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    Virginia Tech
    Virginia Tech
    Virginia Tech
    Ebook158 pages35 minutes

    Virginia Tech

    By Nelson Harris

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    About this ebook

    130 years after its opening, the once small agricultural college has become Virginia's largest university- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.


    When Charles Minor opened the doors of his new land-grant institution in late 1872, there were only 29 students, 3 faculty members, and a single building in the town of Blacksburg, Virginia. From the humble beginning of donated livestock, seeds, machinery, and books, the university now known as Virginia Tech has emerged as a leading research university that is consistently ranked among the nation's best colleges. In addition to housing some of the top engineering and business schools, the university also has a tremendous athletic program that continually produces many of the nation's top ranked athletes. The Campus History Series: Virginia Tech illustrates the university's evolution through over 200 archival photographs, including rare and fun bites of campus history, such as the old cadet rat parades, the first ring dance, the Highty-Tighties, the Huckleberry, and even the evolution of the school's mascot, the Hokie Bird.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 24, 2004
    ISBN9781439629567
    Virginia Tech
    Author

    Nelson Harris

    Local historian Nelson Harris is a native and former mayor of Roanoke. He has been the pastor of Heights Community Church since 1999 and is an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Western Community College. He is a past president of the Historical Society of Western Virginia, a columnist for the Roanoker magazine, and has been recognized by the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation for his research and advocacy of regional history. He is the author of fourteen books, including Downtown Roanoke, A History of Back Creek, Aviation in Roanoke and Hidden History of Roanoke.

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    • 5/5
      A great pictorial history of Virginia's other military school. Most enjoyable-I highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      Awesome book with tons of great photos that reveal the history of our alma mater. Certainly, well worth reading!

    Book preview

    Virginia Tech - Nelson Harris

    Virginia Tech

    Nelson Harris

    Copyright © 2004 by Nelson Harris

    9781439629567

    Published by Arcadia Publishing

    Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH, San Francisco CA

    Printed in the United States of America

    Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2004102683

    For all general information contact Arcadia Publishing at:

    Telephone 843-853-2070

    Fax 843-853-0044

    E-mail sales@arcadiapublishing.com

    For customer service and orders:

    Toll-Free 1-888-313-2665

    Visit us on the Internet at www.arcadiapublishing.com

    To my son Andrew.

    Table of Contents

    Title Page

    Copyright Page

    Dedication

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    INTRODUCTION

    One - THE EARLY YEARS

    Two - CADET LIFE

    Three - ATHLETICS

    Four - THE CAMPUS

    Five - STUDENT LIFE

    Six - BLACKSBURG

    NOTES AND ANECDOTES

    BOWL HISTORY

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    This is now my fourth title with Arcadia Publishing, and I am most grateful for their encouragement, patience, and partnership in the production of this book. I extend special appreciation to my editor for this title, Susan Beck. This book would not have been possible without the assistance and permission of the archive staff at University Libraries, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. All images contained in this book come from the VT Image Base (http://imagebase.lib.vt.edu/), housed and operated by Digital Library and Archives (DLA), University Libraries and scanned by Digital Imaging, Learning Technologies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI&SU). They are to be commended for their extensive archival photograph collection. Not only is it accessible but also well documented and preserved. For working with my orders and providing information necessary to acquire the images contained in this book I give special thanks to Jane Wills, Digital Library and Archives Assistant. Information for the captions came from either the Digital Library and Archives, or from the comprehensive history of Virginia Tech, The First 100 Years—A History of Virginia Polytechnic and State University, written by Duncan Lyle Kinnear (Blacksburg: VPI Educational Foundation, Inc., 1972).

    As always, I am most grateful to my wife, Cathy, for her constant love and support for all my projects.

    INTRODUCTION

    Anyone who has lived in Southwestern Virginia has been impacted by the commonwealth’s largest university, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly known as Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech’s academic, athletic, and economic influences extend well beyond the borders of her campus. With an enrollment in excess of 25,000 students, Virginia Tech has achieved its goal of becoming a research and learning institution of national repute.

    Virginia Tech officially opened its doors as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1872, assuming the grounds of the former Preston and Olin Institute, a Methodist academy founded in 1851. VAMC was made possible by the allocation of monies appropriated by the Virginia legislature from its land-grant fund for the establishment of an agricultural and mechanical school for white male students. Charles C. Minor was installed as president of the college, and the school concluded its first academic session with an enrollment of 132 students. The first graduating class in 1875 awarded 12 students diplomas. For the remainder of the 19th century, the college survived a number of changes. In 1880, enrollment dropped to 50 students, and during that decade the school was served by four different presidents. By the late 1890s however, the college had stabilized, awarding its first graduate degree in 1892 and enrolling 300 by 1896. The college also began to forge an identity, adopting school colors, a seal, and motto. The publication of the first yearbook in 1895 and student newspaper in 1903 added to the sense of an academic community.

    In addition to academic and capital improvements, the college’s spirit was heightened by the inclusion of intercollegiate athletics. The first baseball game was in 1877 and football followed in 1891. An athletic association was formed that same year.

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