• Virginia Tech Home
• Alumni Association

Commentary...

Completion of New Alumni Center Just Months Away...

Virginia Tech
Alma Mater Magazine
Fall, 2004 Issue

The magnificent new structure that now appears on the corner of Prices Fork Road and West Campus Drive is drawing compliments from all quarters. It looms larger than most expected it to be and is distinctive in its "Collegiate Gothic" Hokie stone features. I have walked through it a few times and gained a better appreciation for its spaces that are designed to accommodate alumni and conference group gatherings. The hotel wing has 147 rooms with attractive views, and comfortable modern features. The Skelton Conference Center wing has spacious lounge and pre-function spaces leading into a large ballroom that will have a capacity exceeding 700. The restaurant, dining salons, and various size conference rooms also will add to the ambiance and quality of the facility.The Holtzman Alumni Center completes the design of the three-part complex. It will have an assembly hall, a grand hall reception area with a university museum, a library featuring alumni authors, and several conference rooms. Staff offices are on its top floor and include work spaces for student and alumni volunteers who assist with alumni programs. All in all, a full service facility for our alumni.

The campaign for the new complex is still shy of its goal, so we need to attract gifts from alumni to support their new home on campus. There are a number of spaces inside still available for commemorative naming, as is an Alumni Terrace paved with stones to be etched with donor names. For those who have not yet contributed, please consider a gift in the next few months as construction proceeds swiftly toward completion by next summer. Memories of the Hahn Years...

A new book detailing the administration of Tech President T. Marshall Hahn, Jr., just published, is previewed in this issue. This volume describes a chapter in Tech's history that I remember well as a student and young member of the university staff. Its pages chronicle the transformation of a smaller, mostly male, college to the comprehensive university it is better known as today. Many more faculty appointments, more emphasis on research, new academic buildings and residence hall construction, and sizeable budget increases from the state all created the formula that changed the face and future of our university. The Alumni Association also went through a bit of a transformation during that period and emerged in the 70s as a stronger player in terms of the quality of programs offered alumni and creation of scholarship and professorship endowments benefiting the university. Alumni chapters began to spread across the country and attract the broader participation we enjoy today. The book, authored by Warren Strother and Peter Wallenstein, is nicely organized and an easy, interesting read. A Dedicated Alumni Board...

Our Alumni Association serves slightly more than 180,000 living alumni, a number that has quadrupled since my first year on the Association staff. But one thing that has remained constant is the quality and dedication of the volunteers who serve on the Board of Directors of our Association. They number about 30, and meet twice annually in Blacksburg as well as other times during the year for specific committee business. The seven standing committees guide our service to alumni through their recommendations for changes and improvements to current initiatives.New officers of the Association this year include President Kimble "Jay" Reynolds '88, a young attorney from Martinsville. He also served as his class' president as an undergraduate. Reynold's volunteer service through the years has touched our alumni chapter and reunion programs, the Hokie Club, Admissions recruitment, career mentoring, among his many Tech commitments. Supporting him are President-elect Jim Smith '66, recently retired from his successful career with DuPont, and Ann Spencer '76, who formerly served the university as an Assistant Vice President until her retirement. About a dozen reside in other states and enthusiastically travel often to campus related to their responsibilities. Members of the board represent all eight of the academic colleges and range in age from the classes of 1952 through 2000. We are truly blessed with their leadership and commitment to make our Association the best that it can be to serve you and all alumni.