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Celebrating 125 Years of Service

On August 11, 1875, an alumni association was formed to cement the loyalty of its first graduates to the young Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. The land-grant school in rural Montgomery County had opened in 1872 and produced its first class of certificate graduates. This group of twelve students proudly became the first alumni of their alma mater, and called themselves "Alumni of VAMC." William Addison Caldwell, VAMC's first enrolled student, was elected secretary in 1876. Early dues established for a one-year membership in the association were $1. From these modest beginnings by a group of a dozen students, the Virginia Tech Alumni Association has become a valuable conduit connecting graduates to their institution's heritage, and an archive for the successes of nearly 200,000 alumni since the institution first opened its doors.

The VAMC Alumni Association grew as more classes graduated. In 1891, realizing the benefit the association could have to a growing college, the board of directors reorganized with an eye towards expansion. A constitution was drawn up and an Alumni Register was published. From this point on, the Alumni Association became more involved in the college's affairs. The association's officers, still all volunteers at this time, maintained a working relationship with the college president who often consulted the board on the welfare of the institution.

Colonel J.S.A. Johnson, Class of 1898, and H.H. "Bunker" Hill, Class of 1904, spent early years establishing the first records system and were the most active volunteers. It was Hill who devised the first alumni records system to keep track of alumni. The association was formally incorporated on June 23, 1924. Alumni records updates and other business were conducted by dedicated volunteers until 1926, when the association hired Henry B. Redd, Class of 1919, as the first paid alumni secretary. Redd was an integral leader in the growth, organization, and expanding volunteer leadership of the association and served until his death in 1960.

In 1909, President Paul Barringer endorsed the association's wish to hold class reunions in five-year increments. In 1915, an official Homecoming was designated for alumni by the college, coinciding with Commencement activities in the spring; class reunions were held then also. By September 1928, the association assumed responsibility for Homecoming and designated it as a fall football weekend thereafter. Class reunions continued to be held at Commencement until 1941, when they were discontinued during World War II.

Reunions were reinstated as part of fall Homecoming weekend in 1952. Today, five-year reunions are held throughout the fall on home football game weekends and attract several thousand alumni, friends, and family back to campus each year. In addition to class reunions, the association began assisting special interest groups, such as the Corps of Cadets alumni, student media organizations, and various student honorary and social organizations, to plan reunions.

Tech's women graduates organized a V.P.I. Alumnae Society in 1933, and reported to the Alumni Board on their activities. The Society was succeeded by the Women's Chapter of the V.P.I. Alumni Association, which was organized in 1955, and later dissolved in 1971. An "Old Guard," recognizing all alumni who graduated 50 years or more, was formed in June 1967 to conduct annual reunions for its members. Today the Old Guard includes living graduates of the classes of 1920 through 1950.

The association adopted new bylaws in 1964, making it an operating unit of the university and thus relinquishing its "independent" status of 89 years. At the same time, the alumni executive became the director of alumni affairs. In 1991, the board of visitors approved a transfer of the staff and operations of the alumni association into the university's administrative structure and elevated the association's executive to vice president for alumni relations. Those who have served as alumni secretaries, directors of alumni affairs, or vice presidents for alumni relations include Henry B. Redd, 1926-60; Marcus L. Oliver, 1960-65; Philip Oliver (acting), 1965-66; C. Bruce Ross, 1966-67; H.L. "Lem" Pritchard (acting), 1967-68; G.E. "Buddy" Russell, 1968-1995; and Thomas C. Tillar Jr., 1996 to present.

Beginning in the late 19^th century, a substantial amount of energy was devoted by alumni to the funding and construction of buildings on campus that would provide needed facilities for students and also honor the sacrifices made by alumni during wartime. In no small part, the alumni association was responsible for raising funds for the YMCA building (an early student center), War Memorial Hall (gymnasium), and the War Memorial and Chapel. These projects, completed over a period spanning some 60 years, are evidence of the generosity of alumni who recognized the importance of providing needed facilities to the campus.

The YMCA building was built in 1899 through alumni gifts and served as the first student center for a growing campus. The War Memorial Gymnasium opened in a weekend-long celebration in 1926, sponsored by the alumni association. The facility, financed through bonds and donations, was dedicated to World War I Techmen. Planning for the War Memorial and Chapel began in the late 1940s and also involved an aggressive private gifts campaign. Construction for this memorial to World War II alumni spanned nine years, beginning in 1951 until its dedication in 1960. Its eight distinctive pylons rising above the chapel have become the icon of the campus at one end of the Drillfield. It also honors alumni killed in conflicts and wars since the second world war.

In earlier years, the modest association dues of $1 increased to $3 annually. The dues system ended in 1938 and was replaced by an Alumni Loyalty Fund (later Alumni Annual Fund). The fund raised voluntary contributions instead of annual dues and strengthened the tradition of private support to the college. From this year forward, the alumni association has been partially supported through designated gifts to the Virginia Tech Annual Fund. A "Century Club" was established in 1972 to recognize leadership gift levels; it continued until 1990. Additional support is provided through merchandising, group tours and affinity revenue programs. The Virginia Tech Foundation began to assist the association's operating needs when the Alumni Annual Fund was merged with the University Development annual giving program in the early 1990s. The programs of the association always have been supported through private gifts and other revenues from alumni. No budgetary support is provided from state general fund appropriations.

In 1972 the association announced that it would create endowments to fund a limited number of professorships and a series of merit scholarships as part of the university's centennial observance. Today, those endowments support eight Alumni Distinguished Professorships and several full Alumni Presidential Scholarships, plus eleven Alumni Honors Scholarships. The first faculty teaching award was established by the association in 1957, and named in honor of William E. Wine, Class of 1904, former president of the association and rector of the board of visitors. Today, three Wine Awards are presented annually, plus two additional teaching excellence awards that are tied to the Academy of Teaching Excellence.

In addition to teaching awards, the association established awards to recognize contributions of extension and research division faculty: Alumni Awards for Extension Excellence and Alumni Awards for Research Excellence to recognize outstanding contributions outside of the classroom. Later awards were added to recognize excellence in Advising, International Programs, and Public Service. All thirteen awards are accompanied by cash stipends for recipients. Additional awards established by the association include Outstanding College Senior awards for each college, Graduate Student Excellence awards, Outstanding Young Alumni awards for each college, Outstanding Alumni Chapter Officer awards, and Alumni Chapter Excellence awards.

The alumni chapter program has been the nucleus of the association's programs since the early 20^th century. Its active chapters have grown in number to more than 100, stretching across the country and even including a few locations abroad. Hundreds of volunteers are associated with the chapter program at any given time and help to plan regional events for alumni to gather, meet other alumni, and hear from campus speakers. Many chapters support merit scholarships for Virginia Tech freshmen and actively solicit and screen applicants for these awards from their communities. These scholarships have grown annually to the number of 130 today. Chapter and other alumni programs exceed 500 scheduled events annually.

In 1999, the association established the first staff positions to assist academic college alumni programs. These have been expanded to assist other colleges, multicultural alumni programs, and Corps of Cadets alumni programs. This staffing model has become an exemplary model nationally, which many other peer universities are adopting.

To help orient students to the role of the Alumni Association, student programming has been a priority of the association for many years. In 1975, the Alumni Association organized the Student Alumni Associates. The SAA sponsored Orange and Maroon Carpet Days (programs to acquaint prospective students with Virginia Tech), gave campus tours, organized pep rallies, and assisted with traditional alumni events. Another student program, the class officer governance system, has been a tradition at the university since the early decades of VAMC. Class officers have served as "lifetime representatives" of their classes since the 1890s. The association assumed responsibility for coordinating class governance and officer advising in the 1990s and currently works with each group of officers to continue the class ring tradition, annual ring dance, and other activities. Class officers maintain a working relationship with the association staff in assisting with planning their traditional five-year reunion celebrations.

The modern Virginia Tech Alumni Association includes ALL university alumni as members. The association requires no annual or lifetime dues, nor any other admission criteria, as a symbol of its philosophy of and commitment to inclusiveness. Its chapters and reunions welcome all who wish to participate. More and more alumni constituent groups are planning reunions or similar programs for alumni on the campus. Each year, the university graduates slightly more than 5,000 students who are welcomed by a strong alumni association and encouraged to actively participate. The most recent class increased the rolls of living alumni to 160,000. The year 2000 opens new horizons for the association, and, for the first time in its history, creates an opportunity to construct an alumni center on campus in conjunction with a large modern conference center and hotel - a true home to welcome all who return to visit this special campus. After 125 years, alumni deserve a home of our own!

by Tom Tillar, Vice President for Alumni Relations

With historical research contributed by Clara Cox, Cathy Lally, and Kiley McMichael