Virginia Tech History Resources

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.)

This exhibit explores significant events surrounding the history of the Black community at Virginia Tech and the surrounding areas from the 1770's to today.

This website explores multicultural diversity at Virginia Tech, including international students, oral history interviews, and Black history at Virginia Tech. Must of this exhibit is available on other updated exhibits, such as the Black History Timeline and First International Students at Virginia Tech exhibit. (Some links may be broken as this website is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 2002.)

The Black Women at Virginia Tech History Project is a multi-phase research and educational project that involves identification of the first black women students, staff, and faculty at Virginia Tech and the collection of their oral history narratives. The interviews focus on the entry experience and the interviewees' perceptions of the climate and attitudes within the university community particularly as pertains to race and gender. Another phase of the project involves the design and execution of program events to enhance communication within and beyond the university community. (See the Black History Timeline for more up-to-date and complete history. Also, some links may be broken as this website is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 2011.)

This exhibit identifies the first international students at Virginia Tech, organized by year and country.

The History of Women at Virginia Tech digital timeline project is a collaborative effort to showcase women’s history at this university through archival documents, photographs, interviews, and more. The project team has worked since 2015 to conduct research, gather documents and artifacts, and collect oral histories. This digital exhibit is in progress and new content is being added all the time. This site is hosted by the University Libraries and represents a partnership between Special Collections and University Archives, the Women's Center, and individuals from the campus community.

This website is an exploration of Indigenous history at Virginia Tech, including an incomplete timeline; photos from Monacan events, Columbus Day protest, and an American Indian Forum; and links to Virginia Tribal Nation websites and selected resources. Patrons are welcome to email SCUA with additions or corrections to the timeline.

Beginning in the fall of 2014, faculty and students in the Virginia Tech History Department, along with colleagues in the University Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives and campus partners including HokiePRIDE, the LGBT Faculty/Staff Caucus, and the Ex Lapide Society (the LGBTQ alumni network at VT) began collecting oral histories to document the history of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer life in the 20th century American South and specifically at Virginia Tech. In addition to collecting oral histories, the project aims to build an archival collection of materials such as correspondence, photographs, publications, reminiscences, and ephemera that will help document LGBTQ life at Virginia Tech and in the American South.

This exhibit was created as part of the Denim Day 40th Anniversary commemorative events in 2019.

Denim Day 1979 was a statement. It announced to the university that gay and lesbian students existed at Virginia Tech. These pages feature the voices of alumni from that time recalling what Denim Day meant to them and what life was like for them at Virginia Tech in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In honor of Women's History Month, Special Collections is hosting an online exhibit during March 2016. This exhibit includes materials from our collections which have been digitized and which highlight the contributions and significance of women in a variety of subject areas: local history, architecture, science and technology, Virginia Tech history, literature, and more!

This exhibit was created for the Town of Blacksburg's bicentennial in 1998 and includes timelines, photographs, maps, and documents about the Town. It may be of interest because of the close connection between Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. (Some links may be broken as this is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 1999.)

This exhibit is about campus protests in Spring 1970 during the Hahn administration. (Some links may be broken as this website is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 1997.)

This exhibit highlights the expressions of support Virginia tech received from communities around the world following the events of April 16, 2007. Created for the 10th anniversary in 2017, the exhibit focuses primarily on those communities outside Blacksburg, Virginia, that reached out to express their solidarity and support of Virginia Tech.

This exhibit includes archaeological investigations, reports, and photos of Solitude, the oldest structure at Virginia Tech.

Digitized copies of the university's yearbook, The Bugle, starting in 1895 in PDF format from Special Collections and University Archives on VTechWorks.

This is a digitized version of Harry Temple's publication, Pre-World War II Thanksgiving at V.P.I., which discusses the annual VPI vs VMI football game. (Some links may be broken as this is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 1996.)

Digitized copies of the Tin Horn in PDF format from Special Collections and University Archives on VTechWorks. The Tin Horn was a yearbook published by women students in 1925, 1929, 1930, and 1931.

The images presented here are from the original watercolor illustrations created by Floyd Richard Vranian for the book Donning the Blue and Gray: A Pictorial History of the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute by Harry D. Temple. (Some links may be broken as this website is archived on Archive-It.org and dates to 1996.)

In the days and weeks following the events of April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech received thousands of cards and letters of support, posters, banners, art, poetry, wreaths, memory books, and other unique items from around the world. Campus visitors often left items at impromptu memorials, which were displayed on the Virginia Tech campus for several months before being gathered and inventoried under the direction of the University Archivist. In the summer of 2007 representative artifacts were digitally photographed to share with the world. This website includes digital representations over 7,000 of those items.

The university's website about current buildings on Virginia Tech's campus, which include the history of the building.

The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Museum has digitized many items from its collection. Currently, the Museum is located in Newman Library.