Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Virginia Tech President Tim Sands has announced his retirement after 12 years at the helm of the university.
Sands said it is the right time to begin the process of stepping aside and provide the next president the opportunity to “take the baton at full stride” and continue the university’s significant growth and momentum.
After a career dedicated to the advancement of science and the impact of public higher education, Virginia Tech President Tim Sands intends to step down in the coming months. Sands made the announcement Thursday in a letter addressed “to Hokies everywhere.”
“There is no better role in higher education than to serve as the president of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,” Sands said. “Stewarding Virginia Tech as president has been the most fulfilling experience of my career,” he said.
During his tenure, the university experienced a 30 percent increase in undergraduate enrollment, 200 percent increase in applications, 70 percent increase in extramural research expenditures, and 185 percent increase in the university’s endowment.
In sharing his plans with the rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, John Rocovich, Sands said he was committed to serving until his successor was in place to ensure a smooth transition.
“I am deeply grateful to President Sands for his leadership and tireless dedication to our university and his vision for what we can accomplish in service to our students and the commonwealth,” Rocovich said. “His drive to expand Virginia Tech’s impact through collaborative engagement with our communities and partners, and his steadfast commitment to public higher education have positioned us well for the future ahead. President Sands’ leadership in establishing the Virginia Tech Carilion Academic Health Center and the Innovation Campus will yield huge dividends to Virginia Tech for 100 years.”
U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith praised Sands’ time at Virginia Tech.
“Ninth District communities and Americans across the country are eager to pursue higher education opportunities at Virginia Tech. Thanks to leaders like President Sands, these opportunities continue to inspire growth, spark curiosity and produce high-quality talents in a diverse range of fields. My children are just some of the many to take advantage of these opportunities.
“As someone who enjoyed working with President Sands during his tenure, I appreciated his dedication, service and commitment to Virginia Tech. I join the Virginia Tech community in wishing him and his wife Laura the best,” Griffith said.
Meanwhile another Congressman also applauded Sands’ time at Tech, but Sen. Tim Kaine was using the word “ouster” instead of stepping down.
Kaine has asked Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger to look into the matter. Kaine points to the fact the governor would be appointing new members to Tech’s Board of Visitors (in July), and it is his concern the current BOV forced him out before the appointments took place.
Kaine said he thinks there is a desire by certain members on that board to force him out.
“Even though he doesn’t deserve to be treated like that, so that the board can pick a president before Gov. Spanberger is able to put this administration’s stamp on the Virginia Tech board. And so, I urge Gov. Spanberger to get to the bottom of this and to not allow yet again a Virginia public university to be politicized with political schemes used to oust qualified leadership,” he told reporters on Friday.
Kaine said when states allow politics to push out capable higher education leaders it damages the reputation of that state’s higher education system.
Sands became president of Virginia Tech on June 1, 2014, after serving as provost and acting president of Purdue University.
Sands and his wife, Laura P. Sands, plan to remain in the area. “Laura and I will always be Hokies,” he said. “We plan to stay rooted in Blacksburg as this is most definitely home.”
