Sands made the announcement Thursday in a letter<\/a> addressed \u201cto Hokies everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cThere is no better role in higher education than to serve as the president of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,\u201d Sands said. \u201cStewarding Virginia Tech as president has been the most fulfilling experience of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sands said it was the right time to begin the process of stepping aside and provide the next president the opportunity to \u201ctake the baton at full stride\u201d and continue Virginia Tech\u2019s significant growth and momentum, telling the community that \u201ctogether we have transformed Virginia Tech for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his tenure, the university experienced a 30 percent increase in undergraduate enrollment, 200 percent increase in applications, 70 percent increase in extramural research expenditures, and 185 percent increase in the university\u2019s endowment.<\/p>\n
In sharing his plans with the rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, John Rocovich, Sands said he was committed to serving until his successor was in place to ensure a smooth transition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am deeply grateful to President Sands for his leadership and tireless dedication to our university and his vision for what we can accomplish in service to our students and the commonwealth,\u201d Rocovich said. \u201cHis drive to expand Virginia Tech\u2019s impact through collaborative engagement with our communities and partners, and his steadfast commitment to public higher education have positioned us well for the future ahead. President Sands\u2019 leadership in establishing the Virginia Tech Carilion Academic Health Center and the Innovation Campus will yield huge dividends to Virginia Tech for 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sands became president of Virginia Tech on June 1, 2014, after serving as provost and acting president of Purdue University. In his installation address on Oct. 17, 2014, he called on the university community to advance its impact on the commonwealth by developing the \u201cbinary star\u201d created by the university\u2019s main campus in Blacksburg and academic programs, opportunities, and partnerships in the greater Washington, D.C., area. Four years later, Virginia Tech announced plans to build an \u201cinnovation campus\u201d in Alexandria as a signature part of the higher education package that brought Amazon\u2019s HQ2 to Northern Virginia and continues to develop technology talent for the region.<\/p>\n
The Alexandria building, now known as Academic Building One and home to the new Institute for Advanced Computing, is part of Virginia Tech\u2019s significant growth across the commonwealth under Sands\u2019 leadership. Fifteen major new construction projects have been launched since 2014 totaling 1.9 million square feet.<\/p>\n
The North Academic District of the Blacksburg campus is the site of the largest transformation impacting students at nearly 500,000 square feet. It includes the Data and Decision Sciences Building, Hitt Hall and the Perry Place dining facility, the Undergraduate Science Laboratory, the New Classroom Building, and the New Business Building.<\/p>\n
The Upper Quad also experienced significant expansion and improvement with the construction of Pearson Hall East and West, Upper Quad Hall North, and the Corps Leadership and Military Science Building.<\/p>\n
Virginia Tech\u2019s ongoing partnership with Carilion Clinic has been transformative in the Roanoke region with the development of the Health Sciences and Technology campus. The transition of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine from an independent institution to the university\u2019s newest college is advancing a robust and growing academic health care presence. The expansion of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, with more than 40 faculty-led research teams in 260,000 square feet of laboratory and teaching space, doubled the university\u2019s economic impact in Roanoke from $214 million in 2017 to $475 million in 2025.<\/p>\n
Other new buildings that are complete or currently under construction include Mitchell Hall, the Creativity and Innovation District residence hall, the Beamer-Lawson Indoor Practice Facility, and the Dairy Science Complex at Kentland Farm.<\/p>\n
Additional highlights of Sands\u2019 leadership include:<\/p>\n
\n- Establishing the Beyond Boundaries visioning initiative to engage and inspire the university community to imagine Virginia Tech\u2019s role as a public land-grant university in 2047 and beyond and lay the groundwork for a new strategic plan<\/li>\n
- Launching Virginia Tech\u2019s sesquicentennial celebration to honor and reflect on the university\u2019s history and inspire conversations about the future<\/li>\n
- Successfully navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by engaging health care, government, and community partners throughout the region and leveraging the expertise of Virginia Tech scientists, researchers, and labs to support health care needs across the commonwealth and advance global understanding of how the virus is spread<\/li>\n
- Achieving the initial $1.5 billion goal for Boundless Impact: The Campaign for Virginia Tech, engaging more than 117,000 alumni, and subsequently surpassing the $1.872 billion expanded goal two years ahead of schedule<\/li>\n
- Increasing the university\u2019s endowment from $800 million to more than $2 billion, providing critical resources to invest in Virginia Tech\u2019s impact and excellence<\/li>\n
- Launching the Partnership for Progress initiative to collaboratively identify and address shared challenges and opportunities for Virginia Tech and the surrounding region and to create a visionary, actionable road map to enhance quality of life<\/li>\n
- Establishing Virginia Tech Advantage to remove barriers for in-state students with financial need, supporting emergency resources as well as research, study-abroad and internship opportunities<\/li>\n
- Advancing Virginia Tech Global Distinction as the university\u2019s commitment to institutional excellence across research, teaching, and engagement, making the university a destination for the best faculty, students, and partners who will pursue solutions to the world\u2019s most complex problems<\/li>\n
- Championing the initiative to advance Virginia Tech Athletics\u2019 success and impact to elevate the university\u2019s national visibility, preserve its role as a regional economic engine, and reinforce its value as a unique student leadership experience<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Of all the university\u2019s accomplishments over the past 12 years, Sands is most proud of the more than 100,000 Hokies who earned their degrees, saying the legacy of Virginia Tech\u2019s motto, Ut Prosim<\/em> (That I May Serve), lives on in them and the impact they will have on generations to come.<\/p>\nSands and his wife, Laura P. Sands, plan to remain in the area. \u201cLaura and I will always be Hokies,\u201d he said. \u201cWe plan to stay rooted in Blacksburg as this is most definitely home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n