Professor Mark R. Eaker is the new faculty director of the University of Virginia's Darden Business School's Northern Virginia office. In a related announcement, Eaker and Professor Robert M. Conroy were appointed co-directors of the school's Tayloe Murphy Center, which focuses on international business research and growth opportunities for Virginia companies.

Darden's Dean, Edward A. Snyder, said both appointments will expand the value and the number of Darden's corporate partnerships. He described the Northern Virginia region as "superbly positioned as the center of the nation's most intense and rewarding entrepreneurial network" and Snyder said Darden will develop a broad array of programs to sustain those benefits.

The Northern Virginia office will open in July and be located at One Freedom Square in Reston Town Center. It will begin offering research and management education programs for area executives this fall. Snyder said the office will have a "natural synergy" with the Tayloe Murphy Center, sharing a mission of supporting international growth objectives of Virginia businesses.

Eaker, whose expertise includes international finance, capital markets and risk management, said there is tremendous potential for companies in the region to improve their profitability both within the United States and in foreign markets.

"My priority will be to look for opportunities where Darden's world-class research can assist companies in better understanding global economic issues and trends that are specific to both their immediate and strategic objectives," Eaker said.

Conroy, whose experience includes extensive research in Asia on equities and financial market valuations, said he will be adding new programs for students, faculty and Virginia business leaders to interact with foreign counterparts on solving real-time marketplace dilemmas.

"Today, success in business requires a true global awareness," Conroy said. "The most rapid and effective mechanism for generating that awareness is to provide opportunities for people to engage the issues. That's best done through personal exchanges on those pressing global business matters that ultimately determine success or failure."

Darden's Northern Virginia program is one of several initiatives funded by a $60 million contribution from Frank Batten, Sr., the retired chairman of Virginia-based Landmark Communications. The gift, the largest in history to a business school, led to the establishment this year of the Batten Institute, which is dedicated to researching and promoting new methods of wealth and value creation.

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In addition to offering management development programs this year, Snyder said other priorities for Darden's Northern Virginia office will be to increase its partnership with local corporations on new case studies, establishing research and professional opportunities at those companies for Darden students and assisting with the school's Progressive Incubator program. The latter program concentrates on supporting the student entrepreneurs seeking to bring their new business concepts to market.