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Week of June 12-16

2023

From Cyril Clarke and Amy Sebring: Timeline for Elevating Minimum Security Controls

Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Amy Sebring shared a message with university leaders this week to update them on Virginia Tech’s efforts to elevate safeguards to the Center for Internet Security Critical Security Controls version 8 Implementation Group 2 (CIS IG2) standard.

The following are summary points from their message:

  • The university has successfully met its timeline for completing Phase I of the project which included completion of an enterprise IT asset inventory and the completion of a risk assessment survey. 
  • We greatly appreciate the hard work of many across the university, especially IT professionals in distributed units and the Division of IT. 
  • Two more project phases are now needed to move the university to complete this important project in the IT Transformation program. 
  • Phase II will develop plans of action and establish milestones, on a unit-by-unit basis, for achieving compliance with the CIS IG2 controls across the university. 
  • Updated Deadlines for Phase II, Plan of Action and Milestones: 
    • Units with one or more high-risk systems: February 29, 2024
    • Units with only low-risk, moderate-risk systems: May 31, 2024
  • The IT Security Office will provide instructions and guidance for units to develop outcomes for Phase II no later than August 1, 2023. 
  • Please convey our thanks to all in your organizations who completed the work for Phase I and for their continuing support as we implement Phase II and, later, Phase Ill to achieve full CIS IG2 compliance.

Please read the complete message from Provost Cyril Clarke and EVP-COO Amy Sebring for more information. If you have additional questions on this effort, please email the university's IT Security Office.

InclusiveVT: Campus invited to Juneteenth observation, celebration on June 18

Virginia Tech’s Juneteenth Commemoration will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 18 at Solitude on the Blacksburg campus. The university community is invited to come together to memorialize those who were enslaved on campus at Solitude, the oldest structure on campus, which came into existence around 1840. The event will continue the tradition of honoring enslaved people from the area. Names will be written on biodegradable paper and affixed to the campus Wishing Tree at Solitude.

In April 2022, the University Council approved Juneteenth as an official university holiday to recognize the significance of June 19, 1865. On that day, the last enslaved Americans in the former Confederate States learned of the freedom granted to them by the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued more than two years earlier.

This year’s observance is sponsored by Solitude in connection with Diversity Education, Engagement, and the More than a Fraction Foundation.

The Juneteenth program will include:

  • Welcome and blessing 
  • Honor song 
  • Juneteenth and Emancipation History 
  • Honoring the ancestors: All present 
  • Reading of the names 
  • End of event: Retire in peace

For more information, please read this campus notice or visit the InclusiveVT website. For accessibility accommodations, please email Victoria Ferguson.

Student Affairs: Seeking Hokie Helpers to welcome students, assist with fall move-in

Virginia Tech Student Affairs is gearing up to welcome our incoming class of new Hokies with Fall Move-In and Weeks of Welcome, and is seeking faculty and staff volunteers to assist students and families as they arrive on campus.

The Hokie Helpers program supports new and returning students as they move into residence halls. Hokie Helper volunteers come from all over the university and community to showcase the university motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). Dressed in their signature blue shirts and stationed at blue tents, Hokie Helper volunteers provide information, welcome new students and their families, give directions, check out moving carts, unload vehicles, transport belongings, manage logistics, and distribute water bottles to students and families in need of a break from the heat.

Volunteers for this fall are needed during move-in from August 14-21, and for Weeks of Welcome events from August 15-September 1. Shifts range from three to six hours depending on the task, and volunteers may sign up for just one or as many as their schedule allows.

With the support of faculty and academic staff, Student Affairs is able to make every new student feel welcome and assist them in settling into their new home. Through extensive programming, they help new Hokies experience all that Virginia Tech has to offer and prepare them for their academic journey.

For more information, please read this campus notice or access the online iVolunteer form to view available shifts and sign up.

Policy and Governance: Tutorials on university shared governance system available online

Virginia Tech’s governance system is a shared process of decision-making concerning policies and institutional operation with representation of constituent groups at all levels who have a voice in shaping the university. This system requires an informed and knowledgeable community and allows for transparent, comprehensive, and open communication amongst governing bodies and the campus community.

To assist faculty and staff in understanding Virginia Tech’s shared governance structure and how it serves stakeholders across the university, the Office of Policy and Governance has created a series of self-paced online tutorials that outline the history of and guiding principles for effective governance, and the role that faculty, staff and student representative bodies play in the process.

The tutorial modules, which run from three to 20 minutes, are as follows:

In addition to the online tutorial modules, Policy and Governance offers a Governance 101 resource with information on structures and procedures as well as links to the contributing shared governance bodies, resolution tracker, and how to get involved in the shared governance system.

The Office of Policy and Governance is continually assessing and improving its resources for serving the university community. As the new governance system is implemented, they welcome feedback on these tutorials and ideas for creating additional ones.

For more information or to access these valuable resources, please visit Virginia Tech’s shared governance system website.

ICYMI: BOV approves 2023 faculty promotions, tenure, and continued appointments

During their June 6 meeting, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors (BOV) approved faculty promotion, tenure, and continued appointments for 2023.

Faculty and instructors were recognized for their scholarship, research, and service with promotions to associate professor with tenure, tenure at the currently held rank of associate professor, professor, associate professor, advanced instructor, senior instructor, assistant professor of practice, associate professor of practice, professor of practice, collegiate assistant professor, collegiate associate professor, collegiate professor, clinical associate professor, continued appointment with promotion to associate professor, research assistant professor, research associate professor, research professor, Extension agent, and senior Extension agent.

For the complete list of 2023 promotions approved by the BOV, please read this VT News article. Congratulations to all our newly promoted colleagues!

Additional Resources and Updates

If you have comments or recommendations for how we can improve the Weekly Communications Update or suggestions for information that should be shared with faculty, staff, and academic program personnel, please provide them through this Google form or email Provost Communications.

Please 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.