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 universi[...]
‘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, […]
Va. Tech extends president’s contract through 2027
Metallica won’t be playing “Exit Sandman” anytime soon — Virginia Tech President Tim Sands will stay on as the university‘s president though the 2027 academic year. The university’s board of visitors voted unanimously to extend Sands’ contract during a quarterly meeting Tuesday, according to a news release. Sands is Tech’s 16th president and has served [[...]
Torc Robotics names new CEO
Blacksburg-based self-driving truck company Torc Robotics has named Peter Vaughan Schmidt its next CEO, the Daimler Truck AG subsidiary announced Thursday. Currently head of Daimler Truck’s Autonomous Technology Group, Schmidt will take on his new role Oct. 1 and succeeds Michael Fleming. The company produces software for self-driving commercial vehicles and was started by a […]
‘Brainy’ couture: Biomed grad designs high-tech fashion
Leah Thomas became a fashion designer to cap off her undergraduate degree in Virginia Tech‘s biomedical engineering program. A member of the university‘s first cohort of 40 undergraduate biomedical engineering students who graduated in spring 2022, Thomas designed a dress and headpiece fitted with biosensors for a biotech couture fashion show. She collaborated with another […]