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2026 Virginia Power 50 List: TIMOTHY SANDS
PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA TECH, BLACKSBURG
Virginia Business //March 1, 2026//
2026 Virginia Power 50 List: TIMOTHY SANDS
PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA TECH, BLACKSBURG
Virginia Business //March 1, 2026//
Sands became the land-grant university’s 16th president in 2014, and he is under contract to stay through 2027.
He has led the development of Virginia Tech‘s $1 billion campus in Alexandria for graduate computer science and engineering programs. The campus’s first academic building opened for classes in January 2025.
Virginia Tech has received notable donations in recent years, including $50 million from Fortune 500 defense contractor Boeing and two $50 million gifts for the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke. In December 2025, the university received a $20 million anonymous donation toward its athletics department.
Sands previously was executive vice president for academic affairs and provost of Purdue University. Trained as a scientist whose research focused on light-emitting diodes, he holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of California, Berkeley.
Sands is chair of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, which maintains oversight over the division’s finances, litigation and infractions process. His two-year term ends in August.
