Virginia Tech receives $10M gift for endowed scholarship
Preston White, the founder of Virginia Beach-based concrete contractor Century Concrete, and his wife, Catharine, have donated $10 million to Virginia Tech to create an endowed scholarship, the university announced Tuesday. The Whites’ latest gift to Tech, the Preston and Catharine White Endowed Diversity Scholarship, will eventually provide scholarships of $5,000 to $7,500 to about [&hellip[...]
Va. Tech names chief of staff for university operations
Virginia Tech has named Brennan Shepard its chief of staff for university operations. Shepard was most recently director of financial planning in the the university’s Office of Budget and Financial Planning and has served in various roles in the finance division over the past 15 years. He officially began his new role on Aug. 25 […]
Education 2023: TIMOTHY SANDS
Known among Hokies as “the Sandsman” — a nod to the Hokies’ football anthem, Metallica’s “Enter the Sandman” — Sands joined Virginia Tech in 2014 after serving as interim president at Purdue University. Sands signed a contract in August 2022 to stay on as president through the 2027 academic year. During his tenure, Sands has […]
Revivicor’s $100 million pig-organ facility moves forward
By early next year, Blacksburg-based Revivicor will be raising genetically modified pigs in Montgomery County, with plans to harvest their hearts and kidneys for xenotransplantation into human patients. Founded in 2003 as a spinoff company of PPL Therapeutics (the company that cloned Dolly the sheep seven years earlier), Revivicor provided the genetically modified pig heart […]
Va. Tech’s Center for Biz Analytics names director
Jennifer Havens has been named director of the Center for Business Analytics at Virginia Tech‘s Pamplin College of Business, the university announced Wednesday. Havens joins Virginia Tech from Amazon.com Inc., where she was an executive coach, shaping organizational strategy and culture and designing the global e-tailer’s first group coaching program. She was also a founding […]
Torc to acquire Canadian computer vision firm
Blacksburg-based Torc Robotics on Tuesday announced it will acquire Montreal-based computer vision company Algolux Inc. A purchase price was not disclosed. Torc, a self-driving truck company, is an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG. Torc said in a news release that it is acquiring Algolux for its expertise in computer vision and machine learning. Algolux […]
Va. Tech names new biz school dean
Saonee Sarker, a professor at Sweden’s Lund University, will serve as the next dean of the Virginia Tech‘s Pamplin College of Business following an international search. Virginia Tech announced Sarker’s new role Monday. She has been a professor in Lund University’s Department of Informatics in the School of Economics and Management since 2021, and is also a […]
Va. Tech names College of Architecture, Arts and Design dean
Virginia Tech has named a new dean to lead its College of Architecture, Arts, and Design (AAD) following an international search. Tsai Lu Liu will start July 1. He has led the Department of Graphic Design and Industrial Design at North Carolina State University, in Raleigh, since 2012 and has a background in industry and […]
Torc names regulatory, safety SVP
Blacksburg-based Torc Robotics has named Michelle Chaka as senior vice president overseeing safety and regulatory matters, the self-driving truck company announced Wednesday. Chaka, who most recently has worked as a director for safety assurance and standards for Pittsburgh-based autonomous trucking solutions firm Locomation Inc., will oversee and coordinate safety across the company, including it[...]
Va. Tech taps Fralin Life Sciences Institute leader
A chemistry professor from Louisiana State University will join Virginia Tech as executive director of its Fralin Life Sciences Institute. Robin L. McCarley will start Dec. 1, the university announced Thursday. He was selected following a national search. McCarley is currently the Barbara Womack Alumni Association Endowed Professor of Chemistry at LSU. At the Fralin […]
Bowman gives $5M to Va. Tech for land development program
Reston-based Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. founder and CEO Gary Bowman committed $5 million to Virginia Tech‘s College of Engineering for the expansion of sustainable land development learning initiatives, the university announced Monday. “The Bowman gift solidifies Virginia Tech as the premier undergraduate and graduate programs in the field of sustainable land development,” Mark Widdows[...]
Virginia Tech appoints COO from W&M
Virginia Tech announced Wednesday it has named Amy Stoakley Sebring, currently chief operating officer at William & Mary, as its executive vice president and COO, effective Nov. 1. “I am very pleased to welcome Amy to the university community and our leadership team,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said in a statement. “She brings a […]