Virginia Tech History Resources: Provost
About the Provosts
About the Provost
The Office of Vice-President of Academic Affairs was established in 1966, out of the Office of the Vice-President. The title changed to Provost by the Board of Visitors on November 5, 1976. It evolved into the Senior Vice President and Provost, and in 2015, it became the Executive Vice President and Provost.
About the Office of the Vice-President
In the fall of 1945, the State Legislature authorized the Board of Visitors to create the Office of Vice-President. The office was combined with the the Director of Graduate Studies from 1949 through 1965. A reorganization in 1966 eliminated the office of Vice-President and created two offices from the one, Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Vice-President for Administration.
Online Histories & Exhibits
- "Administration" page at Virginia Tech History websiteThis website contains historical and current information about the university governance, including Board of Visitors, Presidents and Vice Presidents, Provosts, and others.
- 125th Anniversary of Virginia Tech (Archived)
This exhibit was created as part of the university's 125th anniversary in 1997. There are articles, a timeline, and photographs documenting the university's early history, students and alumni, administration, Corps of Cadets, and campus, including maps, buildings, and aerial views. SCUA is currently converting legacy exhibits like this to an updated exhibit. (Some links may be broken as this website is archived on Archive-It.org and primarily dates to 1997, but includes events thru 2014.)
Collections
Record Groups
Record groups may include posters, flyers, photos, organizational records, and more. Materials are divided into assigned Record Groups based on the organization or group and designated by the prefix, RG. For example, materials relating to the Office of the Vice-President are identified as RG 3/x and the Provost are RG 5/x.
- Record Groups in the University ArchivesThis list includes the major overview of the University Archives' Record Groups. Record Groups are the official records of the university held by Special Collections and University Archives. This includes official records, newspaper clippings, and printed material. There are two versions, a spreadsheet for sorting and filtering and a document that includes a page per RG number.
- Record Group Vertical FilesThe Record Group Vertical Files contain newspaper clippings, pamphlets, brochures, posters, flyers, and more related to departments, schools, colleges, and administrative offices in the university, including press releases, courses, buildings, public events, and more.
- Records of the Office of the Vice-President, Walter S. Newman, RG 3/1Walter Stephenson Newman (1895-1978) was the first individual to hold the office of Vice-President at Virginia Tech. His tenure began 15 May 1946 but only lasted until 1 September 1947, when he became the tenth president of Virginia Tech, serving from 1947 to 1962. This small collection consists of correspondence concerning curriculum revisions, letters from and replies to other colleges on various matters, and copies of memoranda to faculty and department heads.
- Records of the Office of the Vice-President, Charles Clement French, RG 3/2Charles Clement French served as Vice-President of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute from January 1949 through August 1950. The collection contains primarily correspondence but also travel vouchers, budget materials, and materials related to the American Chemical Society of Virginia, American Council on Education, Board of Control of Southern Regional Education; Educational Policy and Program Committee; General Education Board; and student alcohol consumption.
- Records of the Office of the Vice-President, Louis A. Pardue, RG 3/3This collection consists primarily of correspondence relating to Dr. Louis A. Pardue's duties both as Vice-President and Director of Graduate Studies. Materials consist of general correspondence, general reports, financial reports, enrollment statistics, commencement and inaugural reports, minutes, and departmental information collected by Pardue from 1950 through 1963. There are extensive correspondence and other material of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Science (ORINS), of which VPI was a member and Pardue served on the Council and Board of Directors.
- Records of the Office of Vice-President and the Office of Executive Vice-President, Warren W. Brandt, RG 3/4This collection consists primarily of the correspondence of Warren Brandt in his capacity as Vice-President of Academic Affairs (1966-1968). However, it also includes many of his files from his period as Executive Vice-President (1968) as well as material from his term as Vice-President and Dean of the Graduate School (1963-1965). There is material and correspondence concerning budget matters, Center for Research in College Instruction of Science and Math, Corps of Cadets, the Dean of Students, EDUCOM, Engineering Experiment Station, ROTC, Student Government Association, Student Activities Committee, Summer School, and Visiting Scholars Program.
- Records of the Office of Academic Affairs, RG 5/1/2This collection consists primarily of correspondence and records from the Office of Academic Affairs at Virginia Tech. The papers reflect the many changes at Virginia Tech as it became a university (approved by legislature on June 23, 1970) and as the roles of faculty and the participation of students within the university were defined. There also are materials relating to campus disorders and dissent during 1970 to 1971. Materials are from Leslie F. Malpass' tenure as Vice-President for Academic Affairs (1968-1974); from Alfred H. Krebs' tenure as director of Summer School, as Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs under Malpass, and as acting Vice President for Academic Affairs from August 1974 until September 1975; and from Donald C. Darnton's tenure as Director of Special Programs, which also was under the Office of Academic Affairs.
- Records of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Office of the Vice President for Special Projects, Alfred Krebs, RG 5/1/2/1The 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 Committee, the creation and implementation of an Affirmative Action Plan, and procedures for implementing Title IX regulations.
- Records of the Office of the Associate Provost, Patricia Hyer, RG 5/1/10AThis 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.
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Virginia Tech's Land Acknowledgement & Labor Recognition
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.
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 version of the acknowledgement can be found on InclusiveVT's website.