With Good Reason

When Virginia’s fight against integration of the public schools failed, white families moved out of cities in droves and left behind social and physical scars that are still felt today.  Renee Hill (Virginia State University) and John Moeser (University of Richmond) discuss the history of “white flight” and its effect today on Richmond, Virginia, the [...]

Are the days of the big newspapers numbered?  Jeff South (Virginia Commonwealth University) says the demand for news and information is higher than ever.   In order to survive, newspapers need to change the business models of both their on-line presence and how they gather the news.   And, if Mike Marshall’s Crozet Gazette is any indication, [...]

George Hoffer (Virginia Commonwealth University), who has studied the American automotive industry for 40 years, explains why it’s in decline and may be vanishing before our very eyes. He also says in order to make up a shortfall of funds for public transportation we may soon be charged highway user fees—paying for each mile we [...]

In Greek mythology, the goddess Mentor was a trusted counselor of Odysseus.  Today, mentoring still fuels career success in all fields. But Suzanne De Janasz (University of Mary Washington) says in this techno-dependent age we can use online tools to establish relationships with mentors as we build our careers.  Also: In the not too distant [...]

Are you an entrepreneur? Plenty of books claim that you can be one if you set your mind to it.  But James Koch (Old Dominion University) believes such claims are false.  Entrepreneurs, he argues, consistently exhibit distinct, innate personality traits that set them apart from the pack, taking some of the gamble out of entrepreneurial [...]

Has the American dream evolved from 1950s suburbia to “vulgaria” today?  Urban Planning Professor Paul Knox (Virginia Tech) explores conspicuous consumption and communities of gigantic houses in contemporary upper-middle class suburbia.   His new book is Metroburbia, USA.  Also: While owning a home is still part of the great American dream, most of us are novices [...]

Batten Institute Director Mike Lenox (University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business) and internationally-renowned ethicist Ed Freeman (Batten Institute) engage in a lively discussion about the corporate world’s recent and increasing interest in sustainability. How, they ask, can businesses move beyond the “low-hanging fruit” of the green movement, taking major strides toward making service and [...]

On the 12th of August 1942, Lt. Col. Frank Goettge and 24 Marines under his command landed in the dark on the wrong beach on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and came under withering fire from Japanese soldiers, killing Goettge and 21 of his men.  Sixty-six years later, Cliff and Donna Boyd (Radford University) and [...]

Best-selling business writer Jim Collins (Batten Institute at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business) believes the special factors that lie at the heart of rare and truly great businesses are the same factors that make for the most successful organizations in the non-profit world—talented directors skilled at recruiting excellent staff who work for [...]

In Virginia, oysters have influenced our history, our industry, our culture and, of course, our eating habits.  When Captain John Smith sailed into the Chesapeake Bay, he said oysters were so plentiful “they lay thick as stones.” By the 1980s, overharvesting, disease and pollution had reduced the number of oysters to just one percent of [...]