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byline: Robert Powell, III

Hampden-Sydney receives its largest gift

Hampden-Sydney College has received the largest gift in its history, $30 million from Stanley F. Pauley through The Pauley Family Foundation.

This will support construction of a new science facility, which will be named the Pauley Science Center. Pauley, who lives in Richmond, is the chairman and CEO of Carpenter Co., a major producer of polyurethane materials.

The company was founded by E. Rhodes Carpenter, a member of the Hampden-Sydney College class of 1929.

Pauley, a former member of the Hampden-Sydney Board of Trustees, has been a benefactor of many important educational and arts institutions.
“I am not a graduate of Hampden-Sydney, but I am inspired by the college’s unwavering 244-year commitment to scientific literacy and preparing its graduates for career success, advancing scientific progress, and contributing to our society’s well-being,” Pauley said in a statement.

The Pauley Science Center would follow several recent projects on campus, including construction of the Brown Student Center, the renovation of Brinkley (formerly Winston) Hall to create the Viar-Christ Center for the Arts, the transformation of Pannill Commons’ lower level into the Pannill Center for Rhetoric and Communication, and the groundbreaking for a new upperclassmen residence complex overlooking Lake Chalgrove.

Virginia schools make the grade in college rankings

Four Virginia universities are ranked among the top 100 institutions in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings, released Thursday.

In this year’s ranking, the University of Virginia notched No. 50; University of Richmond, No. 66; Washington and Lee University, No. 70; and William & Mary, No. 79. Last year, U.Va. was at No. 51, UR at No. 53, Washington and Lee at No. 75, and William & Mary at No. 87.

The rankings of more than 800 colleges and universities are based on 15 indicators in four areas: outcomes, resources, engagement and environment.

Outcomes account for 40% of each school’s overall score. That measure includes the salaries that graduates earn and the debt they take on to attend college.

The resources area (30% of a school’s score) examines the investment that schools make in instruction and student services.

Engagement (a 20% weighting), taken from a survey of students, looks at the quality of teaching and interactions with faculty and other students.

Environment (10% weighting) looks at the diversity of the college community.

Other Virginia schools listed among in the top 400 were:

Virginia Tech, No. 105

Virginia Military Institute, No. 176

George Mason University, No. 184

Hampden-Sydney College, No. 274

James Madison University, No. 279

Eastern Mennonite University, No. 299

Roanoke College, No. 340

Virginia Commonwealth University, No. 391

Hampton University, the University of Lynchburg, Randolph-Macon College and Shenandoah University were all included in an alphabetically listed group ranking of schools for spots 401 through 500.

The top 10 schools on the overall list are Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, California Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Brown University, Stanford University, Cornell University and Duke University.

The report also included a number of breakouts of top 10 schools in various categories.

U.Va. ranked 10th among top public universities. Also, VMI was fourth and W&L tied for eighth among the top 10 “No Regrets” schools. Those are colleges that students ranked highest for being worth the expense.

Norfolk Southern furloughs 130 Roanoke workers

A Virginia legislator is taking Norfolk Southern to task for furloughing about 130 Roanoke employees on Tuesday

Del. Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke City) said he was “shocked and deeply disappointed to hear about Norfolk Southern's plans right after Labor Day. Aside from financially harming families and creating a severe economic blow to the Roanoke Valley, this decision shows a blatant disregard for Roanoke's role in helping to build the railroad in our region.”

Norfolk Southern said the furloughed employees can apply for positions elsewhere in the company.

“As we execute our new strategic plan, we expect that targeted hiring and furloughing will remain components of our operating model,” the company said in a statement. ”Today, that entailed the furlough of approximately 130 employees in Roanoke, Virginia.”

Norfolk Southern announced in December that it will move its corporate headquarters from Norfolk to Atlanta.

LeClairRyan files for bankruptcy

LeClairRyan, once the fifth-largest law firm in Virginia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday.

LeClairRyan filed its petition in federal bankruptcy court in Richmond on Tuesday, just five weeks after the 31-year-old firm announced that it would shut down.

In the filing, LeClairRyan estimates it has assets and liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million. The firm said it owes money to between 200 and 999 creditors.

The law firm’s secured creditors include investment fund ABL Alliance and ULXP, a legal staffing joint venture started in 2018 between New York-based legal services provider UnitedLex Corp. and LeClairRyan. ULXP hired more than 300 administrative and legal support professionals from LeClairRyan, according to the filing.

According to the bankruptcy petition, LeClairRyan owes $8 million plus interest to ULXP and the firm also owes approximately $6.8 million to ABL, which issued a revolving loan to LeClairRyan of $15 million in December 2017. 

Leading a list of LeClairRyan's 20 unsecured creditors is Matrix One River Front Plaza LLC, based in Cranbury, N.J. It is owed $815,406 for lease obligations.

Virginia-based unsecured creditors include: Super-Server LLC in Richmond for $623,106 in trade debt and Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group Inc. in Roanoke for $207,389 in professional services.

Debts to nine of the 20 creditors involve lease obligations. The group includes Miami-based Paramenter Realty Partners, which is owed $414,482. Paramenter owns the SunTrust Center, the home of LeClairRyan’s Richmond offices.

The filing traces the law firm’s rapid demise.

Founded in 1988 in Richmond as a boutique law firm for startup companies, LeClairRyan at its peak employed about 385 attorneys working in 25 offices throughout the country.

Nonetheless, its gross revenue and profitability have declined in recent years, leading to the departure of many attorneys.

LeClairRyan entered the joint venture with UnitedLex in June 2018 to form ULXP in an attempt to improve its financial situation, according to the bankruptcy filing. The law firm remains a partner in the venture.

The departure of LeClairRyan's attorneys, however, accelerated this year, culminating with the July announcement that firm co-founder Gary LeClair was joining Richmond-based Williams Mullen, the state’s third-largest firm.

On July 29, LeClairRyan's members decided to dissolvethe firm, beginning a wind-down process.

The bankruptcy petition was filed by Lori D. Thompson, chair of the firm’s dissolution committee.

Thompson was LeClairRyan’s general counsel in 2017 and leader of its Roanoke office. Still based in Roanoke, she joined West Virginia-based law firm Spilman Thomas & Battle after the decision was made to shut down LeClairRyan but agreed to continue as chair of the dissolution committee.

Norfolk Southern executives take on new responsibilities

Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern has given new responsibilities to two company executives, Michael Farrell and Vanessa Allen Sutherland.

Effective Aug. 16, Farrell will be senior vice president operations and mechanical, and Sutherland will be senior vice president government relations and chief legal officer.

In his new role, Farrell assumes responsibility for both transportation and mechanical functions.

As senior vice president government relations and chief legal officer, Sutherland assumes responsibility for government relations and legal issues.

Farrell joined Norfolk Southern last year as senior vice president transportation.

Sutherland joined Norfolk Southern last year vice president law. She was named senior vice president and chief legal officer in April.

295 Virginia companies make Inc. 5000 list

Nearly 300 Virginia companies are ranked on the most recent list of the nation’s fastest-growing, privately held companies.

Leading 295 Virginia firms on the 2019 Inc. 5000 ranking is Mechanicsville-based Connected Solutions Group. It was No. 8 overall, with a three-year revenue growth rate of 12,701%.

Connected Solutions also was Inc.’s highest-ranked telecommunications company. Headed by Michael Pittman, the 4-year-old firm had revenue of $23.3 million in 2018.

Virginia ranks fifth among the states in numbers of companies it has on this year's Inc. 5000 list, behind California with 712 firms; Texas, 467; Florida, 385; and New York, 300.

Among Old Dominion's neighboring states, North Carolina has 135 companies on the list while Maryland has 130; Tennessee, 84; the District of Columbia, 43; Kentucky, 34; and West Virginia, 7.

Other Old Dominion companies ranked among the top 100 firms on the list included:

No. 12: Urgently, a Vienna-based logistics and transportation company with a growth rate of 11,633% and 2018 revenue of $30.3 million.

No. 27: FITT Scientific, a Colonial Heights-based government services firm, 7,329% growth, $15.8 million in revenue.

No, 65: West Creek Financial, a Glen Allen-based financial services company, 4,405% growth, $89.7 million in revenue.

No. 67: Associated Veterans, an Arlington-based government services firm, 4,346% growth, $12.8 million in revenue.

No. 91: Capitol Bridge, also an Arlington-based government services company, 3,469%, $6.4 million in revenue.

Richmond-based CapTech Ventures, a 22-year-old IT management firm, is on the Inc. list for the 13th time. It was No. 3838 this year with a three-year growth rate of 86% and 2018 revenue of $192.4 million. CapTech made the list for the first time in 2002 when it was No. 40.

 

 

George C. Marshall Foundation names new president

Paul A. Levengood has been named president of the Lexington-based George C. Marshall Foundation, which owns and operates the National George C. Marshall Museum & Library.

Currently vice president for development at the Virginia War Memorial Foundation in Richmond, he will join the foundation on Sept. 9.

Levengood previously was president and CEO of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, formerly known as the Virginia Historical Society.

Levengood has been a member of the editorial advisory board of the Encyclopedia Virginia since its inception and has served on several committees of the American Association of State and Local Histor,y as well as on the steering committee of the Future of Richmond's Past.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and earned his master’s and doctorate from Rice University.

Torc Robotics expanding its Blacksburg headquarters

Blacksburg-based self-driving vehicle company Torc Robotics is adding 15,800 square feet to its headquarters, an expansion that will double its existing space.

The two-story building, which will include offices, community rooms and garage bays, is expected to be complete by March. Including offices, community rooms, garage bays and parking, the new structure is being built to accommodate a surge of new employees anticipated from Torc's pending acquisition by Daimler Trucks.

Torc and Daimler Trucks, a division of the Daimler Group, plan to commercialize highly automated trucks on U.S. roads.

After the acquisition, Torc will be part of the newly established Autonomous Technology Group — part of Daimler Trucks’ push to put highly automated trucks onto the roads within a decade.

Torc will remain a separate entity within the group. It will retain its name, existing customer base and facilities in Blacksburg.

Torc’s current job openings include positions in active sensing and information fusion, self-driving behaviors, path planning, systems engineering, vehicle safety and testing, senior-level management, planning and operations.

 

Virginia ranks No. 2 in business friendliness survey

Virginia ranked second in the nation in recently released survey of business friendliness.

The survey by San Francisco-based Thumbtack, a website and app for hiring project workers, ranked the best and worst cities and states for doing business, based on factors including licensing requirements, tax regulations, and labor and hiring regulations.

For the 2019 survey, the company’s eighth, Thumbtack interviewed 5,000 small business owners in 49 states and 44 cities.

Virginia’s highest grade, A+, was awarded for overall business friendliness.

Its lowest grade, B+, was given for ease of starting a business in the commonwealth.

The top 10 states in the survey were:

1. Arkansas (overall grade: A+)

2. Virginia (A+)

3. Mississippi (A+)

4. Georgia (A+)

5.  Maine (A+)

6.  Delaware (A+)

7.  Utah (A+)

8.  Montana (A)

9.  Maryland (A)

10. Florida (A)

The five lowest-ranked states were:

49. West Virginia (F)

48. Connecticut (F)

47. New York (D)

46. Kansas (D)

45. Hawaii (D)

Former astronaut named to Accenture Federal Services board

Kathryn Sullivan, an astronaut and former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has been named to the board of managers of Arlington-based Accenture Federal Services board of managers.

Sullivan will provide strategic insight and perspective on the vision, innovation and growth of Accenture Federal Services, which provides a wide-range of consulting and technology-related services to U.S. government agencies.

Accenture Federal Services is a subsidiary of Accenture LLP, a multinational professional services company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

The first American woman to walk in space, Sullivan flew on three space shuttle missions during her 15-year NASA career, including the 1990 mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.

After leaving NASA in 1993, she held a variety of senior executive positions, including a presidential appointment as chief scientist of the National Science Board. In 2011, she was named assistant secretary of commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction and deputy administrator for NOAA. In 2013 she was appointed acting administrator of NOAA and, in 2014, was confirmed by the Senate as undersecretary of commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and as NOAA administrator.

After leaving NOAA in 2017, Sullivan was designated as the 2017 Charles A. Lindbergh Chair of Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum and also served as a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

Sullivan holds a bachelor’s degree in earth sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a doctoral degree in geology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.