Virginia Tech History Resources: College of Engineering
About the College of Engineering (COE)
The College of Engineering (COE) has roots going back to the beginning of Virginia Tech's history. When the university began as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1872, it offered "Mechanical" (now a department of mechanical engineering) as one of its 13 "courses of study," what would today be considered "departments." When the first administrative instructional divisions were established in 1903, engineering was one of four academic departments for which a dean was appointed. In 1920, the department became the School of Engineering and then, in 1964, the College of Engineering.
Online Histories and Exhibits
- College and Departmental Histories at Virginia Tech (Archived)This exhibit contains links to videos and webpages about different departments' histories from the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Enginnering, Liberal Arts & Human Sciences, Natural Resources and Environment, and Science. (Some links may be broken as this is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 2011.)
- "Instruction, Degrees, and Commencements" on the Virginia Tech History websiteThis website contains a thorough history of several facets of the university's history, including information on the colleges and schools, deans, degrees awarded, commencement speakers, and more.
COE Collections
General Resources
Record groups may include posters, flyers, photos, organizational records, and more. Materials are divided into assigned Record Groups based on the office, division, or unit and designated by the prefix, RG. Materials related to COE are in RG 18/x and subgroups, while the Virginia Tech - Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences (VT-WFU SBES) is RG 49.
- 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.
- Directory of Administrators and New Faculty, Ms2005-004The collection was originally housed in and apparently used by the Office of the President, while James D. McComas was president of Virginia Tech from 1988-1993. Collection consists of one-page vitas and photographs of administrators and new faculty in 1988 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, representing the Pamplin College of Business, the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Architecture and Urban Studies, Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering, and Human Resources. It also includes the Cooperative Extension and Continuing Education and numerous Vice President offices.
Collections of COE and COE-Related Individuals
Here are several SCUA collections related to the College of Engineering. This is not a comprehensive list of all our related collections. To find more, please search within our collections on Archival Resources of the Virginias.
- William MacFarland Patton Papers, Ms1954-001The papers of William MacFarland Patton, a professor of civil engineering at Virginia Agricultural & Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech), include a partial draft of Patton's book, "A Practical Treatise on Foundations" and draft of an unpublished textbook on civil engineering, together with patent documentation for two inventions.
- E. B. Norris Papers, Ms1981-103E.B. Norris was Dean of Engineering at VPI from 1928-1952, and his papers include reports concerning the agriculture and engineering departments, reports on individual development, newspaper clippings, catalogues, brochures, and correspondence, particularly regarding then-President Burruss.
- Dan H. Pletta Papers, Ms1982-006Pletta was professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech (1932-1972) and department head from 1958-1970. This collection includes treatises, transcripts of talks and correspondence dealing with all aspects of the field of engineering, but especially with the role of education in producing a professional engineer, qualifications for practice, the public purpose of engineering, ethics, and whistleblowing. Other topics include the Department of Engineering at Virginia Tech, the American Society of Civil Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers, and the Order of Engineers.
- Henry M. Morris Papers, Ms1994-028This collection contains papers relating to Morris's career as VPI Professor of Hydraulic Engineering and Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering (1957-1970) and his position as director of the Institute for Creation Research. The materials date from 1937 to 1999 and include course materials (exams, notes), his M.S. thesis and Ph.D. dissertation, publications, technical reports, correspondence concerning such topics as hydraulic engineering and soil mechanics, and publications and pamphlets from the Institute of Creation Research.
- Leslie Wallace Jerrell Papers, Ms1972-005Papers include the correspondence, grade reports, receipts, photographs, and textbooks of Leslie Wallace Jerrell, a student, staff member, and instructor of mechanical technology at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College.
- William MacFarland Patton Papers, Ms1954-001Papers of William MacFarland Patton, civil engineer and professor and first dean of engineering at Virginia Agricultural & Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech). Includes a partial draft of Patton's book, A Practical Treatise on Foundations and draft of an unpublished textbook on civil engineering, together with patent documentation for two inventions.
COE Publications & Additional Resources
- COE publications on VTechWorksIncludes publications for departments and schools within the college and Virginia Center for Autonomous Systems
- Engineering Science & Mechanics Department newsCall Number: LD5655.A651 E5 E86 and LD5655.A651 E5 E862Publication Date: 1990, 1993-2004/2005
- The works : the alumni magazine of Virginia Tech Mechanical EngineeringCall Number: LD5655.A651 M43 W67Publication Date: 1994-2002
- ME ... annual report byCall Number: LD5655.A651 M43 A66
- Materials Science and Engineering at Virginia Tech : tracing our roots, 1872-2016 byCall Number: LD5655.A652 M3 2016Publication Date: 2016
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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.