INSTALLATION CEREMONY
of the
16th President
Timothy D. Sands
October 17, 2014
Two o’clock
Burruss Hall Auditorium
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
AND STATE UNIVERSITY
P rocessional
BAGPIPES
Cadet Thomas Denson
M A RSH A L
Former President, Faculty Senate
OR DER OF THE GAV EL
MEMBERS OF THE V IRGINI A TECH FACULT Y A ND STA FF
PR ESIDENTS A ND R EPR ESENTATIV ES FROM COLLEGES A ND U NIV ERSITIES
V IRGINI A TECH BOA R D OF V ISITORS
STAGE PA RT Y
Music by
VIRGINIA TECH BRASS ENSEMBLE
Wallace Easter, director
Ut Prosim
That I May Serve
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Installation of
P resident Timothy D . Sands
Appointed the 16th president of
Virginia Tech by the board of
visitors on December 6, 2013,
Timothy D. Sands began his service
to the university on June 1, 2014.
and doctorate in materials science
from the University of California,
Berkeley, joined the Purdue faculty
in 2002 as the Basil S. Turner
Professor of Engineering in the
School of Materials Engineering
and the School of Electrical and
Computer Engineering. Before
being named provost, he served
as the Mary Jo and Robert
L. Kirk Director of the Birck
Nanotechnology Center in the
university’s Discovery Park.
Of Sands’ presidential
appointment, then-Rector of the
Virginia Tech Board of Visitors
Michael J. Quillen said, “The
search committee provided us
with several powerfully strong
candidates. Dr. Sands impressed
many from the start and garnered
even more support after our personal interviews. He
has stellar academic credentials and administrative
experience from some of the nation’s outstanding
land-grant and public research universities. We
were particularly impressed with Tim’s sense of
the modern research university’s role in advancing
American society and its economy.”
From 1993 to 2002, Sands was a professor of
materials science and engineering at the University
of California, Berkeley. Before his Berkeley
appointment, he performed research and directed
research groups at Bellcore, a New Jersey-based
research company now known as Telcordia.
As a researcher, Sands has published more than 250
refereed papers and conference proceedings and has
been granted 17 patents in electronic and optoelectronic
materials and devices. His current research efforts focus
on the development of novel nanocomposite materials
for environmentally friendly and cost-effective solidstate lighting, direct conversion of heat to electrical
power, and thermoelectric refrigeration. Sands is a
fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, the Materials Research Society, and the
National Academy of Inventors.
Said Sands: “I am delighted and honored to serve
this great university. There is so much here that
Virginia and the nation need. Virginia Tech truly
embodies the 21st-century land-grant-university
role. I’m excited to have the opportunity to serve
a university that’s been on an upward trajectory
over the last decade or more and is well positioned
for even greater success. I share in the board’s
optimism for the future.”
Prior to accepting the Virginia Tech presidency,
Sands had served since April 2010 as executive
vice president for academic affairs and provost at
Purdue University. During that time, he assumed
the role of acting president, leading the West
Lafayette and regional campuses from June 2012
to January 2013, until Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. was
named Purdue’s 12th president.
Sands is joined at Virginia Tech by his wife,
Laura Prouty Sands, formerly the Katherine Birck
Professor in the School of Nursing at Purdue. An
accomplished academic who brings two National
Institutes of Health grants to Virginia Tech, Laura
Sands holds a half-time appointment as a researcher
in the university’s Center for Gerontology.
Sands, who earned a bachelor’s degree with highest
honors in engineering physics and a master’s degree
The Sandses have four children, each of whom has
attended Purdue University.
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Order of Ceremony
W ELCOME
Deborah Petrine
Rector, Board of Visitors
OPENING R EM A R KS
Mark G. McNamee
Senior Vice President and Provost
GR EETINGS
Elizabeth A. Lazor
President, Student Government Association
Gregory T. Purdy
President, Graduate Student Assembly
Walter “Dan” Cook III
President, Staff Senate
Joseph F. Merola
Former President, Faculty Senate
Matthew M. Winston Jr.
President, Alumni Association
INSTA LL ATION OF THE PR ESIDENT
Deborah Petrine
Joseph F. Merola
Michael J. Quillen
Former Rector, Board of Visitors
David Kingston
University Distinguished Professor
Cadet Lt. Col. Logan Mauk
CHOR A L WOR K
Virginia Tech Chamber Singers
Dwight Bigler, director and composer
PR ESIDENTI A L A DDR ESS
Timothy D. Sands
16th President, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
CLOSING R EM A R KS
Deborah Petrine
R ECESSIONA L
Virginia Tech Brass Ensemble
Wallace Easter, director
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University Officials & D ignitaries
T. MARSHALL HAHN
President Emeritus of Virginia Tech
MARK G. McNAMEE
Senior Vice President and Provost
CHARLES W. STEGER
President Emeritus of Virginia Tech
KAREN P. DePAUW
Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education
PAUL E. TORGERSEN
President Emeritus of Virginia Tech
ELIZABETH A. FLANAGAN
Vice President for Development and
University Relations
RICHARD C. BENSON
Dean of College of Engineering
GURU GHOSH
Vice President for Outreach and International Affairs
LAY NAM CHANG
Dean of College of Science
STEVEN H. McKNIGHT
Vice President and Executive Director,
National Capital Region
CYRIL R. CLARKE
Dean of Virginia-Maryland College of
Veterinary Medicine
SCOTT F. MIDKIFF
Vice President for Information Technology and
Chief Information Officer
A. JACK DAVIS
Dean of College of Architecture and Urban Studies
PATRICIA A. PERILLO
Vice President for Student Affairs
ALAN L. GRANT
Dean of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
M. DWIGHT SHELTON JR.
Vice President for Finance and
Chief Financial Officer
CYNDA ANN JOHNSON
Dean of Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
THOMAS C. TILLAR
Vice President for Alumni Relations
ELIZABETH SPILLER
Dean of College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
ROBERT W. WALTERS
Vice President for Research
ROBERT T. SUMICHRAST
Dean of Pamplin College of Business
SHERWOOD G. WILSON
Vice President for Administration
PAUL M. WINISTORFER
Dean of College of Natural Resources
and Environment
TYLER O. WALTERS
Dean of University Libraries
JOHN E. DOOLEY
Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Tech Foundation
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Board of Visitors
DEBORAH PETRINE
Rector
JAMES L. CHAPMAN IV
Vice Rector
NANCY V. DYE
STEVE STURGIS
WILLIAM D. FAIRCHILD III
DENNIS H. TREACY
CORDEL L. FAULK
HORACIO A. VALEIRAS
B. K. FULTON
BERNICE HAUSMAN
faculty representative
JOHN C. LEE IV
WALTER “DAN” COOK III
staff representative
MICHAEL J. QUILLEN
S. ASHLEY FRANCIS
graduate student representative
WAYNE H. ROBINSON
J. THOMAS RYAN
T. AUSTIN LARROWE
undergraduate student representative
MEHUL P. SANGHANI
UT PROSIM
(TH AT I M AY SERV E)
In 1896, then-Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute
adopted Ut Prosim, Latin for “That I May Serve,” as its motto, an apt aspiration for the nascent school
poised to carry out the work of its land-grant heritage: to educate as a means to serve society.
More than a century later, the willingness to serve has become deeply ingrained in life at Virginia Tech,
where a thriving community enacts the university’s motto in all manner of academic, research,
and outreach endeavors.
No longer simply a motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) has evolved into a cherished value system that guides an
ever-growing kinship of Hokies—which now includes more than 238,000 living alumni from every state and
more than 100 countries—in their efforts to be responsible citizens of the world.
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V IRGINI A POLY TECHNIC INSTITUTE A ND STATE UNIV ERSIT Y
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May
Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, mindson approach to education, preparing scholars to
be leaders in their fields and communities. Since
its founding as a land-grant college in 1872, the
university has grown to an enrollment of some
31,000 students.
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, a
public-private partnership with Carilion Clinic,
graduated its first class of doctors in 2014 and
became the nation’s newest fully accredited
medical school.
Encouraging students to greater heights by
helping them solve real-world problems, Virginia
Tech professors have a reputation for imagining
the next great thing—from blind-driver cars
to energy-conscious homes—and then making
it happen. Faculty members and students,
including undergraduates, are involved in research
projects in fields ranging from biotechnology
to urban planning. These scholars work side by
side with business and industry to accelerate
entrepreneurialism and enhance economic impact.
With approximately 240 undergraduate and
graduate degree programs and $494 million
in research expenditures each year, Virginia
Tech offers the widest range of degree choices
in Virginia and is the commonwealth’s
leading research institution. Through new and
interdisciplinary degrees—such as computational
modeling and data analytics; nanoscience;
real estate; and water: resources, policy, and
management—the university’s scholars seek to
address complex global challenges.
Arts@VirginiaTech represents the university’s
commitment to the presence and practice of
the arts on campus. Launched in 2005 as an
arts initiative, Arts@VirginiaTech encompasses
creative practice and interdisciplinary learning,
engagement, and discovery through the arts.
Virginia Tech’s academic, research, and
outreach endeavors are carried out in eight
colleges: the College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences, the College of Architecture and Urban
Studies, the College of Engineering, the College
of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, the
College of Natural Resources and Environment,
the College of Science, the Pamplin College of
Business, and the Virginia-Maryland College of
Veterinary Medicine.
By way of its teaching and learning, research
and discovery, and outreach and engagement,
Virginia Tech provides technological leadership
and fuels economic growth and job creation
locally, regionally, and statewide. The university
continually strives to expand personal growth
and opportunity, advance social and community
development, foster economic competitiveness,
and improve the quality of life.
On the postgraduate level, the Graduate School is
responsible for the development, administration,
and evaluation of graduate education. The
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THE L A ND-GR A NT UNIV ERSIT Y
Historically, the term “land grant” refers to the Morrill
Land Grant Act of 1862, which transformed the
landscape of higher education in the United States.
experiment stations were established in conjunction
with the land-grant colleges, as were federal-statelocal agricultural extension services in the early
20th century. The mechanical arts programs of the
original land-grant colleges evolved into colleges of
engineering, many of which also launched engineering
experiment stations.
Sponsored by Vermont Rep. Justin Smith Morrill
and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln,
the Morrill Act granted states public land based on
the size of their congressional delegations. Not only
did the bill fund the establishment of more than 70
agricultural and mechanical colleges nationwide, the
proceeds from the sale of the public lands were used
to create endowments to support the schools, arguably
the bill’s most enduring legacy.
Over the years, the primary focus on agriculture and
mechanical arts at land-grant institutions has widened
to include hundreds of programs of study that
integrate the pursuit of knowledge with the purposeful
application of information. But even as land-grant
universities have become more comprehensive, they
remain uniquely committed to a core objective of the
land-grant mission: improving the human condition.
In keeping with the Morrill Act’s intention to
provide affordable, practical education, agricultural
THE M ACE
Once used as a weapon, the medieval mace has
evolved over the centuries into an ornamental
baton—a recognizable symbol of authority.
Holliman described the mace as “the flame of
knowledge capping a pillar of symmetry and
strength.” Constructed of wild cherry, which had
been harvested in the same year as the university’s
founding and salvaged from an old house in
Blacksburg, the mace bears the seals of
the commonwealth and of the university.
Virginia Tech’s first mace was carried in 1959 by
Professor of Mathematics “Inky” Hatcher ’22 at the
university’s commencement ceremony. Constructed
of wood, the mace was of simple design consisting
of a straight shaft with a spherical knob. Its only
decorations were maroon and orange ribbons tied
to its upper end.
Commissioned by the Class of 2000, a new mace
was presented to President Charles W. Steger
on the occasion of his installation as the 15th
president of Virginia Tech.
The second mace, also made entirely of wood, was
named for one of its creators, Alumni Distinguished
Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics
Daniel Frederick ’44, M.A. ’48, who served as
university marshal from 1959 to 1969. Designed and
executed for the inauguration of President T. Marshall
Hahn Jr. in April 1963, the mace had four tapering
sides carved to represent the seal of Virginia, the seal
of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, a likeness of Burruss
Hall, and a view of the War Memorial Chapel.
Carried today by the marshal of the processional,
Professor of Chemistry Joseph F. Merola, is the
“Millennium Mace,” a gold-plated aluminum form
with a contemporary metal design designed and
fabricated by Professor Emeritus of Art Steve Bickley.
The mace bears three different seals of the university:
The current official university seal, affixed to genuine
Hokie Stone, is presented in duplicate at the mace’s
top; on the opposite end are the Centennial Seal,
adopted for the university’s centennial in 1972, and
the earliest official seal, adopted when the university
was known as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical
College. Immediately below the current university
seal are eight spires bearing the inscriptions from the
War Memorial’s eight pylons. Just below the spires is
the university’s founding date, 1872.
For the university’s centennial celebration in 1972,
Professor of Biology Rhodes B. Holliman created
the third mace, which was subsequently carried
on April 28, 2000, by Professor of Public Health
Kerry J. Redican, the marshal for the processional
at the installation of President Charles W. Steger.
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P ast P residents
CHARLES LANDON CARTER MINOR
JOHN REDD HUTCHESON
JOHN LEE BUCHANAN
WALTER STEPHENSON NEWMAN
THOMAS NELSON CONR AD
THOMAS MARSHALL HAHN JR.
LUNSFORD LINDSAY LOMAX
WILLIAM EDWARD LAVERY
JOHN McLAREN McBRYDE
JAMES DOUGLAS McCOMAS
PAUL BR ANDON BARRINGER
PAUL ERNEST TORGERSEN
JOSEPH DUPUY EGGLESTON JR.
CHARLES WILLIAM STEGER
1872-1879
1945-1947
1880-1882
1947-1962
1882-1886
1962-1974
1886-1891
1975-1987
1891-1907
1988-1994
1907-1913
1994-2000
1913-1919
2000-2014
JULIAN ASHBY BURRUSS
1919-1945
ACK NOW LEDGMENTS
CHORAL WORK
Commissioned in honor of President Timothy D. Sands upon his formal installation as Virginia Tech’s 16th president,
“I Shall Not Live In Vain (Ut Prosim)” was composed by Dwight Bigler, assistant professor and director of choral
activities in the School of Performing Arts.
Poem by Emily Dickinson:
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets
Virginia Tech Production Services
Stage Sound of Roanoke, Virginia
Thanks and congratulations are extended to university faculty, staff, and students who invested time and talent to
present a celebration of Virginia Tech upon the formal installation of Timothy D. Sands, 16th president.
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Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity,
gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis
protected by law. Anyone having questions concerning discrimination or accessibility should contact the Office of Equity and Access.
Presidents or Representatives from
Other Colleges and Universities
LISTED IN ORDER OF FOUNDING DATE
1693
1749
1766
1775
1785
1787
1789
1798
1819
1820
1830
1830
1834
1838
1838
1839
1839
1842
1846
1847
1855
1865
1869
1875
Ms. Ann Green Baise
College of William and Mary
Dr. Michael A. G. Berg
Washington and Lee University
Mr. Kenneth Reid
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Dr. Christopher B. Howard
Hampden-Sydney College
Dr. Sherry Ann Clouser
University of Georgia
Mr. Timothy Frye
University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Lenwood Heath
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dr. Steven Cox
University of Louisville
Dr. Teresa A. Sullivan
University of Virginia
Dr. C. Bryan Cloyd
Indiana University
Dr. Patricia Johnson Brown
University of Richmond
Dr. William T. Franz
Randolph-Macon College
Dr. Robert V. Boylan
Wake Forest University
The Honorable J. Randall Minchew
Duke University
Dr. Michael Rao
Virginia Commonwealth University
Dr. J. Shawn Addington
Virginia Military Institute
Dr. Paul Chapman
Longwood University
Dr. Kim L. Filer
Roanoke College
Dr. Hing-Har Lo
University of Buffalo – SUNY
Dr. Jan A. Foote
University of Iowa
Dr. Eleanor Schlenker
Michigan State University
Ms. Vanessa Coombs
Virginia Union University
Mr. Thomas E. Spurgeon
Purdue University
Dr. Clarresa Morton
Shenandoah University
1881
1882
1885
1887
1889
1891
1905
1908
1908
1910
1913
1917
1930
1954
1957
1961
1966
1967
1968
1968
1969
1970
1972
1982
Dr. Marion Ehrich
South Dakota State University
Dr. Keith T. Miller
Virginia State University
Mr. John McLean
Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Richard H. Linton
North Carolina State University
Dr. Wayne Bennett
Clemson University
Dr. Carl A. Girelli
Randolph College
Dr. Donald W. Caudill
Gardner-Webb University
Mr. Jonathan R. Alger
James Madison University
Dr. Martin A. Wilder Jr.
University of Mary Washington
Ms. Penelope W. Kyle
Radford University
Ms. Kimberly P. Blair
Ferrum College
Dr. B.J. Miller
Eastern Mennonite University
Dr. Oktay Baysal
Old Dominion University
Mr. George Culbertson
University of Virginia’s College at Wise
Dr. Kenneth S. Ball
George Mason University
Dr. Vern L. Lindquist
Richard Bland College
Ms. Lori Baker
Virginia Western Community College
Ms. Susan F. Grinnan
John Tyler Community College
Mr. Richard Hodges
Thomas Nelson Community College
Dr. Kellie C. Sorey
Tidewater Community College
Dr. Jack M. Lewis
New River Community College
Dr. Elizabeth Hinton Crowther
Rappahannock Community College
Dr. Thomas N. Hollins
J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Dr. Nathaniel L. Bishop
Jefferson College of Health Sciences
Dr. F rance A. Córdova
GUEST SPEAKER
France A. Córdova was sworn in as director of the
National Science Foundation (NSF) on March 31, 2014.
Córdova leads the only government science agency
charged with advancing all fields of scientific discovery,
technological innovation, and science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.
NSF’s programs and initiatives keep the United States
at the forefront of science and engineering, empower
future generations of scientists and engineers, and
foster U.S. prosperity and global leadership.
Córdova is president emerita of Purdue University, where she served as president from 2007
to 2012. Prior to her service at Purdue, she led the University of California, Riverside, from
2002 to 2007, as chancellor and was a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy.
Córdova was the vice chancellor for research and professor of physics at the University of
California, Santa Barbara, from 1996 to 2002.
From 1993 to 1996, Córdova served as NASA’s chief scientist. Prior to joining NASA,
she was on the faculty of the Pennsylvania State University, where she headed the
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics from 1989 to 1993. Córdova was deputy
group leader in the Earth and Space Sciences Division at Los Alamos National
Laboratory from 1988 to 1989, and staff scientist from 1979 to 1989. She received a
bachelor of arts from Stanford University and a doctorate in physics from the California
Institute of Technology in 1979. More recently, Córdova served as chair of the board of
regents of the Smithsonian Institution and on the board of trustees of the Mayo Clinic.
Córdova’s scientific contributions have been in the areas of observational and
experimental astrophysics, multispectral research on x-ray and gamma ray sources,
and space-borne instrumentation. She has published more than 150 scientific papers.
In 1997, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Loyola Marymount University,
Los Angeles. She is a recipient of NASA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service
Medal, and was recognized as a Kilby Laureate in 2000. The Kilby International
Awards recognize extraordinary individuals who have made “significant contributions
to society through science, technology, innovation, invention, and education.”
Córdova was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a National
Associate of the National Academies. She is also a fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science and the Association for Women In Science.