The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approved a $1.74 billion university budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year (July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022) at its Tuesday meeting in Blacksburg.
In addition, the board approved a resolution to delegate authority to the university president to implement necessary health and safety measures based upon institutional needs and the health and safety of students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community during the current and any future public health emergencies.
The 2021-22 operating budget is the largest in the university’s history. The Education and General portion of the budget, which includes the University Division and Virginia Cooperative Extension, totals $974 million, a 3.7 percent increase from a year before. In total, approximately 19 percent of the overall university budget is funded by state support.
Next year’s budget includes increases in student financial aid, a five percent merit and distinction compensation program for teaching/research faculty and administrative/professional faculty, a five percent university staff merit compensation program, a five percent classified staff compensation program, and a five percent stipend increase for graduate assistantships.
The board also approved a resolution to create a new School of Environmental Security within the College of Natural Resources and Environment, pending approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The new school will draw upon multiple academic disciplines and professions to address threats to human safety and prosperity from global population growth, resource availability and access, and environmental shifts, including climate change.
A resolution to approve a new Bachelor of Science degree program in plant science and concurrently discontinuing Bachelor of Science degree programs in environmental sciences and horticulture was also approved by the board, pending state council approval. The changes to these degree programs will provide a unified, integrated curriculum with a wide breadth of subject material to better prepare students for careers in government agencies, agribusiness firms, and biotechnology companies.
On Monday, board members received an update on the Innovation Campus from Vice President and Executive Director Lance Collins. On Tuesday, board members received a design review of the Innovation Campus Academic I Building, a 299,733-gross-square-foot facility in Alexandria. The building, part of a 65-acre mixed-use development known as North Potomac Yards, will provide instruction, research, office, and support spaces primarily for graduate programs in computer science and computer engineering. Construction is expected to begin this September with substantial completion targeted for early 2024.
Faculty promotion, tenure, and continued appointments for 2021 were approved by the board.
Over the course of the two-day meeting, board members received several reports and updates, including those on health sciences research, agricultural facilities planning and construction, sports wagering, diversity education, the future of work and talent development, and shared governance.
