Vice Presidents

Vice Presidents

The first vice president of Virginia Tech was Walter S. Newman, who served in the post from March 1946 until named acting president in May 1947. The post was combined with director of Graduate Studies from 1949-65 and was held by C. Clement French (Feb. 1949‑Aug. 1950), Louis A. Pardue (Oct. 1950-Feb. 1963), and Warren W. Brandt  (July 1963-Summer 1965). The first dean of the Graduate School was named in the summer of 1965, and Brandt continued as vice president until 1966, when a reorganization eliminated the single post and established two in its place: vice president for academic affairs and vice president for administration. In 1968 an executive vice president post was established along with two additional posts: vice president for finance and vice president for student affairs. When William E. Lavery assumed the presidency in 1975, the position of executive vice president, which he had held, was not filled. In 1977 the board of visitors reactivated the executive vice presidency position but designated it as a vice president for development and university relations. These two areas had been moved to the purview of the vice president for administration in 1975, when the position of executive vice president was left vacant. In 1978 the title of the vice president for academic affairs was changed to provost, but that vice presidency was reinstated and used in tandem with the title of provost in 2001. In 1983 a vice president for computing and information systems was added; the title was later changed to vice president for information systems, only to be changed again in 2002 to vice president for information technology. In 1993 the vice president for finance position was eliminated, with responsibilities for the position added to those of the executive vice president, making it the executive vice president and chief business officer, and a new position—vice president for business affairs—was added. That same year, President James McComas created the position of acting vice president for public service, but the title was changed in 1992 to vice provost for outreach and international programs and  a search commenced to fill the position. In 1994 the “chief business officer” part of the executive vice president’s title was removed, and the vice president for finance was re-instituted with “treasurer” added to the title. In 1998, reacting to a series of incidents on campus with racial overtones, President Paul Torgersen established a vice president for multicultural affairs. In 2001 the senior vice president and provost title was changed to vice president for academic affairs and provost. In 2003 the vice president for business affairs and treasurer position was split, and the decision was made to change the vice provost for research to a vice president for research. In 2007 the vice president for business affairs title was changed to vice president for administrative services, and the vice president for multicultural affairs title was changed to vice president for multicultural affairs and equity when the Office for Equal Opportunity was placed under the purview of that position. Also in 2007 a new position was created: vice president and executive director of the National Capital Region. In Jan. 2008 the executive vice president position was left vacant on the retirement of James A. Hyatt and the duties split between the vice president for budget and financial management and the vice president for administration (chief financial officer was added to the position name at that time) until the president and provost could assess the management structure. In 2008 the vice provost title was changed to vice president, and the vice president for multicultural affairs and equity title was changed to vice president for equity and inclusion, only to be changed again in 2010 to vice president for diversity and inclusion. It changed once again in 2016 to a combined position of vice provost for inclusion and diversity and vice president for strategic affairs. In 2009 “and chief information officer” was added to the title of the vice president for information technology. In 2015, the title of vice president for research added "and innovation." Also in 2015, President Sands created the Advancement Division, which combined Development, University Relations, and Alumni Relations into one group under the senior vice president for advancement (the vice president positions for development and univeristy relations and for alumni relations were dropped).

Vice presidents since the 1966 reorganization are as follows:

• Academic affairs-W. W. Brandt (1966-68); Leslie F. Malpass (1968-74); Alfred H. Krebs, (acting, 1974-75); John D. Wilson (1975-78)
• Academic affairs and provost-Mark G. McNamee (2001-08)
• Administration-Stuart K. Cassell (1966-76); Carl E. Burke (1976; named for sole purpose of signing a replacement bond); Alfred H. Krebs (1977-81); William R. Van Dresser (1981-83)
• Administration and operations-William R. Van Dresser (1983-85)
• Administration and treasurer-Raymond D. Smoot (2001-03)
• Administrative services-Sherwood G. Wilson (2007- 08)
• Administrative services and chief financial officer-Sherwood G Wilson
  2008-  )
• Advancement- Tom Tillar (interim, 2015), Charles D. Phlegar (2015- )
  
• Alumni Relations-George E. “Buddy” Russell (1991-95); Tom Tillar (1995-2015)
• Budget and financial management-M. Dwight Shelton Jr. (2001-08)
• Business affairs-Raymond D. Smoot (1988-2003); Kurt Krause (2003-06)
• Computing and information systems-Vinod Chachra (1983-85); Robert C. Heterick Jr. (1985-86)
• Development and university relations-Charles M. Forbes (1979-92); Charles W. Steger Jr. (1993-2000); Betsy Flanagan (2000-2015)
• Diversity and inclusion-Karen Eley Sanders (acting, 2010-2010); William T. Lewis, Sr. (2010-2016)
  
• Vice provost for inclusion and diversity and vice president for strategic affairs- David Travis (interim, 2014-2016); Menah Pratt-Clarke (2016-  )
• Equity and inclusion-Kevin McDonald (2008-09); Karen Eley Sanders (acting, 2009-10)
  
• Executive -W. W. Brandt (1968-69); William J. McKeefery (1969-73); William E. Lavery (1973-75)
• Executive and chief business officer-Minnis E. Ridenour (1987-2001)
• Executive and chief operating officer-Minnis E. Ridenour (2001-04); James A. Hyatt (2004-08)
• Executive and provost-John D. Wilson (1983-84); John M. Perry (interim, 1989-91), Thanassis Rikakis (2015- )
• Finance-William E. Lavery (1968-73); Minnis E. Ridenour (1977-87)
• Finance and chief financial officer- M. Dwight Shelton Jr. (2008-  )
• Finance and treasurer-Raymond Smoot (1994-2001)
• Graduate education and dean-Karen P. DePauw (2008-  )
• Information systems-Robert C. Heterick Jr. (1986-91); Earving L. Blythe (acting, 1991-92; 1992-2002)
• Information technology-Earving L. Blythe (2002-09)
• Information technology and chief information officer-Earving L. Blythe
  2009-2012), Scott F. Midkiff (2012- )
• Multicultural affairs-Benjamin Dixon (1998-2006)
• Multicultural affairs and equity-Kevin G. McDonald (2007-08)
• National Capital Region-James Bohland (2007-2012); Donald J. Leo (2012-2013), James Bohland (interim, 2013-2014); Steven H. McKnight (2014- )  
• Outreach and international affairs-John E. Dooley (2008-  )
• Public Service-Charles W. Steger Jr. (acting, 1990-92)
• Research- Bradley W. Fenwick (2004-07); Robert Walters (2007-2015)
• Research and Innovation- Dennis Dean (interim, 2015-2016); Theresa Mayer (2016- )
  
• Senior and provost-E. Fred Carlisle (1989-94); Peggy S. Meszaros (1995-2000); Gregory N. Brown (interim, 2000-01); Mark G. McNamee (2008-2015)
• Special projects- Alfred H. Krebs (acting, 1975-76; position created in lieu of filling position of executive vice president)
• Student affairs-James W. Dean (1968-81); Sandra Sullivan (acting, 1981; 1982-88); Thomas G. Goodale (1988-95); Landrum L. Cross (acting, 1995-98; 1998-2005); Zenobia L. Hikes (2005-08); Edward F. D. Spencer (interim, 2008; three-year term, 2008-2012); Patricia A. Perillo (2012- )
• Undergraduate education and dean-David R. Ford (2008); Jerry Niles (interim, 2009); Daniel A. Wubah (2009-2013)