Speakers hosted by Pamplin and Virginia Tech last spring semester included a nationally known journalist, a best-selling author, and Apple’s global tax director, who is also a Pamplin alumnus.

Political analyst and journalist Michael Barone gave the BB&T Distinguished Lecture, "The Prospects for Capitalism and Freedom in 2016 and Beyond."

Barone has been a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner since 2009 and a contributor to the Fox News Channel since 2001.

The BB&T lecture series is part of a Pamplin College teaching program to explore the foundations of capitalism and freedom. The program’s courses examine alternative economic systems, including socialism and communism, and compare them with the economic solutions offered by free markets. The program was established in 2007 in the college’s finance department with a $1 million gift from BB&T Charitable Foundation.

Phillip Bullock (ACCT ’86), global tax director of Apple, and Douglas Curling (ACCT ’76, MACCT ’77), retired president and chief operating officer of ChoicePoint (now part of Reed Elsevier), discussed the impact of taxes on business transactions.

Bullock and Curling responded to questions from students that covered a range of topics: tax avoidance and public relations, corporate influence on public policy, executive compensation, corporate tax reform, and mergers and acquisitions.

Their presentation was part of Pamplin’s Tech Talks Business series, aimed at allowing smaller groups of students to learn directly from Virginia Tech alumni who are business professionals.

The event was hosted by James Hatch (MACCT ’72), who chairs the advisory board of the accounting and information systems department. Bullock and Curling both serve on the board.

Renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin made a return visit to campus as the Cutchins Distinguished Speaker.

In her talk, “Leadership Lessons from the White House,” Goodwin told stories and shared insights about the individual and universal qualities of great U.S. presidents. She first visited campus as a Cutchins Distinguished Speaker in 2007.

The Cutchins Distinguished Lecture is sponsored by Pamplin and the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Rice Center for Leader Development and and is also held in celebration of Founders Day.