith Corp. AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bob Brown

Bryan had been Media General’s chairman since 1990. His passing and the company’s acquisition mark the end of a significant chapter in Virginia’s business and media history. Media General once owned dozens of U.S. newspapers, including dailies in Richmond, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Danville and Bristol. The family’s news media connection dates back to 1887, when Bryan’s great-grandfather became publisher of a newspaper that later became the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Media General’s flagship publication. In 2012, the company sold its newspapers, with most of them being bought by a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Virginia Business magazine, begun by Media General in 1986, was sold in 2009 to Richmondbased Virginia Capital Partners LLC.) Media General became a “pure-play” television station owner, operating or servicing 71 stations in 48 markets at the time that the Nexstar deal was announced. Despite the Nexstar acquisition, the legacy of Bryan and Media General lives on, thanks to a $100,000 gift that the company made to the Virginia Historical Society (VHS) earlier this year. In February, VHS established the J. Stewart Bryan III Endowment Fund to honor the journalistic passion of a man who inherited the mantle of a storied family business. Bryan’s family also was entwined with VHS. Like the succession of Bryans in the media business, four generations of the family served on the society’s board. Paul Levengood, the president of VHS, says the fund will support a variety of research, scholarship and programming on the history of American journalism and freedom of the press, issues that were dear to Bryan. There is latitude in the fund’s description to include a number of unforeseen functions, including the acquisition of media collections, digital archiving of historic documents, research awards and more. Particularly during the current already-historic presidential election cycle, Levengood believes the endowment may have immediate possibilities. “What’s the role of the media in the current landscape of media coverage and how we elect officials?” he asks. “It just seems that there are Photo by Jay Paul

Paul Levengood, president of the Virginia Historical Society, says the endowment fund will support a variety of research, scholarship and programming on journalism history and the freedom of the press.

some wonderful opportunities to do what this fund is meant to do.” In the days after Bryan’s death, Levengood notes, VHS began receiving an outpouring of donations in his memory. More than 40 contributions came to the society, he says, and so the idea of a memorial fund coalesced. “We had started to figure out what was the appropriate way to [direct] those funds in a way that [Bryan] was interested in and would have been proud of.” After VHS announced the creation of the endowment fund, more than 60 additional donations followed. Bryan was 77 when he died, days after he suffered injuries from a fall at his home. Despite being the heir apparent at a family-controlled company, Bryan entered the newspaper business in the 1950s as a journeyman, taking mail-room, advertising and newsroom jobs before assuming an executive role with Media General. He was the company’s CEO from 1990 to 2005, a period that saw the company grow dramatically, acquiring newspapers and TV stations. In an October interview with the Times-Dispatch, Bryan reflected on his respect for the role of a free press in American democracy. “If I have made any www.VirginiaBusiness.com

contribution, it has been being part of a newspaper that was trying to provide the right information for people to make up their own minds in the city of Richmond and Central Virginia,” he said. “We have kept an eye on government,” he added. “I think the press has played an enormous role in the history of the United States. I have been a proud part of it.” Those who worked closely with Bryan recalled his character and commitment to journalistic principles — descriptions that specifically noted him as a “gentleman” and a leader with integrity. Levengood says that Bryan was mindful of Media General’s place in Virginia history. “He had made provisions in the negotiations, regarding the takeover of Media General, for a large portion of company records to end up at the historical society.” In 2001, VHS created the Reynolds Business History Center that now houses collections of records from many major corporations in the state. Levengood adds that Bryan was a vital influence at VHS, a commanding presence on its board. “His personal leadership and the way he conducted himself — the absolute commitment he had to [VHS’] mission, its staff. ... I can’t imagine the place without him.” VIRGINIA BUSINESS

THE 2016

Congratulations to all the nominees The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond June 23, 2016 - 6 :00 PM

Read proﬁles of the winners in the August issue of Virginia Business.

VIRGINIA BUSINESS 2016 CFO NOMINEES Michael Bame Harmonia Holdings Group LLC

Donald Halliwill Carilion Clinic

Jeff Reed Community Housing Partners

Sean Barden Mary Washington Healthcare

Andrew Haugh, CPA Housing Opportunities Made Equal

John Ripp Rochelle Holding Company/ Burger Bach Partners

Julie Hovermale, CPA Better Housing Coalition

Richard Rose Barter Theatre

Heath Bryan Granite Source Inc.

Stephen Huber, CPA Birdsong Peanuts, a Division of Birdsong Corp.

Hossein Sadid Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Stephanie Bryan, CPA MEDARVA

Brad Hungate, CPA Groome Transportation

M. Dwight Shelton Jr., CPA Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Michael Burch, CPA Virginia Automobile Dealers Association

Becky Jester, CPA Highground Services Inc.

Lynne Sorrentino, CPA AHT Insurance

Ashley Johnson HCA Virginia Health Systems

Guy Stello JES Foundation Repair/KBH Business Management Systems

Mary Blowe City of Winchester Richard Brown Commonwealth of Virginia

Brad Carpenter MYMIC LLC Rene Chaze, CPA Edelman Financial Services Mike Closter, CPA Capital Interior Contractors David Cunningham Sherpa Financial Guides Inc. Laurie Grabow, CPA Old Point National Bank Sue Gregory, CPA Roanoke Higher Education Authority Mike Griffin Tucker Griffin Barnes PC

Dave Keltner Ferguson Enterprises Inc. Julie Leatherman FeedMore Kevin Longenecker, CPA Interchange Group Inc. Ashwani Mayur Cynet Systems Inc. Ellen McIlhenny Cobb Technologies James O’Brien Military Officers Association of America Chrissy Phillips A Bowl of Good Inc.

William Thompson Impact Makers Rob Tonkinson Centra Health Robert Toye Foxhole Technology Inc. Richard Welborn Mythics Inc. Ned Wheeler The Frontier Project LLC Steve Winsett Cander Construction Sue Wood HighRoad Solution

Nominees N No omi mine ine nees es a are re cchief hieff financial hi nanciiall ooffi fficcers ffi cer erss or h hold old ol ld eq equivalent uiva ui iva valle lentt p positions. osiit os itions iti ions

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

Donations by companies and corporate foundations A sampling of contributions of $100,000 or more made or announced to Virginia nonprofits in 2015. Donation amount

Donor

Location

Donation recipient

GatesHudson

Fairfax

University of Mary Washington

Altria Group

Richmond

Communities in Schools

2,000,000

Wells Fargo & Co.

San Francisco (Regional HQ: McLean)

United Way - Alexandria

975,695

Dominion Resources

Richmond

Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Inc.

905,000

WestRock

Richmond

Virginia Commonwealth University

574,580

Potomac Health Foundation

Woodbridge

Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center

538,960

Smithfield Foods Inc.

Smithfield

Virginia Tech

461,000

Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation

Roanoke

Virginia Health Care Foundation

368,000

Science Applications International Corp.

McLean

Virginia Tech

338,000

TowneBank

Portsmouth

Richmond 2015

250,000

Trane

Davidson, N.C. (Va. HQ: Richmond)

Virginia Tech

250,000

Norfolk Southern Corp.

Norfolk

United Way of South Hampton Roads

245,700

Northrop Grumman Corp.

Falls Church

Virginia Tech

229,000

The Franklin Johnston Group

Virginia Beach

Old Dominion University

225,000

HCA Virginia

Richmond

John Tyler Community College Foundation

218,713

Webb Companies

Centreville

George Mason University

200,000

Minerals Refining Co. LLC

Richmond

Virginia Tech

162,000

DuPont Teijin Films

Chester

Virginia Tech

132,500

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Virginia

Richmond

Metropolitan Richmond SportsBackers

115,000

WestRock

Richmond

Virginia Tech

102,500

J-M Apartments

Harrisonburg

James Madison University

100,000

Massanutten Resort

McGaheysville

James Madison University

100,000

Newport News Shipbuilding

Newport News

Virginia Tech

100,000

Union Bank & Trust

Richmond

Virginia Tech

100,000

Walker & Laberge Co. Inc.

Norfolk

Old Dominion University

100,000

$2,320,000

Sources: Annual reports, companies, nonprofits, websites, press releases

www.VirginiaBusiness.com

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Total corporate donations A sampling of companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; total contributions to Virginia nonprofits in 2015. Company

Location

Total VA donations

Altria Group

Richmond

$16,872,268

Dominion Resources

Richmond

8,700,000

Wells Fargo

San Francisco; Regional headquarters in McLean

6,012,638

TowneBank

Portsmouth

5,247,629

WestRock

Richmond

4,374,000

Norfolk Southern Corp.

Norfolk

4,219,457

Potomac Health Foundation

Woodbridge

4,017,739

Ernst & Young

McLean, Richmond (Va. Locations)

2,758,000

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Virginia

Richmond

2,600,000

Union Bank & Trust

Richmond

1,571,984

Williams Mullen

Richmond

589,100

Impact Makers

Richmond

230,000

Keiter

Glen Allen

123,703

Orbital ATK

Dulles

95,000

Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP

Richmond, Newport News, Chester, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Roanoke and Tysons Corner

63,000 Source: Virginia Business survey

JUNE 2016

Out & About Sorensen Institute Spring Gala

1 1. Jim Cheng, Lee & Hayes PLLC; Syd Dorsey, Secretariat of Commerce and Trade; and Jean Paula Salac, University of Virginia. 2. Julianne Condrey, Office of state Sen. Amanda Chase; and Julie Bartley, Union Bank & Trust.

Nearly 300 elected officials, business leaders, Sorensen alumni and friends gathered in Richmond to honor Virginia Women in Leadership. The eveningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s panel discussion featured state Sen. Amanda Chase; Education Secretary Anne Holton; Bobbie Kilberg, president and CEO of the Northern Virginia Technology Council; Del. Jennifer McClellan; and state Sen. Jill Vogel.

3. Bob Gibson, Sorensen Institute; and Adam Fried, Atlantic Builders.

4. Rita Aguilar, U.S. Department of Justice; Grant Tate, the bridge ltd; and Kathy Galvin, Galvin Architects. 5. Lauren Marshall, Office of Sen. Mark Warner; Marques Jones, Capital One; and Jediah Jones, Office of state Sen. Donald McEachin.

6. Jaime Areizaga-Soto, deputy secretary of veterans and defense affairs of Virginia; state Sen. Bryce Reeves of Spotsylvania; Jennifer Walle, Cornerstone Government Affairs; and Steve Cochran, HHHunt.

7. Diane Simon, VCU; Trina Spencer, VSU; Beth Ackerman, Liberty University; and John Blackwell, VCU.

6 Share photos of special events at your company with Virginia Business E-mail your candid photos with identifications to Adrienne R. Watson, arwatson@va-business.com.

4 Photos courtesy The Sorensen Institute

5 www.VirginiaBusiness.com

Photos not used in the magazine may be posted on our Web site at VirginiaBusiness.com

VIRGINIA BUSINESS

■ Business Trends: GENERAL ASSEMBLY

A busy body General Assembly session was packed with business-related legislation

Money helping the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute double its Roanoke facility was included in a $2.2 billion bond package passed by the General Assembly.

by Jessica Sabbath

ith the help of $46.7 million from the commonwealth, the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute plans to double its facility in Roanoke. The new 105,000-squarefoot building would employ another 275 to 300 workers, expanding the institute’s work in its research specialties, such as neuroscience, heart disease, infectious diseases, and breast and brain cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. The hope is the expansion will spawn economic development around the institute, in an area called the Health Sciences and Technology Innovation District. “We want to build partnerships with industry,” says Michael Friedlander, executive director of the research institute. “With small

JUNE 2016

businesses, we could attract innovative biotech companies. In other cases, we could bring in more established companies who want to put a branch here and want to be part of the excitement and the energy of what’s going on in Roanoke.” Funding for the new building is part of a $2.2 billion bond package passed by the General Assembly designed to make strategic investments in the state’s infrastructure and promising research at Virginia’s higher-education institutions. The bond package — combined with new and expanded research and development tax credits, economic development programs and workforce credential incentives — was a highlight in a session packed with more busi-

ness-related legislation than any in recent memory. Although a partisan fight over the appointment of a Supreme Court appointment dominated headlines during the session, the Democratic governor and Republican-controlled legislature compromised on incentives primarily designed to accelerate Virginia’s growth in the “new economy.” “There was a significant focus on business, and frankly, I think it’s the right time,” says Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. “When you hear about the downsizing of defense spending and the fact that Virginia is growing at less than the national average for our gross state product, those are trends we want to reverse.” During a normal session, the chamber typically tracks 400 bills and takes positions on 40 to 50. This year, the chamber tracked 620 bills and took positions on 125. Commercializing research This year’s legislation could create a new era in research at Virginia’s universities. Through additional money and incentives, legislation this year put a major focus on the commercialization of university research. Much of that focus involves new programs and funds to develop Virginia’s biosciences industry. “This was the best year by far for bio,” says Jeff Gallagher, Photo courtesy Virginia Tech

CEO of the Virginia Biotechnology Association (Virginia Bio), which represents the life sciences industry in the commonwealth. “The governor did a great job of lifting the topic and vision in his budget, which eventually was cut down, but it’s at least a couple times more than bio has ever received.” Under the budget that begins July 1, a current program, The Catalyst, will receive a major funding boost in its efforts to incentivize universities to collaborate with each other and work with industry partners to commercialize biosciences research. Previously, the program, officially named the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp., had about $2.5 million to spend each year. In the budget starting in July, it will receive a total of $10 million over the next two years, including $2.5 million specifically dedicated to health research with commercialization potential.“Great research is being funded, but it has a real impact on growing commercial opportunities,” says Gallagher. A new initiative is designed to advance university research in all technologies. This year, the General Assembly created the Virginia Research Investment Fund (V-RIF). The fund, which will include $28 million in general funds during the next two years and $29 million available from the bond package, will have two major objectives. The first goal is to help Virginia’s universities attract top-notch researchers with track records in commercialization. Bringing in first-rate researchers can make a big economic impact, says Gallagher, pointing to Friedlander at Carilion and Virginia Tech as an example. “This is a way to help get the right talent,” he says. “It’s very competitive out there nationally and globally, when people distinguish themselves not only as crack researchers, but who also are really interested in answering, ‘Is this really going to help people? Is this research really going to get into the clinic?’” V-RIF’s second goal is to fund the creation of centers of excellence focused on a specific area of research, such as diabetes or neuroscience. This fund will encourage universities to create partnerships with the private sector in various industries. Increas-

ingly, research-funding organizations are interested in backing collaborative projects rather than research that is specific to one university. “It’s a way to bring expertise together and become best in class by collaborating,” says Gallagher. The fund was based partly on the Georgia Research Alliance, which Virginia Bio persuaded Gov. Terry McAuliffe to visit on a fact-finding mission last fall. The bond package also includes major investments to promote economic growth. In addition to doubling the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, the bond issue includes money for the expansion of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Engineering and construction of a new STEM laboratory building on campus. It also supports the creation of the University of Virginia Center for Human Therapeutics, a research center focused on using medical research to create commercial drugs. Inova Health System also is a major beneficiary under the bond issue as it develops its Center for Personalized Health campus in Northern Virginia. The

campus is focused on developing research around personalized medicine, which aims to predict, prevent and treat disease based on a person’s genetic makeup. The bond package includes $20 million for research at the Global Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Institute at the Center for Personalized Health. The money would fund lab renovations for research projects with the institute that involved at least two of Virginia’s higher education institutions or one higher education institution and one private-sector company. Legislators also agreed to expand an existing research and development tax credit for small businesses and add a new tax credit aimed at attracting larger research and development companies. The current research and development tax credit was capped at $5 million, but demand had exceeded that the past few years. This year’s legislation will increase the cap to $7 million a year. The legislation also increased the cap for each company to $45,000. That cap rises to $60,000 if research is done in conjunction

Other notable legislation •

The Port of Virginia will receive $350 million — the biggest piece of the bond package — to increase capacity of its largest terminal. The project will allow the terminal to stack containers higher and more closely together. The larger terminal will help the port respond to growing cargo traffic and the increased usage of large container ships.

•

The New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Fund and Program (SB 576/HB 66): The program, administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, will allow higher education institutions to provide grants of up to $3,000 to Virginia students for completing noncredit workforce training programs.

•

New tolling legislation (HB 1069) prevents an administration from adding tolls to existing highways, bridges and tunnels without General Assembly approval. The restriction would not apply to new construction or to HOV and HOT lanes.

•

The extension of a data center tax credit (HB872/SB64) until 2035. The tax credit was scheduled to sunset in 2020. “We’re at the point where more than half of the states offer a sales tax exemption, so the competitiveness has really ramped up,” says Josh Levi of the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

•

Passage of a law (HB412) that prohibits localities from regulating unmanned aerial vehicles/systems (drones) for three years while the state conducts its own study of the technology.

•

The addition of computer science and computational thinking, including coding, (HB831) to the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs). The Virginia Board of Education will determine how to add these into schools’ curriculum.

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General Assembly with a Virginia university. The new research and development tax credit is designed for companies spending more than $5 million a year on research. The new credit is capped at $20 million per year. “It’s been utilized and over-subscribed,” Josh Levi, vice president for policy at the Northern Virginia Technology Council, says of the current tax credit. “So the intention this year was to strengthen the current credit for small businesses and to recognize at the same time that there are some companies that have a much larger research spend that are constantly making decisions and re-evaluating where they do their research activity.” Economic development Other legislation passed this year will put a new emphasis on developing exporting opportunities for Virginia companies. The Virginia Chamber of Commerce, along with the Virginia Maritime Association and the Virginia Manufacturers Association, led an initiative to establish the Virginia International Trade Corporation (VITC). That new organization will pull international trade activities from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. VITC will be designed to help companies take advantage of existing trade programs at the federal, state, regional and local level. A first-of-its kind study funded by the chamber showed that from 2009 until 2014, 30 percent of Virginia’s economic growth came from increased exports. The separate agency would allow more Virginia businesses to take advantage of Virginia’s popular exporting-assistance programs, says DuVal. “One of the ways we can help Virginia’s existing businesses is by aligning the trade activities of the commonwealth and therefore making it easier to access affordable costs and higher-quality trade programs that will help Virginia businesses expand their export products,” he says. The VITC will be organized during the fiscal year starting July 1, and its powers and duties become effective April 1 next year. The chamber also backed another major economic development initiative passed this year — GO Virginia — although the program will require further legislative action next year. The program is designed to encourage 48

JUNE 2016

localities to work together on economic development by offering state grants. “Regions grow along economic boundaries and not political boundaries,” DuVal says DuVal. “Therefore we should craft incentives that reward regional economic growth and promote legislation that rewards regional economic thinking. GO Virginia is an implementation of that.” In the budget, GO Virginia received $36 million for grants encouraging collaboration among businesses, school systems and governments in each region. The legislation established the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board to administer the program and regional councils that would apply for grants. The legislation, however, was almost held up by disagreements between the governor and the legislature over control of the GO Virginia board and the power to approve exceptions to the bill. The legislation includes a hardship provision for smaller localities that could not meet minimum project standards — an investment of $25 million and the creation of 200 jobs. In the end, a compromise was reached, which allows the board and regional councils to be set up, but regional grant funding won’t take place until the second year of the budget. A working group will study the issue, and the legislature must revisit the legislation next year. “We think the agreement was a constructive step forward, and we are pleased at the bipartisan nature of the agreement,” says DuVal. Not every industry benefited from the 2016 General Assembly. McAuliffe vetoed a bill that would have extended tax credits for Virginia’s coal industry. The governor pointed out that the credits have cost Virginia $610 million since 1988. During the same period, the number of Virginia coal mine jobs fell from 11,106 to 2,946. The coal industry in Virginia has been suffering from increased regulation and competition from natural gas. On the horizon Details on many of the new programs established this year will be cemented during the next couple of years.

Specifics on many of the programs, including the new bioscience initiatives and funds, will be written into regulations stemming from the legislation. These will require provisions that allow the programs to run smoothly and ensure applications are properly vetted, says Gallagher of Virginia Bio. “It’s great to be created on paper,” he says. “Now all these people, including us, are going to have to work really hard to make Gallagher sure they are built up in a way that provides excellent results and are completely accountable to citizens of the commonwealth. There’s a lot of work ahead just to get them ready to go.” Many issues punted this year could become major issues next year. • Certificate of Public Need (COPN): A number of bills were introduced this year that would have dismantled or changed Virginia’s COPN regulations. The Senate carried over legislation that would have removed imaging services, such as MRIs and CT scans, from the state’s COPN regulations. Hospitals have argued these services help pay for their charity care and emergency-room services, while proponents say this change could help to lower health-care costs.

• Airbnb: Legislation that would protect

Virginians’ ability to rent lodging through Airbnb and create a process to collect taxes was approved with a re-enactment clause. That legislation requires the General Assembly to approve the legislation again next year and instructs the Virginia Housing Commission to study the issue. The legislation is opposed by the state’s lodging industry.

• Angel investor tax credit: This credit,

provided to investors in companies, has been over-subscribed. In fiscal year 2014, investors submitted applications for $9 million in tax credits, although the credit is capped at $5 million. Legislation introduced this year would have increased the limit to $9 million. Another bill would have eliminated the credit altogether. Both bills were defeated, but the legislature plans to study the issue during the next year.

■ Business Trends: EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

“The big trend I’ve noticed at Darden and around the globe is the demand for women’s leadership programs,” says Melissa Thomas-Hunt.

Training female executives Companies want help in developing management talent by Gary Robertson

wenty years ago, there were no female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. Today, there are 22, 4.4 percent of the total. About the same percentage lead S&P 500 companies. So, at best, the journey of women to the C-Suite has edged forward at a glacial pace. A Pew Research Center study published a year ago found that Americans believe women are not moving into senior executive positions at a faster rate because they are being held to a higher standard. Women have to do more than their male counterparts to prove their leadership capabilities, the study suggests. Photo by Dan Addison/UVA University Communications

Maybe that’s why more executive education programs are making more room for leadership training for women. Melissa Thomas-Hunt, senior associate dean and global chief diversity officer at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, says more women are becoming interested in honing their leadership skills and so are the companies that employ them. “The big trend I’ve noticed at Darden and around the globe is the demand for women’s leadership programs. There were few of them 10 years ago … [But] today, companies need all the www.VirginiaBusiness.com

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Executive Education especially in technology companies, have reached a critical stage. Tech companies are concerned about the relatively low number of women entering, or staying, in the field, she says.

Rosanna Koppelmann says a company recently asked her to create a leadership program for women employees.

talent they can find. They are looking for the absolute best talent,” she says. Darden offers the Women’s Leadership Program, a short course, through the school’s executive education program.

Mary Gowan still notices the absence of women when business school deans gather.

The course is designed for female executives and women with management responsibilities. Thomas-Hunt says that efforts to recruit and retain women in top positions,

Asking for help Rosanna Koppelmann, executive director of the Center for Corporate Education at the College of William & Mary’s Mason School of Business, says that — for the first time in her decadelong tenure at the school — a company recently asked her to put together a leadership program for women employees. “The CEO/president saw this as an important strategic, capital-development piece. They’re really trying to develop [talent among] women in their workforce,” Koppelmann says. In Mason’s executive education programs, she adds, instructors don’t distinguish between the leadership roles of men and women. Instead, the process focuses on identifying and cultivating leadership characteristics and helping companies develop good leaders. Koppelmann encourages women to look at their professional goals in a much more intentional manner rather than seeing a move into upper management as a matter of happenstance. She laughs in recalling high-level discussions about plans for Miller Hall, the Mason School’s home, which was completed in 2009. The design called for a baby room for nursing mothers. Koppelmann says some of the men involved in the project drew a blank when they saw “baby room.” They wanted to know, “What do we do with that?” She uses the story to illustrate the importance of women’s input in leadership decisions. “You’re not going to have the right conversation if the diversity isn’t there,” she says. Few female deans Mary Gowan knows what it’s like to be one of the few women leading an organization in certain fields. When she was named the head of James Madison University’s College of Business in 2013, she was only the third female dean among the nation’s 15 top public undergraduate business schools. Continued on page 53.

JUNE 2016

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Executive Education Gowan still notices the absence of women in the audience when business school deans gather. During the 201415 academic year, only 19.9 percent of business school deans were women, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Ironically, that percentage fails to reflect the rising number of women in business. In 2013, women held 52 percent of managerial and professional occupations in the U.S., a jump from about 31 percent in 1968, according to Pew research. Gowan has extensive consulting and executive education experience with private and public organizations in the areas of leadership, human resources management and organizational behavior. She says male executives are sometimes not sure how to deal with the increasing number of women in management. As a consultant, she once coached a male executive on how to address female leaders in his company. “He said if [the executive] was a male, he would know how to respond,” Gowan says. But in dealing with women, he was concerned

Jenifer Alonzo teaches women executives and managers techniques that can help them navigate a communications code that they may not be aware of.

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focused on women in leadership. “We bring alums back to participate, to empower women to think about their future. And encourage them to lean in,” accepting leadership opportunities when they present themselves, even if the challenges seem huge, Gowan says. In a changing workplace where some women are breaking through to high executive positions, Gowan notes that traditional relationships between spouses also are changing. “I have seen a lot of successful women whose [husbands have paused] their careers to help their wives,” Gowan says. Changing an attitude Jenifer Alonzo, an associate professor of communication and theater arts at Old Dominion University, often conducts executive education workshops to help businesspeople learn how to better manage teams. She says many women attend her programs because they want to empower themselves in the workplace. “Women are more susceptible to thinking less of themselves,” Alonzo says, and a change of attitude can lead to a better job. She teaches women executives and managers — and those aspiring to such positions — techniques that can help them navigate a communications code that they may not even be aware of. For example, Alonzo says, women often sit on the perimeter of a group, not positioning themselves among influencers who can help them. And women have a tendency not to make as much eye contact as they need to. “It is a difficult thing for women to unpack how they should present themselves,” she adds. While women are making leadership gains in the business world, the Darden School’s Thomas-Hunt says female managers and executives sometimes fall short advocating their own career advancement. “Women on average feel less comfortable entering into a negotiation when they are negotiating for themselves,” she says. New executive education leadership programs now in the works at many universities may help bolster their confidence. 54

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■ University Profile: ROANOKE COLLEGE Editor’s Note: This is a continuing series profiling Virginia’s colleges and universities.

at a glance Founded 1842 80-acre campus Location in Salem (not Roanoke) About 2,000 fulltime students from Enrollment 43 states and 33 countries (59% female, 41% male) $38,302 tuition, Cost $12,370 room and board 85 percent of Financial aid students receive financial aid Recognitions No. 4 US News & World Report’s Up-and-coming National Liberal Arts Colleges Top 9%, The Princeton Review’s Best 380 Colleges Top 10%, Forbes magazine’s “America’s Best Colleges” Faculty

131 tenure-track faculty

Source: Roanoke College website

JUNE 2016

Punching above its weight class Cregger Center should expand small college’s regional impact by Shawna Morrison

alem-based Roanoke College is a small school with a big impact on its hometown and its region. Robert Stauffer, a now-retired Roanoke College economics professor, completed a study in 2008 that gauged

the school’s local economic impact at more than $100 million. That figure included $21.5 million in gross wages paid to employees, $18.5 million in local college spending and $756,000 spent by visitors. Stauffer estimates that the Photos by Don Petersen

Construction work on the Cregger Center has had an estimated economic impact of $60 million over the past three years.

school’s annual impact is closer to $130 million today. “It’s a big operation,” Stauffer says of the college, which employs nearly 500 people and has about 2,000 students. His 2008 report, however, notes that many of the school’s contributions to the community are intangible. These intangibles include students’ community service and quality of life benefits offered by the school through education, entertainment and cultural events. The Roanoke College economic and cultural impact on the region could grow with the completion of the $35 million Cregger Center, the school’s largest-ever capital project. The Cregger Center, a complex of classrooms and event space, is scheduled to open in August. It will include a performance gym with a 2,500-seat capacity and a 200-meter indoor

track, the first of its kind in the Roanoke Valley. Stauffer says it’s difficult to estimate how successful the center will be, but if used as planned for

many events in addition to those already hosted by Roanoke College, it could attract 10,000 visitors a year. Half of those visitors may spend the night in the area, generating an estimated annual economic impact of more than $700,000. The Cregger Center already has had a substantial economic impact on the area because of the construction jobs it has created. Stauffer estimates that when the center is complete, construction alone will have had an impact of more than $60 million over nearly three years. Roanoke College Vice President and Dean Richard Smith says that, while the financial impact of the school on the region is clear, “the more important part is what we do with our students and the kind of education we give them and the position we put them in to go on to acquire well-paying careers and fulfilling careers.” Smith believes that the broad liberal-arts program offered by the college gives graduates a wellrounded education, a potential advantage in competing for jobs. “[Employers] certainly would like to have students who have entry-level skills so they can move right into a position in their organization or

Roanoke College Vice President and Dean Richard Smith says the liberal arts education provided by the college gives students a broad set of skills.

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University Profile: Roanoke College Salem City Planner Benjamin Tripp says the college “brings young people here who are seeking to pursue degrees from all over the world.”

their company, but they’re also looking for students who have a broader set of skills that really are necessary for leadership and management success and so on. These are skills that are right at the core of what we have to offer — critical thinking and writing well and being able to effectively make oral presentations. Our students get really great training in all that,” Smith says. By the time they graduate, Smith says, nearly all Roanoke College students will have had at least one experiential learning opportunity — such as an internship, undergraduate research, service learning or study abroad. The college also has established mentoring programs through which students are paired with graduates in a field of interest. “We really want to see our students succeed,” Smith says. Business and health and human performance majors are among the most popular at Roanoke College. These majors include athletic training, health and exercise science, sport management, and health and physical education. The college offers strong programs in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, math, physics, and applied and theoretical computer science. The college is discussing the creation of a humanities-based program that would focus on health care, Smith says. Salem City Planner Benjamin Tripp calls Roanoke College “an integral part of downtown and of Salem overall.” “It brings young people here who are seeking to pursue degrees from all over 58

JUNE 2016

the world. It brings faculty and sports jobs in our area, and it also is a source [of new ideas]. Its influence on the community is pretty profound,” he says. Tripp, a 2002 Roanoke College graduate whose wife, brother and sisterin-law also attended the school, notes that most downtown Salem businesses accept the Maroon Card — the Roanoke College student ID, which can be loaded with

City Manager Kevin Boggess says students contribute to the vitality of Salem’s downtown.

money. It also serves as a facilities access pass and a meal plan card. Tripp says Roanoke College has been working closely with the city on efforts to improve the downtown area. Plans are in the works to redo the streetscape on College Avenue “so that it gives us the sort of college-community connection that we deserve,” Tripp says. Set to begin next year, work will involve replacing the sidewalks with the same type of brick used to construct Roanoke College buildings, adding parking areas and installing extra lights that will be strung over College Avenue. “Having a college right in your downtown, I think that’s one of the reasons our downtown does as well as it does is because you have that sort of vitality of the kids walking around downtown,” Salem City Manager Kevin Boggess says. Boggess also touted the potential of the Cregger Center to draw people to Salem. “It’s going to create a whole new venue for the valley that doesn’t really exist in terms of the indoor competition track,” he says. The center could host NCAA tournaments and Virginia High School League events, bringing people into the city who will spend money on lodging and meals. College spokeswoman Teresa Gereaux says Roanoke College offers many cultural events, including lecture programs, art exhibits theater productions and a performing arts series. A program called Elderscholar, which has been in place since 1984, offers six-week courses to senior citizens. The Copenhaver Institute program offers summer workshops for pre-K-12 teachers and administrators. And, Gereaux says, students perform a great deal of community service work through partnerships between the school or certain professors and nonprofit organizations and service organizations in the Roanoke Valley. Caroline Goode, executive director of the Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce, says Roanoke College supports every major community event sponsored by the organization. “Visitors, college employees and students are consumers to our local downtown businesses, and the college offers many educational opportunities to better the quality of life in our region.” Photos by Don Petersen

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Out & About The Virginia Communications Hall of Fame

1 2

1. 2016 Virginia Communications Hall of Fame inductees (L to R): Mary Ann Beirne (wife of posthumous inductee Horton P. Beirne); Bill McKelway; Don Just; Jeffrey Blount; June Nicholson; George R. Woltz; and Adriana Trigiani. 2. Hong Cheng, VCU Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture. 3. Cecile R. Myers with her husband Barry E. Myers, Krupin Partners LLC.

The Virginia Communications Hall of Fame recognizes communication professionals with exceptional careers in advertising, journalism, public relations, new media and other media fields. The 2016 honorees included: the late newspaper publisher Horton P. Beirne; TV director Jeffrey Blount; professor and former advertising executive Don Just; newspaper writer Bill McKelway; journalism educator June O. Nicholson; author, screenwriter and director Adriana Trigiani; and advertising executive George R. Woltz.

4. Bernie Niemeier, Virginia Business; and wife, Lisa Gray Niemeier.

5. Virginia Commonwealth University Robertson School alumnae Carrie Carroll, LaTonya Hager and Jediah Jones. 6. Carissa Etters; Danny Woodward; Raina Fields; and Mike Porter, Virginia Commonwealth University. 7. Patricia Hunter; James S. Hunter Jr.; Cynthia Woltz; and Lt. Col. George R. Woltz Jr.

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5 Photos courtesy August Heisler

E-mail your candid photos with identifications to Adrienne R. Watson, arwatson@va-business.com. Photos not used in the magazine may be posted on our Web site at VirginiaBusiness.com

6 www.VirginiaBusiness.com

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■ Community Profile: CHARLOTTESVILLE REGION The University of Virginia has helped fuel the area’s innovation boom with assistance to promising startups at its i.Lab at the Darden School of Business.

Charlottesville area at a glance Population 227,000 (2014 est.) Increase since 2010 3.8 percent Unemployment: 3.5 percent (March) Average weekly wage $969 Adults (25+) with bachelor’s degrees 41.3 percent Sources: Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Virginia Employment Commission

JUNE 2016

A new story line?

Nightmarish events overshadowed area’s growth as a hotspot for entrepreneurs by Carlos Santos

he Charlottesville area finally is emerging from a series of nightmarish events that grabbed national headlines. Local leaders now are ready for the region to makes news for another reason

— its increasing momentum as a launching pad for entrepreneurs. The past 12 months saw continued fallout from a debunked Rolling Stone magazine story about a gang rape at the University of Virginia and the sentencing Photo courtesy University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business

of a serial killer who stalked his last victim on Charlottesville’s downtown mall. A Charlottesville police investigation could find no evidence of the gang rape, but the controversy now continues in federal court. Nicole Eramo, a University of Virginia administrator, claims Rolling Stone defamed her and filed a $7.85 million lawsuit. Tim Hulbert, the head of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and a keen observer of life in the Charlottesville area, says he was “rooting for the lawsuit. When that [article] came out, it sullied our community and law enforcement.” Meanwhile, Jesse Matthew Jr. pleaded guilty to killing Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student who vanished after a 2009 Metallica concert in Charlottesville, and Hannah Graham, a U.Va. student who was murdered in 2014 after being abducted from the city’s downtown mall. As part of the plea agreement, Matthew, a former cab driver and hospital orderly, was sentenced in March in to four life terms with no possibility of parole. While those incidents are largely behind it, Charlottesville continues to have local controversies. Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy held a contentious news conference recently in front of the equestrian statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Characterizing the statue as a symbol of a racist past, he called for its removal. People opposed to that move — asserting the statue represents Southern heritage and American history — waved Confederate flags as Bellamy spoke. In early May, City Council voted to create a commission that will recommend whether or not the city should remove its Confederate memorials. The commission’s report, which will have public input, is due by Nov. 30.

Tracey L. Greene describes Charlottesville as a hotbed of “startups and innovative businesses with intellectual property at its core.”

Greene founded the Charlottesville Angel Network (CAN) last year, and qualified investors have already invested $1 million in 10 companies, she says. CAN includes high-net-worth individuals and successful entrepreneurs who meet monthly to evaluate early-stage companies. U.Va. has helped fuel the innovation boom with assistance to promising startups at its i.Lab at the Darden School of Business. One beneficiary is Charlottesvillebased KiraKira, which also has an office in San Francisco. Co-founder and CEO Suz Somersall says the firm aims to make technology and design programs more accessible to women.

Suz Somersall is co-founder and CEO of KiraKira, which offers online classes on designing jewelry using 3-D printers.

A business ‘hotbed’ These controversies overshadowed the region’s growing reputation as a home to entrepreneurs and innovators. Tracey L. Greene, executive director of the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC), describes Charlottesville as a “hotbed … of startups and innovative businesses with intellectual property at its core.” The CBIC’s mission is to accelerate technology innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. Top photo by Jay Paul Bottom photo courtesy KiraKira

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Community Profile: Charlottesville KiraKira offers online classes that essentially help empower women by teaching them how to design jewelry using 3-D printers. “We’re targeting young women and introducing the concepts behind engineering,” says Somersall, a Brown University graduate who is a jewelry designer. “The skills and concepts they learn are transferable to engineering and architecture.” Somersall says Charlottesville is “incredible in terms of advisers and potential

investors. I can’t think of a better place to innovate … it’s a city full of brilliant people.” Venture capital also is pouring into the region. A recent report by the National Venture Capital Association found that nine companies in the Charlottesville metro area received $27.7 million in venture funding last year. The total includes $16.5 million invested by Chevy Chase, Md., venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates in Charlottesvillebased PsiKick, which makes self-powering

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JUNE 2016

wireless sensors for “Internet of Things” applications. Charlottesville ranked first out of 133 metro areas in both the greatest growth (55.2 percent) and the greatest rate of growth as measured by venture investment dollars with a 156.5 percent increase since 2010, says Greene. Greene says the Charlottesville region is popular with entrepreneurs because of its “small-town feel combined with lots of savvy people.” $87 million in investment Chris Engel, Charlottesville’s economic development coordinator, says the city’s economy is “vibrant and robust” with the “epicenter of activity around the downtown area.” About $87 million in commercial investment was spent in the city last year — one of its highest levels ever. “That $87 million means people are building for business purposes, and that connects to the job growth,” says Engel. Most of the job growth is coming from “small, fast-growing, gazelle-like companies” that are adding 10 to 15 jobs a year, says Engel. They include companies like Apex Clean Energy, Relay Foods and WillowTree, a 9-year-old company that develops apps and already boasts more than 140 employees. The hospitality sector is especially hot, Engel adds, noting that a significant part of the commercial investment came from the recent opening of a new Marriott Residence Inn on West Main Street. A Fairfield Inn and Suites also is planned for the corner of Ridge Street and Cherry Avenue, driven by the city’s hotel occupancy rate of about 70 percent year round. U.Va. is partly responsible for that occupancy rate but so is “historical tourism” and four major Charlottesville festivals held each year that celebrate books, movies, photography and entrepreneurs, drawing tens of thousands of people into the city. The city’s business vacancy rate sits at 3.5 percent with the rate dropping to 2.6 percent around the downtown area, says Engel. He admits that the city is facing a parking problem downtown but adds, “it’s a good problem to have. People want to be there.”

Rotunda project continues At U.Va., construction is going on as always. The second phase to renovate U.Va.’s iconic Rotunda is underway. The $42.5 million project includes updating utility systems, restoring historical features and reviving the building’s initial use as the center of academic and student life. That means adding classrooms and increasing access and programming. The first phase of the project, completed in spring 2013, included installing a new copper roof and making extensive masonry repairs. Counties surrounding Charlottesville are also making news. In Fluvanna County, land use has become an issue. The land use program, which helps preserve rural spaces, cost the county about $2.7 million in uncollected taxes last year. That translates into about 10 cents of the tax rate. Supervisor Tony O’Brien recently raised questions about land use. “I’m not against land use per se, but I wonder if it’s a good deal for the county.” Supervisors plan to look

The second phase in a $42.5 million renovation of the U.Va. Rotunda is underway.

closer at the issue. Nelson County, which over recent years has become home to a number of craft breweries, has attracted the attention of beer giant Anheuser-Busch. The company has agreed to acquire Devils Backbone Brewing Co. in Roseland. Some craft beer fans have bemoaned the loss of Devils Backbone from the

ranks of upstart breweries. On the other hand, however, the deal recognizes Devils Backbone’s achievements since its founding in 2008. Now its beer should be available nationwide. In other words, a Charlottesvillearea startup has become a national success. That’s the kind of news the region can build on.

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VIRGINIA BUSINESS

Community Profile: Charlottesville

Untangling traffic Region addresses road and parking problems by Carlos Santos

Roadwork in Albemarle County

avigating Charlottesville-area traffic and finding a place to park are ongoing regional issues. Albemarle County, for example, is tackling a grade-separated interchange project at the intersection of Rio Road and U.S. 29 — the largest such intersection in terms of number of lanes in Virginia. Work on relocating utilities began in May 2015 with crews working only at night, between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Tim Hulbert, the head of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, says some of the businesses in the area — about 600 with locations between Seminole Square and the Rivanna River bridge — have been “challenged” by the massive construction project. “Some businesses have had losses of 20 to 60 percent of their revenue,” he says.

“Some businesses decided to move.” An even bigger road headache involves Rio Road — a main east-west thoroughfare in Albemarle. It was scheduled to be closed to traffic from late May through Sept. 2. Lou Hatter, a spokesman for VDOT, says “so far things are going well on the project. The contractor is out there working steadily and the winter weather was very nice to us.” The project is on schedule, Hatter says. While Rio is closed, crews will be working 24 hours a day, seven days a week “in getting the intersection reconstructed. There’s certainly been some inconveniences,” for

businesses in the area, Hatter adds. “But we’re working real closely with them to minimize that.” Charlottesville City Council, meanwhile, is preparing an attack on the downtown area’s No. 1 problem — lack of parking. Though the downtown pedestrian mall remains a hive of business activity with its dozens of restaurants and other businesses, consumers are daunted by the lack of parking spaces. So the city has decided to run a parking meter pilot project. It’s expected that some 160 or so meters will be “tucked around the downtown mall,” says city spokeswoman Miriam Dickler, though no timetable for installation had been determined in late April. “The goal of this is to actually increase business activity. The goal is to free up some parking.”

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JUNE 2016

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Robert Powell

rpowell@va-business.com

InsideView from the Editor

Trump repeats Carter’s feat in 1976

by Robert Powell

early a year ago, I was among more than 1,000 people who lined up in the rain outside a Costco store in Henrico County to get a book signed by former President Jimmy Carter. The book, “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety,” looks back at many events in Carter’s life, including his presidential campaign 40 years ago. In a recent Politico article, historian Josh Zeitz contends that Carter in 1976, like Donald Trump today, was an insurgent outsider. Each rode a wave of anti-establishment sentiment to defeat a crowded field of candidates and win his party’s nomination. And both were resisted by party leaders. Before there was a #NeverTrump movement in the Republican Party, there was the “Anybody But Carter” effort aimed at stopping him from winning the Democratic nomination. Both attempts, Zeitz suggests, were doomed from the start because Trump and Carter tapped into the mood of the times. In Carter’s case, the nation still was reeling from the Watergate scandal, Nixon’s resignation and revelations about the conduct of the Vietnam War under Democratic and Republican administrations. The public was disillusioned with Washington politics and longed for someone who could be trusted. Enter the former Georgia governor who pledged, “I’ll never tell a lie. I’ll never make a misleading statement. I’ll never betray the confidence that any of you had in me. And I’ll never avoid a controversial issue.” The comparison between Carter and Trump, of course, breaks down when you move beyond campaign strategy. The men are almost opposites in personality. In contrast with Trump’s brash statements and theatrics, Carter always has been direct but low-key. Effective in speaking to small groups, he never developed Trump’s ability to inspire a

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large audience, in a convention hall or on television. In contrast with Trump’s three marriages, Carter has been married for 70 years to his wife, Rosalynn. They are equal partners in many endeavors, including The Carter Center, a nonprofit they founded in 1982 to promote human rights and alleviate suffering. In fact, during his campaign against Republican President Gerald Ford, Carter tried to alter his image as a pious Baptist Sunday school teacher by granting an interview to Playboy. In explaining Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he admitted that, like other men, he had lusted after women. Within days of the article’s publication, his poll numbers dropped 15 percentage points. Trump also has one big advantage that Carter did not share. The real estate mogul has been a household name for decades, developing a reputation in books and countless television appearances as a high-level dealmaker. Carter, on the other hand, began his presidential campaign with virtually no public recognition outside his home state. Zeitz notes that when Carter told his mother, Lillian, he planned to run for president, she asked, “President of what?” Carter climbed out of obscurity by winning the Democratic Iowa caucus, which had begun only four years before. That victory served as a springboard to wins in New Hampshire and Florida, where he vanquished Alabama Gov. George Wallace. Carter’s early momentum allowed him to sweep later primaries as opponents dropped out of the race. But running an effective campaign doesn’t ensure a nominee will be an www.VirginiaBusiness.com

effective president. Carter can claim some major accomplishments during his administration, but he failed to keep the public’s confidence in his leadership. One aspect of Carter’s presidency, however, remains an unqualified success, the Camp David Accords. The event foreshadowed Carter’s role as a humanitarian and peacemaker after he left the White House. In his book, Carter recounts the 1978 peace negotiations he conducted between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at the presidential retreat in Maryland. The book reveals one critical piece of the story that I had not known. On the 13th day of negotiations, talks broke down with Begin refusing to yield on some issues. The prime minister, Carter and Sadat agreed to return to Washington, admit their failure and plan to resume talks sometime in the future. Just before he left, Begin asked that Carter sign photos of the three leaders for his grandchildren. Without prompting from anyone, Carter’s secretary called Israel and got the children’s names. Carter inscribed each child’s name on the photos as he signed them and then walked over to Begin’s cabin. “I gave him the photographs, he turned away to examine them, and then began to read the names aloud, one by one,” Carter writes. “He had a choked voice, and tears were running down his cheeks.” The two men sat down and began to talk. “After a few minutes, we agreed to try once more, and after some intense discussions we were successful,” Carter says. Begin and Sadat were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. A simple act of kindness resulted in an historic Mideast treaty that still stands today. VIRGINIA BUSINESS

■ INDEX of companies and individuals A

Akbari, Dr. Stephanie ................ 36

Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce...... 13

Alonzo, Jenifer .......................... 53 Apex Clean Energy ................. 64 Armstrong, Sherrie ............. 21, 30

Hatter, Lou ................................. 66 Herring, Mark ............................ 26 Hulbert, Tim........................ 63, 66

Airport.................................. 17 Roanoke College ..................... 56

Bankers Insurance ................66 S Schar, Dwight and Martha .. 21, 35

Hutson, Mary Pope Maybank ........................ 20, 25

Singleton, Knox ......................... 35

Behrle, Megan.................... 20, 25

Somersall, Suz .......................... 63

Boggess, Kevin ......................... 58

i.Lab at the Darden School of Busines................................ 62

Stauffer, Robert ......................... 56

Ingenicomm ............................. 16

Stone, Phillip C. ......................... 23 Sweet Briar College .......... 20, 23

Inova Center for Personalized Health ................................... 36

Carter, Jimmy ............................ 67

Inova Health System ......... 35, 47

Center for Innovation and Development ....................... 12

Tamberrino, Frank ..................... 13

Charlottesville Angel Network 63

James Madison University’s College of Business ........... 50

Thomas-Hunt, Melissa .............. 49

B Barton, Jason ............................ 14

Brunais, Andrea ........................ 15 Bryan III, J. Stewart ............ 21, 40

College of William & Mary’s Mason School of Business 50

Smith, Richard........................... 57

Bay Diesel ..............................37 Branch & Associates ............59 City of Harrisonburg .............10 Coastal Virginia Investigations....................54 Comcast ...................................5 Dixon Hughes Goodman ........1

Tomlinson, Teresa Pike.............. 28

Clough, Kellie ............................ 17

LIST OF ADVERTISERS

FCCI ........................................27 Hampton Roads Community Foundation ........................28

Tripp, Benjamin ......................... 58

Kirakira ..................................... 63 Trump, Donald .......................... 67

Hantzmon Wiebel ..................64

Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia, The................... 21, 30

Koppelmann, Rosanna ............. 50 KSI Video .................................. 14

Trump, Dr. Donald L. “Skip” ...... 36

Lawyers Weekly .....................26

Conrads, Thomas P................... 36

Liberty University ..................52

Craig, Katie ............................... 24

Launch Place, The .................... 14

University of Virginia............... 62

Currin, Amelia ........................... 25

Levengood, Paul ....................... 41

University of Virginia’s Darden

Levi, Josh .................................. 48

D Devils Backbone Brewing Co. 65

School of Business ............ 49

Locke, Stacey Sickels ............... 27

Dickler, Miriam........................... 66

Doss, Eva .................................. 14

Matherly, Barry .......................... 17

DuVal, Barry .............................. 46

May, John .................................. 12

Radford University ...............53 V VDOT ........................................ 66 Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp. ................... 47

McAuliffe, Gov. Terry ................. 47

E Engel, Chris............................... 64 Eramo, Nicole............................ 63

Media General.......................... 40

Virginia Cooperative

Niederhuber, John .................... 36

F Fletcher, H. Kyle ........................ 15 Friedlander, Michael ................. 46

Niemeier, Bernie........................ 28 Northern Virginia Technology Council ................................ 48 NVR Inc..................................... 35

G Gallagher, Jeff ........................... 46

Garber, Mike.............................. 13

Old Dominion University ........ 54 P PsiKick ..................................... 64

Gowan, Mary ............................. 50

Relay Foods ............................. 64

Greene, Tracey L....................... 63

Richmond International

JUNE 2016

RichmondTelecom ................26 Roanoke College ...................54

Virginia Historical Society 21, 41

Tides Inn.................................28

Virginia Tech ...................... 15, 47

Union Bank & Trust ..............65

Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute ................................ 46 W

United Concordia ................IFC United Way of South Hampton Roads .................................39

Washington Redskins............. 37 WillowTree ................................ 64

VSAE.......................................60

Virginia Tech .........................55

Puri, Amit ................................... 16

Goode, Caroline ........................ 58

Richmond International Airport..................................8

Extension ............................ 15

Gereaux, Teresa ........................ 58 Global Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Institute at the Center for Personalized Health ........... 47

Regent University..................51

Virginia Biotechnology Association ......................... 47

Marsh & McLennan Agency/ Rutherfoord .........................3

Zeitz, Josh ................................. 67

Windstream ............Back Cover

Preview

Hiring Veterans

Virginia Values Veterans is a state program designed to encourage the hiring of veterans. Virginia has one of the highest number of veterans in the country, and the commonwealth believes they can help supply the skilled labor force needed in coming years.

Next month in Virginia Business

Also in the July issue: • Risk management: Virginia Business looks at risk management trends and profiles an insurance broker marking its 100th anniversary. • Engineering/IT schools: How is Virginia’s focus on STEM jobs affecting enrollment at engineering and IT schools? • Community Profile: Northern Virginia: The commonwealth’s most populous region expects growth in cybersecurity and personalized medicine. • International Trade: Trade has taken a beating in the presidential race, but it is big business in Virginia. • College Profile: Old Dominion University: Hampton Roads’ largest public university is involved in a wide range of research.

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