Ashland University Sets Tenth Annual Ford Lecture

8/28/12 ASHLAND, Ohio – Thomas C. Lynch, managing director of the Musser Group, a private equity/venture capital firm in Philadelphia, will be the featured speaker for the 10th annual Dr. Lucille G. and L. W. Ford Distinguished Business Lecture Series at Ashland University.

The luncheon talk will be held at 12 noon on Monday, Oct. 8, in Ashland University’s Myers Convocation Center. The event is free, however reservations are required by Sept. 12. Anyone wanting to attend should contact Dr. Khushwant Pittenger, professor of business administration, at kpitten@ashland.edu or call 419-289-5219.

The event is sponsored by Ashland University alumni Dr. Peter ’73 and Kathleen ’73 Linneman and is hosted by Ashland University’s Richard E. and Sandra J. Dauch College of Business and Economics.

Prior to being named managing director of The Musser Group, Lynch was a senior vice president of The Staubach Company from 2001 to 2008, following six years at Safeguard Scientifics that included two years as president/COO of CompuCom Systems in Dallas, Texas. While at Safeguard, he was responsible for the operations, mergers and acquisitions, and oversight of other emerging partnership companies.

After a 31-year naval career, which included command of the Eisenhower Battle Group during Operation Desert Shield and a position as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, Lynch retired from the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral in 1995.

He now serves several private and publicly held companies. He chairs the board of New Day USA, a mortgage lending company focused to provide VA/FHA loans to our military veterans, and is a board member of PRWT Services, Mikros Systems and Buckeye Insurance.

He also is on the board of the Armed Forces Benefit Association, Philadelphia Sports Congress, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Catholic Leadership Institute, Economics Pennsylvania and USO World Board of Governors. He has served as chairman of the Cradle of Liberty Council and Boy Scouts of America, and currently chairs the U.S. Naval Academy Athletic and Scholarship Foundation.

He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor of science in 1964 and earned a master of science from George Washington University in 1971. He was recognized as a U.S. Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate in 2010.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report’s National Universities category for 2012, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###