The Roanoker - March/April 2019 - 82

HEYWOOD FRALIN ENVISIONS A ROANOKE VALLEY OF 500,000
TO A M I L L I O N P E O P L E ( " D E P E N D I N G O N W H AT L E V E L W E
WA N T " ) L I V I N G S M AC K DA B I N T H E M I D D L E O F W H AT ' S
B A S I C A L LY A M I D - S I Z E D C O U N T R Y T O W N N O W .

82

MARCH/APRIL 2019

HOW HAS ALL THIS COME TO PASS? Ray
Smoot, former CEO of the Virginia Tech Foundation,
was at Tech when John Pratt contributed $10 million
to Tech's endowment, the largest gift ever at that point.
Assets grew and pretty soon investment was bringing
in more money, even though, says Smoot, "they were
not done for investment reasons, but for programmatic
reasons."
In 1962, new President Marshall Hahn, who was
only 35 at the time, "had an expansive view of what the
university could become," says Smoot. "He was the right
man at the right time and we had a tidal wave of [Baby]
Boomers coming in. He saw a significant opportunity
to build research."
Smoot says research investment is now $500 million.
"In the process, it became an economic engine for
the region and the state in general," says Smoot. "Tech
has solidified and reinforced its position as a major
research university ... History has taught us that Tech
is an institution always striving to do more."
A succession of "just right for the moment "
presidents, beginning with Hahn, has propelled Tech

A B OV E L E F T:

JOE WHEELER,
CO-DIRECTOR OF
TECH'S CENTER
FOR DESIGN
RESEARCH,
INVENTING THE
FUTURE.
A B OV E R I G H T:

LANSING,
M I C H I G A N , WAT E R
HEROES MARC
EDWARDS AND
MONA HANNAAT T I S H A B E C A M E
SO WELL KNOWN
T H AT T H E Y W E R E
CHOSEN AS TECH
COMMENCEMENT
SPEAKERS.

COURTESY OF VIRGINIA TECH

* The DREAMS Lab (Design, Research, and
Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems) is
where 3D printing is getting jaw-dropping responses
from industry.
* USAToday College and College Factual have
repeatedly ranked Tech as the best university in the
nation for studying natural resources and conservation.
* The College of Architecture and Urban Studies'
School of Architecture and Design is regularly ranked
among the top 10 in the nation.
* The Master of Information Technology program is
rated in the top three nationwide by U.S. News & World
Report and CyberDegrees.org.
Joe Wheeler, co-director of Tech's Center for Design
Research characterizes the Tech explosion this way: "Our
motto is 'Invent the Future,' and the digital revolution
is next. This is just the beginning. Virginia Tech is in
a position to explore what the possibilities really are."
Wheeler says even he is amazed at the complexity of
partnerships produced within and outside the university.
He cites FutureHAUS as one example, and talks about
"the energy, passion and drive of young minds" to set
the design, environmental and construction industries
on their ears.

C O N T I N U E D O N PAG E 8 3

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