The 17th president of West Virginia University, Gene Budig, will return to campus to give WVU s annual Neil S. Bucklew Lecture in Higher Education Administration at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, in the Mountainlairs Gluck Theater. The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the lecture outside the theater.

Budig will talk about his new book on administration and leadership in higher education titled”A Game of Uncommon Skill: Leading the Modern College and University.”The book was released in February at the annual American Council on Education conference in San Francisco. It is published by the ACE , the College Board and Orynx Press as part of the ACE Series on Higher Education.

Budig served as WVU president from 1977-1981. He then served 13 years as chancellor of the University of Kansas before becoming president of major league baseballs American League in 1994. He now teaches at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

The Neil S. Bucklew Lecture Series in Higher Education Administration was endowed by Tom and Jean Clark in 1998, and has featured speakers such as Penn State University President Graham Spanier, Purdue University President Emeritus Steven C. Beering and National Association of State and Land Grant Colleges President Peter Magrath..

Dr. Bucklew served as WVU president from 1986-1995. He is now a faculty member in the WVU College of Business and Economics.