Five to join Lewis College of Business Hall of Fame

Five individuals who have had distinguished careers in their respective fields of business will be honored by Marshall University when they are inducted into the Lewis College of Business Hall of Fame Monday, Nov. 13 at the Radisson Hotel in Huntington.

The Hall of Fame honors those people in the business community who have an outstanding record of achievement in their career fields. It is the most distinguished honor granted by the Lewis College of Business (LCOB).

“This year’s Hall of Fame ceremony recognizes the special contributions of two individuals who were instrumental in creating the film, We Are Marshall, which is so important to Marshall University, as well as individuals whose careers in business and their connection to the Lewis College of Business likewise are deserving of our appreciation and respect,” said Dr. Paul Uselding, dean of LCOB.

This year’s inductees are: 

James L. Farley, CEO of Nursing Care Management, Inc., in Cincinnati, Ohio, became the youngest CEO of a hospital in the United States when he was named administrator and CEO of Pleasant Valley Hospital in Point Pleasant, W.Va. in 1971. In 1976, he was elected to the first of two one-year terms as president of the West Virginia Hospital Association, becoming the youngest person to head a state hospital association.  

A 1960 graduate of Marsh Fork High School, Farley graduated from Marshall University in 1965 with a BBA in Marketing-Retail.  In 1967, he received a Master of Hospital and Health Care Administration from the Medical College of Virginia.  He worked for Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington and Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston before joining Pleasant Valley Hospital.

Farley has been actively involved at MU, having served on the Society of Yeager Scholars board and the Alumni Association board.  He is a member of the John Marshall Society, President’s Circle and the Big Green Scholarship Foundation, and is a charter member of the Thunder Club.  Avid tennis players, Farley and his wife, Bobbie, who also is a Marshall graduate, have endowed a tennis scholarship in their name.  They have two daughters, Angela and Andrea, and five grandchildren.

David E. Haden is the owner of i-Source, LLC in Charleston, W.Va., capping a lifetime career in insurance.  After a start with Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, he ventured out on his own in 1987 to create RMI, Ltd., a multi-lined insurance agency.  He managed and built a sales organization which grew from $350,000 to almost $2 million in annual commissions. 

Haden has been active in community, civic and church affairs, serving on numerous boards.  He has been a board member and past president of the MU Big Green Scholarship Foundation and currently is president of the MU Graduate College Advisory Board. He is also a member of the LCOB Strategic Management Task Force.  In 1992, Haden received the MU Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award.  He also is a member of the John Marshall Society and the President’s Club.

Haden and his wife, Carolyn, reside in Charleston, W.Va.  He has two daughters, Sarah and Amy, a son, David, a stepdaughter, Megan, a stepson, Brad, and 11 grandchildren. 

Basil Iwanyk currently is a film producer with Warner Bros. Studios. He has worked on more than 30 movies, including We Are Marshall.  A native of New Jersey, Iwanyk moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Villanova University.  He got his start in the mailroom of the United Talent Agency but quickly moved to Warner Bros. where he became one of the youngest creative executives in studio history. 

During his tenure at Warner Bros., Iwanyk has overseen the development and production of such films as Ocean’s 11, U.S. Marshalls, and Insomnia.  He also ran development on the Academy Award-winning picture Training Day, which grossed more than $100 million and garnered Denzel Washington his second Academy Award.

In 2000, Iwanyk left Warner to become president of Intermedia, which was the largest independent film company in the world.  He produced Terminator 3 and Alexander as well as The Widowmaker and Adaptation. 

In 2003, Iwanyk returned to Warner Bros. as a producer and established his company, Thunder Road Pictures.  The first film produced under the new banner was the Harrison Ford action film, Firewall.  Currently, Thunder Road has 22 projects in various stages of development.

Joseph McGinty Nichol, or McG as he is universally known, grew up in Newport Beach, Calif. He is the director of the soon-to-be-released film, We Are Marshall, which chronicles the aftermath of the tragic 1970 plane crash that took the lives of 75 MU football players, coaches, supporters and the flight crew.  His first feature film, Charlie’s Angels, debuted at number one in the U.S. and eventually grossed more than $250 million worldwide.  He also directed the sequel, Charlie’s Angels:  Full Throttle, which went on to gross an additional $265 million.

With two hit films and more than $500 million at the box office, McG formed the production company, Wonderland Sound and Vision, which went on to produce successful feature films.  Wonderland also produces the television hit show, The O.C., as well as Supernatural, which is now in its second season.

McG has directed more than 50 music videos for diverse artists with sales of more than 100 million albums worldwide.    

John Rulli, a Marshall graduate who was the captain of a Marshall championship baseball team, is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, Inc., a member of the S&P 500 and the largest U.S. publicly traded real estate company.

Simon Property Group is engaged primarily in the ownership, development and management of retail real estate, primarily regional malls, Premium Outlet centers and community/lifestyle centers.  It currently owns an interest in approximately 285 properties in the U.S. and more than 55 properties in Europe, Japan and Mexico.

Rulli has been instrumental in building the operating foundation upon which Simon Property Group has grown.  Prior to joining Simon, Rulli served as vice president of human resources for Merit, Inc., and before that he was director of executive human resources for Lazarus department stores, a chain headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Currently he is a member of the advisory board for the LCOB and is a director on the board of Indianapolis Downtown, Inc.  He chairs the fundraising campaign for the Simon Youth Foundation.  Rulli is actively involved in the community, working both with religious and civic leaders to develop programs that improve the quality of life for the underprivileged.   

Rulli received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Marshall and attended graduate school at the Ohio State University’s Fawcett Center for Tomorrow.  While at Marshall he served as captain of the 1978 Southern Conference championship baseball team. He also served a president of the Residence Hall Government Association and was a resident advisor. 

He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Carmel, Ind., with their four children, William, Ashley, Jonathan, and Michael.

The criteria for receiving this award include an untarnished reputation and professional standing evidenced by recognition on a state, regional or national basis.

The event begins at 5 p.m. with a reception in the Radisson Hotel Ballroom.  The induction ceremony takes place at 6 p.m.  Tickets start at $100.  For more information, contact Mary Chapman at (304) 696-3319 or Mary Copley at (304) 696-2316.