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VICE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA TECH INNOVATION CAMPUS, ALEXANDRIA
VICE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA TECH INNOVATION CAMPUS, ALEXANDRIA
Virginia Business// August 30, 2023//
Collins came to Virginia from Cornell University in 2020 to build Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Alexandria, a $1 billion development that will educate computer science and engineering students within a stone’s throw of Amazon’s $2.5 billion-plus HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington. Slated to open in 2024, the Innovation Campus was a key part of the state’s successful pitch for landing HQ2.
Virginia Tech graduate students are already attending classes in temporary quarters in Alexandria. Collins also has been busy securing major donations for the campus, including $50 million from Boeing, $12.5 million from Northrop Grumman and $10 million from Hokie alumni Hema and Mehul Sanghani, CEO of Reston-based Octo.
At Cornell, Collins served as the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering for a decade and was part of the leadership team that partnered with New York City to build Cornell Tech, which opened in 2017. He also raised $400 million in new gifts.
Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2021, Collins has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
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