Corps of Engineers deputy chief to deliver Vecellio Lecture
Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Johnson, deputy chief of engineers and deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), will discuss “USACE — Once upon a Future” on Friday, Oct. 20, at 4 p.m. in 2150 Torgersen Hall.
The event, which is open and free to the public, is part of the university’s Vecellio Distinguished Lecture series.
Prior to assuming his current leadership role with USACE, which provides engineering and environmental services to the nation, Johnson served as director of the U.S. Army Installation Management Agency. His previous assignments included commanding general of the USACE Gulf Region Division and U.S. deputy director to the Program Management Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq.
Among the numerous honors Johnson has received during his military career are the Distinguished Service Medal, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, and Meritorious Service Medal. In 2003 he received the Black Engineer of the Year Award for Professional Achievement in Government Service, and in 2005 he was inducted into Georgia Tech’s Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni.
Johnson graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He received a master’s degree from Georgia Tech and another master’s degree from the School of Advanced Military Studies.
The Vecellio Distinguished Lecture Series is sponsored by a $1 million endowment provided for the Construction Engineering and Management Program in Virginia Tech’s Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering by the Vecellio Family Foundation and individual family members: the late Mrs. Leo (Evelyn) Vecellio, Sr.; Leo and Kathryn Vecellio, Jr. and their sons, Christopher and Michael; and Patricia Vecellio.
The late Leo Vecellio, Sr. was a 1938 civil engineering graduate of Virginia Tech who became president and CEO of Vecellio & Grogan, one of the largest highway construction and mining companies in the eastern U.S. Leo Vecellio, Jr., a 1968 Virginia Tech civil engineering graduate, is now head of Vecellio & Grogan, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
The Vecellio endowment at Virginia Tech also supports scholarships, fellowships and a professorship.
The College of Engineering at Virginia Tech is internationally recognized for its excellence in 14 engineering disciplines and computer science. The college’s 5,500 undergraduates benefit from an innovative curriculum that provides a “hands-on, minds-on” approach to engineering education, complementing classroom instruction with two unique design-and-build facilities and a strong Cooperative Education Program. With more than 50 research centers and numerous laboratories, the college offers its 1,800 graduate students opportunities in advanced fields of study such as biomedical engineering, state-of-the-art microelectronics, and nanotechnology.
