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had campaigned heavily for the bond issue). The university secured final federal funding for a biotechnology center, and the
Virginia Tech Foundation purchased facilities in Switzerland to house a new international studies center. In 1991 a flash flood left over $ 4 million in damages, principally to the Donaldson Brown Center and War Memorial Gym, spurring a much-needed renovation of the center, which was renamed Donaldson Brown Hotel & Conference Center. Payne Hall, the first new residence hall built on the Virginia Tech campus in more than a decade, and the first to offer
283:
enrollment increased 26 percent in 1990—and supported the appointment of minorities and women to administrative positions. He oversaw the reorganization of athletics and the recruitment of an academic advising coordinator for athletes, transferred operations of the Alumni
Association to the university’s administrative system, and placed administration of Virginia Cooperative Extension under the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
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Center; bolstered the honors program; saw that food in the dining halls was improved; created an Office of the Dean of
Students; began planning a student recreation and fitness center; established commencement ceremonies at the end of fall semester; and developed EXPO, a “road show” of information about Virginia Tech for high school students throughout the commonwealth. He also established incentives to draw more
259:
dropped to 43rd in the country in state funding for higher education, McComas publicly decried the assault on higher education, resulting in strained relations with Wilder. The cuts forced the university to hold numerous faculty positions vacant for a period of time; 49 classified staff members lost their jobs, but the university was able to reassign 25 of them to other positions.
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university’s first black vice provost. He led the effort to make the university a force in economic development, helped form the New
Century Council to create a strategic vision for the region, and initiated a series of public service forums throughout the state. He worked with town officials to bring a national Family Motor Coach Association convention and the
313:
On
September 28, 1993, McComas, diagnosed the week before with colon cancer, announced that he was stepping down immediately to begin chemotherapy and would resign effective January 1, 1994. In December 1993 the board adopted a resolution to present McComas with the Ruffner Medal. He died on February
301:
Additionally, the university raised $ 17 million in a campaign for athletic scholarships and facilities and initiated the
Campaign for Virginia Tech to raise $ 250 million by 1998. State voters approved a $ 472-million bond issue, which included $ 46 million for construction at Virginia Tech (McComas
274:
The president placed special emphasis on Tech’s traditional land-grant role of outreach and service, established a Public
Service Division, and appointed an acting vice president for public service. Later, he created the position of vice provost for outreach and international programs and hired the
270:
to the university in 1989. McComas, who had played a leading role in forging stronger ties with the City of
Roanoke, directed Virginia Tech as it worked with Roanoke leaders to raise approximately $ 50 million to renovate the century-old hotel, build an adjacent conference center, and make road and
246:
From the beginning of his administration, McComas placed major emphasis on undergraduate education. He kept an open-door policy for students, personally visited over 4,500 of them in the residence halls, and advised 16. He established the Center for
Excellence in Teaching and the Academic Advising
258:
ordered severe funding cuts to higher education to balance the budget. Cuts to
Virginia Tech alone in the 1990-92 biennium totaled $ 37 million (general fund reductions 1990-96 totaled $ 46.7 million, but the university was able to offset $ 16 million, principally by raising tuition). As Virginia
282:
On campus he stressed the importance of community and emphasized the value of all employees to the operation of the university. He supported an overhaul of the university’s governance structure and the inclusion of classified staff in that structure. He encouraged diversity—minority student
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294:
football conference, McComas established the Presidential Award for Excellence to recognize outstanding classified staff members, Tech joined the town and C&P Telephone Company in unveiling the
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McComas Hall at Virginia Tech, which houses the Thomas E. Cook Counseling Center, Charles W. Shiffert Health Center, and the Department of Recreational Sports is named in his honor.
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was completed in 1993. The university also began charging faculty and staff to park on campus, as required by the state, and improved campus accessibility, as required by the
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695:
213:
31:
953:
798:
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1173:
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McComas was hired to guide Virginia Tech back into smooth waters after the fallout from a controversial land deal and an athletic scandal led to the resignation of
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791:
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McComas Hall at Mississippi State, which is home of the Department of Communication and the University Art Gallery, is named in his honor.
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219:
McComas taught Vocational Agriculture in the 1950s and later served as head of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education at
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McComas had been in office only a year when the state learned that its projected revenues had been vastly overestimated, and Gov.
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531:
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During his tenure, research spending reached $ 125 million, the school of forestry became Tech’s ninth college,
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to Virginia Tech, moving the university into the nation’s top 20 in the number of merit scholars it attracted.
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McComas Village, home of many fraternities and sororities at the University of Toledo, is named in his honor.
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323:
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298:, and serious planning began for a "smart" highway between Blacksburg and Roanoke.
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in 1951; and earned a master’s in 1960 and Ph. D. in education in 1962, both from
1135:
276:
1023:
776:
546:"Past Presidents and Bios | Office of the President | Virginia Tech"
476:"Past Presidents and Bios | Office of the President | Virginia Tech"
583:
606:"Mississippi State University Museums and Galleries - Starkville Arts Walk"
291:
400:
231:
from 1969 to 1975 when he was named president of Mississippi State.
204:(December 23, 1928 – February 10, 1994) was 14th President of
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ranked Tech in the top 50 national universities, Tech joined the
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780:
227:, from 1967 to 1969; and dean of the College of Education at
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from 1966 to 1967; dean of the College of Education, at
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Mississippi State University Gallery of the Presidents
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to Blacksburg to boost regional economic development.
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pedestrian-access improvements in the adjacent area.
243:. He assumed his new duties on September 1, 1988.
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Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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115:
103:
91:
72:
60:
48:
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Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
29:
18:
366:Mississippi State University General Information
401:"History: Presidents of the College/University"
512:. Archived from the original on April 16, 2010
506:"Life & Times of Virginia Tech Presidents"
938:
792:
212:from 1985 to 1988, and the 13th President of
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1179:Presidents of Mississippi State University
955:Presidents of Mississippi State University
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931:
923:
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785:
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342:, on May 10, 1961; they had two children.
208:from 1975-1985, the 12th President of the
15:
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326:. He received his bachelor’s degree in
322:McComas was born December 23, 1928, in
1174:Presidents of the University of Toledo
523:
7:
14:
580:MSU, Department of Communication
1194:20th-century American academics
381:University of Toledo Presidents
308:Americans with Disabilities Act
1:
338:. He Married Adele Stoltz of
296:Blacksburg Electronic Village
759:Mississippi State University
405:Mississippi State University
288:U.S. News & World Report
264:Norfolk Southern Corporation
206:Mississippi State University
118:Mississippi State University
1164:Presidents of Virginia Tech
1144:# denotes interim president
809:Presidents of Virginia Tech
576:"History of Our Department"
221:New Mexico State University
1210:
262:On the positive side, the
235:President of Virginia Tech
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816:
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530:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
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37:
25:
376:Virginia Tech Presidents
332:West Virginia University
318:Early life and education
992:George Robert Hightower
324:Prichard, West Virginia
249:National Merit Scholars
229:University of Tennessee
225:Kansas State University
174:Prichard, West Virginia
328:Agricultural education
1072:James Douglas McComas
689:William Edward Lavery
336:Ohio State University
241:William Edward Lavery
216:, from 1988 to 1993.
202:James Douglas McComas
55:William Edward Lavery
20:James Douglas McComas
1169:Virginia Tech alumni
1032:George Duke Humphrey
728:University of Toledo
661:University of Toledo
550:www.president.vt.edu
480:www.president.vt.edu
430:University of Toledo
426:"Past UT Presidents"
340:Gouverneur, New York
210:University of Toledo
75:University of Toledo
1112:Robert H. Foglesong
1088:Donald W. Zacharias
1008:David Carlisle Hull
984:John Crumpton Hardy
769:Donald W. Zacharias
153:Donald W. Zacharias
1048:Benjamin F. Hilbun
1000:William Hall Smith
556:on 5 November 2013
486:on 5 November 2013
116:14th President of
73:12th President of
30:13th President of
1151:
1150:
1040:Fred Tom Mitchell
920:
919:
775:
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766:Succeeded by
735:Succeeded by
704:Succeeded by
681:Academic offices
657:"MCCOMAS VILLAGE"
612:on April 25, 2013
586:on 22 August 2015
451:"Past Presidents"
256:L. Douglas Wilder
199:
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183:February 10, 1994
171:December 23, 1928
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748:William L. Giles
745:Preceded by
717:Glen R. Driscoll
714:Preceded by
701:1988–1993
686:Preceded by
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98:Glen R. Driscoll
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110:Frank E. Horton
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707:Paul Torgersen
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632:"McComas Hall"
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187:(aged 65)
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696:Virginia Tech
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636:Virginia Tech
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510:Virginia Tech
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455:Virginia Tech
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1120:Vance Watson
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664:. Retrieved
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639:. Retrieved
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614:. Retrieved
610:the original
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554:the original
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185:(1994-02-10)
148:Succeeded by
125:
105:Succeeded by
82:
62:Succeeded by
39:
1189:1994 deaths
1184:1928 births
1136:Mark Keenum
1114:(2006–2008)
1106:(2002–2006)
1098:(1998–2001)
1090:(1985–1997)
1074:(1976–1985)
1066:(1966–1976)
1058:(1960–1966)
1050:(1953–1960)
1042:(1945–1953)
1034:(1934–1945)
1026:(1930–1934)
1018:(1925–1930)
1010:(1920–1925)
1002:(1916–1920)
994:(1912–1916)
986:(1900–1912)
978:(1889–1900)
970:(1880–1889)
907:(2000–2014)
901:(1993–2000)
895:(1988–1994)
889:(1975–1987)
883:(1962–1974)
877:(1947–1962)
871:(1945–1947)
865:(1919–1945)
859:(1913–1919)
853:(1907–1913)
847:(1891–1907)
841:(1886–1891)
835:(1882–1886)
829:(1880–1882)
823:(1872–1879)
277:Tour DuPont
136:Preceded by
93:Preceded by
50:Preceded by
1158:Categories
1024:Hugh Critz
763:1976–1985
732:1985–1988
698:president
560:12 January
490:12 January
387:References
314:10, 1994.
899:Torgersen
869:Hutcheson
857:Eggleston
851:Barringer
755:President
724:President
130:1975–1985
126:In office
87:1985–1988
83:In office
44:1988–1993
40:In office
1138:(2009– )
1128:Roy Ruby
1122:# (2008)
1082:# (1985)
913:(2014– )
827:Buchanan
666:30 April
641:30 April
616:June 12,
590:30 April
526:cite web
516:30 April
460:30 April
435:30 April
410:30 April
292:Big East
893:McComas
863:Burruss
845:McBryde
905:Steger
887:Lavery
875:Newman
833:Conrad
346:Honors
911:Sands
839:Lomax
821:Minor
330:from
266:gave
881:Hahn
668:2016
643:2016
618:2013
592:2016
562:2022
532:link
518:2016
492:2022
462:2016
437:2016
412:2016
180:Died
168:Born
757:of
726:of
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524:{{
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.