Virginia Tech



Points of prideUpdated 12-1-20SHORT VERSIONInnovation Campus: $1 billion, 1 million-square-foot campus to develop a pipeline of technology talent in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area. Innovation Campus is a key reason that Amazon selected Virginia for a new headquarters.Virginia Tech Carilion public-private partnership and the emerging Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke. Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC named to honor Heywood and Cynthia Fralin and the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust. For seventh consecutive year, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine boasted a 100 percent rate for graduating students matching with a residency program. Research institute rapidly developed a process to analyze COVID-19 samples to serve Southwest Virginia’s testing needs. Commonwealth Cyber Initiative: Virginia Tech has lead role; initiative calls on higher education institutions and industry to build ecosystem of cyber-related research, education, and engagement.Global Business and Analytics Complex and data sciences: Data scientists and students from disciplines across campus are solving complex problems using analytical tools. Virginia Tech is building on its leading role in data analytics and decision-sciences by expanding programs, increasing enrollment, adding faculty members, and building new facilities.Blacksburg construction: Projects already scheduled include the Creativity and Innovation District Living-Learning Community, Holden Hall, Hitt Hall, a dining facility in the Intelligent Infrastructure complex, the Student-Athlete Performance Center and Merryman Center weight room, and the Multi-Modal Transit Facility. Teaching and research facilities at Kentland Farm and the VTC Biomedical Research Expansion have been completed. Philanthropy: Boundless Impact: The Campaign for Virginia Tech was publicly launched in fall 2019, seeking to raise $1.5 billion and engage more than 100,000 Hokies. Campaign will leverage continued success in fundraising: In FY20, a record $185.4 million in new gifts and commitments marked the fourth consecutive year surpassing $150 million. Endowment has surpassed $1.3 billion mark.Research: Research portfolio of $542 million in FY19. Ranked 48th nationally by the National Science Foundation in FY18. Research areas, such as transportation, biomedical, cybersecurity and defense, agriculture, and energy, continue to excel. LINK, the Center for Industry Partnerships, streamlines how companies engage with Virginia Tech, and has helped secure multimillion-dollar agreements with companies like Boeing and Block.one. LICENSE, the Center for Technology Commercialization, and LAUNCH, the Center for New Ventures, help researchers move their inventions into the marketplace.?Calhoun Discovery Program in Honors College: Exemplifies collaborative learning, allows students to form connections between their academic majors and other disciplines while engaging with partners in industry. Supported by a $20 million gift from David Calhoun.Block.one: Global leader in blockchain made initial $3 million commitment to Department of Computer Science to help students build skills in blockchain. Inaugural Blockchain Challenge concluded with more than $28,000 awarded to students for blockchain projects.Class of 2024: Incoming fall 2020 was one of Virginia Tech’s largest and most diverse in history, demonstrating strong demand for a Virginia Tech degree. Undergraduate enrollment hit 30,000 and total enrollment exceeded 37,000.Diversity: Underrepresented minority students comprise more than 19 percent of entering class, compared to 13 percent five years ago. Underrepresented and underserved students – including low-income, first-generation, and veteran students – make up 39 percent of entering undergraduates, almost reaching the 2022 goal of 40 percent. Athletics: Football team went to 27th straight bowl game at end of 2019 season, longest active streak in nation. Mekhi Lewis won the first individual national championship in the history of the Virginia Tech wrestling program in 2019. In spring 2019, 299 of 530 student-athletes maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, and 18 of 22 teams achieved a 3.0 or better. FutureHAUS Dubai: Recognized as the world’s best solar home in a November 2018 competition. Displayed in Times Square for the NYCxDESIGN celebration, May 2019. Students are extremely involved in co-curricular activities. They rank 13 percentage points higher than college students nationally and double that of students at other large institutions.Virginia Tech ranked in the 201-250 range in the 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Among U.S. public land-grant universities, it is tied for 15th in 2020.In fall 2020, Virginia Tech rose seven spots in U.S. News & World Report’s Most Innovative Schools ranking, from 42nd to 35th. The College of Engineering ranked No. 13 overall. U.S. News’ rankings of undergraduate programs placed Virginia Tech at 29th overall among public universities and 74th among all national universities. Forbes (26th) ranked the university among the top 30 public institutions in the nation.U.S. News also ranked three Virginia Tech graduate programs among the nation’s top 10, including the industrial and systems engineering. program (No. 6); environmental and environmental health engineering program (No. 7); and the civil engineering program (No. 9). The evening MBA program was No. 19.Master of Information Technology program ranked No. 2 nationally. Virginia Tech consistently ranks as nation’s best for studying natural resources and conservation.College of Architecture and Urban Studies ranked in top five nationally for its undergraduate programs in architecture and interior design. Corps of Cadets boasts the highest commissioning rate — 79 percent — of all the senior military and service academies in nation. Enrollment is more than 1,100 cadets for 2020-21 academic year, with plans to grow to 1,400. Professor Marc Edwards named to Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for uncovering the lead-in-water issue in Flint, Michigan.Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership runs or participates in two major federal drone-integration programs: an FAA-designated test site and as one of 10 teams in the UAS Integration Pilot Program.Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, the second-largest university-level transportation institute in the country, pioneered the use of the naturalistic driving study research method and is a national leader in autonomous vehicle research.Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology is a research leader in 3D and immersive environments, such as the Cube, an experimental living laboratory in the Moss Arts Center. Virginia Tech Helmet Lab and Center for Injury Biomechanics has pioneered new methods for collecting quantitative, real-world data on head impacts and developed an evidence-based rating system for safety equipment.One Health: Virginia Tech is a leader in this approach, which involves the integrative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment.Across Virginia, the university maintains 11 Agricultural Research and Extension Centers, Virginia Cooperative Extension offices, the Tech Center Research Park in Newport News, and much more. Around the world, the university operates sites such as the Steger Center for International Scholarship in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. LONG VERSION: In the greater Washington, D.C., metro area, Virginia Tech has committed to build a 1 million-square-foot, technology-focused Innovation Campus–a $1 billion project under development in Alexandria that was cited as a key reason Amazon selected Virginia for a new headquarters site. In the coming years, the university’s contribution to the tech-talent pipeline will steadily increase, driving the region’s economy into the future. The university recently celebrated 50 years of graduate education in the region, and boasts seven existing campuses in the D.C. area. In Roanoke, the Virginia Tech Carilion public-private partnership and the emerging Health Sciences and Technology Campus are transforming the city. The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC was recently named, thanks to a $50 million gift from Heywood and Cynthia Fralin and the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust that was announced in December 2018. The institute recently surpassed $120 million in the total value of active research awards. And in summer 2018, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine became Virginia Tech’s newest college. In the school’s seventh Match Day in spring 2020, 100 percent of graduating medical students matched with a residency program – for the seventh consecutive time. And the research institute rapidly developed a process to analyze COVID-19 samples to serve Southwest Virginia’s testing needs.The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), launched with an initial state investment of $25 million in the 2018-20 Virginia budget, calls on higher education institutions and industry to build an ecosystem of cyber-related research, education, and engagement. The goal is to position Virginia as a leader where cybersecurity meets data analytics, machine learning, and autonomous systems. The state intends to further invest in CCI in subsequent years. CCI provides for cyber-physical system security research and technology commercialization, as well as cybersecurity workforce development through a primary “hub” in Northern Virginia and a network of regional “node” sites across the state. The Global Business and Analytics Complex will be a place for data scientists and students from multiple disciplines to thrive as they aim to solve the world’s most complex problems in analytical ways. Virginia Tech is building on its leading role in data analytics and decision-sciences by expanding programs, increasing enrollment, adding faculty members, and building new facilities. The complex, planned for a 2024 opening, will include four new buildings in Blacksburg, including two academic structures and two living-learning residential communities housing about 700 students. To meet the current and future needs of students and faculty, Virginia Tech will construct several premier teaching, research, and student life facilities over the next 18 months in Blacksburg and other locations across Virginia. Blacksburg projects already scheduled include the Creativity and Innovation District Living-Learning Community, Holden Hall, Hitt Hall, a dining facility in the Intelligent Infrastructure complex, the Student-Athlete Performance Center and Merryman Center weight room, and the Multi-Modal Transit Facility. Teaching and research facilities at Kentland Farm are under construction, as is the VTC Biomedical Research Expansion.Boundless Impact: The Campaign for Virginia Tech was publicly launched Oct. 11, 2019, seeking to raise $1.5 billion and engage more than 100,000 Hokies. Campaign priorities include solving complex problems; inclusion and diversity; the Global Business and Analytics Complex; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus; a new era in greater D.C.; and reimagining education. The comprehensive campaign will leverage continued success in philanthropic efforts. In FY20, a record $185.4 million in new gifts and commitments marked the fourth year surpassing $150 million. In fall 2017, the university’s endowment surpassed the $1 billion mark and now stands at more than $1.3 billion. And the university’s second annual Giving Day in March 2019 garnered more than $2.8 million from more than 6,600 donors in a 24-hour period. Virginia Tech’s research portfolio totaled $542 million in FY19. Its FY18 total of $531 million ranked 48th nationally. Our life sciences and biomedical portfolio is expanding, and we are internationally recognized in autonomous systems, intelligent infrastructure, water, and more. Virginia Tech earned the 2019 Award for Excellence in Counterintelligence, one of very few higher education institutes to receive the recognition.LINK, the Center for Industry Partnerships, streamlines the way that companies engage with Virginia Tech. In its first year, LINK helped to secure multimillion-dollar agreements with companies like Boeing and Block.one. LICENSE, the Center for Technology Commercialization, and LAUNCH, the Center for New Ventures, help researchers move their inventions into the marketplace.?The Calhoun Discovery Program within the Honors College is one example of collaborative learning at Virginia Tech, and is supported by a $20 million donation from alumnus David Calhoun, CEO of Boeing. The program helps students form connections between their academic majors and other disciplines while engaging with partners in industry, including Boeing, which has committed $3 million in cash and significant in-kind contributions.Block.one, a global leader in blockchain and publisher of the EOSIO blockchain software, made an initial $3 million commitment to the Department of Computer Science in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering to help students build skills in blockchain. During the spring semester, students engaged in a weekend blockchain bootcamp, the first senior blockchain capstone course commenced, and the inaugural Virginia Tech Blockchain Challenge concluded with more than $28,000 awarded to students for blockchain projects.The Class of 2024 arrived as one of Virginia Tech’s largest and most diverse. Transformational impacts, such as the announcement of the Innovation Campus, success in recruiting underserved and underrepresented populations, and the strength of our academic programs have created an unprecedented demand for a Virginia Tech degree.Undergraduate enrollment rose 2.4 percent to hit 30,000, aligning with President Tim Sands’ goal to reach that benchmark by 2025, and its total enrollment exceeded 37,000 for the first time ever.Virginia Tech’s comprehensive strategies for growth in underserved and underrepresented (URM/USS) populations continue to be effective. The university currently enrolls 10,019 URM/USS undergraduate students, up from 9,417, an increase of 6.4 percent, from a year ago. Underrepresented minority students comprise more than 19 percent of entering class, compared to 13 percent five years ago. Underrepresented and underserved students – including low-income, first-generation, and veteran students – make up 39 percent of entering undergraduates, almost reaching 2022 goal of 40 percent. In athletics, the football team went to its 27th straight bowl game, the longest active streak in the nation; and Mekhi Lewis won the first individual national championship in the history of the Virginia Tech wrestling program in 2019. In spring 2019, 192 of 530 student-athletes were named to the Dean’s List, 299 maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, and 18 of 22 teams achieved a 3.0 or better. After years of research and development that engaged more than 100 Virginia Tech students and faculty, the FutureHAUS Dubai was recognized as the world’s best solar home in a November 2018 competition; in May 2019, the house was displayed in Times Square for the NYCxDESIGN celebration. Virginia Tech excels in providing experiential learning opportunities, so its students are extremely involved in co-curricular activities, ranking 13 percentage points higher than college students nationally and double that of students at other large institutions, a recent Gallup study said.Virginia Tech ranked in the 201-250 range in the 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Among U.S. public land-grant universities, it is tied for 15th in 2020.In fall 2020, Virginia Tech rose seven spots in U.S. News & World Report’s Most Innovative Schools ranking, from 42nd to 35th. The College of Engineering ranked No. 13 overall. U.S. News’ rankings of undergraduate programs placed Virginia Tech at 29th overall among public universities and 74th among all national universities. Forbes (26th) ranked the university among the top 30 public institutions in the nation.U.S. News also ranked three Virginia Tech graduate programs among the nation’s top 10, including the industrial and systems engineering. program (No. 6); environmental and environmental health engineering program (No. 7); and the civil engineering program (No. 9). The evening MBA program was No. 19. The university’s Master of Information Technology program (a collaboration between the Pamplin College of Business and College of Engineering) ranked No. 2 nationally in the most recent U.S. News rankings. USA Today College has consistently ranked Virginia Tech as the nation’s best for studying natural resources and conservation.Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies ranked in the top five nationally for its undergraduate programs in architecture and interior design, according to the DesignIntelligence “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools” list. The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets continues its long military tradition, and the university boasts the highest commissioning rate — 79 percent — of all the senior military and service academies in the nation. Enrollment is more than 1,100 cadets for 2020-21 academic year, with plans to grow to 1,400. Professor Marc Edwards, along with pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha, were named to Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for their work uncovering the lead in water issue in Flint, Michigan. Edwards now leads the U.S. Water Study team that won a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Dozens of students from his program have gone on to test and protect water systems in communities across the nation. The Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership runs or participates in two major federal drone-integration programs: an FAA-designated test site and as one of 10 teams in the UAS Integration Pilot Program, which brings together communities, governments, and companies to enable the next generation of drone operations. Partners include Wing, State Farm, and Intel.The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, the second-largest university-level transportation institute in the country, pioneered the use of the naturalistic driving study research method and is a national leader in autonomous vehicle research. The institute will operate the first research bed capable of testing advanced vehicles in a controlled rural setting.The Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology is a research leader in 3D and immersive environments. In the Moss Arts Center, the Cube is a four-story-high, state-of-the-art theatre and high-tech laboratory that serves faculty, students, and national and international guest artists and researchers. It is a highly adaptable space for research and experimentation in big data exploration, immersive environments, performances, and audio and visual installations. The Virginia Tech Helmet Lab and Center for Injury Biomechanics has pioneered new methods for collecting quantitative, real-world data on head impacts and developed an evidence-based rating system for safety equipment that gives consumers clear guidance about which models do the best job of reducing concussion risk. The lab is using Virginia Tech’s JUMP crowdfunding platform to fund testing for equine helmets designed to protect riders. In order to solve the health challenges facing an increasingly complex and connected world, Virginia Tech enacts an interdisciplinary One Health approach to education, scholarship, research, and practice. Because the health of people, animals, and the environment is inextricably connected, the university’s integrative work ensures that impacts across all three sectors are considered in order to achieve optimal health locally, nationally, and globally.Across Virginia, the university maintains a presence in every corner of the commonwealth with 11 Agricultural Research and Extension Centers, Virginia Cooperative Extension offices, the Tech Center Research Park in Newport News, and much more. Around the world, the university operates sites such as the Steger Center for International Scholarship in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. ................
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