Search process underway for Innovation Campus leader

Virginia Tech has finalized the position description and publicly advertised the opening for vice president and executive director of the new Innovation Campus.

The university announced plans to build the 1 million-square-foot graduate campus in Alexandria last November as part of the tech-talent pipeline package created by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and approved by the General Assembly to attract Amazon to build its HQ2 in Northern Virginia.

Julia Ross, Virginia Tech’s Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Engineering, is chairing the search committee, which was announced in May.

The search committee welcomes nominations for the position. Virginia Tech has retained Korn Ferry to assist with this search. The position has been advertised on a number of websites, including The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and Computing Research Association.

For confidential inquiries or to nominate an individual for this position, please email [email protected]. Nominations can also be sent to Amanda Lucas, Project Coordinator for the Office of the President, at [email protected], or via campus mail, 210 Burruss Hall (0131).

Finalizing the position description for the vice president and executive director is the latest in a series of important milestones for launching the campus.

• Last week, about 175 firms attended a meeting to hear details related to a public Request For Proposal to provide design services for the campus’s first academic building.
• In June, the university announced plans to build the campus, in partnership with Lionstone Investments, as part of a 65-acre mixed-use development in National Landing near the future Potomac Yard Metrorail Station
• And earlier this summer, the university’s Board of Visitors approved a resolution for the first new degree designed for the campus.  The degree is pending approval of the State Council of Higher Education.

The Innovation Campus will triple Virginia Tech’s footprint in Northern Virginia, which already includes seven locations in the region. Brandy Salmon, associate vice president for innovation and partnerships, is serving as the managing director of the Innovation Campus delivery team during the launch phase.