Leadership
President Tim Sands named Menah Pratt, vice president for strategic affairs and diversity, and Matt Holt, professor and head of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, to lead Virginia Tech Advantage.
Together they established the Virginia Tech Advantage Steering Committee in 2022, which made recommendations to the university's leadership. There were also two work groups — one focused on financial feasibility and the other on the student experience.
Financial Feasibility Working Group
- Charge: Determine financial strategies to support affordability and student experience goals for underserved students.
- Key Questions: What would it take to close the gap for State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and Virginia peers for tuition and average net price difference for Pell-eligible and Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program students? How do we enhance affordability for students who are not Pell-eligible/VGAP?
Student Experience Working Group
- Charge: Determine how to enhance aspects of the student experience (e.g., time to graduation, student retention, graduation rates, transformational experiences, etc.) to improve access and success.
- Key Question: What strategies would help advance our commitment to support student success at Virginia Tech, including those who are most vulnerable based on a variety of identities?
Committee and work group members
CO-CHAIRS
- Menah Pratt – Strategic Affairs and Diversity
- Matt Holt – Agricultural and Applied Economics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
MEMBERS
- Jeff Earley – Academic Resource Management
- Kristin Gehsmann – School of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
- Ellington Graves – Inclusion and Diversity
- Greta Harris – Board of Visitors
- Luisa Havens Gerardo – Enrollment Management
- Tim Hodge – Budget and Financial Planning
- Rachel Holloway – Undergraduate Academic Affairs
- Elizabeth Hooper – Government and Community Relations
- Frances Keene – Student Affairs
- Erin McCann – Strategic Planning, Strategic Affairs
- Charlie Phlegar – Advancement
- Julie Ross – Engineering
- Amy Sebring – Financial and Operational Enterprises
- Tracy Vosburgh – Communications and Marketing
CO-CHAIRS
- Jeff Earley – Academic Resource Management
- Luisa Havens Gerardo – Enrollment Management
- Tim Hodge – Budget and Financial Planning
MEMBERS
- Beth Armstrong – University Scholarships and Financial Aid, Enrollment Management
- Sergio Barrera – Economics, College of Science
- Dan Cleveland – Advancement
- Elizabeth Hooper – Government and Community Relations
- Robert Hopkins II – Strategic Analysis, Academic Resource Management
- Sharon Kurek – Audit, Risk, and Compliance
- Kevin Sutton – Financial Wellness, Hokie Wellness
- Jesse Tuel – Communications and Marketing
CO-CHAIRS
- Rachel Holloway - Undergraduate Academic Affairs
- Frances Keene - Student Affairs
- Ellington Graves - Inclusion and Diversity
MEMBERS
- Catherine Amelink – Office of the Executive Vice Provost
- Takiyah Amin – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, College of Architecture, Arts, and Design
- Nathaniel L. Bishop – Diversity, Inclusion, and Student Vitality, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
- James Bridgeforth – Student Affairs and ExperienceVT
- Tamara Cherry-Clarke – First Generation Student Success, Student Affairs
- Melissa Faircloth – American Indian and Indigenous Community Center
- Kim Filer – Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Undergraduate Academic Affairs
- Martha Glass – Interim Dean of Students and Student Affairs
- Dave Guerin – Provost Communications
- Dannette Gomez Beane – Strategic Initiatives, Enrollment Management
- Laura Hungerford – Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
- Estrella Johnson – Inclusion and Diversity, College of Science
- Maryam Kamran – Inclusion and Diversity, College of Natural Resources and Environment
- DeAnna Katey – Undergraduate Student Programs, College of Engineering
- Monica Kimbrell – Undergraduate Academic Affairs, College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
- O’Brian Martin – Equity and Inclusion, Undergraduate Student Senate
- Emily McCorkle – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Pamplin College of Business
- Eric Paterson – National Security Institute
- Nicole Pitterson – Representative from the Faculty Senate
- Kevin Pitts – College of Science
- Donna Cassell Ratcliffe – Career and Professional Development
- Jamal Ross – Board of Visitors Undergraduate Representative
- Karen Eley Sanders – College Access Collaborative, Enrollment Management
- Kimberly Smith – Student Success Initiatives, Undergraduate Academic Affairs
- Chevon Thorpe – Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences