Week of June 17-21

2024

Virginia Tech: BOV approves faculty promotions, tenure, and continued appointments

During its June 11 meeting, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors (BOV) approved faculty promotion, tenure, and continued appointments for 2024.

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, tenure at the currently held rank of professor, associate professor, professor, advanced instructor, senior instructor, assistant professor of practice, associate professor of practice, professor of practice, collegiate assistant professor, collegiate associate professor, clinical associate professor, clinical professor, continued appointment with promotion to associate professor, research assistant professor, research associate professor, research professor, extension agent, and senior extension agent.

For more information and the complete list of 2024 promotions, read this VT News article. Congratulations to all our newly promoted colleagues!

InclusiveVT: Identify, recruit diverse talent through the Future Faculty Diversity Program

The Office of Inclusion and Diversity is proud to announce the 14th annual Future Faculty Diversity Program, taking place October 6-9, at The Inn at Virginia Tech. The program is designed to help departments identify and recruit talented scholars from historically underrepresented populations, specifically U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are African Americans, Hispanics/Latinx, American Indian/Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders.

During the three-day event, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the university's culture, meet with senior leaders, department heads, and faculty members, and gain valuable insights into life as a faculty member at Virginia Tech.

College and academic departments will have the opportunity to identify and recruit diverse talent who could succeed at Virginia Tech and advance the university’s strategic plan diversity goals.

The deadline for participants to apply is August 16.

For more information including a complete list of eligibility and application requirements, please visit the Future Faculty Diversity Program webpage or email Erica Cooper in the Office of Inclusion and Diversity.

Provost’s Office and Human Resources: 2024 faculty, staff salary and merit increases

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and Commonwealth of Virginia have approved a three percent pool to increase the compensation of our valued employees. With these approvals:

Earned increases for calendar year faculty and university and classified staff will be effective June 10, 2024, and seen in their July 1 paychecks.
Academic year faculty earned increases will be effective August 10. Employees will see any increase in the August 30 paycheck.

To be eligible to receive merit pay:

T&R faculty must have been hired by December 10, 2023, to be eligible, and increases are merit-based as evaluated by Faculty Activity Reports (FARs) and/or other relevant performance-related information.
A/P faculty must have been hired by March 10, 2024, to be eligible, and increases are merit-based and evaluated by information included in FARs.
University staff must have been hired by March 10, 2024, and have at least a “meets” performance rating on their most recent evaluation.
Eligible classified staff who have at least a “meets” performance rating on their most recent evaluation received a base salary increase of three percent as these positions are governed by the state.

For more information and to see a table for how Virginia Tech’s compensation plan will be implemented, read this campus notice. If you have questions, contact your supervisor or college or department human resources representative.

Human Resources: Juneteenth holiday to be observed, university closed on June 19

Virginia Tech will be closed on Wednesday, June 19, and classes will be canceled in observance of Juneteenth. This will be a paid holiday for all eligible faculty and staff.

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.

For more information on university holidays, review Virginia Tech Policy No. 4315: Guidelines on Holidays or visit the Holidays and Winter Break page on the Human Resources site. For additional questions, contact your supervisor or college or department HR representative.

ICYMI: Guidance on using artificial intelligence (AI) during research activities

The Division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance (SIRC) in Research and Innovation has worked with campus stakeholders to develop guidelines for members of the Virginia Tech community who are using, or interested in using, artificial intelligence (AI) in the design, conduct, and dissemination of research.

Generative AI, a type of artificial intelligence that enables computers to create original content, poses both opportunities and challenges. As researchers explore this innovative new technology across various disciplines, it is important to address potential risks and concerns, and to be aware of how this guidance interacts with other policies, ethics, and governing legal authority.

This guidance is not intended as legal advice or as an exhaustive set of best practices and should not be viewed as a final policy. Generative AI is rapidly evolving in terms of technology, deployment models, third-party relationships, terms of service, regulatory landscape, and academic-industry partnership structures.

For more information including PI and university responsibilities, ethical and compliance dimensions of using AI in research, and points of contact in SIRC, read this campus notice or download the AI guidance document.

Additional Resources and Updates

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.