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[...]
Va. hotel revenues up slightly over 2019
Northern Virginia’s hotel market continues to be a drag on the lodging industry’s performance in the commonwealth as a whole, according to recently released data from STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group Inc. that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. The latest data show rooms sold decreased by 4.6%[...]
Outgoing chamber leaders honored by state association
The Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives has honored two retiring leaders with lifetime achievement awards. Prince William Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Debbie Jones and Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Joyce Waugh received the awards during the VACCE’s 2022 executive leaders[...]
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 [...]
Virginia Transformer Corp. launches EV charger module
Roanoke-based power transformer manufacturer Virginia Transformer Corp. has entered the electric vehicle market by launching a manufacturing division to create components for commercial electric vehicle power chargers, with plans to expand the initiative, the company announced Monday. Commercial customers can build self-containe[...]
‘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 co[...]
Va. Tech business school dean retires, interim named
Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business has named Roberta “Robin” S. Russell as its interim dean, effective July 1. Russell, who heads Pamplin’s Department of Business Information Technology, succeeds Robert Sumichrast, who has retired. Russell will serve while the college conducts an international se[...]
Pulaski sees housing future in 3D
Like communities around Virginia, the town of Pulaski faces housing demand far outpacing supply. “We don’t have enough housing in our area,” says Town Manager Darlene Burcham. “So many of the people who work in our area don’t live in the community.” One way Pulaski hopes to grow inventory is by working with Iowa-base[...]
FOR THE RECORD
Central Virginia The state’s fiscal 2023-24 budget, approved June 1, contains funding that will benefit future redevelopment of the Central Virginia Training Center site in Madison Heights. Republican Sen. Steve Newman requested $25 million in state money to annul outstanding bonds associated with CVTC, a former state facility for people with intellectual disabilities that closed […]
Va. Tech receives $1M gift for learning accelerator
Virginia Tech on Tuesday announced that it will establish a new learning accelerator at the university’s Pamplin College of Business through a $1 million gift from an alumnus and his wife. Omar Asali, a 1992 Virginia Tech graduate and chairman and CEO of Ohio-based Ranpak Holdings Corp., made the gift with his wife, Rula, [...]
Amtrak to boost service in Norfolk, Roanoke, Newport News
Amtrak will add a third daily departure from Norfolk and a second daily departure from Roanoke on its Northeast Regional route, while also bolstering train service in Newport News, all beginning July 11. The train already departs from Norfolk early in the morning and mid-morning, so the third departure will be in the early after[...]
Blacksburg apartments sell for $4.75M
Ridgeview Apartments in Blacksburg have been sold for $4.75 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Thursday. The 96-unit community is located at 768 Triangle St. in Blacksburg. Ridgeview Apts. Land Trust sold the community to GFI Ridgeview LLC, which intends to renovate the units. Clay Taylor of Cushman & Wak[...]