At the Blacksburg Library on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 6:00 p.m., Blacksburg author Stephen Skripak will talk about his book From the Boardroom to the Classroom and discuss his transition from the corporate world to the academic world.
In discussing his book, Skripak traces his journey from a long career as an executive with major companies to a separate career as a college professor and administrator. Using life and work experiences that began on the sometimes mean streets of New Jersey, his 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.
This event is free and is open to the public. Books will be available to purchase after the talk.
Skripak was an accomplished business executive with Fortune 500 companies, but born out of his own experiences as a student, he had a burning desire to reach young people in and beyond the classroom.
Stephen 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 the associate dean for graduate programs and MBA Director. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, Skripak was an executive with Capital One Financial and the Sara Lee Corporation. In addition, he spent eleven years with General Electric.
As a professor, he taught 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.
