Week of October 14-18

2024

Provost’s Office: Welcome College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Mario Ferruzzi

The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost welcomes College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Dean Mario Ferruzzi. Ferruzzi comes to Virginia Tech from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) where he served as a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and director of Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center.

“Strength of leadership and a vision for elevating research and scholarship to advance Virginia Tech’s strategic priorities are critical to our position and progress as a global land-grant institution. Mario brings both to his role as the new dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and I look forward to working closely with him to serve and support the college’s faculty, staff, and students.”

“I want to thank Alan Grant for his exemplary leadership and service to CALS and Virginia Tech over the past 15 years, and for his partnership in building a strong foundation for future success for the college and our university.”

- Provost Cyril Clarke

Ferruzzi officially assumes leadership of CALS on October 15. Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Dean Mario Ferruzzi.

OEA and TLOS: Revisions to ADA Title II require accessibility conformance for all digital content

Critical revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II now require accessibility conformance to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for most digital content provided by Virginia Tech or through paid third-party resources by April 24, 2026. WCAG represents rules for creating accessible documents and webpages.

All Canvas content, webpages, apps, word-processing documents, PDFs, images, videos, spreadsheets, forms, and social media posts must be equally usable for everyone. Many documents actively used to support university operations and teaching and learning will need remediation.

The Office for Equity and Accessibility (OEA) and Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS) are leading this initiative to address the impact of new regulations which will impact all areas of the university.

OEA and TLOS encourage those who create or manage digital content to:

Become familiar with the updated regulations and the fact sheet.
Attend workshops and webinars provided by Professional Development Network (PDN) training, LinkedIn Learning or IAAP webinars to learn more.
Apply the Keep C.A.L.M. Campaign suggestions and resources when creating and updating your content.
Leverage the accessibility checkers available, such as Ally and Grackle, as well as the checkers built into Microsoft 365.

For more information, read this campus notice or visit the Virginia Tech Accessibility Portal for additional guidance and resources.

Faculty Affairs: Call for proposals for 2025 Virginia Tech Faculty Mentoring Forum

The Office of Faculty Affairs announces a call for proposals for the 2025 Virginia Tech Faculty Mentoring Forum that will take place on March 5, 2025, at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center.

During the day-long event, academic faculty and administrators will share effective mentoring strategies, explore issues and challenges, and develop actionable solutions to support faculty professional growth.

Proposals are welcome for topics that address, but are not limited to, the following:

Effective strategies for mentoring undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers
Best practices for peer mentoring and mentoring networks
Developing inclusive and supportive mentoring relationships
Mentoring others for career development and professional growth
Mentoring across the career trajectory
Tools and technologies for enhancing mentoring experiences

The Faculty Mentoring Forum will be comprised of concurrent sessions (30 minutes and 60 minutes) and can be proposed in a number of formats including case studies, workshops, panel discussions, and roundtable conversations.

Proposals are submitted online and are due by December 10, 2024. Notifications of acceptance will be sent to presenters by January 10, 2025.

For more information, visit the Office of Faculty Affairs’ Mentoring and Support webpage or email Faculty Affairs.

Reminder: Impacts from Thursday night home football game vs. Boston College

Virginia Tech will host a nationally televised football game on Thursday evening (October 17) against Boston College. Kickoff for the game is 7:30 p.m. The university will take the following steps to ensure the orderly flow of traffic and increase safety across the Blacksburg campus:

University employees who have remote or hybrid work agreements and schedules are strongly encouraged to work remotely on October 17.
Administrative and non-instructional offices in Blacksburg close at 2:00 p.m.
Designated emergency personnel who work will receive authorized closing leave for their time worked from 2:00 – 11:59 p.m.

All online classes will be held as scheduled.
All in-person classes on the Blacksburg campus beginning at or after 3:15 p.m. will be canceled.

For more information, read this campus notice or refer to University Policy No. 4305: Authorized Closings Leave and Compensation Policy. If employees have additional questions, they should contact their supervisor or HR representative.

ICYMI: Launch of National Distinction Program, recognition of T&R faculty prominence

With the support of the Board of Visitors as part of Virginia Tech’s annual budget process, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost is pleased to announce the launch of the 2024 National Distinction Program (NDP).

The NDP is a strategic investment in recognizing and retaining nationally and internationally prominent teaching and research (T&R) faculty whose work has earned prestigious external recognition. Specifically, the NDP will recognize faculty who have achieved national or international prominence, with a particular emphasis on those who have garnered noteworthy external recognition, achieved significant scholarly distinction, and/or received prestigious or highly prestigious awards.

To be eligible, T&R faculty must be at least partially funded on Education and General funds (E&G, also known as 208 funding). Faculty fully funded on Extension (also known as 229 funding) or through external grants are not eligible.

The program nomination process will be conducted this fall with awards becoming effective January 10, 2025.

For more information on the National Distinction Program or the nomination process, email the Office of Faculty Affairs.

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.