Week of May 29-June 2

Board of Visitors: Quarterly meetings to take place June 5-6 in Blacksburg

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors (BOV) will hold its quarterly meeting on June 6 at 1:30 p.m. in 2100 Torgersen Hall on the Blacksburg campus. Committee meetings held during the two-day session will take place at The Inn at Virginia Tech, unless otherwise noted. All board members will meet in open session and attend an information session on June 5 at 12:00 p.m. in 260 Classroom Building.

The June 6 full board meeting and the June 5 information session will be livestreamed. To view either meeting, go to the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors website. Public comment will not be received during the sessions.

For more information on the BOV meetings, topics on the agenda, and a schedule of committee meetings, please read this VT News announcement or visit the Board of Visitors website. If you have any issues with accessing the livestream, please call Virginia Tech 4-Help at 540-231-2280.

IT: TikTok, WeChat apps no longer permitted on university networks, devices beginning July 1

Effective July 1, use of TikTok, WeChat, and other products from ByteDance, Ltd. or Tencent Holdings, Ltd. will not be permitted on Virginia Tech networks or on university-issued devices.

The university is taking this measure to comply with a new Virginia law which prohibits access to and use of apps or websites from the above entities on state-issued devices or on state-maintained networks. The Virginia General Assembly passed this law earlier in 2023, and the bill was signed by the governor in April.

Restrictions set forth in the new law will impact the university community in the following ways:

• Beginning July 1, access to these apps and websites will be restricted on all Virginia Tech and state-managed networks, including eduroam at Virginia Tech. 
• TikTok, WeChat, etc. may not be used on any university-issued device, regardless of what network is being used at the time. Apps should be deleted from university-issued devices. 
• Virginia Tech-sponsored TikTok accounts, such as those administered by colleges and departments, may not be used in any manner after July 1. Social media managers are advised not to delete accounts, but simply to stop using them - this will protect the accounts from being spoofed in the future.

The new law does not restrict use of TikTok, WeChat, or any ByteDance or Tencent product on personally owned devices when connected to networks that are not maintained by state agencies including Virginia Tech. Employees and students who violate these new restrictions will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, as stipulated in Virginia Tech’s Policy 7000: Acceptable Use and Administration of Computer and Communication Systems.

For more information and answers to FAQs about these state-mandated app and website restrictions, please read this campus notice or visit the IT Application Restrictions website.

InclusiveVT: Applications now open for Future Faculty Diversity Program

The Office of Inclusion and Diversity is excited to announce the 13^th annual Future Faculty Diversity Program, taking place October 1-4, 2003, 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.

Current Ph.D./MFA candidates or post-docs not affiliated with Virginia Tech, within one year of pursuing a faculty position, and of a caliber to be competitive for a position are strongly encouraged to apply. The deadline to apply is August 15, 2023.

Benefits of the Program:

• Identify and recruit diverse talent who could succeed at Virginia Tech 
• Advance Virginia Tech’s Strategic Plan diversity goals

Selection Process:

• Applications will be shared with Academic Diversity Directors by August 18. 
• Departments and colleges will have until September 1 to provide a list of fellows to invite. 
• Host departments will be responsible for creating an interview schedule on October 3 that includes meetings with key faculty, students, the faculty liaison, and a job talk.

At Virginia Tech, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive community that fosters creativity, innovation, and excellence. We believe that by bringing together individuals from different backgrounds and perspectives, we can drive positive change in our communities and beyond. The Future Faculty Diversity Program is just one example of our commitment to supporting and nurturing the next generation of scholars and leaders.

Departments are asked to please share this opportunity widely with faculty and within professional networks.

For more information, please visit the Future Faculty Diversity Program website or email Erica Cooper in the Office of Inclusion and Diversity.

University Libraries: Details for authors on how to deposit articles for open access

Virginia Tech's open access policy, managed through University Libraries, enables authors to legally provide open access to the accepted version (not the journal published version) of their scholarly article, regardless of the copyright transfer agreement (a very small number of publishers may require you to waive the policy). The policy follows United States copyright law and has been vetted by the Virginia Tech Office of Legal Counsel.

Policy on Intellectual Property, No. 13000 states, “Authors grant to the university a nonexclusive license to copyright in their scholarly articles in order to provide open access to them via the university repository. Authors deposit in the university repository an electronic copy of their unformatted, post peer-review, accepted manuscript for each scholarly article within one month after the date of its publication. Upon deposit of accepted manuscripts into the repository, the university grants authors a nonexclusive license to share accepted manuscripts elsewhere.”

Details on how to deposit your articles for open access:

• Who: All faculty, staff and students (anyone with a VT affiliation) 
• What: The accepted version of your scholarly article (or the published version if openly licensed or in the public domain) 
• When: The day of acceptance through one month after publication, no embargo needed 
• Where: VTechWorks
• How: There are three deposit options (for details, see the How to Deposit tab above): 
  • Elements (EFARs), *faculty and grad students only* 
  • OA Policy Deposit Form
  • Email VTechWorks
• Why: Most scholarly articles written by VT authors are not available to the public, which includes scholars in low and middle-income countries, government policymakers, taxpayers, and our alumni.  If you have benefited from open access provided by others, consider paying it forward.

For questions or more information about the open access policy or how to deposit articles, please visit the University Libraries website.

ICYMI: New inductees to academies of faculty leadership, faculty service

The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost is recognizing three outstanding Virginia Tech with induction into the Academy of Faculty Leadership and the Academy of Faculty Service. The new members are being honored for exceptional leadership and/or service to the university beyond their usual responsibilities. The new inductees are as follows:

• Bill Knocke, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering (Academy of Faculty Service and the Academy of Faculty Leadership) 
• Kevin Edgar, professor of sustainable biomaterials in the College of Natural Resources and Environment (Academy of Faculty Leadership) 
• Donna Wertalik, director of undergraduate student engagement and marketing professor of practice in the Pamplin College of Business (Academy of Faculty Leadership)

“The members of the Academy of Faculty Leadership and Academy of Faculty Service have distinguished themselves and Virginia Tech through their commitment to and accomplishments in teaching, research, and student engagement. I want to congratulate the newest members of these academies and thank each of them for their outstanding contributions to our university and for serving as a model for faculty excellence in the spirit of Ut Prosim.”

-Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke

Please join us in congratulating these outstanding faculty and thanking them for their service and leadership. For more information on the academies and their new members, please read this VT News article.

Additional Resources and Updates

• All Hands' meeting for Northern Virginia faculty, staff
  Posted-May 31
  Dan Sui, SVP for Research and Innovation, to host networking and learning session for providing updates on key university initiatives.
• Juneteenth holiday to be observed on June 19
  Posted-May 30
  Virginia Tech will be closed on Monday, June 19, and classes will be canceled. This will be a paid holiday for all eligible faculty and staff.
• Int’l workshop explores cultures of ethics in higher education
  Posted-May 30
  Virginia Tech to host two-day workshop to explore current topics in STEM ethics, undergraduate ethics education research.
• Register now for June Hokie Wellness programs
  Posted-May 26
  Hokie Wellness offers a range of physical, mental wellness programs and activities for Virginia Tech employees throughout June.
• PREP Program faculty cohort applications due June 7
  Updated-May 25
  ISCE’s PREP is intended for faculty who are relatively new to proposal writing process or whose prior proposals have not been funded.
• Traffic, pedestrian impacts updates: Summer construction
  Updated-May 23
  Periodic road and pedestrian route closures and traffic delays in limited areas of the Blacksburg campus during May-August.