Virginia Tech facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University

Former names	Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (1872–1896) Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896–1944) Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944–1970)
Motto	Ut Prosim (Latin)
Motto in English	"That I May Serve"
Type	Public land-grant research university and senior military college
Established	June 20, 1872; 153 years ago (1872-06-20)
Accreditation	SACS
Academic affiliations	ORAU SCHEV URA CUWMA Sea-grant Space-grant
Endowment	$1.7 billion (2022)
Budget	$2.06 billion (2023)
President	Timothy D. Sands
Provost	Cyril Clarke
Academic staff	1,395
Students	36,383
Undergraduates	29,300
Postgraduates	7,083
Location	Blacksburg , Virginia , United States 37°13.5′N 80°25.5′W / 37.2250°N 80.4250°W / 37.2250; -80.4250
Campus	Small city, 2,600 acres (11 km2; 4.1 sq mi)
Other campuses	Abingdon Hampton Roads Northern Virginia Richmond Roanoke Riva San Vitale Punta Cana
Newspaper	Collegiate Times
Colors	Chicago maroon and burnt orange
Nickname	Hokies
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FBS – ACC
Mascot	HokieBird

Virginia Tech (VT), officially known as the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI), is a public university. Its main campus is in Blacksburg, Virginia. It was started in 1872 as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College.

The university also has learning centers in six areas across Virginia. It has a research center in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and a study-abroad location in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. Virginia Tech is also a senior military college. This means it has a special program called the Corps of Cadets ROTC.

Virginia Tech offers many different study programs. There are 280 programs for undergraduate and graduate students. About 37,000 students attend the university. As of 2016, it was the second-largest public university in Virginia by student numbers. It is known for its very high level of research activity.

The university's sports teams are called the Virginia Tech Hokies. They compete in Division I of the NCAA. They are part of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Many Virginia Tech graduates have achieved great things. These include 2 Rhodes Scholars, 4 Marshall Scholars, and 131 Fulbright Scholars. Eight alumni have received the Medal of Honor. Also, 97 generals and admirals, two U.S. state governors, two astronauts, and a billionaire have graduated from Virginia Tech. Three Nobel laureates and two MacArthur Fellows have also studied or taught there. As of 2015, over 240,000 people who went to Virginia Tech were living around the world.

History of Virginia Tech

In 1872, Virginia Tech began with money from the U.S. government. The state of Virginia bought a small school for boys. This school was in a rural area called Montgomery County. The state also bought 250 acres (100 ha) of land next to it. A new state-supported military school was started there. It was called the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College.

The first student, Addison "Add" Caldwell, signed up on October 1, 1872. He walked over 25 miles to get there. A statue on campus remembers his journey. New cadets and their leaders re-enact his walk every year.

Some of the early leaders and teachers at Virginia Tech had served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. For example, the first leader of the cadets was James H. Lane. He was a former Confederate General. The third president, Thomas Nelson Conrad, was a Confederate spy. The sixth president, Paul Brandon Barringer, was related to famous Confederate generals.

For a long time, the Confederate Battle Flag was used at Virginia Tech sports events. The band also played a song called "Dixie." A large Confederate flag was even inside the basketball arena. Since 1963, a replica Civil War cannon, "Skipper," has been fired at football games when the team scores. The Confederate flag was also on Virginia Tech class rings. In the late 1960s, a black student named Marguerite Harper helped end the use of the Confederate flag at sports events. This caused some upset, but the change stayed. The flag was later removed from class ring designs completely.

During World War I, the university started a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). This helped support the country's efforts in the war.

Changes to the College Programs

During one president's time, the college changed how it organized its school year. It went from semesters to a quarter system. This system stayed until the late 1980s. Later, the school organized its studies into a regular four-year college. A graduate program was also started. Because the school's programs grew, its name changed in 1896. It became the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute. People soon started calling it just "Polytechnic Institute." In 1944, the name was officially shortened to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI).

VPI welcomed its first female students in 1921. They were day students and did not live on campus. In 1923, VPI changed a rule about joining the Corps of Cadets. It became two years instead of four. In 1931, VPI started teaching classes at another college. This program grew into a two-year engineering program. It allowed students to transfer to VPI for their last two years.

The first dorm for women at VPI was built in 1940. In 1943, VPI joined with Radford State Teachers College. Radford became VPI's women's division. This merger ended in 1964. Today, Radford University is its own co-educational university.

After World War II

In 1953, VPI became the first historically white public university in the South to accept a black undergraduate student. Three more black students were accepted in 1954. At that time, Virginia still had Jim Crow laws. These laws kept black and white people separate in many public places. The first black students at VPI could not live in dorms or eat in dining halls on campus. They stayed with African American families in Blacksburg instead. In 1958, Charlie L. Yates was the first African American to graduate from VPI. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering with honors.

President T. Marshall Hahn led VPI from 1962 to 1974. He helped change VPI from a small, mostly male military school into a large research university. The number of students grew by about 1,000 each year. New dorms and academic buildings were built. More professors were hired, and research funding increased. During Hahn's time, the university had its first Rhodes Scholar. Also, the rule for male students to be in the Corps of Cadets for two years ended in 1964. In 1973, women could join the Corps. This made Virginia Tech one of the first military colleges to include women.

In 1970, the state government gave VPI university status. Its official name became Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In the early 1990s, the university started using Virginia Tech as its main name. This name had been used for sports teams since the 1970s. However, diplomas and transcripts still use the full formal name. The abbreviation "VT" is now much more common than "VPI."

Late 20th Century Growth

The university continued to grow in the last part of the 20th century. In 1975, William Edward Lavery became president. He had been a faculty member since 1966.

Virginia Tech needed more farmland for its agriculture programs. So, in 1986, it got Kentland Farm. This was a large, historic property. The university traded some of its land near a growing shopping area for Kentland Farm. This trade was done quietly, which caused some anger.

Also in 1986, Virginia Tech had some issues with its sports program. There were claims of unfair recruiting. Two athletic directors left quickly. The sports program also had a lot of debt. This was due to poor money management. The governor of Virginia, Gerald Baliles, criticized the university for this in 1987. He warned other state schools not to put sports before academics.

President Lavery created a plan to fix the Athletic Department. Frank Beamer was hired as the new head football coach. But because of the ongoing negative news, Lavery resigned in 1987. James Douglas McComas took over as president until 1994.

During the Vietnam War, fewer students joined the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. By the 1980s, only a few hundred students were in the Corps. In 1991, alumni created an organization to help save the Corps. They started a newsletter and aimed to have 1,000 cadets by the year 2000. While they didn't reach that exact number, membership did increase a lot.

Virginia Tech in the 21st Century

In the early 2000s, Virginia Tech continued to expand. In 2001, the university bought more land next to the campus. This increased the College Farm to over 3,000 acres. The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute was created in partnership with the Carilion Clinic. The university's graduate and business programs also grew quickly. In 2014, Virginia Tech spent over $500 million on research.

After the September 11 attacks, national patriotism grew. This, along with new scholarships, helped the Corps of Cadets attract more students. By 2018, there were 1,127 cadets. This was the largest number since the mid-1960s. The Corps plans to grow to 1,400 cadets in the coming years.

Innovation Campus and Future Growth

When Amazon announced its second headquarters in Virginia, Virginia Tech shared plans for a new research center. This $1 billion graduate research center will be built near Amazon's facility. The Virginia Tech Innovation Campus will be in Alexandria. It will teach hundreds of graduate students. The campus will focus on computer science and software engineering. This includes areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data analytics.

Due to a rapid increase in new students, the university made an announcement in 2019. It offered money to 1,559 new students if they waited a year to start school in Blacksburg. The university expected more students than planned. It set aside $3.3 million for this effort. Virginia Tech also removed the rule that freshmen must live on campus for that year. It leased a Holiday Inn and used its on-campus hotel to house students.

How Virginia Tech is Organized

Virginia Tech is a public university. It is one of Virginia's two land-grant institutions. Its academic programs are managed by nine colleges, the Graduate School, and the Honors College.

College/School Founding Years

College/School	Year founded
Graduate School	1891
College of Engineering	1903
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences	1903
College of Architecture, Art, and Design	1964
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences	1964
College of Science	1964
Pamplin College of Business	1965
College of Veterinary Medicine	1978
College of Natural Resources and Environment	1992
Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute	2007
Honors College	2016

Academics at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech offers 116 different bachelor's degree programs. These are through its nine undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 160 master's and doctoral degree programs. There is also a professional degree from the Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute is a partnership. It is managed by Virginia Tech and the Carilion Clinic. It was started on January 3, 2007.

How to Get Admitted

Class of 2022 Freshman Data

Number of freshman applicants	32,103
Applied Early Decision	18%
Average GPA of admitted students	4.15
Average SAT scores of admitted students	1310
Middle 50% ACT scores of admitted students	24 to 28

Virginia Tech received a record number of applications for the fall 2015 freshman class. Nearly 22,500 students applied. This was a 7.6% increase from the year before. The overall acceptance rate was 65.8%. Students who were offered admission usually had a high-school GPA of 4.00. The middle 50 percent of GPAs ranged from 3.84 to 4.27. The average SAT score was 1250 (out of 1600). The middle range for SAT scores was 1160 to 1340. Of the 5,518 students who accepted admission, 18 percent did so through the Early Decision Plan.

Virginia Tech has a very selective Honors College. It offers undergraduate students 11 ways to earn Honors credits. These credits lead to one of five Honors degree options. Once accepted, Honors students must keep a 3.6 GPA to stay in the program. About one-fourth of the 1,600 University Honors students live in special dorms. These are the Honors Residential College and the Hillcrest Honors Community.

For the 2013–14 school year, the Graduate School had 6,723 graduate students. Most of them (4,465) were full-time.

The Pamplin College of Business received 381 applications for its Evening MBA program. It offered admission to 142 students. The average GMAT score for this class was 610. The average undergraduate GPA was 3.4.

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke received 4,403 applications for its eighth class. This was the class of 2021. It offered admission to 42 students. Their MCAT scores ranged from 503 to 520. The average undergraduate GPA was 3.57.

In 2023, Virginia Tech stopped using legacy admissions. This means that having family members who went to the university no longer gives an applicant an advantage. This change happened after a U.S. Supreme Court decision. The university also ended its binding early decision program. It felt this program put too much pressure on students, especially those needing financial help.

Virginia Tech Rankings

U.S. university rankings
ARWU World	201–300
ARWU National	66–94
THES World	201–250
USNWR National University	47
Washington Monthly National University	28
Forbes	82

USNWR Professional/Graduate Rankings

Biological Sciences	73
Chemistry	67
Clinical Psychology	56
Computer Science	38
Earth Sciences	28
Economics	59
Education	105
Engineering	29
English	91
Mathematics	62
Medicine: Primary Care	94–122
Medicine: Research	81
Physics	61
Psychology	81
Public Affairs	45
Public Health	89
Sociology	47
Statistics	61
Veterinary Medicine	17

USNWR Engineering Graduate Rankings

Civil	9
Environmental/ Environmental Health	7
Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems	6

USNWR Global Ranking

Agricultural Sciences	136
Arts & Humanities	247
Biology & Biochemistry	256
Chemistry	269
Civil Engineering	79
Clinical Medicine	593
Computer Science	58
Economics & Business	198
Electrical & Electronic Engineering	48
Engineering	69
Environment/Ecology	161
Geosciences	158
Materials Science	263
Mathematics	241
Mechanical Engineering	70
Microbiology	130
Molecular Biology & Genetics	378
Physics	389
Plant & Animal Science	87
Social Sciences & Public Health	156
Space Science	225

In the U.S. News & World Report "2024 Best Colleges" list, Virginia Tech was tied for 47th among all national universities. It tied for 20th among public universities. It was also tied for 25th for "Most Innovative" schools. It ranked 156th in "Best Value Schools." It tied for 207th in "Top Performers on Social Mobility."

The Pamplin College of Business's part-time MBA program was tied for 19th in 2020. The Master of Information Technology program is ranked No. 4. This program is offered completely online.

Programs in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies (CAUS) include architecture and design. They also include landscape architecture, urban planning, and public administration. In 2016, DesignIntelligence ranked the undergraduate architecture program 3rd nationally. The graduate architecture program ranked 9th. For 2013, the university's landscape architecture programs ranked No. 2. The undergraduate interior design program ranked 6th. The undergraduate industrial design program ranked 3rd.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance placed Virginia Tech 20th in its 2019 ranking. This was for 174 best value public colleges in the United States. In 2018, CEOWORLD magazine ranked the undergraduate architecture program 3rd nationally. The graduate architecture program ranked 14th.

Student Life Rankings

Virginia Tech received these rankings from The Princeton Review in its 2017 Best 380 Colleges Rankings:

Category	Rankings
Happiest Students	7th overall
Best Campus Food	4th overall
Best Quality of Life	1st overall
Their Students Love These Colleges	1st overall
Town-Gown Relations are Great	7th overall
Best Alumni Network	10th overall
Lots of Race/Class Interaction	7th overall
Colleges That Pay You Back without Aid	18th overall

Research at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech spent $542 million on research and development in 2019. This ranked it 48th among all schools in the nation. It was 2nd in Virginia. This shows 15 years of continuous research growth. The university's research funding has more than doubled since 2000. Virginia Tech is among the top 5 percent of research universities. Each year, the university gets many awards for research. Researchers explore new things in many fields. These include agriculture, biotechnology, and information technology. They also study human health, transportation, and energy. This research led to 36 patents in 2013.

Research Spending Fiscal Years 2009–2017

2009	$399 million
2011	$450 million
2013	$496 million
2015	$504 million
2017	$522 million

Fralin Life Science Institute

The Fralin Life Science Institute grew from the Fralin Biotechnology Center, started in 1991. Research here focuses on diseases spread by insects. It also studies infections, plant sciences, and cancer. Other areas include obesity and the study of living things and their environments.

Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech

The Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech opened in 2000. It is a research center for bioinformatics and computational biology. It has over 200 employees. It also has many supercomputing systems. The institute has over $109 million in active research awards.

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI)

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) started in 1988. It has over 350 staff members. VTTI has over $125 million in active research awards. Its goal is to save lives, time, and money. It also aims to protect the environment. It is the second largest university transportation institute in the United States. It has the largest group of driving safety researchers in the world.

VTTI has special facilities. These include the 2.2-mile (3.5 km) Virginia Smart Road. This road has many sensors. It also has test areas for connected cars. VTTI has over 83,000 square feet of office and lab space. These labs include an asphalt lab and garages. They also have tools for working on VTTI's vehicle fleet.

VTTI develops and tests new transportation safety tools and methods. VTTI's research helps shape public policy in transportation. This includes studies on distracted driving. VTTI uses special systems to gather video and driving data. These systems have been put in nearly 4,000 vehicles. These include cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles.

Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS)

Since 2005, the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) has been growing. It focuses on areas where engineering, science, biology, and humanities meet. Key areas include nuclear engineering and sustainable energy. It also studies safe water, national security, and new technologies.

Other Research Areas

Virginia Tech researches many other topics. These include high-performance computing and advanced materials. They also study wireless communication, housing, and human and animal health. Other areas are the environment and energy. This includes power electronics, biofuels, and solar-powered buildings.

• The School of Biomedical Engineering & Sciences works with other colleges. Virginia Tech's research includes how the body moves (biomechanics). It also studies how cells transport things and how to create models using computers.
• Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. (VTIP) was created in 1985. It helps protect and license new inventions from university research. In 2012, VTIP was issued 17 U.S. patents. It also signed 32 licensing agreements.
• The Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation (VT-ARC) is a private nonprofit group. It was started in 2010. VT-ARC helps with applied research and large research projects. It researches intelligence, cyber security, and information technology. It also studies national security, energy, and health care.
• The Virginia Cooperative Extension programs help improve farming practices. They also work to improve the quality of life for Virginia citizens. These programs are delivered through faculty and local offices. In 2013, Virginia's agricultural exports reached $2.85 billion.
• The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC) has over 170 research and technology companies. The 230-acre (93 ha) park is in a mountain setting. It has space for 15 more buildings. The VTCRC employs over 2,900 people.
• The Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance is a research institute for the university.
• The Center for Modeling Immunity to Enteric Pathogens studies how the body fights gut infections.
• The Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute (LCI) offers language programs. It helps with academic and professional development. It started in the 1960s with volunteers teaching English. In 2014, LCI opened a new center in Fairfax, Virginia.
• The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is in Roanoke, Virginia. It is a key part of the new medical research and education effort.
• The Hume Center for National Security and Technology researches cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. It also studies national security.

Virginia Tech Campus

The Virginia Tech campus is in Blacksburg, Virginia. Most buildings are made of limestone. They are built in a style called neo-Gothic. Important green areas include the Hahn Horticulture Garden and the Virginia Tech Duck Pond. There is also an old forest called Stadium Woods.

The main campus is generally surrounded by Prices Fork Road, Plantation Drive, Main Street, and US 460 Bypass. However, the university owns thousands of acres beyond this central area.

In the middle of the Blacksburg campus is the Drillfield. This is a large oval field. A one-way street called Drillfield Drive goes around it. The Drillfield got its name in 1926. It was used by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets for military drills. A waterway, Stroubles Creek, runs under the Drillfield.

On the northwest side of the Drillfield are most of the academic and administrative buildings. These include Burruss and McBryde Halls. On the southeast side are most of the residential buildings. These include student dorms, dining halls, and War Memorial Gym. Newman Library is on the eastern side of campus. It connects to Torgersen Bridge, which goes over Alumni Mall. North of the Drillfield is the Upper Quad. This area is home to the Corps of Cadets' barracks.

Most buildings on the main campus are built with Hokie Stone. This is a gray stone with shades of brown and pink. In 2010, the university decided that all new buildings must use Hokie Stone.

Extended Campuses

The university has five other campuses:

• Virginia Tech Hampton Roads Centers, in Newport News and Virginia Beach
• Northern Virginia Center, in Falls Church (National Capital Region)
• Virginia Tech Richmond Center, in Richmond
• Virginia Tech Roanoke Center, in Roanoke
• Virginia Tech Southwest Center, in Abingdon

Northern Virginia Center (National Capital Region)

Virginia Tech has a presence in the Washington Metropolitan Area. This links graduate education and outreach programs. These programs match the university's main research areas. These areas include energy, health, and new technologies.

The Virginia Tech National Capital Region supports the university's goals. The university works with local and federal agencies. It also partners with research groups, businesses, and other schools. Current locations include Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, and Falls Church.

Biomedical Technology Development and Management is a special program here. It is a graduate degree program. It combines science with technology, management, and ethics.

In 2014, the university opened a Language and Culture Institute location in Fairfax. This institute offers English language programs. These are for college students, professionals, and diplomats.

International Campuses

Caribbean Center for Education and Research (CCER)

The Caribbean Center for Education and Research (CCER) is in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It helps Virginia Tech faculty do research. It also helps them teach students about nature, sustainability, and tourism. The center is a partnership between Virginia Tech and the PUNTACANA Ecological Foundation. The foundation manages a 2,000-acre (810 ha) natural forest and protected coral reef.

Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA)

This center was renamed the Steger Center for International Scholarship in 2014. It is the university's European campus. It is located in Riva San Vitale, Ticino, Switzerland. This location is close to major Italian cities like Milan.

Agricultural Research and Extension Centers

Virginia Tech has several agricultural research centers. They are located across Virginia. They work to improve farming and the lives of Virginia citizens. These centers include Alson H. Smith, Jr., Eastern Shore, and Hampton Roads.

Power Plant

The university has a power plant with a tall smokestack. This plant makes steam for the campus buildings. It provides heat, hot water, and some electricity. Nearly 90 percent of campus buildings are connected to the plant. They are linked by a network of tunnels. Only trained staff can enter these tunnels.

Student Life at Virginia Tech

Student Body Makeup as of May 2, 2022

Race and ethnicity	Total
White	63%	63
Asian	11%	11
Hispanic	8%	8
Other	7%	7
Foreign national	6%	6
Black	5%	5
Economic diversity
Low-income	14%	14
Affluent	86%	86

There are over 700 student groups on campus. Some groups include Bolt at Virginia Tech, which builds electric racing motorcycles. PRISM is a student-run ad agency. BASIS at Virginia Tech manages a large student-run investment fund. Over 9,300 Virginia Tech students live on campus.

Campus Residence Halls

Corps of Cadets

Until 1923, all able-bodied male students had to be in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets for four years. This rule changed to two years until 1964. After that, joining became voluntary. Students in the ROTC program must be part of the Corps of Cadets. Virginia Tech is one of only three public universities in the U.S. that has both a military cadet corps and regular civilian students.

More than 1,000 cadets live on the Virginia Tech campus. The Corps of Cadets Community is in the Upper Quad. This area has some of the oldest buildings on campus. Cadet dorms are also called "cadet barracks." Two new dorms were built in the Upper Quad for the cadets.

Greek Life

Virginia Tech has many fraternities and sororities. There are 23 fraternities and 13 sororities officially recognized. About 5,500 students are part of these groups. This is about 20 percent of the undergraduate students. The Oak Lane Community has houses for sororities and fraternities on campus. Some fraternities have houses off-campus. There are also many other academic and service-related Greek organizations. These include groups for historically Black and cultural interests.

Some fraternities at Virginia Tech are not officially recognized by the university.

Clubs and Student Activities

Virginia Tech offers many clubs and activities. The university says it has 800 official clubs. The Student Engagement and Campus Life office helps students find information about these clubs. Students often use a website called Gobblerconnect to find clubs. Every year, the campus holds "Gobblerfest." At this event, clubs show what they do to new students.

Some notable student-led clubs include the radio station WUVT-FM. There is also the newspaper The Collegiate Times. The literary magazine is called Silhouette.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech teams are known as the Hokies. The HokieBird is a turkey-like mascot. Its look has changed over time from the original "Fighting Gobbler." The word "Hokie" is now used more often than "Fighting Gobbler." The term comes from the Old Hokie yell.

The teams compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They are part of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports since 2004–05. Before that, the Hokies were in the Big East Conference.

Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, and wrestling. Women's sports include basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, and volleyball.

Virginia Tech's fight song is "Tech Triumph." It was written in 1919 and is still used today. The song is played at sports events by the student band, The Marching Virginians. It is also played by the Corps of Cadets' band, the Highty Tighties.

The main sports facilities include Lane Stadium and Cassell Coliseum. Other facilities are English Field, Thompson Field, and Tech Softball Park.

• 

  Cassell Coliseum

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  Thompson Field

People of Virginia Tech

Faculty

Many notable people have taught at Virginia Tech. These include Nikki Giovanni (English) and Marc Edwards (civil and environmental engineering).

Virginia Tech has had 17 university leaders since it started in 1872. The current president is Timothy Sands. He has been in this role since 2014.

Virginia Tech Presidents

Charles Landon Carter Minor	1872–1879
Charles Robert Scott Ship	1880
John Lee Buchanan	1880–1881
Thomas Nelson Conrad	1882–1886
Lunsford Lindsay Lomax	1886–1891
John McLaren McBryde	1891–1907
Paul Brandon Barringer	1907–1913
Joseph Dupuy Eggleston	1913–1919
Julian Ashby Burruss	1919–1945
John Redd Hutcheson	1945–1947
Walter Stephenson Newman	1947–1962
Thomas Marshall Hahn Jr.	1962–1974
William Edward Lavery	1975–1987
James Douglas McComas	1988–1994
Paul Ernest Torgersen	1993–2000
Charles William Steger	2000–2014
Timothy David Sands	2014–present

Alumni of Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech has over 240,000 alumni around the world. The Virginia Tech Alumni Association has over 100 chapters. It is often seen as one of the best alumni networks in the nation.

As one of six senior military colleges, Virginia Tech has trained many military leaders. These include 97 generals and admirals. Eight alumni have received the Medal of Honor. Their names are carved on a stone monument on campus.

Many Virginia Tech alumni have also served in government. These include Chet Culver, a former governor of Iowa. Others include ambassadors and members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Outside of public service, Virginia Tech alumni have done great things in business, writing, music, and journalism. These include children's book author Kwame Alexander. Also, former NASA engineer Homer Hickham and jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd. Business leaders like Donaldson Brown and Dave Calhoun also attended. TV news anchor Hoda Kotb is also an alumna.

Famous Virginia Tech athletes include Frank Beamer, Kam Chancellor, and Michael Vick.

See also In Spanish: Instituto Politécnico y Universidad Estatal de Virginia para niños Fighting Gobblers Hahn Horticulture Garden List of forestry universities and colleges Virginia Tech commencement speakers