The fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, was active and productive in advancing the foundation’s support of Virginia Tech initiatives and programs.
During the year, the foundation acquired through a gift/purchase agreement the River Course, which is located 20 minutes from campus along the New River and is one of the best golf courses in western Virginia. For the first time the Virginia Tech golf team has a home course, and students, faculty, and alumni once again have an 18-hole university course of unquestionable quality and natural beauty. Through the generosity of two alumni, a new driving range and a practice facility have been constructed.
The Virginia Tech Foundation made another major real-estate acquisition to serve the university by entering into an agreement for the lease and eventual acquisition of University Mall, a 13-acre site containing 160,000 square feet adjacent to the campus. The university and its related corporations are already leasing 60 percent of the mall, and the foundation’s agreement with mall owners has fixed rental rates for the next 20 years, after which ownership of all land and improvements will pass to the foundation.
The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center continued to expand and exert a positive influence on the university’s research and technology transfer programs, as well as the entrepreneurial environment within the university community. Despite a challenging economy, occupancy of Corporate Research Center facilities exceeded 90 percent. Completed projects for the year included a pump station necessary for expansion of the park, the Andrews Building addition for Communications Network Services, the completion of a building for the new Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and a warehouse facility for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute at the Smart Road. An Economic Development Administration grant of $2 million will assist in the construction of the VT KnowledgeWorks building within the next year.
In October 2003 the Virginia Tech Foundation Board of Directors elected Raymond D. Smoot Jr. as chief operating officer and secretary-treasurer. Smoot will have the lead responsibility for the foundation and the related corporations, with particular attention to business and financial affairs. This step will provide full-time leadership at the foundation, bolster institutional efforts to find new sources of revenue through the related corporations, focus on new business development, and increase involvement at state and federal levels. Effective leadership in these areas is critical to increasing support to the university and helping it reach the goal of becoming a top 30 research institution.
It is the financial support, personal involvement, and vision for the future of Virginia Tech among our board of directors, alumni, and friends that make possible the many ways the Virginia Tech Foundation supports and advances the university. All of us within the foundation express our sincere thanks to all loyal alumni and friends for your continuing and generous support and involvement.
Sincerely,
Gene A. James
Chairman of the Board
