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On your mark
When Virginia Commonwealth University closed its buildings in spring 2020, then-student Julien Reininger wasn’t deterred from his entrepreneurial pursuits. In the kitchen of his parents’ Springfield home, Reininger ran a dehydrator for eight hours at a time, creating vegan jerky from canned jackfruit and developing different marinades. “I’m sure when I started doing it, they […]
Reston-based Octo to be acquired by IBM
Reston-based Octo is being acquired by IBM and its 1,500 employees will become part of IBM Consulting’s U.S. public and federal market arm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in a news release Thursday. IBM is acquiring the company from Arlington Capital Partners and the deal is expected to close by the end of […]
Va. Tech’s real estate program becomes department
Virginia Tech’s real estate program has earned approval from the State Council for Higher Education to become the Blackwood Department of Real Estate. Becoming a department housed under the Pamplin School of Business will offer the former program more resources, enhance its academic and experiential learning offerings and boost its ability to recruit top faculty […]
Return on investment
Christina Fleming embarked upon a career in marketing with the goal of getting an executive MBA degree, but other commitments kept getting in the way. She got married, had two children and moved up the corporate ladder for 26 years, rising to chief marketing officer at Blackboard Inc., a global education technology company that was […]
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[...]
Agriculture conference headed for Danville
A new conference for the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry will debut Oct. 25 at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) in Danville. One goal behind the event, dubbed CEA Summit East, is “highlighting some of the CEA growth that’s happening in Virginia — and particularly in Southern Virginia,” according to organizer Kaylee […]
Apex Systems co-founder gives $500,000 to Va. Tech
Virginia Tech’s Apex Center for Entrepreneurs has received a $500,000 donation from Apex Systems co-founder Win Sheridan. A 1994 Tech graduate with bachelor’s degrees in political science and English with a minor in business administration, Sheridan made the donation to help the Apex Center engage with student entrepreneurs through programing, networking and funding, according to [&hel[...]
Va. Tech receives record $80M grant for climate-smart farming
Virginia Tech has received a record $80 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a pilot program that will pay farmers to add practices that could help curb greenhouse gases, the university announced Monday. The grant is the largest in the university’s history. Virginia Tech is partnering on the pilot program with Rural […]
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 […]
Virginia Tech promotes VP of comms, marketing
Virginia Tech announced Tuesday it has promoted Tracy Vosburgh to be its inaugural vice president of communications and marketing. The university is also renaming its University Relations department to Communications and Marketing. Vosburgh has served as Virginia Tech’s top communications administrator since 2015, when she joined the university as senior associate vice president for university [[...]
‘The Wild West’
From an outsider’s perspective, it may appear as if technology is improving and changing almost daily — especially sparked by pandemic-driven remote work. But according to a 2021 study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, more than 80% of technologies improve in performance at a rate of less than 25% per year. Virginia Tech, however, […]
