Developments at Virginia Tech

Reco Charity is set to become the first member of his family to...

garycope — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:19:45 -0400

Reco Charity is set to become the first member of his family to graduate from college. He’s already been accepted to Howard University to attend law school, and aspires to become a judge.

Charity has overcome a great deal in his life to get where he is today and he credits Virginia Tech’s Presidential Scholarship Initiative program for helping him achieve his goals.

Click on the photo to learn more about his story, the Presidential Scholarship Initiative, and see a video interview with the soon-to-be Virginia Tech graduate.

Look who stopped by the student calling center last week on...

garycope — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:42:35 -0400

Look who stopped by the student calling center last week on reading day!

Even as they prepared for final exams, our student callers were hard at work reaching out to alumni, parents, their fellow students, and friends of Virginia Tech to share with them the importance of investing in higher education.

We’re not sure how many calls the HokieBird was actually able to make because, as any Hokie knows, the HokieBird doesn’t talk.

Thanks for stopping by, HokieBird!

The Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech will offer a dynamic...

garycope — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:55:00 -0400

The Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech will offer a dynamic range of programming – from timeless classics and family-friendly offerings, to works with deep meaning and global themes, to events with a fresh and sometimes unexpected perspective – for its inaugural 2013-14 season in the new arts center.

Season subscriptions are on sale now for the lineup of 21 performances by international, national and regional touring performing artists and companies.

Virginia Tech recently named the performance hall within its Center for the Arts in honor of two couples – Nicholas and Fay Street of Bristol and William C. “Jack” and Sandra Davis of Blacksburg – in recognition of their philanthropic support of the center’s construction.

Click on the image above to learn more and see the complete 2013-14 schedule.

(Photo Caption: The Center for the Arts 2013-14 season will feature international and national touring artists, including composer Philip Glass, who will open the inaugural season with the Philip Glass Ensemble on Nov. 1, 2013.)

Good luck on final exams, Hokies!

garycope — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:00:01 -0400

Good luck on final exams, Hokies!

vtpamplin: Happy Reading Day Hokies! Study hard, Hokies!

garycope — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:04:06 -0400

vtpamplin:

Happy Reading Day Hokies!

Study hard, Hokies!

Good day from a snowy Virginia Tech campus! While driving...

garycope — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:20:33 -0400

Good day from a snowy Virginia Tech campus! While driving through the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center this morning on the way to work, we took a photo of this sculpture. You’ve probably seen it; it sits directly across from the Virginia Tech Airport. But do you know what it is?

The sculpture, titled “Pallets Move The World,” weighs five tons and is dedicated to those who have had a very important impact through research and development on the wood pallet.

The late E. George Stern, a world-renowned wood construction professor that set international standards for construction, is among those honored by the sculpture.

As the Earle B. Norris Research Professor Emeritus of Wood Construction in Virginia Tech’s Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, Stern became the first director of the Pallet Research Laboratory in 1976.

Stern was fondly called “Mr. Nail” because he spent a lifetime researching, testing, and improving more than a thousand fasteners. He also wrote the dictionary definition for “nail,” as it refers to a fastener used in wood.

Click on the photo to learn more about the sculpture. Click here to read more about Virginia Tech’s Department of Sustainable Bio Materials.

What would you do for a free T-shirt? Virginia Tech’s...

garycope — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0400

What would you do for a free T-shirt?

Virginia Tech’s Health Education and Awareness Team’s (HEAT) Tobacco-Free Hokies Campaign will give out more than 1,000 “Tobacco-Free Hokie” T-shirts during the 2012-13 school year to Virginia Tech students and middle school students from the surrounding community who pledge to stay tobacco-free.

Annie Loyd, pictured above, is a junior at Virginia Tech and a member of HEAT. She and her fellow HEAT members visit local middle schools and talk with students about the dangers of tobacco products. The students are thoroughly engaged in the hands-on presentations, but it’s the T-shirts that help get their attention.

This public health outreach program is possible, in part, thanks to a grant from Pfizer, whose Vice President of External Medical Communications Stuart Sowder said:

“We at Pfizer are proud to support a wide variety of initiatives aimed at improving people’s health by helping them quit smoking or avoid starting.”

Click on the photo above to learn more about the HEAT program.

Virginia Tech has renamed the headquarters building of its...

garycope — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:54:14 -0400

Virginia Tech has renamed the headquarters building of its Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) in honor of Hugh and Ethel Kelly in recognition of his pioneering work in telecommunications and her extraordinary philanthropic support.

What is now the Hugh and Ethel Kelly building opened in 2009 and is on Stanger Street.

The institute, which is known by its initials ICTAS, supports and promotes cutting edge research at the intersection of engineering, the sciences (physical, life, and social), and the humanities.

Click on the photo above to learn more about the renaming.

Former New Jersey governor Christin Todd Whitman will give the...

garycope — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:00:07 -0400

Former New Jersey governor Christin Todd Whitman will give the Cutchins Distinguished Lecture, at Virginia Tech on Thursday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m., in Burruss Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public, no tickets needed.

Her lecture, “Women, Leadership, Power and Politics: Overcoming Obstacles,” will offer her perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing women today in every aspect of American society and what it takes to succeed in the public and private sectors.

The Cutchins Distinguished Lecture is sponsored by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Rice Center for Leader Development and the Pamplin College of Business and is also held in celebration of Founders Day.

The lecture series is named for the late Clifford A. Cutchins III, a former bank chairman and rector of the Board of Visitors. Cutchins received a degree in accounting in 1944.

Click on the photo for more details about Whitman’s lecture.

Pamplin College of Business alumna to discuss challenges of...

garycope — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:00:17 -0400

Pamplin College of Business alumna to discuss challenges of transitioning to work and life in New York

Susan Phillips Bari, Pamplin College of Business alumna, New York City real estate agent, and author, will give the Wells Fargo Distinguished Lecture, sponsored by the Pamplin College and Wells Fargo, on Thursday, March 21, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the Holtzman Alumni Center’s Alumni Assembly Hall.

The event is free and open to the public, no tickets needed. Free parking is available at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. Find more parking information online or call 540-231-3200.

Click on the photo above to read more about the lecture.

We’re at the 2013 CASE III conference in Atlanta. Here is...

garycope — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 20:51:21 -0500

We’re at the 2013 CASE III conference in Atlanta. Here is one of our award-winning project entries. We’re very proud of the work we do for Virginia Tech and we’re especially proud to be representing Hokies everywhere!

I JUST GOT ACCEPTED INTO VIRGINIA TECH

garycope — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 10:00:22 -0500

eurogirl17:

im they happiest girl in the world !!!!! <3

Congratulations and welcome to the Hokie family!

gofightwinvt: itsjrod: Another beautiful #Blacksburg #sunset...

garycope — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:00:08 -0500

gofightwinvt:

itsjrod:

Another beautiful #Blacksburg #sunset with Buruss Hall in the backdrop. This will never get old. #sky #clouds #night #virginiatech #vt #hokies

Sunset on campus.

As the sun is about to set on another week, we wish you a safe and happy weekend!

Pamplin Abroad: Next stop, Lugano

garycope — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:01:52 -0500

vtpamplin:

Written by PRISM Communication Member Erica Wiles

Going into college I knew without a doubt that I would be studying abroad. Skip to August of my sophomore year: I completed the study abroad application for Pamplin’s semester long Lugano Program and was accepted the following October. The year since crept up on me and before I knew it, it was time to board the plane at Dulles International Airport bound for Switzerland.

I said my goodbyes to my family and anxiously made my way through security and to the terminal we’d be departing from. My stomach was feeling a strange mixture of anxiety, nerves and pure excitement.

I’ve been in Lugano 24 days now and I can talk for hours about how this is going to be the one experience in my life that will change me forever. Every day I find myself doing something different: experiencing new foods, hiking up mountains, walking through small towns that resemble movie sets and seeing views I will never forget. I still have 80 more days here (I have the countdown app on my phone) and I can’t begin to imagine what still lies ahead of me for the next few months.

I’ve been to three countries in the first 17 days I was here and plan on going to many more already. I’m travelling to Africa to work for an NGO and visit two countries there. I’m taking 18 credits and I’ve already had two midterms. Studying abroad for a semester is an all-around consuming experience but I’m enjoying every second of it. All of the moments I’m experiencing here I know I would never have the chance to have if I didn’t study abroad, and my time here is already flying by.

For anyone considering studying abroad—go! And if you aren’t thinking about it then start thinking! Every day is different and I’ve had so many amazing experiences in Switzerland and all over Europe already. Studying abroad is the trip of a lifetime.

Lugano, Switzerland

Munich, Germany

Milan, Italy

Erica gives a great first-hand report of her study abroad experience. For many, to study abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that they’ll remember and cherish always.

It’s also why donors like Winston and Marilyn Samuels, both Virginia Tech alumni, give generously to Virginia Tech’s study abroad scholarship program.

“Our commitment is to give to Virginia Tech such that students will go out and then be able to bring back,” said Winston Samuels. “They need to go to Africa, Brazil, Katmandu, Canada, and see what’s going on out there, because the world is big and we cannot see the world from Blacksburg.”

Have you studied abroad as a Virginia Tech student on scholarship? We’d love to share your story and see photos!

Meet Virginia Tech students Annie Loyd and Richard Lee, both...

garycope — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:26:57 -0500

Meet Virginia Tech students Annie Loyd and Richard Lee, both members of Virginia Tech’s Health Education and Awareness Team, or H.E.A.T.

We sat down with Annie and Richard today for a story we’re working on about the team and how it is making a positive impact both at Virginia Tech and in the community.

One of the most popular programs the H.E.A.T. team students work on involves the Tobacco-Free Hokies T-shirts, as you can see in the photos above.

Keep an eye out for this upcoming article and if you have this T-shirt or have participated in one of the H.E.A.T. team’s events, we’d love to share your story.

The new Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech is coming along...

garycope — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:58:52 -0500

The new Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech is coming along nicely! It is scheduled to open later this year.

From the Center for the Arts Facebook page:

Happy Friday all! Here’s a peek at the work on the top of our performance hall. These beautiful ceiling “fins” serve as an acoustical element while keeping the highest point of the hall open and airy.

Alumnus David Barnes and his wife Jennifer, members of the...

garycope — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:31:14 -0500

Alumnus David Barnes and his wife Jennifer, members of the university’s Caldwell Society of donors, made a generous donation to help with construction of the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, due to open later this year.

“While I cannot sing or dance and have no art talent, I’ve always enjoyed shows in New York, and the talent that it takes to perform is amazing to me,” Barnes said. “Jennifer and I thought that this [center] was something that Virginia Tech needed.”

Read more in our latest issue of Impact Magazine.

Photo Caption: David Barnes and his wife, Jennifer, with their son, Ben, and daughter, Emily.

Kelsey Mellen earned her bachelor’s degree in hospitality...

garycope — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:00:04 -0500

Kelsey Mellen earned her bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism management from Virginia Tech in 2012. Even before she graduated summa cum laude, Mellen accepted a position with JW Marriott in Washington, D.C.

While attending Virginia Tech, she received a scholarship endowed by alumnae Starlette Johnson, who so valued her experiences at her alma mater that she wanted to give back and help future Hokies get the most out of their college experiences.

Read more about Starlette Johnson and why she’s made giving back to Virginia Tech a priority.

"Goals without Plans"

garycope — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:16:00 -0500

Michael H. Aldrich, a Virginia Tech alumnus and head of client service at Brown Advisory in Baltimore, Md., will give the Wells Fargo Distinguished Lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 3:30 p.m. at the Holtzman Alumni Center’s Alumni Assembly Hall.

The event is free and open to the public, no tickets needed. Free Parking is available at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center.

Click here to learn more about Aldrich and get more information about his talk.

This distinguished lecture series is made possible through generous corporate support from Wells Fargo.

vtengineering: The Signature Engineering Building on 18 January...

garycope — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:23:12 -0500

vtengineering:

The Signature Engineering Building on 18 January 2013, a day after the first year’s winterstorm gave Blacksburg and the Virginia Tech campus 6 inches of snow. The SEB is expected to be open this time next year, in 2014. Its progress can be followed here, live, at our webcam from atop Whittemore Hall: http://www.eng.vt.edu/signaturebuilding/livecam

An anonymous donor committed $25 million toward the Signature Engineering Building currently under construction at Virginia Tech.

The largest single donation ever given to the 140-year-old institution was one of three multimillion-dollar contributions to Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering highlighted April 28, 2011 by university President Charles W. Steger.