Special Message from George Nolen, Chair of the Virginia Tech Presidential Search Committee
The following is an open letter to the Virginia Tech community from George Nolen, chair of the Presidential Search Committee and former rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors:
Following President Steger’s announcement on May 14, 2013, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors began the search for its sixteenth president. In the news release, Rector Mike Quillen noted that “a university governing body has few roles as important as this--appointing a president to lead our great university.” As chair of the Virginia Tech Presidential Search committee, I invite you to attend an upcoming input session and encourage your participation in this next phase of our presidential search.
Both the board of visitors and the Presidential Search Committee are committed to recruiting an exceptional pool of highly qualified candidates who can build upon Virginia Tech’s incredibly strong foundation and make us one of the nation’s top public universities. As part of this process, we believe it is very important to hear directly from you as we prepare to undertake the recruitment and interviewing of candidates for our next president. Over the summer, we have reached out to a number of external groups and asked for their thoughts and suggestions. As you return to campus for the next academic year, we are arranging times to discuss this important decision with you and trust you will join us as appropriate for these discussions.
The presidential search input sessions for the university community will be held in Blacksburg and the National Capital Region as follows:
Blacksburg
- Staff – August 15, 11:00 a.m., Hahn Hall, Room 140
- Administrative and Professional Faculty – August 28, 1:00 p.m., Squires Haymarket Theater
- Teaching and Research Faculty – August 28, 3:00 p.m., and September 6, 9:00 a.m., Squires Haymarket Theater
- Graduate Students – September 12, 6:30 p.m., Graduate Life Center (GLC)
- Undergraduate Students – September 9, 4:00 p.m., Squires Commonwealth Ballroom
National Capital Region
- Faculty and Staff – September 3, 1:00 p.m., Arlington
- Students – September 3, 6:00 p.m., Falls Church
Webcast (via WebEx)
- September 6, 3:30 p.m.
I am hosting a public webcast at 3:30 p.m. on September 6, 2013. This webcast is offered to any person that would like additional information about the search or who would like to provide input. To access this webcast please follow the link on the Presidential Search website (www.presidentialsearch.vt.edu) prior to the start of the meeting. Those connecting will be able to type their questions and comments directly to me. I hope you will be able to participate in this event.
Through these input sessions, the search committee seeks your perspective on the attributes and overall qualifications to be considered in the review of our presidential candidates. I sincerely hope you will attend these sessions and share additional thoughts by taking our online survey at presidentialsearch.vt.edu.
The search process, by its nature, must be confidential. It is our duty as search committee members and board of visitors members to represent your interests in this search, and because we will not be able to seek input once we have begun meeting candidates, we are looking forward to hearing your input at this critical juncture.
Sincerely,
George Nolen, Chair
Presidential Search Committee
