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Office of Economic Development

Created in 1996 by a directive of President Paul E. Torgersen, the Office of Economic Development serves as the primary access point for private business and industry into the university’s resources. Additionally, the office coordinates the primary programs throughout Virginia Tech that are related to private industry. The first economic development officer, John S. Phillips, was hired in 1997 and left in 2002. That same year, Theodore Settle assumed the position plus others, and the office was renamed Economic Initiatives and Marketing Research, which included the Economic Development Assistance Center that had been part of Public Service Programs.  In 2003 the title of the office reverted to its original name.