Virginia Tech History Resources: Board of Visitors
About the VT Board of Visitors (BOV)
The legislation that created Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) provided for the establishment of a board of visitors as a governing body. Consisting of both appointed and ex-officio members, the board was empowered to select the president and faculty, determine salaries, handle all matters of discipline and student life, and be responsible for all property of the College.
Governor Gilbert C. Walker appointed the first board on March 19, 1872, the day he signed the bill creating the college, and the first meeting was held March 25 and 26 in Richmond. Board appointments are still made by the governor and subject to confirmation by the Virginia Senate. Since its inception, the board has been chaired by a Rector.
Various changes have occurred throughout the years concerning the composition of the board, primarily relating to number and qualifications of appointees and offices to be represented ex-officio. The first board was composed of nine appointed members, with the president of the State Agricultural Society and members of the State Board of Education serving ex-officio. The next year, the makeup was changed so only the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the president of the Agricultural Society served ex-officio. Later, the president of the Agricultural Society was eliminated as an ex-officio member, but the State Superintendent of Public Instruction remained until 1966. The president of the Board of Agriculture and Immigration (now Consumer Services) became an ex-officio member after 1902, now being the only ex-officio member serving with thirteen appointed members. Four non-voting members have been added to represent the faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students.
Online Histories and 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.
- Historical Digest by Clara B. Cox and Jenkins M. Robertson, on the VT History websiteThis history of the university is broken down chronologically by President's term, and gives a good overview of changes and accomplishments at the university during each tenure.
- 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.) - Virginia Tech Governance Minutes Archives (Archived)This exhibit is a list of minutes of university administrative groups, some of which were digitized and maintained by Special Collections and University Archives and some were maintained by the group itself. (Some of the links may be broken as this is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 2013.)
Collections Related to the BOV and its Members
General Resources
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 Board of Visitors are identified as RG 1/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.
Collections Related to the BOV and its Members
- Records of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, RG 1The Records of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors includes unofficial minutes, correspondence, reports, Executive Committee minutes and reports, material from and about individual members of the Board, and reports to the Board of Visitors.
- Records of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, Guy L. Furr, RG 1/4/3This collection contains administrative letters, meeting minutes, and reports from the Boards of Vistors of Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) during Guy L. Furr's (1895-1977) tenure 1954 to 1964. It also contains materials from several organizations that he was a part of, such as VPI Alumni Association, VPI Educational Foundational, and VPI Continuing Education Program.
- Records of Radford College, the Women's Division of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, RG 24This collection consists of reports by the Radford College faculty for the Intervisitation Committee of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, 1953; blank forms, instructions, and form letters by M'Ledge Moffett, 1953; undated items about the honor system; and a 1959 report to the Board of Visitors.
- Samuel Davis Preston Papers, Ms1972-003This collection contains personal papers and memorabilia of Samuel D. Preston, a 1923 graduate of Virginia Tech and member of the university's board of visitors from 1952 to 1960. The collection includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, awards, and photographs.
- William H. Ruffner Letters, Ms1977-003The collection includes photocopies of eleven letters from William H. Ruffner to his wife and children, and to him from his daughter Anne. Ruffner (1824-1908) was an advocate for public education, serving as the first superintendent for public instruction in Virginia from 1870 until 1882. Ruffner was a trustee for Washington College and Washington and Lee University from mid-1860s to the mid-1870s, and on the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College Board of Visitors from 1872 until about 1880. He went on to the presidency of the Farmville Normal School (now Longwood College) from 1884 to 1887.
- C. Eugene Rowe Papers, Ms1989-035The C. Eugene Rowe Papers include materials created and collected by Rowe. The majority of the papers relate to Rowe's time as a member (1968-1976) and rector (1970-1975) of the Board of Visitors and include correspondence, meeting minutes, alumni association topics, events/issues on campus, financial issues, press releases, the Presidential search in 1974, academics at Virginia Tech, and higher education in general. There is also a small group of papers from Rowe's involvement in the Presbyterian church.
- Gabriel C. Wharton Correspondence, Ms2009-012Gen. Gabriel C. Wharton served on the board of visitors from 1874 to 1877 and was rector from 1875 to 1877. During the Civil War, he rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Confederate Army. This collection contains three post-Civil War letters addressed to Wharton; one regarding potential locations for a blast furnace, one relating to fees for the use of two horses, and one about a petition on some property in Blacksburg.
- Henry J. Dekker Papers, Ms2012-055Henry J. Dekker served on the board of visitors from 1989 to 1997, and was rector from 1996 to 1997. He was also a longtime member of the Pamplin Advisory Council. The collection consists of papers relating to Henry Dekker's tenure as rector of Board of Visitors, service on Pamplin Advisory Council, interest in Pamplin College of Business, and the history of Virginia Tech.
Additional BOV Resources
The majority of material from the Board of Visitors, including the official minutes, are housed in the Records Management office. Permission for access should be obtained through the Virginia Tech Office of the President or the Secretary to the Board of Visitors. Special Collections and University Archives will be happy to help you contact them.
Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) are working with the Board of Visitors to digitize the meeting minutes. Please contact SCUA for more information.
- BOV Minutes IndexSpecial Collections and University Archives maintains an index to Board of Visitors' official minutes from 1898 through 1959, which are held by Records Management. (This index does not include the 1910 official minutes in this Records of the VT Board of Visitors, RG 1.)
- Publications related to the Board of VisitorsIncludes reports, manuals, meeting minutes, etc. related to the BOV.
- VT Board of Visitors websiteThe BOV website includes meeting minutes, information about current and previous members of the board, and current by-laws and code of ethics.
- University Administration and Governance on VTechWorksIncludes publications and other works from the university administration, such as the Board of Visitors, Presidents, Vice Presidents, Office for Inclusion and Diversity (OID), etc.
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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.