Virginia Tech President Tim Sands to step down

After a dozen years leading Virginia Tech, President Tim Sands announced Thursday in a letter addressed “to Hokies everywhere” that he intends to step down in the coming months.

“There is no better role in higher education,” Sands said. “Stewarding Virginia Tech as president has been the most fulfilling experience of my career.”

Sands plans to stay in the role until his successor is in place to ensure a smooth transition, according to a news release.

During Sands tenure, Virginia Tech opened the university’s Academic Building One in Alexandria, which held a grand opening celebration Feb. 28, 2025. It is home to Institute for Advanced Computing, which develops technology talent for the region which is home to Amazon’s HQ2.

That building is one of 15 major construction projects launched since Sands’ became president in 2014.

For students in Blacksburg, the largest transformation occurred at The North Academic District of the Blacksburg campus occupies nearly 500,000 square feet. It includes the Data and Decision Sciences Building, which opened in 2023, Hitt Hall and the Perry Place dining facility, which opened in 2024, the Undergraduate Science Laboratory, which opened in 2024, and the New Classroom Building, which opened in 2016, and the New Business Building, which is expected to open in 2027.

Roanoke also felt the impact of Sands’ leadership. When the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in the Star City welcomed its first students in 2010 it was an independent institution. In 2018, it became the university’s newest college.

Sands also oversaw the 139,000-square-foot expansion of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke, which celebrated a grand opening in 2021. The university’s economic impact in Roanoke went from $214 million in 2017 to $475 million in 2025.

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC celebrated the grand opening of the state-of-the-art 139,000-square-foot expansion of its research facilities with a ribbon cutting on Oct. 12, 2021, Virginia Tech’s ongoing partnership with Carilion Clinic has been transformative in the Roanoke region with the development of the Health Sciences and Technology campus. The transition of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine from an independent institution to the university’s newest college is advancing a robust and growing academic health care presence. The expansion of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, with more than 40 faculty-led research teams in 260,000 square feet of laboratory and teaching space, doubled the university’s economic impact in Roanoke from $214 million in 2017 to $475 million in 2025.

Editor’s note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.