Week of December 2 - 6

2024

Fall Commencement 2024: Ceremony information, schedules for faculty and guests

Virginia Tech’s Fall 2024 University and Graduate Commencement Ceremonies will take place on Friday, December 20 in Cassell Coliseum. University Commencement will start at 10:30 a.m. and Graduate Commencement will begin at 2:30 p.m.

The Commencement 2024 website has detailed information on schedules, parking, live stream, regalia, and frequently asked questions. Doors to Cassell Coliseum will open at 9:30 a.m. and students are asked to arrive one hour before commencement begins. There is no shuttle service available for fall commencements, but Blacksburg Transit will be operating.

Requests for accommodations for guests attending the University or Graduate Commencement Ceremonies must be made to the Office of Equity and Accessibilityat least two weeks before the events. For additional information concerning accessibility and disability accommodations, contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD).

For more information, schedule updates, and speaker announcements, please visit the Commencement 2024 website.

InclusiveVT: Registration open for Virginia Tech’s annual Advancing Diversity Gathering

The Office for Inclusion and Diversity invites faculty and staff to attend the 2025 Advancing Diversity Gathering, January 28, 2025 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. at The Inn at Virginia Tech. The gathering is an annual InclusiveVT touchpoint event that brings together diversity and inclusion stakeholders across the university for sharing best practices and learning from one another.

This year’s keynote speaker is Lisa García Bedolla, vice provost for Graduate Studies and Hitchock Dean of the Graduate Division, and Chancellor's Professor of Education at UC-Berkely. García Bedolla uses the tools of social science to reveal the causes of educational and political inequalities in the United States, considering differences across the lines of ethnorace, gender, class, and geography.

Several interactive workshops and breakout sessions will take place during the summit with discussions on topics such as constructive dialogue in the classroom and workplace, student perspectives on community and belonging, and diversifying science and STEM-focused programs.

For more information or to register for the event, visit the Advancing Diversity Gathering website or email Michele Deramo, associate vice provost of Diversity Education and Engagement. Virtual attendance options are also available.

CPD: Learn to become a Career Champion for Virginia Tech students

Career and Professional Development (CPD) invites faculty and staff to become a Career Champion for Virginia Tech students and learn more about CPD’s services for undergraduate and graduate students, career resources, and strategies for career conversations.

The Career Champion program, consisting of interactive asynchronous learning, hands-on reflection, and content application, is designed to provide participants with tools and referral resources for career-related discussions with students. Through the Career Champion program, faculty and staff will:

Learn the components of the career development process.
Increase knowledge of resources available through CPD for undergraduate and graduate students with varying career needs.
Increase confidence in ability to have career conversations with students.
Understand the importance and value of Virginia Tech student reflection on career-related experiences.
Increase awareness of current career trends.

For more information and to register for core training sessions during the spring 2025 semester, read this campus notice or visit TLOS’ Professional Development Network page for this program. Registration closes January 27, 2025.

Center for Humanities: Applications open for spring 2025 Faculty Fellow Program

Virginia Tech’s Center for Humanities invites applications for the spring 2025 Center for Humanities Faculty Fellow program. Fellows participate in the intellectual life of the center and receive $500 in professional development funds as well as the use of a private office within the Center for Humanities in War Memorial Hall.

Any Virginia Tech faculty member working in a humanities field and/or on a humanities-related research project is eligible for the program. The Center for Humanities expects the position will be especially appealing to faculty on research leave, who would benefit from workspace outside their department or school. Applications from other faculty with a need for office space will also be considered.

Fellows will be responsible for delivering a short presentation in the center’s colloquium series, attending center events as their schedules permit, and generally participating in the intellectual life of the center.

Faculty who are interested in the program will need to complete a brief online form no later than Thursday, December 12.

For more information, read this campus notice or email Paul Quigley, director of the Center for Humanities.

ICYMI: Update from Provost Cyril Clarke on Virginia Tech Global Distinction progress

Provost Cyril Clarke shared a message recently with faculty and academic staff to provide an update on Virginia Tech Global Distinction and the progress made during the past year. Here are the highlights of his message:

Virginia Tech Global Distinction reflects our commitment to institutional excellence across our tripartite mission, and to empower faculty, staff, and students to break new ground in impactful scholarship.
Steering committee was formed and began its work by assessing strengths, performance gaps relative to peer institutions, strategies for closing gaps, and suggestions for maximizing global visibility and future investment.
The next phase of its charge involves identifying select number of prioritized actions that are most likely to advance Virginia Tech’s global reputation as well as estimation of investments that will be needed to achieve this goal.
Virginia Tech already has several university-level programs that exemplify approaches that positively impact outcomes associated with global distinction.
Moving forward, the steering committee will review these approaches to assess their success, validate them as necessary, and identify other programs and approaches that are likely to be impactful.
We will compare our performance against other peer institutions using carefully selected rankings, such as the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking and the THE Impact Ranking.
These rankings are not the primary focus of Global Distinction but represent proxies that allow us to measure progress towards strategic interests.
As the Global Distinction Steering Committee progresses in its work and recommendations take shape, your feedback and insights will be pivotal.

For the full message from Provost Clarke, visit the provost’s website.

Additional Resources and Updates

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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.