1. What is your career history?

I grew up in a little town in central West Virginia. My very first job was delivering newspapers as a kid. In my junior and senior year of high school, I wrote sports articles for my town’s local weekly newspaper. When I went to college, a private liberal arts school called Alderson Broaddus College, I worked in sports information and athletics. For my first job out of college, I stayed at my alma mater and worked as a public information officer, assisting with public relations and university college relations activities for a year. Then, I became a fundraiser. I came to work for Virginia Tech nearly 40 years ago; I spent my first 19 years with Cooperative Extension and then moved to senior administration in the university in 2001.

2. What’s the best thing you’ve learned from being CEO of the Virginia Tech Foundation?

I learned that people are what this business is all about. The benefit and power that the Foundation can bring the university is highly contingent upon the passion that our alumni and friends have for the institution and how they express that passion through their generosity and support.

3. Do you have any advice to offer those who are interested in a career in higher education?

I've seen a lot of changes over the 45 years I have worked in higher education. Higher education is very critical for the economic well-being and vitality of this country, and a healthy higher education system is critical for continued economic growth. We are obviously a very high-end contributor to the workforce, which is very important. The research enterprise and technology transfer process are also very critical parts of that equation.

4. What does it mean to be a land-grant university and why are land grant institutions important?

The land grant system was created by Congress in 1862. In 1862, we were in the midst of the American Civil War. Congress in its wisdom made a bold statement relating to the importance and value of education as a basic fundamental tenet to democracy. The impetus behind the land grant system was making higher education available to the masses as opposed to just the elite. Prior to 1862, our education was primarily a privilege of the elite. The land grant system was created to extend that privilege to all. When Congress passed the Act, Virginia was not enabled to exercise its land grant because it was one of the Confederate States. After the Civil War, however, the act was extended to include former Confederate states, and in 1872, Virginia Tech was designated as Virginia's land grant university.

Virginia Tech and the land grant system have a unique responsibility to find ways to connect the discoveries of its classrooms and research labs for the economic and social wellbeing of all people. I believe Virginia Tech does embrace that. I am proud I have been able to spend nearly 40 years of my life engaged as an active participant in the land grant system.

5. What have you learned from being on the GO Virginia Council?

What I’ve observed and learned is the importance of collaborative work together to realize the economic benefits of the region. One of the founding principles of GO Virginia is breaking down the political barriers that can exist between localities and local governments in order to realize a greater good. I've been encouraged by the early response of GO Virginia and the early impact of GO Virginia. We have been able to come together and identify major projects that could have significant impacts across geopolitical entities and jurisdictions. In the past, our jurisdictional perspectives or geopolitical perspectives have, not intentionally, served as a hindrance to possible economic growth. So we're navigating that through GO Virginia.

6. What is your favorite part of being a GO Virginia Region 2 Council member?

The people. I was so impressed with the individuals that came together to work on the GO Virginia Region 2 Council. They don't have personal agendas and are committed to working for the broader good. And that's so encouraging in this day and time.

7. Is there anything GO Virginia has planned for the future that you are looking forward to in particular?

Several capacity building programs that we have funded are evaluating the assets relating to workforce and talent development that we may have in place in the region. I'm looking forward to now taking those infrastructure investments and using them to develop active strategies in which we can recruit and retain talent, businesses, and industry in this region.

8. Who has been your greatest mentor and what did you learn from them?

I've been blessed over my career that I have many, many individuals who have influenced my understanding and perspective of business and economic development. Amongst those is our Regional chair Ray Smoot, a good friend and colleague for many years. One of my great friends and mentors has been Ben Davenport, who is on the state GO Virginia council. Also, Heywood Fralin and Nancy Agee are friends who have had a strong influence. All of these individuals’ altruism and their ability and commitment to making sure that their investment of time and resources benefit the broader good is an inspiration. All of those individuals, plus so many more, have had a great impression on me.

9. What is your favorite place to visit?

I love to visit Virginia Tech’s Steger Center in southern Switzerland, north of the Italian border. The center is owned by the Foundation and operated by Virginia Tech. It is named after our former president, the late Charles Steger, who was a dear friend and colleague for many years. Charlie was also one of those individuals that had a great impression on me and was a mentor. The Steger Center is in a beautiful part of the world. I love the culture, and I have so many fond memories of times there with the individuals that I've just mentioned. I look forward to getting post-COVID to where I can visit there again.

10. Congratulations on your retirement. Is there an activity/hobby that you want to do more of once you retire?

Thank you. My greatest hobby and love is my family. I'm looking forward to having more quality time with my family when I retire. One of the things that I'm not going to retire from is my commitment to advancing this region. I love this region in which we live, and I am going to do everything that I can to continue to advance the economic and social wellbeing of our region in retirement. I’m looking forward to being an active player and a contributor to this region, to make sure that we are uniquely positioned to attract and retain the talent that is going to be necessary for us to be competitive as a region globally.