West Virginia University’s College of Business and Economics will present a series of lectures from nationally renowned executives and business leaders throughout the year as part of its 60th Anniversary Celebration.

Confirmed to speak during the celebration are:

• Kelly S. King, chairman and CEO, BB&T Corporation
• Christine A. Poon, dean of Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business and former vice chairman of Johnson & Johnson
• Steven F. Leer, chairman and CEO, Arch Coal, Inc.

“We are honored to have such high caliber members of the national and international business communities come to West Virginia University,” said Dr. Jose V. Sartarelli, Milan Puskar Dean of the College of Business and Economics. “These three individuals have remarkable achievements in their respective areas of business.”

“Providing access for students, the University community, the business community and the general population to people like Kelly King and Christine Poon and Steven Leer makes us all better people,” he added. “We take some of them or their information or their message with us because we connect with them or they inspire us. That’s exactly what the College of Business and Economics has been doing for 60 years, and we can think of no better way to celebrate this milestone than to invite them to share their knowledge and experiences with us.”

Leer will speak on Sept. 20 at WVU’s Erickson Alumni Center at 6 p.m.; Poon will speak on Oct. 17 in Lecture Hall 459 in the Business and Economics Building on WVU’s main campus; and King will speak on Nov. 7 at WVU’s Erickson Alumni Center at 10 a.m.

King has served as chairman of BB&T since January 2010 and president and CEO of BB&T Corporation and chairman and CEO of Branch Bank since January 2009. He previously served as chief operating officer of BB&T Corporation and Branch Bank, as well as president of BB&T Corporation. Of his 39 years of service to BB&T, 28 have been spent as a member of executive management. He has assumed leadership roles in commercial and retail banking, operations, insurance, corporate financial services, investment services and capital markets. His commitment to BB&T has led to a nationally recognized employee volunteer program, called The Lighthouse Project.

He has served on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond since 2009, The Clearing House since 2009 and the Financial Services Roundtable since 2010. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, as well as in a volunteer capacity on multiple boards in North Carolina. King was ranked No. 3 “Best CEO” by sell-side analysts in a study by Institutional Investor magazine this year, and for the past two years BB&T has led all U.S. banks in total awards for small business and middle market banking by Greenwich Associates.

King earned his bachelor’s degree and an MBA from East Carolina University and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University.

Poon was appointed dean and John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business at the Max M. Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University in April 2009. She entered higher education after a 30-year career in the health-care industry, most recently as vice chairman and worldwide chairman of Pharmaceuticals at Johnson & Johnson. She served as a member of the company’s board of directors and executive committee and was responsible for managing the pharmaceutical businesses of Johnson & Johnson. Her areas of expertise included domestic and international business operations and sales and marketing.

Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson in 2000, Poon spent 15 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where her most recent position was president of International Medicines. Her career at Bristol-Myers Squibb included marketing and strategic-planning positions, including stints as president of Medical Devices and senior vice president for Canada and Latin America Pharmaceutical Operations.

Poon is on the board of directors of Prudential Financial, Inc., in Newark, N.J., and the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pa. In 2004, she was named Woman of the Year by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and named Business Leader of the Future by CNBC/Wall Street Journal in 2005. Poon received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Northwestern University, a master’s in biology/biochemistry from St. Louis University and an MBA in finance from Boston University.

Leer is chairman and chief executive officer of Arch Coal, Inc. He previously served as president and chief executive officer of Arch Coal, Inc. since the company was formed in July 1997 until April 2006.

Prior to the formation of Arch Coal, Leer served as president and chief executive officer of Arch Mineral Corporation, one of Arch Coal’s predecessor companies, since 1992. He has also held executive management positions with The Valvoline Company (a subsidiary of Ashland Inc.), Ashland Inc. and Ashland Coal, Inc.

In addition to his executive and board responsibilities with Arch Coal, Leer serves on the boards of Norfolk Southern Corporation, USG Corporation, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of the Pacific. He also is a member of the Business Roundtable, the Business Council and the National Association of Manufacturers. Leer is past chairman and continues to serve on the boards of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, National Coal Council, the National Mining Association and the Coal Industry Advisory Board of the International Energy Agency in Paris. He is an executive board member of the Greater St. Louis Area Boy Scouts of America and serves on the board of the Muny, a permanent outdoor theatre in the St. Louis area.

A native of Vermillion, South Dakota, Leer graduated from the University of the Pacific with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and received his MBA from Washington University’s Olin School of Business. The University of the Pacific awarded him an honorary doctorate in May 1993.

“It’s through this process of connecting and learning from others that, over the course of six decades, the College of Business and Economics has produced some of the most recognized people in the business world. Our graduates have made significant contributions in this city, in this state, across the country and around the world,” Dr. Sartarelli said.

“We have also invited other successful businesspeople to speak during the course of our anniversary celebration,” Sartarelli said, “and we will announce those speakers as details become available.”

For a complete schedule of events for the WVU College of Business and Economics 60th Anniversary Celebration, go to www.be.wvu.edu .

-WVU-

08/26/11

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CONTACT: Patrick Gregg
patrick.gregg@mail.wvu.edu or (304) 293-5131