Blacksburg author Stephen Skripak will discuss his book, “From the Boardroom to the Classroom,” Thursday, Feb. 2, at 6:00 p.m. at the Blacksburg Library.
The book tells the story of Skripak’s transition from corporate America to academic America and the classroom.
In “From the Boardroom to the Classroom.” author Skripak takes the reader along his personal journey from a long career as an executive with major companies to a career as a popular and
sought-after college professor and administrator. Using life and work experiences that began on
the sometimes mean streets of New Jersey, the stories illustrate adapting to cultural differences between a first and second career; overcoming turf battles inherent in moving to a completely new field; identifying and working around the numerous obstacles; building the bridge from industry to academia; forging lasting relationships with students; and knowing when it is time to move on
The event is free and is open to the public. Books will be available to purchase after Skripak’s talk. He was an accomplished business executive with Fortune 500 companies. Born out of his own experiences as a student, however, he had a burning desire to reach young people in and
beyond the classroom, so he left the boardroom for the classroom.
Eventually, Skripak retired as a Professor of Practice in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. He spent 16 years at the university and also served as Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and MBA Director. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, Skripak was an executive with Capital One Financial and Sara Lee Corporation. In addition, he spent eleven years with General Electric.
As a professor, he taught in the areas of business strategy, ethical leadership, and general
business. He also led multiple study-abroad programs and taught at the master’s level in France.
Skripak was the lead adapter on an open-source textbook that has been downloaded more than
2.6 million times. He has earned university-level awards for teaching excellence including the
Sporn Award in 2017 and the William E. Wine Award in 2020. He is a member of the
university’s Academy of Teaching Excellence.
