A retired top executive of the Walt Disney Co. has been named the new dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. Ed Grier said the collaborative leadership skills he learned during 29 years with Disney will translate well to his new job. But he said he also will bring “a willingness to learn” about academia when he starts work March 8.

Holly Price Alford is over the moon about Disney’s first black princess. Her 8-year-old daughter is, too, but not because the princess is black. “She understands that this is a princess who is African-American,“ said Alford, who is black and lives in Meadowbrook. “But do I think it’s a big deal to her? No.“ Princess Tiana debuted in “The Princess and the Frog” in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday and will debut nationwide Dec. 11, and grown-ups have certainly been buzzing. But for many little black girls growing up with Malia and Sasha Obama in the White House, the historic nature of Tiana’s debut in Disney’s mostly white princess lineup doesn’t quite seem to register.

ORLANDO, Fla. The Walt Disney Co.‘s newest princess doesn’t arrive in movie theaters for another month, but she is already easy to find at Walt Disney World. Theme-park guests can meet Tiana, an African-American princess, and watch her perform in a musical riverboat show. They can buy Tiana dolls, undergo Tiana makeovers, and eat Tiana’s Magical Kisses—bite-sized, white-chocolate-covered graham crackers. They can even get vouchers for a child’s ticket to Tiana’s movie.

The Walt Disney Co. said yesterday its Miramax Films division will slash the number of movies it produces each year, which it says will lead to “significant cost savings.“ The division will now produce about three movies a year, down from the current six to eight, and eliminate 50 jobs in New York and Los Angeles by January. About 20 employees will remain, mostly at the New York headquarters.

LOS ANGELES Taking a page from the wildly popular Comic-Con, Disney is wishing upon a four-day expo this weekend to draw more enthusiasm from its loyal and well-wired fan base. Clubs and fan fests have long worked to rally “Star Trek,“ Barbie and comic book collectors, but the D23 Expo, which began Thursday in Anaheim, and an online fan club of the same name launched this year are Disney’s first attempts to organize and romance its far-flung followers.

The Walt Disney Co. is punching its way into the universe of superheroes and their male fans with a deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion. The deal, announced yesterday, brings characters such as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and “Toy Story.“ The surprise cash-and-stock agreement sent Spidey senses tingling in the comic-book world. It could lead to new rides, movies, action figures and other outlets for Marvel’s 5,000 characters, although Marvel already was aggressively licensing its properties for such uses.

Up.“ The title is deceptively simple, which is fitting, because the latest achievement from Disney/Pixar Animation is deeper and more complex on every level than it would initially appear.  It’s a classic B-movie exotic adventure, the kind that inspired Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to make “Raiders of the Lost Ark,“ but it’s told through the most high-tech, gorgeous 3-D animation.

The Walt Disney Co. plans to build a 500-room hotel resort at the National Harbor development in Prince George’s County in Maryland. The entertainment company bought a 15-acre parcel for its project, which was announced yesterday. Disney’s plans provide another anchor for the 300-acre National Harbor project that seeks to rival Washington as a conference and convention destination.

The Walt Disney Co. is taking a stake in Hulu.com. This means titles from The Walt Disney Studios library of films and full-length episodes of ABC television shows will join the online video site.

LAS VEGAS Walt Disney is going 3-D on a lot of future films—and some from its past. The studio announced Tuesday that 3-D versions of the computer-animated tales “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” will be released Oct. 2 for a two-week run as a double feature. Disney also is preparing a 3-D version of its hand-drawn animated musical “Beauty and the Beast” for release Feb. 12, 2010.

NEW YORK It takes more effort to get that “I-don’t-care” look than teen and tween boys let on. Disney Channel Worldwide noticed it when courting teen boys with its just-launched network Disney HD - the boys they studied noticed whether pants were slim-leg or boot-cut, and if T-shirts tout the right extreme sport. “As much as kids like to be ‘individual,‘ there’s a conformity among the group,“ says the show’s costume designer, Shelley Mansell of Disney HD’s “Aaron Stone.“ “For boys, there’s an eternal search for the best jeans, coolest T-shirt and best pair of sneakers.“

In the preview for the new animated family comedy “Bolt,“ it’s all hamster, all the time. That was a smart move by the marketing people. The hamster, whose name is Rhino, is by far the best thing in the movie. He isn’t funny, exactly, but he is funnyish, which will have to do. The problem is, he doesn’t show up until the film is halfway over.