EDHE 6064: Higher Education in the United States: Diversity
Digital/online resources related to diversity
- Black History at Virginia Tech timelinesDeveloped by former University Archivist, Tamara Kennelly, these timelines use materials from the University Archives to relate the history of Black people at Virginia Tech. There are timelines for pre-1950s and ever decade from the 1950s through the 2010s.
- Denim Day: 40th AnniversaryOral history exhibit featuring interviews with members of the 1979 Gay Student Alliance who organized and participated in the first Gay Awareness Week at Virginia Tech.
- The First International Students at VTVirginia Tech has had a rich history of international students from its beginnings as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC). James Dunsmuir from British Columbia, Canada enrolled in the college in 1874 just two years after VAMC opened in 1872. The timeline, "First International Students at Virginia: By Year" includes the first and early international students from 1874 through the early 1960s.
- History of Women at Virginia TechDeveloped in conjunction with the Women's Center at Virginia Tech, this timeline uses materials from Special Collections and University Archives collections to explore the history of women's experiences at Virginia Tech.
- Indigenous History at Virginia TechThis exhibit explores significant events surrounding the history of the Indigenous community at Virginia Tech and the surrounding areas. This project is a work-in-progress. Information on Virginian tribes and Indigenous Peoples at Virginia Tech is being received, updated, and revised continually.
- Minority Newsletter and Diversity News (LD5655 .A76831)This collection includes digitized copies of Virginia Tech's Minority Newsletter/Diversity News, a campus newsletter mainly focused on issues of concern to the Virginia Tech Black community. The collection includes issues from 1981 through 2002.
- Timeline of LGBTQ+ History at Virginia TechDeveloped in association with the VT LGBTQ+ Oral History Project, this timeline explores the history of LGBTQ+ experience at Virginia Tech from the 1970s through 2019.
Books and journals related to diversity
- Minority focus: the cadet experience at Virginia Tech (LD5655.A5 C5 2000)2000?
Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets - Cultural Connections: Office of Equity Initiatives & Equity and Access (LD5655 .A4 2013b)2013?
Office of Equity and Access, Department of Human Resources & Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
Manuscript collections related to diversity
- Jean Elliott Papers (Ms2016-014)The Jean Elliott Papers includes documents and correspondence relating to Jean Elliott's work within the LGBTQ community at Virginia Tech.
- Records of HokiePRIDE (RG 31/14/15)The Records of HokiePRIDE include materials from the HokiePRIDE student group including items from all of its named iterations: Lambda Horizions; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance; and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Alliance, including officer papers, office records, event planning information, resource pamphlets and directories, and copies of budgetary requests and accounting records.
- Records of the Faculty Senate (RG 30/3)This collection documents the work of the Faculty Senate from 1966 until 1990, including minutes, correspondence, constitutions and by-laws, and reports from the Senate president, committees, subcommittees, university commissions, and the Student Government Association. The Faculty Senate was founded in 1969 in order to "articulate faculty views on campus policies and procedures."
- Records of the Office of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action (RG 6/4/5)The collection contains materials from Michele Holmes relating to Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EO/AA) at Virginia Tech from 1986 through 2006. It includes EO/AA minutes, affirmative action plans, proposals, grants, executive orders, and information on faculty recruitment, the Family Friendly Policy Task Force, and awards. It also contains materials relating to various events, including Black Alumni Reunions, and areas of concern as well as information regarding the work force and lists of black alumni.
- Records of the Office of the Associate Provost, Patricia Hyer (RG 5/1/10a))This collection contains materials from Patricia Hyer's tenure as Associate Provost at Virginia Tech, covering such subjects as inclusion and diversity, women's issues, the AdvanceVT program, and strategic planning. The collection also includes some biographical information. Series V: Diversity Issues, 1990-2013, contains reports and research on diversity, multicultural affairs, affirmative action issues, and strategic planning for diversity. There are also reports on undergraduate African American enrollment, results from a 1999 campus climate survey, and documents from "Growing and Sustaining a Diverse and Inclusive Environment: 2010-2013 VT Diversity Strategic Plan."
- Records of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Office of the Vice President for Special Projects, Alfred Krebs (RG 5/1/2/1)The collection consists primarily of the correspondence and other materials of Alfred Krebs in his capacity as Vice President for Special Projects (1975-1976). The collection also includes materials from his period as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs (1972-1975). His duties as Vice President for Special Projects included university financial functions, chairmanship of the Computer Committee, Systems Development, Institutional Research, and the coordination of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Programs. There are materials regarding such subjects as consulting projects, cases from the Judicial Review committee, the Telecommunication Committee, and the University Council. Correspondence and other documents detail the formation and management of the Computer Committtee, the creation and implementation of an Affirmative Action Plan,and procedures for implementing Title IX regulations.
- Records of the Virginia Tech Black Organizations Council (RG 8/2/6e)The Black Organizations Council (BOC) was founded on the Virginia Tech campus in 1985, and is the umbrella and resource body for the Black student organizations. According to the organization, BOC serves to ensure the betterment of the Black community through providing a unified voice for the Black community in a university population where the Black community lacks adequate representation. The collection includes documents, photos, VHS tapes, and posters.
- Records of the Virginia Tech Women's Network (RG 30/7)This collection includes information from the Women's Network at Virginia Tech from about 1973-1991. It includes letters, meeting minutes, reports, and more related to the operation of the organization as well as materials from different task forces and causes the Women's Network was backing.
Audio and video material related to diversity
- Anti-Asian Panic and the Pandemic: A Virtual Teach-In Collection (Ms2020-003)The Anti-Asian Panic and the Pandemic: A Virtual Teach-In Collection includes video, audio, and text files recorded by Zoom for the teach-in event. It also includes the event flyer, notes on Coronavirus discrimination in the news, and a follow-up reading list.
- Denim Day: 40th AnniversaryOral history exhibit featuring interviews with members of the 1979 Gay Student Alliance who organized and participated in the first Gay Awareness Week at Virginia Tech.
- Virginia Tech: opportunity in diversity (Video 8784)between 1985 and 1989?
Virginia Tech
An overview of opportunities for minority students at Virginia Tech
About Special Collections and University Archives
Hours
Special Collections and University Archives is currently open Monday-Friday from 8am to 5pm.
Appointments are not required, but strongly encouraged (**see below)
Appointments can be made by visiting the SCUA Seat Reservation page (instructions are included on this page)
Virtual reference help remains available at specref@vt.edu or by phone at 540-231-6308
**By making an appointment, you will help us limit the number of researchers using our Reading Room at any one time for health and safety; guarantee you a seat at the requested time; and help us plan for your visit, for example, making sure the materials needed are on site and available.
Connect with us
Email: specref@vt.edu
Phone: 540-231-6308
Twitter: @VT_SCUA
Information for Visitors
​Find us online
Our website
Our digital collections
Our blog
Our LibGuides
Land Acknowledgement
Virginia Tech acknowledges that we live and work on the Tutelo / Monacan People’s homeland, and we recognize their continued relationships with their lands and waterways. We further acknowledge that the Morrill Land-Grant College Act (1862) enabled the commonwealth of Virginia to finance and found Virginia Tech through the forced removal of Native Nations from their lands in western territories. We understand that honoring Native Peoples without explicit material commitments falls short of our institutional responsibilities. Through sustained, transparent, and meaningful engagement with the Tutelo / Monacan Peoples, and other Native Nations, we commit to changing the trajectory of Virginia Tech's history by increasing Indigenous student, staff, and faculty recruitment and retention, diversifying course offerings, and meeting the growing needs of all Virginia tribes and supporting their sovereignty.
Labor Recognition
Virginia Tech acknowledges that its Blacksburg campus sits partly on land that was previously the site of the Smithfield and Solitude Plantations, owned by members of the Preston family. Between the 1770s and the 1860s, the Prestons and other local White families that owned parcels of what became Virginia Tech also owned hundreds of enslaved people. We acknowledge that enslaved Black people generated wealth that financed the predecessor institution to Virginia Tech, the Preston and Olin Institute, and they also worked on construction of its building. Not until 1953, however, was the first Black student permitted to enroll. Through InclusiveVT, the institutional and individual commitment to Ut Prosim (that I may serve) in the spirit of community, diversity, and excellence, we commit to advancing a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.
Full and short versions of the acknowledgements can be found on InclusiveVT's website.