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Week of May 1-5

2023

From President Sands and Provost Clarke: Thank you to faculty, staff for college visits

One of the most important and rewarding aspects of university leadership is the opportunity to visit in-person with faculty and staff across the campus and hear more about their ideas, concerns, and perspectives for advancing the institution. These discussions are valuable and essential to fostering an informed and collaborative approach to governance, growth, and service.

This academic year, we had the pleasure of visiting with faculty and staff from each of the nine academic colleges to provide updates on university plans and strategic priorities and engage in open conversations. During these visits, President Sands spoke about the evolution of Virginia Tech’s Beyond Boundaries vision, progress on institutional goals and commitments, and investments in mission-related initiatives while Provost Clarke shared overviews of respective college accomplishments, including growth in research, instructional innovations and progress made in increasing diversity.

We would like to express our appreciation for the opportunity to visit with you and for your candid and thoughtful questions and feedback. We came away from each session with a greater understanding of your aspirations and the challenges you face, and how we might use your insights and experiences to inform the process of setting priorities and making decisions for our university.

Have a great summer and thank you again for your service and contributions to Virginia Tech. We look forward to future visits with you and will work closely with your college and department leaders to create opportunities to continue the conversation.

President Tim Sands
Provost Cyril Clarke

Faculty Affairs: Call for application for Virginia Tech’s Faculty Fellows Program

The Office of Faculty Affairs announces a call for applications for Virginia Tech’s Faculty Fellows Program. In this part-time role, Faculty Fellows will work directly with the Faculty Affairs team and other senior leaders in developing and implementing programs and developing resources and policies to support faculty success and excellence.

The Faculty Fellows Program will provide opportunities to:

  • Engage and work with colleagues in different departments and colleges across all Virginia Tech campuses. 
  • Gain valuable knowledge and experience in higher education administration. 
  • Expand administrative skills in developing and implementing programs and policies in a decentralized university environment.  
  • Develop expertise in a content area(s) of faculty affairs.  
  • Contribute to decision-making in support of faculty program offerings and initiatives.

Faculty Affairs has particular interest in advancing programs and policies related to:

  • Faculty evaluation 
  • Collegiate faculty support 
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives 
  • Navigating the university (for new faculty members) 
  • Academic leadership development

Proposals for other areas of focus or programs and policies are also welcome. Selected faculty will be expected to serve for a one-year period, as applicable to the assignment(s), with the possibility of renewal. Though the expected time-period for the Fellowship is the academic year, the start date may be negotiated to accommodate the faculty member’s other responsibilities.

For more information on the program and the application process, please visit the Faculty Fellows Program website or email Rachel Gabriele, associate vice provost for Faculty Affairs.

TLOS: Faculty, staff invited to take part in emerging technologies showcase

Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS) invites faculty, staff, and graduate students to attend a day of workshops focused on current and emerging technologies and how they can help enhance teaching, research, accessibility, and everyday productivity.

TLOS’ emerging technologies showcase will take place on May 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in their University Mall (UMall) offices at 801 University City Blvd., Suite 21. Workshop topics include designing media, virtual computer labs, artificial intelligence, and assessment, as well as tours of the DIY and POD recording studios.

The showcase is free to attend, but registration is required for either in-person participation or through Zoom Events. Lunch will be provided for in-person attendees.

For more information on the TLOS emerging technologies showcase, please read this campus notice or visit the TLOS website. If you are an individual with a disability or desire an accommodation, please email TLOS during regular business hours at least two business days prior to the event.

Commencement 2023: Reminders for ceremony information, schedules for faculty and guests

The Spring 2023 University Commencement ceremony will be held on Friday, May 12 at 8:30 a.m. and the Graduate School ceremony will be Wednesday, May 10 at 3:30 p.m. Both ceremonies will take place in Lane Stadium.

The University Commencement ceremony will include remarks from President Tim Sands, student speakers, and a keynote speaker. The Graduate School ceremony and college ceremonies will offer graduates a chance to hear their name called and walk across the stage. Ceremonies are expected to last no more than two hours.

The Commencement 2023 website has detailed information on schedules, parking, live stream, regalia, and FAQs. Gates to Lane Stadium will open at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, May 12 for the University Commencement ceremony and will open one hour before the start of each college ceremony.  

The Washington D.C. Area Commencement will be held on Sunday, May 14 at 1:00 p.m. at the GMU Center for the Arts, for graduates of programs located in northern Virginia. Approximately 400 post-graduate certificates, masters, and doctoral degrees will be conferred this spring in the D.C. area. See complete event information and schedules on the Washington D.C. Area Commencement website.

Requests for accommodations for guests attending the university-wide Undergraduate or Graduate Commencement ceremonies must be made to the Office of Equity and Accessibility at least two weeks before the events. For additional information concerning accessibility and disability accommodations, please contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD).

For more information, schedule updates, and speaker announcements, please visit the Commencement 2023 website.

ICYMI: Changes planned for Google email, calendar, and online storage

Over the next 14 months, Virginia Tech will move all users from Google to Microsoft for email and calendars and will establish a new operating model for the administration of Google Drive storage.

At a high level, the changes most directly impacting faculty and academic staff are as follows:

  • All users: Virginia Tech email and calendars are consolidating on the Microsoft Exchange Online platform. For Gmail users, the university will provide migration services for email and calendar accounts on a staggered basis beginning this fall and continuing through June 2024. In addition: 
    • VT Google Groups services will continue with no changes. 
    • VT Google Photos (app) will be phased out by July 1, 2024.
  • Current employees and students: Individual Google My Drive folders will be limited to 5GB. Departments will have the ability to increase employee storage allocations. Apps such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and Sites will remain available. 
  • Departments and units: University departments will be provided with an extra 40 GB of Google storage per employee and may allocate this storage as needed between employee drives and shared drives. In addition, departments will have the option to purchase additional Google storage on an ongoing basis. Beginning May 10: 
    • Creation of new Google shared drives by employees will require departmental approval and will be disallowed for students, alumni, and retirees. 
    • Requests for new Google Auxiliary Email (GAE) accounts, which are often used by departments to share access to resources, will be fulfilled by creating Microsoft PACE accounts. PACE accounts serve a similar function. Existing GAE accounts will be converted to PACE accounts on a department-by-department basis beginning in the fall.

Successful completion of these changes will require active participation from the entire university community. Account migrations will begin in the fall, but the first changes — affecting the creation of new Google shared drives and GAE accounts — will begin on May 10. All changes and migrations must be completed before July 1, 2024.

For more information on this transition, please read this VTx announcement or visit the Division of IT’s Google Changes website.

Additional Resources and Updates

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

Please visit VT Ready and the Provost’s website frequently for new and updated university information. All members of the campus community should also read their VTx Daily email for further important updates, notices, and resources.