Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Encyclopedia
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech (VT), is a public land-grant
university
with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia
with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.
Founded in 1872 as an agricultural and mechanical land-grant college, Virginia Tech is a research university with the largest full-time student population in Virginia and one of the few public universities
in the United States that maintains a corps of cadets
.
The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
Virginia Tech has the largest number of degree offerings in Virginia, more than 125 campus buildings, a 2,600-acre main campus, off-campus educational facilities in six regions, a study-abroad site in Switzerland, and a 1,700-acre agriculture research farm near the main campus. The main Virginia Tech campus is located in the New River Valley
in the valley and ridge
physiographic region of the Appalachian Mountains
in southwestern
Virginia
, a few miles from the Jefferson National Forest
in Montgomery County
.
The Board of Visitors is the governing authority for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Board is composed of 14 members, 13 of whom are appointed by the Governor. The 14th member is the President of the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who serves ex officio. Each year, an undergraduate student and a graduate student are selected through a competitive review process to serve as non-voting representatives to the board.
programs through its seven undergraduate academic colleges, 145 master's and doctoral degree programs through the Graduate School, and a professional degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
. In addition, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute, a private, independent school jointly managed by the university and Carilion Health System, opened in fall 2010. The undergraduate academic colleges and schools are as follows:
During the 2009-10 academic year, the Graduate School at Virginia Tech enrolled 6,947 graduate students university-wide in its master’s and doctoral programs.
The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine received over 2,300 applications for an incoming class size of 42.
In addition to its academic colleges, Virginia Tech also has a university-wide honors program known as University Honors. University Honors provides accepted honors students eleven different ways to earn honors credits towards one of the six honors degree options. A small percentage of University Honors students are also invited to live in one of the two honors residential halls, the Honors Residential College (HRC) located in East Ambler-Johnston and the Hillcrest Honors Community. Honors students must have a cumulative 3.6 GPA for acceptance into the program and are required to maintain a 3.5 GPA after admittance in order to remain in the program.
In a more recent report, the Virginia Tech College of Engineering undergraduate program was ranked 13th in the nation (tied with Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison) among all accredited engineering schools that offer doctorates and seventh among engineering schools at public universities.
Six Virginia Tech undergraduate engineering specialties ranked among the top 20 of their respective peer programs (aerospace engineering, 10th; civil engineering, 7th; electrical engineering, 17th; engineering science and mechanics, 8th; environmental engineering, 9th; industrial engineering, 4th; and mechanical engineering, 14th, Biological System Engineering, 8th). Its graduate program in Engineering is considered among the first 20 in US, among all public and private universities, with strong emphasis on intensive interdisciplinary research.
The Pamplin College of Business undergraduate program was ranked 42nd (2011) among the nation's undergraduate business programs and 10th among public institutions. Pamplin's overall ranking places it in the top 10 percent of the approximately 524 U.S. undergraduate programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.
Virginia Tech was also recognized as having one of the top 14 cooperative education and internship programs in the nation.
Virginia Tech ranks in the top 20 public colleges and universities nationally among colleges that offer a first-class educational experience at a bargain price, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.
Virginia Tech's endowment is managed by the Virginia Tech Foundation, and as of 2007 total assets, gifts, and funds equal $524.7 million. Virginia Tech's operating budget for the 2009–2010 school year is $1.032 billion. The 2009–2010 budget represents a $20-Million increase from the previous school year.
The architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture programs in Virginia Tech's College of Architecture and Urban Studies are ranked among the very best in America. In its 2010 "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools" report, DesignIntelligence (the only national college ranking survey focused exclusively on design) ranked the undergraduate architecture program 4th nationally among both public and private universities. The graduate architecture program ranked 8th in the nation. DesignIntelligence ranked the university's undergraduate landscape architecture program No. 1 in the nation and its graduate landscape architecture program No. 2. (In addition, DesignIntelligence ranked the university's undergraduate interior design program 7th, and undergraduate industrial design program 11th.)
The Planetizen 2012 Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs ranks Virginia Tech's MURP program as 19th. It is the most well ranked program in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Appalachian region. This latest edition features new listings of the top master's degree programs in urban planning, as well as updated profiles for 100 planning programs in the U.S. and Canada. Virginia Tech's MURP program performed well overall and was also rated among the best programs in Technology, Land Use Planning, Environmental Planning, and Growth Management.
Programs in the College of Natural Resources consistently rank among the top of their type in the nation. The college's wildlife program is ranked first by its peers, and the fisheries program is ranked second. In a recently published study of the research impact of North American forestry programs, the Journal of Forestry ranked Virginia Tech's programs second on the perceptions-based composite score and third on the citations- and publications-based index. The wood science and forest products program is listed as an accredited program by the Society of Wood Science and Technology or SWST, and is recognized as one of the top programs in its category in North America. Virginia Tech is classified as a "RU/VH" (research university with very high research activity) under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at Virginia Tech has become the nation's largest collegiate relay. For 10 years, Virginia Tech students have organized Relay For Life, a community-wide, campus-based movement dedicated to raising money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. Virginia Tech received the Gordy Klatt award for achieving No. 1 net income for the 2009–2010 Nationwide Youth/College Relay For Life for the second year in a row. Raising $582,194, the 2009–2010 event has also won awards for top college in participation per capita, top online event for raising $417,428, and greatest number of survivors present, with 136 in attendance. The event truly captures the spirt of the Hokie nation and its commitment to service - Ut Prosim.
Virginia Tech has six main research institutes:
(VBI) is a premier bioinformatics
, computational biology
, and systems biology
research facility that opened on the Blacksburg campus of Virginia Tech in 2000. It houses over two-hundred employees, multiple supercomputing clusters, and several DNA sequencers, including a massively parallel high-throughput Roche GS-FLX sequencer.
The research platform of VBI focuses on the "disease triangle" of host-pathogen-environment interactions. By using bioinformatics
, which combines transdisciplinary approaches to information technology and biology, researchers at VBI interpret and apply vast amounts of biological data generated from basic research to some of today's key challenges in the biomedical, environmental
and agricultural sciences.
Work at VBI involves collaboration in diverse disciplines such as mathematics
, epidemiology
, computer science
, biology
, plant pathology, biochemistry
, systems biology
, statistics
, economics
and synthetic biology
. The institute develops genomic, proteomic and bioinformatic tools that can be applied to the study of infectious diseases as well as the discovery of new vaccine, drug and diagnostic targets.
VTTI conducts applied research to address transportation challenges from various perspectives: vehicle, driver, infrastructure, materials, and environment.
Facilities include the 2.2-mile, two-lane, fully instrumented “Smart Road” and more than 51,000 square feet of office and specialized laboratory space including an asphalt lab, fully equipped garages, instrumentation bays, and a machine shop for working on VTTI’s vehicle fleet.
ICTAS is also dedicated to promoting economic development in the Commonwealth of Virginia by investing in strategic technical leadership and state-of-the-art laboratory space, and provides financial support to accelerate growth in scholarship, research expenditures, and national recognition.
The seven-floor, 144,000-square-foot Virginia Tech Research Center – Arlington is U.S. Green Council LEED-certified. The exterior of the building, designed by Cooper Carry, features first floor amenities which include retail, exhibits, an outdoor terrace restaurant, and abundant green space. The interior, designed by Gensler, includes computational laboratories, offices, and a conference center to accommodate meetings, forums, symposia, and other events. The second floor conference center is available to the science and technology communities throughout the region for meetings and events not specifically related to the university, and two of the seven floors in the building not occupied by Virginia Tech are available for commercial lease.
The building is among the best connected research facilities in the world, incorporating next-generation Internet with direct fiber access to National LambdaRail, Internet 2, and multiple federal networks. High-performance connectivity links this research center to Virginia Tech's main campus in Blacksburg, as well as to other major universities. The network provides access to international peering points in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Florida, and the building includes a secure data center for high performance computing (HPC)-based research.
A number of established Virginia Tech research centers and institutes are located in this facility
The Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
(VCOM) was started in 2003 by Virginia Tech and the Harvey W. Peters Research Foundation. VCOM is located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center,as a private, non-profit institution with no state interest, but it is very closely affiliated with Virginia Tech on an operational level. VCOM performs a significant portion of its research in conjunction with Virginia Tech, and their results count as part of Virginia Tech's institutional total.
The Virginia Tech–Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences partners the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and the Virginia- Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Virginia Tech’s research includes biomechanics, cellular transport, computational modeling, biomaterials, bioheat and mass transfer, biofluid mechanics, instrumentation, ergonomics, and tissue engineering.
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. (VTIP) was established as a nonprofit corporation in 1985 to support the research mission of the university by protecting and licensing intellectual properties that result from research performed by Virginia Tech faculty and staff members and students. During fiscal year 2010, 37 U.S. patents and seven foreign patents were awarded to VTIP, and 45 license and option agreements were signed. Additionally, Virginia Tech ranked 10th among universities globally in the IEEE Spectrum Patent Power Scorecards, which analyzed the strength of patent portfolios for calendar year 2009.
The Virginia Tech campus
is located in Blacksburg, Virginia
. The central campus is roughly bordered by Prices Fork Road to the northwest, Plantation Drive to the west, Main Street to the east, and US 460 Bypass to the south, though it has several thousand acres beyond the central campus.
In the center of the Blacksburg campus lies the Drillfield, a large oval field running Northeast to Southwest, encircled by a one way street known as Drillfield Drive. The Drillfield's name stems from its use by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets
to conduct military drills. Two underground rivers underneath the drillfield cause it to gradually sink, making the land unsuitable for building and protecting it as an open space on campus. On the northwestern side of the Drillfield lies the majority of the academic and administrative buildings, including Burruss and McBryde halls. On the southeastern side of the Drillfield lies the majority of the residential buildings, including the residence halls, dining halls, and War Memorial Gym. Newman Library is located on the eastern side of campus and connects to Torgersen Bridge, which spans the main road into campus, Alumni Mall. North of the Drillfield and northwest of Alumni Mall lies the Upper Quad, known to many students as military campus. The Upper Quad is home to the Corps of Cadets' barracks and Shultz Dining center.
On the Blacksburg campus, the majority of the buildings incorporate Hokie Stone
as building material. In fact, it is now official university policy that all new buildings must incorporate the stone into their design. Hokie Stone is generally gray, shaded by hues of brown and pink. The limestone is mined from various quarries in Southwestern Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama - one of which has been operated by the university since the 1950s. However, while it is true that the majority of buildings on campus incorporate Hokie Stone into their design, there are a few notable exceptions. For example, all buildings in the Upper Quad, which includes Lane and Shultz Halls, are constructed of red brick. Also, a number of academic buildings were not constructed using Hokie Stone, as they were built before the institution of the rule mandating its use in all new university buildings.
es in Hampton Roads
(Virginia Beach
), the National Capital Region (Northern Virginia Center Falls Church
and Urban Affairs & Planning Program (Masters and Ph.D. in urban and regional planning) at its Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
) campus, Richmond
, Roanoke
, and the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon
.
Supporting the university's missions in the National Capital Region, Virginia Tech has established collaborations and partnerships with local and federal agencies, nonprofit research organizations, businesses, and other institutions of higher education.
Current locations include Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church, Leesburg, Manassas, and Middleburg.
campus center and base for operations and support of its programs in the region. The center’s location in Ticino
, the Italian
-speaking canton of Switzerland, is also close to major northern Italian
cities such as Milan
.
Until 1932, every able-bodied male was required to participate for four years in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. The requirement was changed to two years until 1964, when participation became voluntary. Virginia Tech remains one of three public universities in the country (Texas A&M and North Georgia College and State University are the others) with both an active corps of cadets and "civilian" lifestyle on its campus.
More than 750 cadets reside within the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Community, also known as the cadet barracks within the corps. The corps community is located in the historical Upper Quad, which features some of the oldest buildings on campus, with original structures dating back as far as the late 1800's.
The “e” was added to “Hoki” some time later, either for looks or to forestall mispronunciation of the word that Stull said he created as an attention-grabber in the cheer, which became known as “Old Hokie.”
In 1896, VAMC athletes wore black and cadet-gray uniforms. Since the university had a new name and a new yell, new college colors seemed to be a desirable next step. During 1896, a committee was formed to find a suitable combination of colors. The committee selected burnt orange and Chicago maroon after discovering that no other college used the combination. Burnt orange and Chicago maroon were officially adopted and were first worn during a football game versus nearby Roanoke College on Oct. 26, 1896.
In 1991, Virginia Tech adopted a university logo, which incorporates an image of the War Memorial with its eight pylons, each representing a different virtue. The inclusion of the numerals "1872," the founding year of the university, reinforces the traditions of more than a century of service to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world. The logo was updated in 2006 to incorporate the university's tagline--Invent the Future.
The university also has an athletic logo: a streamlined VT, which is used only for sports and sports merchandise. Unveiled in 1984, the athletic logo is a composite of designs submitted by two Virginia Tech art students--Lisa Eichler of Chesapeake, Va., and Chris Craft of Roanoke, Va.--to a competition sponsored by the university's art department.
In 1913, Floyd Meade, a local resident known as “Hard Times,” was chosen by VPI students to serve as the school’s mascot. Since the athletic teams had been called Gobblers for several years, Meade trained a large turkey to gobble on command and paraded it on the sidelines during football games. The first costumed Gobbler took the field in the fall of 1962. In the late 1970s and into the 1980s, a football coach seeking to de-emphasize the Gobblers’ presumed allusion to the athletes’ reputation for gobbling down their food promoted the Hokies nickname instead. The costume worn by today's HokieBird made its first appearance in 1987. HokieBird has won national mascot competitions and has been so popular that the mascot landed an appearance on Animal Planet's "Turkey Secrets."
Various cannons have been used off and on for years at Virginia Tech, but in the 1960s one student formally proposed to the student governing body that a cannon be acquired to fire at football games. The proposal was approved but was not pursued further. Two cadets from the class of 1964 made a pact at a traditional VPI-VMI Thanksgiving Day game that they would build a cannon for Virginia Tech to outshine--or outblast--VMI's "Little John." The cadets, Alton B. "Butch" Harper Jr. and Homer Hadley "Sonny" Hickam
(of October Sky fame), were tired of hearing VMI keydets chant, "Where's your cannon?" after firing their own. They named the cannon--"Skipper"--to honor President John Kennedy, who had just been assassinated. President Kennedy had been the skipper of a PT-boat.
On its first firing at the next game with VMI, the eager cadets tripled the charge, which blew the hats off half the VMI keydets and shook the glass in the press-box windows of Roanoke's Victory Stadium. They never heard the VMI chant again. Today, Skipper is fired outside Lane Stadium when the football team enters the field and when it scores.
Virginia Tech's sports teams are called the Hokies
, except for the swim team which uses a variant ("H2Okies"). Tech teams participate in the NCAA
's Division I in the Atlantic Coast Conference
, which the school joined in 2004 after leaving the Big East
. Along with all other ACC schools, Tech's football
team competes in Division I FBS, the higher of two levels of Division I competition in that sport.
The Hokie Bird
is a turkey
-like creature whose form has evolved from the original school mascot of the Fighting Gobbler. While the modern Hokie Bird still resembles a Fighting Gobbler, the word "Hokie" has all but replaced Fighting Gobbler in terms of colloquial use. The term originated from the Old Hokie
spirit yell, in which there was no particular meaning indicated for the word.
The stylized VT (the abbreviation for Virginia Tech) is used primarily by the athletic department as a symbol for Virginia Tech athletic teams. The "athletic VT" symbol is trademark
ed by the university and appears frequently on licensed merchandise.
During the early years of VPI, a rivalry developed between it and Virginia Military Institute
. This rivalry developed into the original "Military Classic of the South," an annual football game between VMI and VPI usually held on Thanksgiving Day
in Roanoke, Virginia
. That series ended after the 1984 season; VMI had elected to play at the Division I-AA level, now Division I FCS, after the NCAA's 1978 divisional split for football, and the schools' wide disparity in size had led to a similar imbalance in results. Another long-standing and important rivalry is between Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia
. The Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry
strengthened in concurrence with both UVA's and Tech's growth during the 1960s and 1970s and this is now the Hokies' primary program-wide athletic rivalry. The two schools compete in football for the Governor's "Commonwealth Cup" each season.
Virginia Tech's fight song
, Tech Triumph
, was written in 1919 and remains in use today. Tech Triumph is played at sporting events by both the Virginia Tech band, The Marching Virginians, and the Corps of Cadets' band, the Highty Tighties. The Old Hokie
spirit yell, written in 1896 and used to this day, is familiar to many Virginia Tech fans. This chant is also where the word Hoki (since modified to "Hokie") originally appeared.
, who retired as the Virginia Tech baseball
coach in 2006, finished his career as the fourth winningest coach in Division I baseball history with a 1,444-816-8 record, including a 961-591-18 mark in his 28 seasons at Tech, the best record of any baseball coach in history at Tech. Peter Hughes from Boston College is now the new coach for Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech's men's basketball
team has seen a resurgence of fan support since the arrival of coach Seth Greenberg
in 2003-04 and its entry into the ACC
in 2004-05. Prior to Coach Greenberg's arrival in Blacksburg, the Virginia Tech men had not had a winning season since the 1995–1996 season when they received a bid to the NCAA tournament
, and the team did not even make the Big East tournament its first three seasons in the conference. Greenberg's squad finally made the Big East tournament in 2003-04, then a year later scored their first postseason berth in nine years when they made the NIT in 2004-05 as a first-year ACC school. In the 2006-07 season
, Greenberg's Hokies finished with a 10–6 record in the ACC and 22-12 record overall, earning its first NCAA tournament berth in 11 years, and reaching the NCAA second round before losing to Southern Illinois
.
, is a fixture in postseason play, having received a berth to the NCAA tournament
each season from 2003 to 2006. Virginia Tech's women have been in postseason play every year since the 1997-98 season, Bonnie Henrickson
's first season as the head coach of the Hokies, earning seven NCAA berths and three NIT appearances during that stretch.
Both basketball teams play their home games in Cassell Coliseum
.
Virginia Tech's football team plays home games in Lane Stadium
. Having a capacity of 66,233, it is relatively small in comparison to many other top FBS stadiums, yet it is still considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country. In 2005, it was recognized by rivals.com
as having the best home field advantage in college football.
Head coach Frank Beamer
has become one of the winningest currently active head coaches in FBS football with 198 wins following the 2010 season
. Beamer's teams are known for solid special teams play (called Beamer Ball) and for tough defenses headed by defensive coordinator Bud Foster
. The Hokies currently have the fourth longest bowl streak in the country, having participated in bowl games in each of the last 16 seasons. Since the 1995 season, the Hokies have finished with a top-10 ranking five times, won seven conference championships (three Big East
and four ACC
), and played once for the national championship, losing to Florida State
46–29 in the 2000 Sugar Bowl
. Currently Virginia Tech is the only team to have 7 straight 10-win seasons in FBS football. Annually, Virginia Tech plays its traditional rival, the University of Virginia
, for the Commonwealth Cup
.
and was the soccer team's most successful season. The Hokies finished the 2007 regular season ranked third nationally.
of Virginia Tech. It was composed in 1919 by Wilfred Pete Maddux (class of 1920) and Mattie Eppes (Boggs). Wilfred Preston ("Pete") Maddux, a trombone and baritone player in the Virginia Tech Regimental Band (member of the band from the Fall of 1917 to 1919), jointly composed Tech Triumph
(1985 recording - link updated 2008) in 1919 along with Mattie Walton Eppes (Boggs). Mattie Eppes was a neighbor of Pete in his hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia
. When he was home, Pete would often play violin with Mattie accompanying him on the piano. One evening in the summer of 1919, Pete asked her to help him compose a fight song for VPI. She played the tune and Pete wrote out the score and the words for two verses in a single evening. Pete Maddox is not listed in the yearbook with the band after 1919. Ms. Eppes later married John C. Boggs, Superintendent of Randolph-Macon Military Academy
.
The song was first performed on Saturday, November 1, 1919, at the Fair Grounds in Lynchburg, Virginia
before the football game between V.P.I. and Washington and Lee University
. According to the report in the November 5, 1919, issue of The Virginia Tech, there were problems with obtaining uniforms for the entire Corps, so only the junior and senior classes, along with the band, were able to attend the game. The cadets arrived by train in Lynchburg at 11:30 a.m. and headed to the Carroll Hotel, which was V.P.I. headquarters. At 1 p.m., the cadets paraded through the streets of Lynchburg, then headed to the car barn to board street cars for the trip to the Fair Grounds.
"On arriving at the grounds, the battalion was formed for the review on the football field. After passing in review before the grandstand, the four companies formed a hollow square with the band in the center, and the band played our new song, 'Tech Triumph.'"
The following school year, as noted in the June 2, 1920, edition of The Virginia Tech, "After a great deal of trouble, to say nothing of the expense incurred, the Monogram Club has succeeded in placing the "Tech Triumph" upon a Columbia record
, and we are told that the greatest college song on "record" will be out during Finals."
The popularity of the song continued, as reported in the November 3, 1920, edition of The Virginia Tech. "The song has been a great success, not only as a school song, but also as a popular selection, and is featured as such by many dance orchestras. J. N. Walker, who has been handling the sale of the records and piano copies for the Monogram Club, has received another supply of both the records and the sheet music, which are now on sale at 256 G Division. The price remains the same as formerly, $1.25 for the record and 35 cents for the piano copies. Anyone who has failed to obtain either the record or the sheet music is urged to do so at once, as the supply is not expected to last long."
Land-grant university
Land-grant universities are institutions of higher education in the United States designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890....
university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.
Founded in 1872 as an agricultural and mechanical land-grant college, Virginia Tech is a research university with the largest full-time student population in Virginia and one of the few public universities
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
in the United States that maintains a corps of cadets
Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets
The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets is the military component of the student body at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Cadets live together in dormitories, march to meals in formation, wear a distinctive uniform on campus, and receive an intensive military and leadership...
.
The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
Virginia Tech has the largest number of degree offerings in Virginia, more than 125 campus buildings, a 2,600-acre main campus, off-campus educational facilities in six regions, a study-abroad site in Switzerland, and a 1,700-acre agriculture research farm near the main campus. The main Virginia Tech campus is located in the New River Valley
New River Valley
The New River Valley is a region in the eastern United States along the New River in the Commonwealth of Virginia . The valley comprises the counties of Montgomery , Pulaski, Floyd, Giles and the independent City of Radford...
in the valley and ridge
Ridge-and-valley Appalachians
The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending from southeastern New York through northwestern New...
physiographic region of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
in southwestern
Southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or...
Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, a few miles from the Jefferson National Forest
George Washington and Jefferson National Forests
The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests are U.S. National Forests that combine to form one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. They cover of land in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky...
in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 83,629 people, 30,997 households, and 17,203 families residing in the county. The population density was 215 people per square mile . There were 32,527 housing units at an average density of 84 per square mile...
.
The Board of Visitors is the governing authority for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Board is composed of 14 members, 13 of whom are appointed by the Governor. The 14th member is the President of the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who serves ex officio. Each year, an undergraduate student and a graduate student are selected through a competitive review process to serve as non-voting representatives to the board.
Academics
Virginia Tech offers about 65 bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
programs through its seven undergraduate academic colleges, 145 master's and doctoral degree programs through the Graduate School, and a professional degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine is a state-supported college of two states, Virginia and Maryland, filling the need for veterinary medicine education in both states. Students from both states are considered "in-state" students for admissions purposes.VMRCVM is one of...
. In addition, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute, a private, independent school jointly managed by the university and Carilion Health System, opened in fall 2010. The undergraduate academic colleges and schools are as follows:
- College of Agriculture and Life SciencesVirginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life SciencesThe College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is one of eight colleges at Virginia Tech with a three-part mission of learning, discovery, and engagement. It has more than 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students in a dozen academic departments. In 2009, the National Science Foundation ranked...
- College of Architecture and Urban Studies
- College of Liberal Arts and Human SciencesVirginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human SciencesThe College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech comprises two schools, 14 departments, and the Corps of Cadets’ ROTC programs. The college also has connections to research facilities and local community service organizations through which students can earn experience in major...
- Pamplin College of Business
- College of Engineering
- College of Natural Resources and EnvironmentVirginia Tech College of Natural Resources and EnvironmentThe College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech contains academic programs in forestry, fisheries, wildlife sciences, geography, and wood science. The college contains four departments as well as a graduate program in the National Capital Region and a leadership institute for...
- College of ScienceVirginia Tech College of ScienceThe College of Science at Virginia Tech contains academic programs in biology, chemistry, economics, geosciences, mathematics, physics, psychology, and statistics. In 2010-11, the College of Science consisted of 339 faculty members and 4,370 students...
- Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary MedicineVirginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary MedicineThe Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine is a state-supported college of two states, Virginia and Maryland, filling the need for veterinary medicine education in both states. Students from both states are considered "in-state" students for admissions purposes.VMRCVM is one of...
- Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute
Admissions
Virginia Tech received 20,083 applications for the fall 2011 freshman class. The typical student who was offered admission had a high-school grade point average of 4.00, with the middle 50 percent being between 3.81 and 4.24. The average cumulative SAT reasoning test score was 1250, with a middle range of 1160 to 1340. The Undergraduate Admissions office is located at the Visitor and Undergraduate Admissions Center.During the 2009-10 academic year, the Graduate School at Virginia Tech enrolled 6,947 graduate students university-wide in its master’s and doctoral programs.
The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine received over 2,300 applications for an incoming class size of 42.
In addition to its academic colleges, Virginia Tech also has a university-wide honors program known as University Honors. University Honors provides accepted honors students eleven different ways to earn honors credits towards one of the six honors degree options. A small percentage of University Honors students are also invited to live in one of the two honors residential halls, the Honors Residential College (HRC) located in East Ambler-Johnston and the Hillcrest Honors Community. Honors students must have a cumulative 3.6 GPA for acceptance into the program and are required to maintain a 3.5 GPA after admittance in order to remain in the program.
Rankings
In the U.S. News & World Report's 「Best Colleges 2011」, Virginia Tech ranked 69th among national universities and 30th among national public universities.In a more recent report, the Virginia Tech College of Engineering undergraduate program was ranked 13th in the nation (tied with Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison) among all accredited engineering schools that offer doctorates and seventh among engineering schools at public universities.
Six Virginia Tech undergraduate engineering specialties ranked among the top 20 of their respective peer programs (aerospace engineering, 10th; civil engineering, 7th; electrical engineering, 17th; engineering science and mechanics, 8th; environmental engineering, 9th; industrial engineering, 4th; and mechanical engineering, 14th, Biological System Engineering, 8th). Its graduate program in Engineering is considered among the first 20 in US, among all public and private universities, with strong emphasis on intensive interdisciplinary research.
The Pamplin College of Business undergraduate program was ranked 42nd (2011) among the nation's undergraduate business programs and 10th among public institutions. Pamplin's overall ranking places it in the top 10 percent of the approximately 524 U.S. undergraduate programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.
Virginia Tech was also recognized as having one of the top 14 cooperative education and internship programs in the nation.
Virginia Tech ranks in the top 20 public colleges and universities nationally among colleges that offer a first-class educational experience at a bargain price, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.
Virginia Tech's endowment is managed by the Virginia Tech Foundation, and as of 2007 total assets, gifts, and funds equal $524.7 million. Virginia Tech's operating budget for the 2009–2010 school year is $1.032 billion. The 2009–2010 budget represents a $20-Million increase from the previous school year.
The architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture programs in Virginia Tech's College of Architecture and Urban Studies are ranked among the very best in America. In its 2010 "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools" report, DesignIntelligence (the only national college ranking survey focused exclusively on design) ranked the undergraduate architecture program 4th nationally among both public and private universities. The graduate architecture program ranked 8th in the nation. DesignIntelligence ranked the university's undergraduate landscape architecture program No. 1 in the nation and its graduate landscape architecture program No. 2. (In addition, DesignIntelligence ranked the university's undergraduate interior design program 7th, and undergraduate industrial design program 11th.)
The Planetizen 2012 Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs ranks Virginia Tech's MURP program as 19th. It is the most well ranked program in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Appalachian region. This latest edition features new listings of the top master's degree programs in urban planning, as well as updated profiles for 100 planning programs in the U.S. and Canada. Virginia Tech's MURP program performed well overall and was also rated among the best programs in Technology, Land Use Planning, Environmental Planning, and Growth Management.
Programs in the College of Natural Resources consistently rank among the top of their type in the nation. The college's wildlife program is ranked first by its peers, and the fisheries program is ranked second. In a recently published study of the research impact of North American forestry programs, the Journal of Forestry ranked Virginia Tech's programs second on the perceptions-based composite score and third on the citations- and publications-based index. The wood science and forest products program is listed as an accredited program by the Society of Wood Science and Technology or SWST, and is recognized as one of the top programs in its category in North America. Virginia Tech is classified as a "RU/VH" (research university with very high research activity) under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at Virginia Tech has become the nation's largest collegiate relay. For 10 years, Virginia Tech students have organized Relay For Life, a community-wide, campus-based movement dedicated to raising money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. Virginia Tech received the Gordy Klatt award for achieving No. 1 net income for the 2009–2010 Nationwide Youth/College Relay For Life for the second year in a row. Raising $582,194, the 2009–2010 event has also won awards for top college in participation per capita, top online event for raising $417,428, and greatest number of survivors present, with 136 in attendance. The event truly captures the spirt of the Hokie nation and its commitment to service - Ut Prosim.
Research
For fiscal year 2009, Virginia Tech ranked 44th in the nation with total research and development expenditures of $396.7 million, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF). In fiscal year 2010, the university received 2,472 awards to conduct research.Virginia Tech has six main research institutes:
- Fralin Life Science Institute
- Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS)
- Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment (ISCE)
- Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech
- Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute (VTCRI)
- Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI)
Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI)
The Virginia Bioinformatics InstituteVirginia Bioinformatics Institute
The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech is a bioinformatics, computational biology, and systems biology research facility that uses transdisciplinary approaches combining information technology, biology and medicine to interpret and apply vast amounts of biological data generated...
(VBI) is a premier bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
, computational biology
Computational biology
Computational biology involves the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavioral, and social systems...
, and systems biology
Systems biology
Systems biology is a term used to describe a number of trends in bioscience research, and a movement which draws on those trends. Proponents describe systems biology as a biology-based inter-disciplinary study field that focuses on complex interactions in biological systems, claiming that it uses...
research facility that opened on the Blacksburg campus of Virginia Tech in 2000. It houses over two-hundred employees, multiple supercomputing clusters, and several DNA sequencers, including a massively parallel high-throughput Roche GS-FLX sequencer.
The research platform of VBI focuses on the "disease triangle" of host-pathogen-environment interactions. By using bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
, which combines transdisciplinary approaches to information technology and biology, researchers at VBI interpret and apply vast amounts of biological data generated from basic research to some of today's key challenges in the biomedical, environmental
Environmental science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems...
and agricultural sciences.
Work at VBI involves collaboration in diverse disciplines such as mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, plant pathology, biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
, systems biology
Systems biology
Systems biology is a term used to describe a number of trends in bioscience research, and a movement which draws on those trends. Proponents describe systems biology as a biology-based inter-disciplinary study field that focuses on complex interactions in biological systems, claiming that it uses...
, statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and synthetic biology
Synthetic biology
Synthetic biology is a new area of biological research that combines science and engineering. It encompasses a variety of different approaches, methodologies, and disciplines with a variety of definitions...
. The institute develops genomic, proteomic and bioinformatic tools that can be applied to the study of infectious diseases as well as the discovery of new vaccine, drug and diagnostic targets.
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI)
The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), which began as the Center for Transportation Research in 1988, employs almost 300 personnel and has $26.7 million in research awards. VTTI’s mission is to save lives, time, and money for the transportation industry. As the National Surface Transportation Safety Center for Excellence, VTTI develops and tests advanced transportation safety devices, techniques, and innovative applications.VTTI conducts applied research to address transportation challenges from various perspectives: vehicle, driver, infrastructure, materials, and environment.
Facilities include the 2.2-mile, two-lane, fully instrumented “Smart Road” and more than 51,000 square feet of office and specialized laboratory space including an asphalt lab, fully equipped garages, instrumentation bays, and a machine shop for working on VTTI’s vehicle fleet.
Fralin Life Science Institute
The Fralin Life Science Institute expanded from the Fralin Biotechnology Center, established in 1991. Its mission is to increase the quality, quantity, and competitiveness of life science research, education, and outreach at Virginia Tech by coalescing resources around existing and emerging strengths within the life science community. The institute invests in researchers investigating vector-borne disease, infectious disease, obesity, inflammation, and cell biology.Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS)
Since 2005, the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) has made efforts to build capacity at the intersection of engineering, science, biology, and the humanities. Thrust areas include nanoscale science and engineering, nano-bio interface, sustainable energy, safe and sustainable water, national security, cognition and communication systems, renewable materials, and emerging technologies.ICTAS is also dedicated to promoting economic development in the Commonwealth of Virginia by investing in strategic technical leadership and state-of-the-art laboratory space, and provides financial support to accelerate growth in scholarship, research expenditures, and national recognition.
Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment (ISCE)
The Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment (ISCE) was created in 2007 to support interdisciplinary research and scholarship that addresses social and individual transformation. ISCE seeks to strengthen the university’s competitive position in the social sciences, humanities, and the arts; applying Virginia Tech's technological know-how to social issues and cultural opportunities; and providing support for grant writing and aligning faculty expertise with funding sources. The global issues initiative is researching trade policies and poverty in Pakistan and the Philippines, and the implications of agricultural subsidies in eight countries, among other issues. A special-interest group is promoting community/public health research, including prioritizing regional health issues and intervention strategies.Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
The Virginia Tech Carilion Medical Research Institute is an integral component of the new medical research and education initiative embodied by the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute (VTC). This partnership combines opportunities in biomedical education and basic, translational, and clinical research with a collaborative interdisciplinary perspective. Research is aimed at understanding the fundamental processes that give rise to healthy lives and the disorders that can compromise those processes, and at development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics. Research institute investigators also contribute to discovery by training tomorrow’s physician-researchers.Virginia Tech Research Center-Arlington (VTRC-A)
The Virginia Tech Research Center – Arlington opened at 900 N. Glebe Road in June 2011. The highly visible state-of-the-art facility aims to further the university’s mission to expand its research portfolio in the National Capital Region. The region offers great opportunity for partnerships with corporate research entities and close proximity to government agencies and other public and private-sector organizations. The building is located in the Ballston area of Arlington, a short distance from many leading science and research agencies of the federal government and many high-technology companies.The seven-floor, 144,000-square-foot Virginia Tech Research Center – Arlington is U.S. Green Council LEED-certified. The exterior of the building, designed by Cooper Carry, features first floor amenities which include retail, exhibits, an outdoor terrace restaurant, and abundant green space. The interior, designed by Gensler, includes computational laboratories, offices, and a conference center to accommodate meetings, forums, symposia, and other events. The second floor conference center is available to the science and technology communities throughout the region for meetings and events not specifically related to the university, and two of the seven floors in the building not occupied by Virginia Tech are available for commercial lease.
The building is among the best connected research facilities in the world, incorporating next-generation Internet with direct fiber access to National LambdaRail, Internet 2, and multiple federal networks. High-performance connectivity links this research center to Virginia Tech's main campus in Blacksburg, as well as to other major universities. The network provides access to international peering points in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Florida, and the building includes a secure data center for high performance computing (HPC)-based research.
A number of established Virginia Tech research centers and institutes are located in this facility
Other areas of research
Other areas of research occurring throughout the university’s colleges and interdisciplinary groups include high-performance computing; advanced materials; wireless telecommunication; housing; human and animal health; cognition, development, and behavior; the environment; and energy, including power electronics, biofuels, fuel cells, and solar-powered building structures.The Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine , formally named the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, is a private, non-profit osteopathic medical school with two campuses: the Virginia Campus located in Blacksburg, Virginia and the Carolinas Campus located in Spartanburg,...
(VCOM) was started in 2003 by Virginia Tech and the Harvey W. Peters Research Foundation. VCOM is located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center,as a private, non-profit institution with no state interest, but it is very closely affiliated with Virginia Tech on an operational level. VCOM performs a significant portion of its research in conjunction with Virginia Tech, and their results count as part of Virginia Tech's institutional total.
The Virginia Tech–Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences partners the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and the Virginia- Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Virginia Tech’s research includes biomechanics, cellular transport, computational modeling, biomaterials, bioheat and mass transfer, biofluid mechanics, instrumentation, ergonomics, and tissue engineering.
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. (VTIP) was established as a nonprofit corporation in 1985 to support the research mission of the university by protecting and licensing intellectual properties that result from research performed by Virginia Tech faculty and staff members and students. During fiscal year 2010, 37 U.S. patents and seven foreign patents were awarded to VTIP, and 45 license and option agreements were signed. Additionally, Virginia Tech ranked 10th among universities globally in the IEEE Spectrum Patent Power Scorecards, which analyzed the strength of patent portfolios for calendar year 2009.
Campus
Virginia Tech campus
The Virginia Tech campus is located in Blacksburg, Virginia; the central campus is roughly bordered by Prices Fork Road to the northwest, Plantation Drive to the west, Main Street to the east, and U.S. Route 460 bypass to the south, although it also has several thousand acres beyond the central...
is located in Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
. The central campus is roughly bordered by Prices Fork Road to the northwest, Plantation Drive to the west, Main Street to the east, and US 460 Bypass to the south, though it has several thousand acres beyond the central campus.
Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets
The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets is the military component of the student body at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Cadets live together in dormitories, march to meals in formation, wear a distinctive uniform on campus, and receive an intensive military and leadership...
to conduct military drills. Two underground rivers underneath the drillfield cause it to gradually sink, making the land unsuitable for building and protecting it as an open space on campus. On the northwestern side of the Drillfield lies the majority of the academic and administrative buildings, including Burruss and McBryde halls. On the southeastern side of the Drillfield lies the majority of the residential buildings, including the residence halls, dining halls, and War Memorial Gym. Newman Library is located on the eastern side of campus and connects to Torgersen Bridge, which spans the main road into campus, Alumni Mall. North of the Drillfield and northwest of Alumni Mall lies the Upper Quad, known to many students as military campus. The Upper Quad is home to the Corps of Cadets' barracks and Shultz Dining center.
On the Blacksburg campus, the majority of the buildings incorporate Hokie Stone
Hokie Stone
Hokie Stone is a grey dolomite limestone named for the Hokie mascot of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University where the stone is the primary finishing material on campus buildings. Hokie Stone is limestone infused with magnesium and calcium under intense pressure and temperature....
as building material. In fact, it is now official university policy that all new buildings must incorporate the stone into their design. Hokie Stone is generally gray, shaded by hues of brown and pink. The limestone is mined from various quarries in Southwestern Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama - one of which has been operated by the university since the 1950s. However, while it is true that the majority of buildings on campus incorporate Hokie Stone into their design, there are a few notable exceptions. For example, all buildings in the Upper Quad, which includes Lane and Shultz Halls, are constructed of red brick. Also, a number of academic buildings were not constructed using Hokie Stone, as they were built before the institution of the rule mandating its use in all new university buildings.
Extended campuses
The university has established branch campusCampus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
es in Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
(Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
), the National Capital Region (Northern Virginia Center Falls Church
Falls Church, Virginia
The City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...
and Urban Affairs & Planning Program (Masters and Ph.D. in urban and regional planning) at its Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
) campus, Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
, and the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon
Abingdon, Virginia
Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, USA, 133 miles southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark...
.
National Capital Region
Virginia Tech's presence in the National Capital Region links regional graduate education and outreach programs that are consistent with the university's strategic research areas of excellence: energy materials and environment, social and individual transformation, health, food, and nutrition, and innovative technologies and complex systems.Supporting the university's missions in the National Capital Region, Virginia Tech has established collaborations and partnerships with local and federal agencies, nonprofit research organizations, businesses, and other institutions of higher education.
Current locations include Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church, Leesburg, Manassas, and Middleburg.
The Caribbean Center for Education and Research (CCER)
Located on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean Center for Education and Research (CCER) in Punta Cana provides a base for Virginia Tech faculty to conduct research as well as instruct students on biodiversity, environmental and social sustainability, global issues in natural resources, and hotel and tourism management. The center is the product of a partnership between Virginia Tech and the PUNTACANA Ecological Foundation (PCEF) and the PUNTACANA Resort and Club. PCEF maintains a 2,000-acre natural forest reserve, 14 kilometers of protected coral reef, freshwater lagoons and coastal mangroves.Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA)
Virginia Tech’s Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA) is the university’s EuropeanEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
campus center and base for operations and support of its programs in the region. The center’s location in Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
, the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
-speaking canton of Switzerland, is also close to major northern Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
cities such as Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
Agricultural Research and Extension Centers
Virginia Tech has several agricultural research and extension centers located throughout the Commonwealth dedicated to improving agricultural practices and the quality of life of Virginia citizens. The Virginia Tech Agricultural Research and Extension Centers are: Alson H. Smith, Jr., Eastern Shore,Eastern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Middleburg, Northern Piedmont, Reynolds Homestead, Shenandoah Valley, Southern Piedmont, Southwest Virginia, Tidewater, and Virginia Seafood.Residential life
More than 9,000 Virginia Tech students reside on campus. A majority of the residential halls are located on the southwestern side of the Drillfield. Currently, there are twenty-nine residential halls housing undergraduate and graduate students.Corps of Cadets
More than 750 cadets reside within the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Community, also known as the cadet barracks within the corps. The corps community is located in the historical Upper Quad, which features some of the oldest buildings on campus, with original structures dating back as far as the late 1800's.
Traditions
Several Tech traditions date back to the late 19th century after the appointment of university president John M. McBryde. McBryde became president of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1891 and immediately began reorganizing the university's curriculum. He envisioned VAMC as more professional and technical. McBryde's vision and plan laid the foundation for modern-day Virginia Tech.What is a Hokie?
In 1896 the Virginia General Assembly officially changed VAMC’s name to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute. The name change called for a new school cheer. A contest was held to select a new spirit yell. O.M. Stull (Class of 1896) coined the term “Hokie” in the cheer he wrote for the competition, and won the $5 top prize.- Old Hokie
- Hoki, Hoki, Hoki, Hy.
- Techs, Techs, V.P.I.
- Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah.
- Polytechs- Vir-gin-ia.
- Rae, Ri, V.P.I.
The “e” was added to “Hoki” some time later, either for looks or to forestall mispronunciation of the word that Stull said he created as an attention-grabber in the cheer, which became known as “Old Hokie.”
In 1896, VAMC athletes wore black and cadet-gray uniforms. Since the university had a new name and a new yell, new college colors seemed to be a desirable next step. During 1896, a committee was formed to find a suitable combination of colors. The committee selected burnt orange and Chicago maroon after discovering that no other college used the combination. Burnt orange and Chicago maroon were officially adopted and were first worn during a football game versus nearby Roanoke College on Oct. 26, 1896.
Motto, Seal, and Logos
In 1896, the university adopted Ut Prosim, Latin for "That I May Serve," as its motto, and a college seal was developed. However, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors did not officially adopt the seal, which is still used, until 1963.In 1991, Virginia Tech adopted a university logo, which incorporates an image of the War Memorial with its eight pylons, each representing a different virtue. The inclusion of the numerals "1872," the founding year of the university, reinforces the traditions of more than a century of service to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world. The logo was updated in 2006 to incorporate the university's tagline--Invent the Future.
The university also has an athletic logo: a streamlined VT, which is used only for sports and sports merchandise. Unveiled in 1984, the athletic logo is a composite of designs submitted by two Virginia Tech art students--Lisa Eichler of Chesapeake, Va., and Chris Craft of Roanoke, Va.--to a competition sponsored by the university's art department.
From Gobbler to HokieBird
The origin of the term "Gobblers" is disputed, with one story claiming it was coined in the early 1900s as a description of how student athletes would "gobble" up their food. Another story attributes it to the fact that the 1909 football coach, Branch Bocock, wanted to encourage enthused spirit amongst his players and initiated them into a "Gobbler Club."In 1913, Floyd Meade, a local resident known as “Hard Times,” was chosen by VPI students to serve as the school’s mascot. Since the athletic teams had been called Gobblers for several years, Meade trained a large turkey to gobble on command and paraded it on the sidelines during football games. The first costumed Gobbler took the field in the fall of 1962. In the late 1970s and into the 1980s, a football coach seeking to de-emphasize the Gobblers’ presumed allusion to the athletes’ reputation for gobbling down their food promoted the Hokies nickname instead. The costume worn by today's HokieBird made its first appearance in 1987. HokieBird has won national mascot competitions and has been so popular that the mascot landed an appearance on Animal Planet's "Turkey Secrets."
Skipper Cannon
Homer Hickam
Homer Hadley Hickam, Jr. is an American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer. His autobiographical novel Rocket Boys: A Memoir, was a #1 New York Times Best Seller, is studied in many American and international school systems, and was the basis for the popular film October Sky...
(of October Sky fame), were tired of hearing VMI keydets chant, "Where's your cannon?" after firing their own. They named the cannon--"Skipper"--to honor President John Kennedy, who had just been assassinated. President Kennedy had been the skipper of a PT-boat.
On its first firing at the next game with VMI, the eager cadets tripled the charge, which blew the hats off half the VMI keydets and shook the glass in the press-box windows of Roanoke's Victory Stadium. They never heard the VMI chant again. Today, Skipper is fired outside Lane Stadium when the football team enters the field and when it scores.
Athletics
Virginia Tech Hokies
The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams officially representing Virginia Tech in college sports. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 19 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, basketball, baseball, cross country, golf, soccer,...
, except for the swim team which uses a variant ("H2Okies"). Tech teams participate in the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
's Division I in the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
, which the school joined in 2004 after leaving the Big East
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
. Along with all other ACC schools, Tech's football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team competes in Division I FBS, the higher of two levels of Division I competition in that sport.
The Hokie Bird
Hokie Bird
The HokieBird is the official mascot of Virginia Tech. It has been named as one of the top college football mascots in the United States, and spawned a series of children's books featuring college and pro sports mascots, including Hello, HokieBird, published by Mascot Books.-Gobblers:Fans of...
is a turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
-like creature whose form has evolved from the original school mascot of the Fighting Gobbler. While the modern Hokie Bird still resembles a Fighting Gobbler, the word "Hokie" has all but replaced Fighting Gobbler in terms of colloquial use. The term originated from the Old Hokie
Old Hokie
Old Hokie is a spirited cheer, often used by fans of Virginia Tech's athletic teams. It was coined by O.M. Stull in a winning student body contest entry to mark the changing of the university's name from Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College to Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1896...
spirit yell, in which there was no particular meaning indicated for the word.
The stylized VT (the abbreviation for Virginia Tech) is used primarily by the athletic department as a symbol for Virginia Tech athletic teams. The "athletic VT" symbol is trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ed by the university and appears frequently on licensed merchandise.
During the early years of VPI, a rivalry developed between it and Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
. This rivalry developed into the original "Military Classic of the South," an annual football game between VMI and VPI usually held on Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
in Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
. That series ended after the 1984 season; VMI had elected to play at the Division I-AA level, now Division I FCS, after the NCAA's 1978 divisional split for football, and the schools' wide disparity in size had led to a similar imbalance in results. Another long-standing and important rivalry is between Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. The Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry
Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry
The Virginia–Virginia Tech rivalry is an American college rivalry that exists between the Virginia Cavaliers sports teams of the University of Virginia and the Virginia Tech Hokies sports teams of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Both universities are members of the...
strengthened in concurrence with both UVA's and Tech's growth during the 1960s and 1970s and this is now the Hokies' primary program-wide athletic rivalry. The two schools compete in football for the Governor's "Commonwealth Cup" each season.
Virginia Tech's fight song
Fight song
A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
, Tech Triumph
Tech Triumph
"Tech Triumph" is the fight song of Virginia Tech. It was composed in 1919 by Wilfred Pete Maddux and Mattie Eppes .-Composers:...
, was written in 1919 and remains in use today. Tech Triumph is played at sporting events by both the Virginia Tech band, The Marching Virginians, and the Corps of Cadets' band, the Highty Tighties. The Old Hokie
Old Hokie
Old Hokie is a spirited cheer, often used by fans of Virginia Tech's athletic teams. It was coined by O.M. Stull in a winning student body contest entry to mark the changing of the university's name from Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College to Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1896...
spirit yell, written in 1896 and used to this day, is familiar to many Virginia Tech fans. This chant is also where the word Hoki (since modified to "Hokie") originally appeared.
Virginia Tech baseball
Chuck HartmanChuck Hartman
Chuck Hartman was the head baseball coach at Virginia Tech from 1979 until 2006. He completed his 47-year coaching career as the fourth winningest coach in Division I baseball history with a 1,444-816-8 record, including a 961-591-8 mark in his 28 seasons at Tech...
, who retired as the Virginia Tech baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
coach in 2006, finished his career as the fourth winningest coach in Division I baseball history with a 1,444-816-8 record, including a 961-591-18 mark in his 28 seasons at Tech, the best record of any baseball coach in history at Tech. Peter Hughes from Boston College is now the new coach for Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech basketball (men's)
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team has seen a resurgence of fan support since the arrival of coach Seth Greenberg
Seth Greenberg
Seth Greenberg is an American college basketball coach, and the current head coach for the Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team. Greenberg just finished his seventh season as head coach of the Hokies...
in 2003-04 and its entry into the ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
in 2004-05. Prior to Coach Greenberg's arrival in Blacksburg, the Virginia Tech men had not had a winning season since the 1995–1996 season when they received a bid to the NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
, and the team did not even make the Big East tournament its first three seasons in the conference. Greenberg's squad finally made the Big East tournament in 2003-04, then a year later scored their first postseason berth in nine years when they made the NIT in 2004-05 as a first-year ACC school. In the 2006-07 season
2006-07 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team
The 2006–07 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team that competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference, finishing the regular season as the third place team in the conference....
, Greenberg's Hokies finished with a 10–6 record in the ACC and 22-12 record overall, earning its first NCAA tournament berth in 11 years, and reaching the NCAA second round before losing to Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...
.
Virginia Tech basketball (women's)
Virginia Tech's women's basketball team, led by coach Beth DunkenbergerBeth Dunkenberger
Beth Dunkenberger has been the head women's basketball coach at Virginia Tech since 2004. In five seasons at the helm, she has guided the Hokies to three postseason appearances. The 2006 squad reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, and the 2007 team made it to the third round of the WNIT...
, is a fixture in postseason play, having received a berth to the NCAA tournament
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each April, the Women's Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season...
each season from 2003 to 2006. Virginia Tech's women have been in postseason play every year since the 1997-98 season, Bonnie Henrickson
Bonnie Henrickson
Bonnie Henrickson is the head women's college basketball coach at the University of Kansas. She was born in Willmar, Minnesota, and attended St. Cloud State University where she graduated in 1986...
's first season as the head coach of the Hokies, earning seven NCAA berths and three NIT appearances during that stretch.
Both basketball teams play their home games in Cassell Coliseum
Cassell Coliseum
Cassell Coliseum is a 9,847-seat multi-purpose arena in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States that opened in 1962. It is home to the Virginia Tech Hokies basketball teams .-History:...
.
Virginia Tech football
Lane Stadium
Lane Stadium/Worsham Field is a stadium located in Blacksburg, Virginia. It is the home field of the Virginia Tech Hokies. It was rated the number one home field advantage in all of college football in 2005 by Rivals.com...
. Having a capacity of 66,233, it is relatively small in comparison to many other top FBS stadiums, yet it is still considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country. In 2005, it was recognized by rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
as having the best home field advantage in college football.
Head coach Frank Beamer
Frank Beamer
Frank Beamer is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , a position he has held since 1987. From 1981 to 1986, Beamer served as the head coach at Murray State University...
has become one of the winningest currently active head coaches in FBS football with 198 wins following the 2010 season
2010 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
The 2010 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Hokies were led by 24th-year head coach Frank Beamer and played their home games at Lane Stadium...
. Beamer's teams are known for solid special teams play (called Beamer Ball) and for tough defenses headed by defensive coordinator Bud Foster
Bud Foster
Bud Foster is a college football assistant coach. He went to high school in Nokomis, Illinois. He is the current defensive coordinator for the Virginia Tech Hokies football team. Following the 2006 season, he received the Frank Broyles Award, which is annually given to the top assistant coach in...
. The Hokies currently have the fourth longest bowl streak in the country, having participated in bowl games in each of the last 16 seasons. Since the 1995 season, the Hokies have finished with a top-10 ranking five times, won seven conference championships (three Big East
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
and four ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
), and played once for the national championship, losing to Florida State
1999 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 1999 Florida State Seminoles football team was the national champion of the 1999 college football season. The team finished with a perfect 12-0 record, and was the first in NCAA history to go "wire-to-wire," being ranked continuously as the nation's #1 team from the preseason through the bowl...
46–29 in the 2000 Sugar Bowl
2000 Sugar Bowl
The 2000 Sugar Bowl was the designated Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game for the United States 1999 college football season and was played on January 4, 2000, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana...
. Currently Virginia Tech is the only team to have 7 straight 10-win seasons in FBS football. Annually, Virginia Tech plays its traditional rival, the University of Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers football
Virginia Cavaliers football is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I-FBS and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
, for the Commonwealth Cup
Commonwealth Cup
The Commonwealth Cup is an American college football rivalry game played between the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia and the Virginia Tech Hokies football team of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Typically, this series is played on a Saturday...
.
Virginia Tech soccer (men's)
Virginia Tech's men's soccer team has improved greatly since the arrival of Oliver Weiss, who has coached the team since 2000. Under Weiss, Tech has made four NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the College Cup in 2007. The Hokie's trip to the College Cup is the equivalent of men's basketball Final FourFinal four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
and was the soccer team's most successful season. The Hokies finished the 2007 regular season ranked third nationally.
Virginia Tech soccer (women's)
Women's soccer at Virginia Tech began in 1980 with two club teams under the guidance of Everett Germain and his two daughters, Betsy and Julie. Kelly Cagle was head coach from 2002 to 2010, leaving with a record of 76-70-15 and three consecutive NCAA trips. She was succeeded by Charles Adair.Virginia Tech softball
Virginia Tech Softball upset the USA national team in a 1-0 no hitter in 2008 and advanced to the Women's College World Series for the first time ever. Since then the program hasn't had a winning season.Fight song
Tech Triumph is the fight songFight song
A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
of Virginia Tech. It was composed in 1919 by Wilfred Pete Maddux (class of 1920) and Mattie Eppes (Boggs). Wilfred Preston ("Pete") Maddux, a trombone and baritone player in the Virginia Tech Regimental Band (member of the band from the Fall of 1917 to 1919), jointly composed Tech Triumph
Tech Triumph
"Tech Triumph" is the fight song of Virginia Tech. It was composed in 1919 by Wilfred Pete Maddux and Mattie Eppes .-Composers:...
(1985 recording - link updated 2008) in 1919 along with Mattie Walton Eppes (Boggs). Mattie Eppes was a neighbor of Pete in his hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
. When he was home, Pete would often play violin with Mattie accompanying him on the piano. One evening in the summer of 1919, Pete asked her to help him compose a fight song for VPI. She played the tune and Pete wrote out the score and the words for two verses in a single evening. Pete Maddox is not listed in the yearbook with the band after 1919. Ms. Eppes later married John C. Boggs, Superintendent of Randolph-Macon Military Academy
Randolph-Macon Academy
Founded in 1892, Randolph-Macon Academy is a coeducational college preparatory school for students in grades 6-12 and postgraduates in Virginia, USA. The school features both a boarding and day school program. Randolph-Macon Academy is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
.
The song was first performed on Saturday, November 1, 1919, at the Fair Grounds in Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
before the football game between V.P.I. and Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
. According to the report in the November 5, 1919, issue of The Virginia Tech, there were problems with obtaining uniforms for the entire Corps, so only the junior and senior classes, along with the band, were able to attend the game. The cadets arrived by train in Lynchburg at 11:30 a.m. and headed to the Carroll Hotel, which was V.P.I. headquarters. At 1 p.m., the cadets paraded through the streets of Lynchburg, then headed to the car barn to board street cars for the trip to the Fair Grounds.
"On arriving at the grounds, the battalion was formed for the review on the football field. After passing in review before the grandstand, the four companies formed a hollow square with the band in the center, and the band played our new song, 'Tech Triumph.'"
The following school year, as noted in the June 2, 1920, edition of The Virginia Tech, "After a great deal of trouble, to say nothing of the expense incurred, the Monogram Club has succeeded in placing the "Tech Triumph" upon a Columbia record
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, and we are told that the greatest college song on "record" will be out during Finals."
The popularity of the song continued, as reported in the November 3, 1920, edition of The Virginia Tech. "The song has been a great success, not only as a school song, but also as a popular selection, and is featured as such by many dance orchestras. J. N. Walker, who has been handling the sale of the records and piano copies for the Monogram Club, has received another supply of both the records and the sheet music, which are now on sale at 256 G Division. The price remains the same as formerly, $1.25 for the record and 35 cents for the piano copies. Anyone who has failed to obtain either the record or the sheet music is urged to do so at once, as the supply is not expected to last long."
Alumni
Since opening its doors in 1872 as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, Virginia Tech has produced scores of alumni whose contributions have bolstered the university’s reputation as a first-class institution across the nation and around the world.See also
- Cassell ColiseumCassell ColiseumCassell Coliseum is a 9,847-seat multi-purpose arena in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States that opened in 1962. It is home to the Virginia Tech Hokies basketball teams .-History:...
- Early Music Ensemble at Virginia TechEarly Music Ensemble at Virginia TechThe Early Music Ensemble is a group of instrumentalists and vocalists at Virginia Tech performing historical music. The group was founded in 1996 as the outgrowth of a program of class and studio instruction in early instruments and informal recorder and vocal/instrumental ensembles...
- Fighting Gobblers
- Hahn Horticulture GardenHahn Horticulture GardenThe Peggy Lee Hahn Horticulture Garden , formerly the Virginia Tech Horticulture Garden, is a horticulture garden located on the Virginia Tech campus on Washington Street SW, Blacksburg, Virginia. The largest public garden in western Virginia, it is open daily without charge.The garden was...
- Lane StadiumLane StadiumLane Stadium/Worsham Field is a stadium located in Blacksburg, Virginia. It is the home field of the Virginia Tech Hokies. It was rated the number one home field advantage in all of college football in 2005 by Rivals.com...
- List of forestry universities and colleges
- Preston and Olin InstitutePreston and Olin InstituteThe Preston and Olin Institute was a Methodist academy in Blacksburg, Virginia which operated 1851-1872. Until it was rechartered in 1869, it was named The Olin and Preston Institute...
- Virginia Tech Corps of CadetsVirginia Tech Corps of CadetsThe Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets is the military component of the student body at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Cadets live together in dormitories, march to meals in formation, wear a distinctive uniform on campus, and receive an intensive military and leadership...
- Virginia Cooperative ExtensionVirginia Cooperative ExtensionVirginia Cooperative Extension provides resources and educational outreach to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s more than seven million residents in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability, and 4-H youth development...
- Virginia Tech HokiesVirginia Tech HokiesThe Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams officially representing Virginia Tech in college sports. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 19 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, basketball, baseball, cross country, golf, soccer,...
- Virginia Tech massacreVirginia Tech massacreThe Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
- Virginia Tech commencement speakersVirginia Tech commencement speakers* 2011 Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the 9/11 Victims Fund* 2010 Bob McDonnell, governor, Commonwealth of Virginia * 2009, Gen. Lance Smith, former NATO supreme allied commander for transformation from 2005 to 2007....
External links
- Official website
- Official VT athletics site
- DesignIntelligence "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools"
- A Short History of Virginia Tech, 1850–1974
- Collegiate Times (independent student newspaper)
- Website of the Commonwealth Campus Centers
- National Capital Region
- Northern Virginia Center
- Washington Alexandria Architecture Center