Week of August 18-22

2025

Provost’s Office: Goals and Priorities for Virginia Tech’s Academic Enterprise

In partnership with Virginia Tech faculty, staff and the academic community, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost has developed and framed the following themes and goals to support and advance Virginia Tech’s Beyond Boundaries vision and achieve the strategic priorities outlined in The Virginia Tech Difference: Advancing Beyond Boundaries.

Primary amongst those university strategic goals and priorities are Virginia Tech Global Distinction and Virginia Tech Advantage.

Core Strategic Themes (extracted from and aligned with Beyond Boundaries)

Virginia Tech is a university with global reach and is increasingly recognized as an institution with a worldwide perspective, a commitment to empowering graduates to solve global challenges, and a convening force and top destination for international talent.
As a comprehensive university, Virginia Tech has developed and will continue to advance selected programs that are among the best in the world with adequate representation across the arts, humanities, design, sciences and engineering that synthesize talent and knowledge to achieve international reputational excellence.
Virginia Tech highly values inter- and transdisciplinary learning and discovery and leverages these opportunities to address the complexities of the world’s most intractable societal problems.
Virginia Tech is committed to evidence-based, student-centered learning utilizing innovative instructional methodologies that are developed and employed across undergraduate, graduate, and professional curricula.
Virginia Tech recognizes the need for and value of engaging in partnerships with other institutions, public and private industries, governments, and local communities to achieve its tripartite mission.

Crosscutting Goals: To enhance its international standing, quality of programs, and commitment to service, Virginia Tech must:

Continue to increase representational diversity of students, faculty and staff, and foster an environment in which all individuals can thrive.
Elevate the productivity and impact of faculty scholarship.
Secure more extramural funding in support of research.
Implement plans for developing faculty to achieve national distinction.
Expand enrollment of graduate students and appointments of postdoctoral associates and promote their career success.
Embed experiential learning within the transcriptible curriculum.

Goals and Priorities for Virginia Tech’s Academic Enterprise are available on the provost’s website.

Undergraduate Academic Affairs: Support for students via the Early Academic Referral System

Virginia Tech’s Early Academic Referral System (VT EARS) is a tool to assist faculty in proactively identifying and referring undergraduate students who may be experiencing academic difficulty early within a semester. Research indicates that intervention within the first 6-8 weeks of the semester can make a difference.

VT EARS has a significant impact on student success because of its potential to:

Increase awareness of the academic support networks.
Reduce the number of undergraduate students on academic probation or suspension.
Reaffirm the institution’s commitment to at-risk students.
Increase engagement between faculty and undergraduate students.

For more information, visit the VT EARS webpage or email Academic Advising and Transition Support in the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs. NOTE: VT EARS is not intended for urgent, sensitive, time-critical referrals. If you have an emergency or require immediate assistance, please call 911 for the police.

Graduate School: Info session for international graduate student supervisors, program staff

The Graduate School invites faculty, staff, and graduate program directors focused on effectively supporting international graduate students to a virtual information session, September 10 from 9:00-11:00 a.m.

The session will cover essential federal requirements, institutional policies, and procedures that impact international students, along with culturally aware mentoring strategies to foster a supportive academic environment.

Representatives from Cranwell International Center and the Graduate School as well as individual international students will be on-hand to provide information and answer questions. Learn more about the resources available on campus to help international students succeed both academically and personally.

For more information on this information session or resources available to support international graduate students, email the Graduate School.

Faculty Senate: Monthly ‘office hours'-style meetings with Faculty Senate president

Faculty Senate President Justin Lemkul invites all members of the university community for "office hours"-style meetings designed for general questions, comments, and concerns related to any aspect of the Faculty Senate's mission.

All office hours meetings will be held in 328A Burruss (inside the Faculty Affairs office suite, 330 Burruss) from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Refreshments will be provided by the Office of Faculty Affairs.

For more information including dates and times for each monthly session, visit the Faculty Senate website. Private or confidential meetings can be requested/scheduled by emailing Justin Lemkul.

ICYMI: Considerations for requesting research-extended appointments in AY2025-26

Given the continuing uncertainty around federal grants and contracts, Faculty Affairs has developed guidance for Virginia Tech principal investigators and college and departmental leadership regarding the potential risks of using research-extended appointments in the coming 2025-26 academic year (AY).

Research-extended appointments are intended to allow faculty to extend their AY appointments to calendar year appointments using sponsored research funding.

In the coming AY, principal investigators and department heads/school directors are encouraged to carefully assess their financial risk before requesting a research-extended appointment. Departments/Schools will need to continue to guarantee summer salary obligations and should a shortfall occur, will assume the responsibility to cover it with indirect or overhead funds.

For more information, read this memo from Faculty Affairs, refer to Virginia Tech Policy 6200 which provides additional details, or visit Faculty Affairs’ Research-Extended Appointments webpage.

Additional Resources and Updates

Newsletter Spotlight: Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC

Please submit a Google form or email Provost Communications for comments or recommendations to improve the Weekly Communications Update or to share faculty, staff, and academic program personnel information.

Visit the provost’s website frequently for new and updated university information. All members of the campus community should also read their VT News daily email for further important updates, notices, and resources.