Week of March 11-15

2024

Women’s Center at Virginia Tech: Programs, events to celebrate Women’s Month 2024

The Women’s Center at Virginia Tech invites the campus and local communities to participate in a number of programs and activities throughout March in celebration of Women’s Month 2024. Women’s Month has historically represented the university’s broad commitment to celebrating diverse and inclusive communities through events aligned with the Virginia Tech Principles of Community.

The annual event occurs in conjunction with National Women’s History Month. The National Women's History Month theme for this year is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.”

For more information and a complete list of planned activities, visit the Women’s Month 2024 events webpage or email the Women’s Center at Virginia Tech.

CETL: Instructional grant proposals due March 31

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) offers multiple types of instructional grants for faculty and departments to engage in the development of instructional skills, the application of effective teaching strategies, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Five types of instructional grants are available:

High-Impact Project Grants – support departments, programs, and/or interdisciplinary collaborators in designing (or re-designing), developing, and implementing a large-scale project with the potential to have a significant impact on student learning and teaching excellence.
Large Class Teaching Grants – support for the enhancement of student learning in large-class settings.
Instructional Innovation Grants – support for enhancement of instruction.
GTA Training Program Grants – support for the enhancement or the creation of faculty-led training programs for graduate teaching assistants with a focus on knowledge and skills needed to develop as effective educators.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grants – support for faculty conducting a scholarship of teaching and learning research project.

The deadline for fall 2024 grant project proposals is March 31.

For more information and to submit a proposal, read this campus notice or visit CETL’s instructional grant webpage.

Global Strategic Services: Announcement of changes to J-1 visa processing, fees

The Office of Global Strategic Services (GSS) has announced the following changes to J-1 processing which will impact department heads, chairs, and school directors.

Department head approval required for all J-1 sponsorship requests – Effective March 11, GSS will require department head approval for any J-1 request initiated in Sunapsis. The department/unit head (or designee) will be required to sign off on the Invitation Letter that the host faculty member prepares. It will be the responsibility of the host faculty to obtain the relevant signature before uploading the letter to Sunapsis. Failure to get DH approval prior to submitting the request will delay processing of the DS-2019.
Increase in funding requirements for J-1 Scholars – To ensure that the funding requirement accurately reflects the cost of living in the location of the J-1 scholar’s “Site of Activity.” GSS will be implementing higher funding requirements for scholars who will work at university facilities in specific regions throughout the commonwealth.
Increase in GSS processing fee (from $100 to $150) for each DS-2019 – Virginia Tech is required by federal regulations to provide cultural programming and other services to J-1 visitors. The costs of doing so have risen as have expenses for other operations. To keep pace, GSS has decided to implement a $50 increase this year and an additional $50 next year.

Because of the potential budgetary impact of the last two changes, they will not be implemented until July 1. All J-1 requests submitted in Sunapsis with a program start date on or after July 1, will be subject to the increased funding requirements and processing fee.

For more information on these changes or an overview of program processes and requirements, visit the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program webpage or email GSS’ J-1 program manager.

InclusiveVT: Principles of Community Week 2024

The Office of Inclusion and Diversity has announced programs and events for Principles of Community Week 2024, March 11-16. Principles of Community Week is an annual event featuring programming from across the campus that commemorates and reaffirms our commitment to the Virginia Tech Principles of Community.

This year’s spotlight event is “The Deceit of the Racial Integrity Act Symposium” on Saturday, March 16. This symposium will feature keynote speaker Gabrielle Tayac from George Mason University who will be discussing the repercussions of the Racial Integrity Act and Sterilization Act in Virginia and beyond.

The Principles of Community are values that reflect who Virginia Tech is at the institution’s best. At the principles’ core is the belief that Virginia Tech is a community built on respect for all people. Every student and employee shares responsibility for maintaining and advancing these principles.

For more information and to register for events, read this campus notice, visit the Virginia Tech Principles of Community Week 2024 website, or email InclusiveVT.

ICYMI: Call for proposals for DA 2.0 project planning, development grants

Virginia Tech is soliciting proposals for the next phase of Destination Area (DA) 2.0 projects that are aligned with our Beyond Boundaries vision and will achieve the strategic priorities in The Virginia Tech Difference: Advancing Beyond Boundaries. Projects will target transdisciplinary discovery, learning, and outreach efforts that yield solutions to complex problems that advance the human condition.

Successful proposals will articulate the transformative nature of the research and scholarship outlined and how it places Virginia Tech in the top tier of global institutions working to solve the problem identified.

The DA 2.0 Planning and Development Grants (Phase I) will be awarded up to an amount of $50,000 and are expected to support team and project development over an approximately five-month period.

The deadline for Phase I proposals is May 15, 2024 and all documentation should be submitted as a single PDF attachment.

For more information including details on sections, criteria, and key questions to be addressed, visit the Destination Area 2.0 website or email Catherine Amelink, associate vice provost in the Office of the Executive Vice Provost.

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.