2012–2013 Issue - Outreach & International Affairs - Virginia Tech

Outreach NOW 2012EditorAndrea BrunaisArt DirectorTiffany PrudenGraphic DesignersRobin Dowdy, Sarah Vernon ’13Copy EditorRichard LovegroveContributing WritersAndrea BrunaisDana CruikshankLiz CrumbleyYen DinhJean ElliottLori GreinerChris HorneKayla HastrupPhotographersAndrea Brunais, Jean Elliott, Dave Elmore, KaylaHastrup, John McCormick, Sue Ott Rowlands,Lesley Pendleton, Katy Powell, Merle Shepard,Jim Stroup, Kelcey Thurman, Anne WernikoffPublishersJerry NilesVice President Outreach and International AffairsLarry HinckerAssociate Vice President University RelationsPublications DirectorMelissa RichardsFinancial DirectorJane SwanWebsite ManagerHolly CarrollEditorial BoardDon BackAndrea BrunaisScott FarmerChris HorneGary KirkWhitney JohnsonHeidi Anne MesmerBarbara MicaleMiriam RichMelissa SmithKelcey ThurmanDenise YoungDave NutterPatrick O’BrienMiriam RichSusan ShortLois StephensJulie Walters-SteeleOutreach NOW is an annual publication ofOutreach and International Affairs and isproduced by University Relations, VirginiaPolytechnic Institute and State University,Blacksburg, VA 24061.Periodical postage paid at Blacksburg, Va. Copyright © 2012Postmaster: If undeliverable, please send form 3579 to Outreachand International Affairs, 702 University City Boulevard,Blacksburg, VA 24060. Do not return publication.Address changes and circulation inquiries should be mailed to LizCrumbley, 702 University City Boulevard, Blacksburg, VA 24060.Editorial inquiries, permission to reproduce any material, lettersto the editor, and other comments should be mailed to Editor,Outreach Now, 702 University City Boulevard, Blacksburg, VA24060 or sent by email to andreab1@vt.edu.www.outreach.vt.eduVirginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students,or applicants for admission or employment on the basis of race,color, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status,national origin, religion, or political affiliation. Anyone havingquestions concerning discrimination should contact the Officefor Equity and Access.Andrea BrunaisOur world-changing land-grant heritageAs you read about Virginia Tech’s impact on the lives of citizens of Virginia andthe world, I invite you to join us in celebrating the 150-year anniversary of thevisionary legislation of Sen. Justin Morrill that created the opportunity for thefounding of Virginia Tech (Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical Institute) in1872 as part of a network of land-grant universities in every state. Morrill’s bigidea, championed by Abraham Lincoln, was to create a system of land-grantuniversities dedicated to improving the lives of people through more accessiblehigher education and applying basic research to the needs of society for increasedfood production and economic development. This legislation ignited an American“Educational Revolution.”In Outreach and International Affairs we take Virginia Tech’s land-grant missionseriously, and this magazine reflects our division’s pointed mission statement:“to share the best of Virginia Tech by working side by side with communitiesthroughout the world.” You’ll enjoy meeting some of those doing the sharing:Katy Powell (page 9), giving voice to displaced peoples in Sri Lanka; graduatestudents helping towns in southern Virginia infuse their rail trails with economicheft (page 18); volunteers throughout the commonwealth offering labor withoutwhich Extension services would wither (page 10).Jean Elliott’s story on Sister Petronella (page 8) shows how the university can addvalue in surprising ways. The Franciscan-order nun came to the Blacksburg campusto receive two weeks of training before returning to Zambia with her forwardthinkinggarden project.Research is also central to the land-grant mission. You’ll find research outlined in“Virginia Tech’s big Arlington footprint” (page 6). The university’s new buildinglayout and design discourages silos. That means researchers from different disciplinestalk with each other, whether they’re involved in national security or geneexpression.In our contest to determine the cover photo, we loved the joy and energy andmovement expressed in the colorful dancer captured in Brazil by Jana Davis Pearl,a 2005 alum (she holds a bachelor’s degree in urban planning). She now lives inSao Paulo. In her photography, she works “to expose the latent raw emotion andindividuality that lies in every freeze of the frame,” she writes.The stories of Virginia Tech’s faculty and students in Outreach NOW provide richtestimony to the infinite power of the promise of the Morrill Act. My hope is thatyou are able to see that the core missions of the land-grant university, envisioned150 years ago, have matured and are thriving at Virginia Tech as our faculty andstudents reach outand engage new challengesto advance thecommon good in ourinterconnected world.Jerry Niles with Jake Grohs of VT EngageInterim Vice President forOutreach and InternationalAffairs

RootedinAs the commonwealth’s leading research university, Virginia Techconsistently provides the discovery, learning, and engagementactivities vital to its land-grant role. No surprise, then, thatthe university whose tagline is “Invent the Future” leadsoutreach in science, technology, engineering, andmathematics (STEM) education with the aim ofcreating an educated citizenry and tomorrow’sleaders.The STEM commitment stretches acrossthe university and all levels of education.Below is a short list of Tech’s many STEMefforts:COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE ANDLIFE SCIENCES AND VIRGINIACOOPERATIVE EXTENSION• Through its 4-H youth leadership developmentprogram, Virginia Cooperative Extensionoffers Virginia’s youth a number of learningopportunities, including such subjects as animaland plant sciences, earth and space science,nanoscience, robotics, GPS, digital media, andengineering.Denise Young, assistant editor of Virginia TechMagazine, compiled this list.COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING• In Chemical Engineering Reactions, handsonchemistry demonstrations intended tointerest students in chemistry and chemicalengineering are conducted in a wet chemistrylab in Hancock Hall for students ages 12-17.COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND HUMANSCIENCES• The Virtual Jamestown Archive is a digital research,teaching, and learning project that explores the legacies of the Jamestownsettlement and “the Virginia experiment.”SCHOOL OF EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS• The MCPS/VT FIRST Robotics collaborative involves three high schoolteachers, approximately 25 high school students, the School of Education, andthe Department of Mechanical Engineering. The project focuses on developingengineering skills and aptitudes through relevant applications.Outreach NOW 2o u t r e a c hNOWMore content, including video,at www.outreach.vt.edu/now

Donna Augustine – a passion for STEMThere are those who are passionate about their work, and then there’s Donna Augustine.Augustine is the director of the Youth Science Cooperative Outreach Agreement, amultiyear U.S. Army Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outreachinitiative headquartered at Virginia Tech. The child of two high school math teachers,Augustine’s passion for math and science started early and stayed with her during herundergraduate years at M.I.T. and through her early years as a doctoral student in VirginiaTech’s science and technology studies program. As she pursued her degree, she found hercalling — helping young people, especially those from underrepresented groups, becomeinterested in STEM. For her dissertation, she is examining the broken STEM pipeline atthe point of precollegiate access programs. Professionally, she served as director of theScience & Technology Entry Program for five years at Monroe Community College (MCC)in Rochester, N.Y., and was the interim coordinator for the Center for Service Learning atMCC. She frequently refers to her current role as her “dream opportunity” to continue tospread the word about STEM. Under the five-year, $60 million grant, Augustine will beleading the U.S. Army’s assessment efforts for its STEM outreach programs across thecountry.Andrea Brunais— Dana CruikshankDonna AugustineVirginia’s top educator explores institute’s rolling classroomThe commonwealth’s secretary of education is nowamong the thousands who have experienced the effectivelearning techniques aboard the STEM MobileLearning Lab. The STEM Lab is an outreach tool forthe Institute for Advanced Learning and Research inDanville.The lab rolled into Richmond in February during theGeneral Assembly session. Cabinet members, legislators,and their staffs were able to experience the teachingresources first hand. Education Secretary LauraFornash was impressed.“It was great to see the STEM Mobile Learning Lab whileit was in Richmond during the legislative session. Thelab is a vital outreach tool to bring exciting sciencebasedcurriculum through hands-on experiments andexhibits to students in Southside Virginia,” she says.Established two years ago, the lab, with its distinctiveoutside wrapping, visits schools and shows up at publicevents. The equipment aboard illustrates the effectivenessof renewable and sustainable energy sourcesand other concepts related to science, technology, engineering,and math. Visitors learn by experimentingwith solar power, wind power, and robotics. Fornashused a hand crank to power two different light bulbs —one an old-style incandescent, the other a newer CFLbulb — and saw how the CFL bulb required less energy.The lab also carries high-resolution microscopesand can be used as a mobile computer lab with wi-fiaccess to both PC and Mac laptops.Since spring 2010, educators have employed the labto deliver more than 300 educational programs to morethan 13,000 visitors. “Students and teachers in the regionare fortunate to have the lab in the region to helpaugment classroom instruction,” Fornash says. In January,President Barack Obama’s chief science advisor,John Holdren, toured the lab.— Chris HorneOutreach NOW 4

When All You Have Is a Hammer,ShakeHandsBy Andrea BrunaisGreen building is all about nailingshut and sealing tight and lightingright and retrofitting. Green buildingis also about “soft skills” that caninspire likeability and trust.Friendly relationships are key toinfluencing consumers to adopt greenproducts and processes, says authorand consultant Brent Darnell, aveteran of the construction industry.“It’s about changing the minds and thehearts of the people you’re trying tosell all this new innovation to.”That’s why he spent a morning leadinggroup exercises in firm handshakes,warm tones of voice, and open bodylanguage.“It’s not our best thing, as an industry,”Darnell says of emotional intelligence.He finds the audience of architects,engineers, and construction workersreceptive at a two-day, industry-focusedconference in Roanoke. Afterward, hesays, “When they learn that, it’s like,‘Wow! It is important to open myselfup and smile a little bit and createan engagement with another humanbeing’ — and they’ve never eventhought of that before!”When a participant asks, “Is it possibleto be too disgustingly positive?”Darnell suggests that rather than turninto Mary Poppins overnight, “Dial itup just a little.”“Harnessing Innovation” is the nameof the conference, and Darnell isquick to make the connection: “Weare so afraid of making mistakes inthis industry and taking risks that wehave lost our ability to innovate.”After cheering on participants doingvariations of “the wave” across theroom, Darnell tells the group, “Asadults we are so afraid to look silly.Kids are not afraid of that, and theyare innovative and creative.”The conference grew from the CRE-ATES grant (Construction, Retrofit-ting, and Energy-Efficient AssessmentTraining and Employment Systems),which pays for job training. Grantpartners include the Virginia TechOffice of Economic Development, theChristiansburg-based nonprofit CommunityHousing Partners, and theregion’s local workforce developmentboards and community colleges.Faculty member Andrew McCoy, whoteaches in the Myers-Lawson Schoolof Construction, was instrumental inplanning the conference. At first heworried whether soft-skills trainingwould fly. But the gamble paid off.“When you tell people in the architecture,engineering, and constructionindustries, ‘Hey, we want you to comeand talk about emotions and emotionalskills,’ you wonder if they reallywant to show up — and they did,” hesays. “It was really lively.”o u t r e a c hNOWMore content, including video,at www.outreach.vt.edu/nowWhy it MattersThe U.S. Department of Labor underwritestraining for workers in thegreen construction industry to meetanticipated demands for skilled labor.The conference provided training andbrought stakeholders together.Participant Stephen Reese chats withspeaker Brent Darnell. (far right) PatrickO’Brien with participant Amazetta Andersonduring soft skills training. When Darnell asksfor feedback, she says, “It’s a little strange.I wasn’t expecting to immediately startstudying myself.”Logan WallaceAndrea BrunaisOutreach NOW 5

Virginia Tech’sBIGArlington footprint ByAndrea Brunais and Barbara Micalecrowd of more than 60 people from the greater Washington,D.C., science and technology communityAgathered in February at the Virginia Tech Research Center— Arlington for the inaugural lecture of the Leaders inScience and Technology Seminar Series. At the same time,more than 250 miles away in Blacksburg, graduate studentsand faculty also assembled to watch the live broadcast.The speaker was internationally known Ben Shneiderman,founding director of the Human-Computer InteractionLaboratory.Outreach NOW 6“The popularity of the new seminar series symbolizes whatwe’re trying to accomplish here,” says Don Leo, vice presidentand executive director for National Capital RegionOperations. “Arlington’s proximity to legislators, theNational Science Foundation, other leading federal researchagencies, and foreign embassies is helping Virginia Techreach out to the community and create collaborations.”Ten Virginia Tech institutes and centers share space in theseven-story, LEED-certified green building that opened inPhotos by Jim Stroup

Virginia Tech research institutes and centers with a major presence in Arlington:• Advanced Research Institute• Arlington Innovation Center: Health Research• Center for Geospatial Information Technology• Center for Technology, Security, and Policy• Computational Bioinformatics and Bio-imagingLaboratory• Institute for Science, Culture, and Environment• Hume Center• Institute for Critical Technology and AppliedScience• Virginia Bioinformatics Institute• Virginia Tech Applied Research CorporationJune 2011, creating what Virginia Tech President CharlesW. Steger describes, metaphorically, as a “nucleus for discovery.”Offices are arranged so that researchers mingle, whetherthey’re working for the Virginia Bioinformatics Instituteor the College of Science. “The center is unique in that wedidn’t assign space around silos,” Leo says. This type ofopen atmosphere is designed to command recognition inthe greater Washington, D.C., area. “We want to engage inways that highlight the research strengths of our faculty andgraduate students.”The Hume Center is a case in point. Part of the College ofEngineering, with support from the Institute for CriticalTechnology and Applied Science, it focuses on developingfuture leaders for the U.S. federal government. CharlesClancy, director, says, “Our goal is to lead the country inholistically developing the elite science and technologyhuman capital for the intelligence community.” Facultyand students will address the national security community’scritical needs.The Hume Center will work with L-3 Communications,which moved more than 50 people to the Arlington center.Both parties will benefit from the collaboration. VirginiaTech students can look forward to L-3 internships andfaculty to endowed fellowships. Virginia Tech and L-3 willalso jointly apply for grants and carry out research.Arlington-based research gives Virginia Tech’s graduatestudents the opportunity to work with such professors asClancy and Yue “Joseph” Wang, the Grant A. Dove Professorof Electrical and Computer Engineering and directorof the Computational Bioinformatics and Bio-imagingLaboratory.Wang describes the sort of research students might tackle:“Our research has evolved from comprehensive characterizationof gene and protein expression patterns to the computationaltheory of systems biology and to advanced imagingand image analysis. We are striving for scientific discoverieswhile pursuing engineering innovations for the molecularanalysis of human diseases.”Virginia Tech research in the greater Washington, D.C.,area extends beyond Arlington to centers in Falls Churchand Alexandria. Water research is conducted in Manassasand equine research in Leesburg and Middleburg.The strategic location of the 144,000-square-foot Arlingtoncenter makes it attractive to many nearby organizations.Demand is already high for the second-floor conferencearea known as the VT Executive Briefing Center —Arlington. Continuing and Professional Education, a unitof Outreach and International Affairs, manages the meetingspace.“Our goal is to lead thecountry in holisticallydeveloping the elitescience and technologyhuman capital for theintelligence community.”– Charles ClanceyIn addition to theLeaders in Science andTechnology SeminarSeries, the center hashosted various groups,including the university’sboard of visitors,British Embassy representatives,an internationalmeeting of theCommonwealth Centerfor Advanced Manufacturing,and alumni business groups, such as VT-IDEA(Intelligence and Defense Executive Alumni).“My goal is to have the center reflect the strengths ofresearch throughout the region and have it connected to allof Virginia Tech, regardless of where a particular building,faculty, or student is physically located,” Leo says.A view of the Arlington conference rooms with National Capital Region Operations Vice President and Executive Director Don LeoOutreach NOW 7

By Jean ElliottCherub-cheeked Sister Petronella Mwila coos softly tobabies and delivers about 56 of them each month at St.Kalemba Mission Hospital, the hub of 10 remote villages innorthwest Zambia not far from the Congo border.The Franciscan-order nun is the keeper of secrets. As anurse, she knows who tests HIV-positive. As coordinator ofvolunteers, she makes sure the aforementioned participatein caregiving throughout the thatched-hut communities,assuring them of status and, in a stroke of genius, a betterdiet.Thanks to a grant administered by Virginia Tech anda small stipend of $300, Sister Petronella developed aproposal to improve the nutrition of her clients in theseimpoverished areas where a bowl of corn porridge is considereda good meal for the day. With the help of her networkof volunteers, she deftly set her idea into motion. Her plan?Seeds.Maize is a common crop in much of southern Africa. Largegardens are not.In each of the 10 outposts, however, women and children(mostly orphans) cleared land, weaved elaborate stick fences,and dug furrows by hand. Water was carried from riversand bore holes.The seeds flourished in gardens on hilly land dotted withfire-ant mounds and marshy meadows.Gardeners reaped cabbage, tomatoes, eggplants, and beets.Some even managed cash crops with sales underwritingschool supplies and basic needs. One particularly enterprisingvillage parlayed initial seed money into a thrifty cassavaand greens business. That, in turn, launched a venture intoanimal husbandry with the purchase of two piglets and twogoats, which multiplied during five months, becoming ahealthy herd of 14.Sister Petronella was one of 28 people from Zambia andMalawi named a Global Health Fellow with grant sponsorshipfrom the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educationand Cultural Affairs. Virginia Tech’s Patricia Kelly,professor in the School of Education, and Kerry Redican,professor in the Department of Population Health Sciencesin the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of VeterinaryMedicine, collaborated on the project.One garden straddled a hillside, hand-cultivated by a pair ofbeaming HIV-positive women. At another village, childrengleefully greeted the Sister, hiked beside her and proudlyshowed off their own patch along the banks of a river, aptlyplaced adjacent to the volunteers’ plot.Abraham is 5 months old and his mother is HIV positive. InZambia, mothers traditionally nurse their babies for two years,which means Abraham’s mother faces a daunting decision. Ifshe stops breastfeeding, she risks being ostracized becauseher fellow villagers will realize her medical condition. Ifshe continues to breastfeed, she risks the life of her child.Excruciating choice.The Fellows, including Sister Petronella, all participated intwo weeks of training at Virginia Tech to learn about bestpractices in public health. That was followed by an immersionexperience alongside an American colleague in a communityhealth setting. The Fellows then developed theirown action plans.Of the 14 projects undertaken in 2011, thelives of some 138,380 Zambiansand 6,800 Malawianswere touched, accordingto Redican and Kelly.Perhaps even more gratifyingthan the numbers,Sister Petronella’s gardensappear to be sustainable.Outreach NOW 8Photos by Jean Elliott

andinThe tropical island nation of Sri Lanka is a place of contradictions.It is the Buddhist country with the longest continuoushistory of Buddhism as well as the seat of a largeservice organization devoted to promoting peace. And yet itis also a country with a history of searing conflict betweentwo rival ethnic groups.So the South Asian nation is a compelling place for KatyPowell, associate professor of English at Virginia Tech,whose expertise is in studying displacement narratives,to conduct research.Powell first went to Sri Lanka in summer 2011 as partof a team of Virginia Tech professors who are lookingat ways to collaborate with Sri Lankan universities andorganizations.What Powell found was a serendipitous convergenceof interests from her life. She was workingBy Miriam Richwith undergrads and graduate students (as well as facultyfrom other disciplines) and studying displacement andidentity in a post-conflict environment, her specialty. Shestarted out in the field by studying families in the mountainsof Virginia who were displaced by the creation of theShenandoah National Park. She does ethnographic and oralhistory research, taking a multidimensional approach tolooking at the social aspects of displacement and identity.In Sri Lanka, ethnic conflict between the Tamil and theSinhalese has created displacement. Minority Tamils leftneighborhoods of the capital city of Colombo, where fightingwas intense, for safer parts of the country. Many fled tothe north and east.Young Sri Lankans who have lived through this conflicthave been great resources for Powell. She interviewed severalat the Sri Palee Campus of the University of Colombo,where theater professor Ann Kilkelly conducted a theaterworkshop. Kilkelly had everyone line up and sculpt eachother’s bodies to represent a particular issue in their society.“One of the students moved my hands and head into particularpositions so that my body represented the concept ofpeace,” Powell says.“She meticulously moved my fingers so that they had justthe right curve to them to mimic those of a goddess ofpeace. I was quite moved by her diligence in getting thefingers right. As I stood in the line of sculpted bodies, I wasoverwhelmed at the students’ enthusiasm in participating in[Kilkelly’s] workshop(above) Katy Powell studies displacement of people, and finds time to visit with elephants, inSri Lanka. (below) University of Colombo students attend Powell’s workshop, Private Memories,Public Impact: A Workshop in Life Histories in Sri Lanka in June 2012: Gayani Jayasekera,Ruwini Kodippilia, Ruth Surenthiraraj, Arasi Viekneaswaran, and Nirmani Jayaweera.Sue Ott Rowlandsand this particularstudent’s commitmentto making my bodyreflect exactly the conceptand emotion shedesired. That was myfirst day in Sri Lanka,and that day I knew Iwanted to work withthe students again.”Katy PowellOutreach NOW 9

‘Theyare theface of theLinda King knows that it takes a village — a village ofvolunteers, that is. King, a 4-H youth agent in PrinceWilliam County, relies on more than 640 volunteersto help her reach upward of 38,000 children with Extension’s4-H youth programming.Adria Bordas manages more than 400 Master Gardenervolunteers in Fairfax County. Some of her programs are runtotally by volunteers.Volunteers serve as 4-H club leaders, give gardening advice,provide cooking demonstrations, assist with after-schoolprograms, and teach financial literacy. Volunteers are essentialto Virginia Cooperative Extension’s mission of helpingpeople put scientific knowledge to work to improve theirlives.One reason Bordas can rely onvolunteers to assist with programmingis the extensive trainingExtension provides.Initially, Master Gardener volunteersmust complete 50 hoursof training and contribute 50volunteer hours before they earnthe title. Annually, they mustcomplete eight hours of continuingeducation and work 20 volunteerhours.“They have a thirst for knowledge.They go out of their way to seek morecommunity’education,” Bordas says. “The volunteersfeel like the classes we provide for them aresomething that they would not get anywhereelse.”By Lori GreinerMaster Gardener George Graine, of FallsChurch, Va., has spent more than 25 yearsseeking and sharing knowledge. “It gives me a great senseof enjoyment helping others as well as learning skills andknowledge for my own benefit,” Graine says. He volunteersat plant clinics (where people bring their plants for diagnosis)and helps identify topics and speakers to developadvanced Master Gardener training.Master Gardener and six-year volunteer Elaine Homstadvalues Extension’s emphasis on research-based information.“We show people how to find information that theycan rely on. Being associated with Virginia Tech and havingresearch-based information available is important to theunion of Master Gardeners and Extension.”The successful Master Gardener volunteer model now appliesto other Extension programs covering such topics asMaster Food volunteersundergo 30 hours of training over thecourse of four weeks. They learn about basicnutrition, meal planning, cooking techniques, food safety,and how to work with diverse audiences.Outreach NOW 10

finances and health and the newest offering: the Master FoodVolunteer Program.The resurgence of home canning and food preservation, plusthe need to promote healthy lifestyles, provides the opportunityto train volunteers to help agents with programs on nutrition,food safety, cooking, and physical activity.“These folks have a real interest in helping others,” says MelissaChase, state coordinator for the Master Food VolunteerProgram. “They enjoy sharing knowledge and seeing the changein behavior. It motivates the volunteers when they can see theimpact of their hard work.”For others it’s about giving back.Sandy Arnold, a fourth-generation 4-Her, knows firsthand what adifference volunteers can make on a child’s life. “4-H really formedmy life and was a huge influence,” Arnold says. “For me as a kid, Iremember focusing on a project outside of school. It was a very affordableway to get involved in a horse project. I got so much out of it. Somany adults inspired me.”Arnold is now the horse project leader for the Nokesville 4-H Club,where she is inspiring a new generation. While teaching kids abouthorses, she also helps them build good character and leadership skills.The 4-H members incorporate a community service activity intoevery club meeting. Through projects like creating Christmas cardsfor a local homeless shelter and assembling care packages for thehomebound, 4-Hers learn about their community and the needsof others. “I want to teach my kids about giving, and 4-H is anavenue to teach those skills,” Arnold says.“Our volunteers are incredibly good at their jobs, whether it isfundraising, educating, or simply caring,” King says. “They arethe face of the community.”In addition to providinggardening advice andeducational programming,many Master Gardenervolunteers help maintain thepublic gardens within theircommunities.“These folks have a realinterest in helping others.”– Melissa ChaseHow Extension’svolunteers make adifferenceVirginia Cooperative Extension serves all95 counties and 12 independent cities inVirginia with varying levels of programmingsupport. “Volunteers are the backboneof these activities,” says Director EdJones. “We could not conduct many ofour programs without them.”King, the agent in Prince William County,offers 4-H in 80 schools and supportsmore than 30 clubs and camps. “If 4-Hrelied solely on paid staff, we’d reach only1 percent of the number of children withour Extension programs.”In Fairfax County, Bordas says, “Volunteersreally build capacity within our programs.”Over the years, Extension has had toweather some severe revenue cuts ofits own. In the past six years, its budgetdeclined by more than $10 million. Extensionwas facing additional budget cuts in2010 when its volunteers and supporterslet the Virginia General Assembly knowthat enough was enough.Jones credits Extension’s volunteers fortheir support and advocacy to help getsome of the funding restored to hire additionalagents in the field. “Volunteers cancommunicate to additional stakeholdersand funders that we cannot reach with ourstaff.”Master Gardener Elaine Homstad saysthe value of volunteerism in a depressedeconomy can’t be overlooked. “We can’tdepend on government to provide everything.So often it is the volunteer organizationsthat fill in the gap. The public-privatepartnership makes the whole communitythrive.”photos courtesy of Lori GreinerOutreach NOW 11

R e ad a l o u d,hop on a ,atch your garden grow:Building strong community partnerships andincreasing civic-engagement opportunities forstudents are two important missions for VTEngage: The Community Learning Collaborative(formerly the Center for Student Engagementand Community Partnerships). The workat VT Engage has brought something new tothe university: AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers InService To America) workers. Here is a look atthree organizations that have benefitted fromthe work of VT Engage’s VISTA members.The many interestsof VT EngageBy Kayla HastrupMaking life brighter for Head Start toddlersOn a Saturday morning in January, Virginia Techstudents arrived at Head Starts across the New River Valleyto brighten the walls and windows of the centers. VTEngage’s annual event, MLK Daycare Facelift, exposeshundreds of students to the need for programs like HeadStart that serve low-income families in the New River Valley.The annual one-day service project inspired VT Engageto develop a long-term commitment between HeadStart and Virginia Tech’s Honors Residential College.Creating a university-Head Start alliance, the VT Engagestaff sought a rich community learning experience thatreflected the program’s core values of service, personalgrowth, and intellectual development. Working with ruralHead Start centers promised benefits to both communityand college students, whose ongoing relationship withthe Head Start children has deepened their awareness ofculture and poverty.courtesy of VT EngagePart of an Honors Residential College work team, EricaBennett decorates windows at the Narrows Head StartCenter on VT Engage’s MLK Day of Service.Inevitably, the Virginia Tech students wonder if their effortscan make a difference in the Head Start centers. Do the students’visits open the children to new possibilities? A parentconfirms this. Her child had wanted to be a superherowhen he grew up, she says. Now he wants to be a teacher.Because the Honors Residential College model has workedso successfully, VT Engage’s VISTA members are nowworking to connect campus clubs and organizations withthe Head Start centers.Outreach NOW 12

Alexis Bressler, left (maroon shirt, green vest) isthe VISTA worker assigned to work on school andcommunity gardening projects with Plenty!Freewheeling volunteers set up bike kitchenFor the 19 percent of the population living below the povertyline in the New River Valley, transportation can be achallenge. The NRV Bike Kitchen may provide solutions.The bike kitchen — a project of VT Engage, the New RiverValley Bicycle Association, and Christiansburg — operatesout of the town’s recreation center.Much like a soup kitchen, the bike kitchen offers free orreduced-price bicycles. For $25, qualified recipients will begiven a refurbished bike, a helmet, a headlight, a taillight,and a bike lock. People can also receive the items free byvolunteering.Bike kitchens are catching on around the country becausethey promote self-sufficiency while providing green transportation.Although the NRV Bike Kitchen is still gettingoff the ground, volunteers work out of tents at weekly “fixfests” to restore donated bikes.Contributions from community partners and individualsare expected to underwrite the bike kitchen. Current needs:more volunteers and money.Eat, play, mulchFor many residents in Floyd County, a typicalWednesday lunch is not fresh, local, or free.Since the creation of the PlentyGood! FreeLunch project, a new program from the hungerrelief agency Plenty!, the community comestogether for conversation and a lively feast.Plenty! serves Floyd County by distributing food,especially fresh fruits and vegetables, to communitymembers in need. With the help of VTEngage, the organization has been able to createa website, coordinate a community garden, andstart school gardens at two elementary schools.“The school gardens help children know wheretheir food comes from and teaches them how togrow food,” says group co-founder Karen Day.“They also provide opportunities for the childrento taste veggies so they will want to eat more.”Kelsey KradelThe community garden also serves an educational purposeas well as helping would-be gardeners who need land, tools,advice, or seeds and seedlings. “We believe these growingprojects help people to reduce hunger by growing their ownfood,” Day says.On Wednesdays, community members leave the lunch withfull bellies and local, potted herbs to grow at home.Jim Kline, a retired shop teacher from Floyd HighSchool, is a bike kitchen volunteer.Kayla HastrupOutreach NOW 13

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One studied law.One loves HR work.One pursued the news biz.All three credit the same impetus:by Denise YoungEven high school students whose parents attended collegecan find the higher-education process overwhelming.There are campus visits, admissions essays, financial-aidapplications, and award letters — not to mention learningwhat to expect once arriving, from living with a roommateto choosing a major to navigating campus.To keep such problems from seeming insurmountable, Upward Bound and TalentSearch acts as an experienced guide.Many first-generation college students simply can’t picture themselves in the universityenvironment, says Latanya Walker, who recently left the Upward Boundprogram for another job at Virginia Tech after 13 years. “My mom had gone tocollege, so the vocabulary in my house was college, college, college. That doesn’tnecessarily happen in a home where the parents don’t have experience in college.Even if they want their child to go, they might not know how to get them there.Some parents support their students, but they might not know how to supporttheir efforts at going to college.”Upward Bound/Talent Search Director Kimberly Andrews agrees. “These programshelp make students more well-rounded — to succeed not only at the institutionthey’re going to, but in the world, because they’ve seen something morethan their hometown.” Visits to the theater or opera, tours of college campuses,and six-week camps that expose students to the college environment — evencourses on financial literacy — heighten the odds that students will arrive oncampus eager and ready to succeed.There’s no shortage of success stories to prove that the efforts of center staff arepaying off, making a big difference in countless lives. Turn the page for storiesof three Upward Bound participants now in the midst of amazing careers madepossible, in part, by their experiences in the program.continued on page 16Outreach NOW 15

RobMasriChristinaBrogdonHelping small businesses thriveIt was a long journey from Lebanon to Pearisburg, Va.,where Rob Masri grew up in an apartment over the familyrestaurant. He learned work ethic and customer servicefrom his father; all four Masri children worked in the restaurant,vacuuming floors, busing tables, or taking orders.“When my father first opened that restaurant in Pearisburg,he had a family meeting and said, ‘Every customer whowalks in needs to be treated like part of our family.’ Thatrestaurant lasted for 29 years. His mindset was that, if thesame 40 or 50 families didn’t come back every week, therestaurant wouldn’t have made it. Those passionate, loyalcustomers, getting to know those people and bringing themback, is the key to business success.”Masri would take his father’s words to heart. After earning alaw degree from the University of Virginia, Masri practicedlaw and worked for a tech company, eventually working atthe university’s law school. In 2009, he founded Cardagin,a Charlottesville, Va.-based business designed to help smallbusiness owners understand their frequent customers andreward their loyalty through smartphone technology.He met Tom Wilson, former Upward Bound and TalentSearch director, when Wilson visited Masri’s high school.“When you’re young and your parents don’t have collegeexperience themselves, the only thing you can turn to isother people who’ve gone to college or what you’ve seenon television,” Masri says. “Being there for six weeks inthe summers, that was life-changing. You saw how collegestudents live, learn that sort of independence that you canonly learn from personal experience.”Of the help he received, Masri says, “You carry that gratitudewith you throughout your life regardless of where yourprofessional career goes.”“Being there forsix weeks in thesummers, thatwas life-changing.”A nontraditional pathChristina Brogdon knows firsthand how difficult life asa first-generation college student can be. When Brogdon,hailing from a small town, arrived on the Virginia Techcampus as an incoming freshman in summer 1988, herfather dropped her off with $20 in her pocket. Brogdonwasn’t prepared. “I didn’t know you had to buy your ownbooks,” she recalls. “I don’t know how in the world wethought I’d survive with $20!”For Brogdon, college life was rocky, and she eventually left.But the encouragement she received — and continued toreceive over the years — from the Upward Bound teamhelped her return to school. During her time out of school,she worked in retail. After she became interested in humanresource management, her career took flight. And at age30, she was well on her way to a job in a corporate office,but she felt unfulfilled without that college degree. “Nothaving it was a thorn in my side,” she says. She returned toVirginia Tech in 2004, finishing her bachelor’s degree, thencompleting an M.B.A. Today, she works as the director ofhuman resources for Bluefield State College and plans topursue a doctorate.“The Upward Bound program is a big part of why I am whereI am,” Brogdon says. “It helped motivate me to finish college.”Brogdon wasn’t the only one in her family to benefit fromUpward Bound. “The program actually helped whole families,”she says, referring to her siblings. “Out of the seven ofus, five of us were in the program. I’d like to think part ofthe reason the last two didn’t need it was because UpwardBound helped the first five of us. They didn’t have the challengeswe did because we were able to help them. I’d like tothink the program had a lot to do with that.”“It helpedmotivate me tofinish college.”Outreach NOW 16

GregCarterFrom the sidelines to the newsroomFor Greg Carter, one of the more important parts of his UpwardBound experience was the introductions to people whowould inspire him to succeed academically and professionally.He fondly recalls his first meeting with former UpwardBound Director Tom Wilson. “He was one of the first peopleoutside of my family who really showed a strong interest inme doing well in school, and he had just met me,” Cartersays. “I came from a low-income, single-parent household,the oldest of three. I had thoughts of playing ball but didn’tthink I was good enough to get a scholarship. He was thefirst to sit me down and make me think I had options, andthe program allowed me to see that even further.”Through Upward Bound, Carter met his mentor, WalterLundy, then a sports writer for the Preston Journal. Lundy— now a grants management specialist in the District ofColumbia — would take Carter to games, watching theHokies play in places such as Washington, D.C., evengoing to Atlantic City to see Bimbo Coles play a one-ononegame in Trump Plaza. “He remembered that there wassomeone who reached out to him and took him under theirwing and exposed him to life outside of his town, and hedid that for me,” Carter says of his mentor.Those experiences helped Carter find his career path. Today,he is content manager and evening news anchor for WVVAin Bluefield, W.Va.During Carter’s high school years, Upward Bound, includingtrips to college campuses and a spring trip to the nation’scapital, made all the difference. “I spent three summers oncampus, and it just launched me into another world. I wrotean article several years ago saying, ‘My life began withUpward Bound. It really took off at that moment.’”“Theseprogramshelp makestudentsmore wellrounded— tosucceed notonly at theinstitutionthey’re goingto, but inthe world,becausethey’ve seensomethingmorethan theirhometown.”Upward Bound/Talent SearchDirector Kimberly Andrews“My life beganwith UpwardBound. It reallytook off at thatmoment.”Outreach NOW 17

Southwest Virginia’s Trails PutStudents On Success TrackBy Andrea Brunais and Kelcey ThurmanAndrea BrunaisWhen marketing a region’srecreational assets, economicdevelopers love to talk about trails.But can the economic worth of thetrails be proven and, more important,improved? Students taking a keygraduate course — the EconomicDevelopment Studio @ Virginia Tech— were handed that task by theirprofessor, John Provo, director of theOffice of Economic Development.Trails advocates wish to make convincingarguments to potentialfunders, says Link Elmore of theVirginia Creeper Trail Club, one ofthe studio’s two clients. (The other isthe New River Trail State Park.) Themessage: “We have an asset that needsto be taken care of and that theirfinancial support will really make adifference in our community.”Nine graduate students, most ofthem majoring in regional and urbanplanning, undertook the study. SarahLyon-Hill described their initialtrepidation: “We had no idea aboutthe topic or even how to conductan economic impact study on a trail.However, we learned quickly that wewere no longer in a classroom setting.We were given a problem, and nowwe had to figure it out.”For students specializing in economic development,the studio acts as a training ground, helpingthem to gain real-world experience. In the courseof preparing their report, the students traveled toDamascus and Galax in Southwest Virginia to talkwith community members, business owners, andtrail users. The region is dotted with bike shopsand tourist-related businesses inspired by the trails.The trails, now devoted to hikers and bikers, wereonce railroad lines. The Virginia Creeper is 34miles long, running from Whitetop throughDamascus to Abingdon. The New River Trail StatePark is significantly larger: 765 acres or 57 miles.It starts in Galax and runs north through Carroll,Grayson, Pulaski, and Wythe counties.After much collaboration, some struggling andmuch hard work, the studio team came up withrecommendations centered on community partnerships,marketing, and capitalizing on existing localresources. The report included specifics, such asrecommending that trail officials and advocatespromote youth involvement by creating environmental-educationactivities that would attractyoung families and employ young people or recentcollege graduates.“We loved working with this class,” Elmore said.“These are highly motivated grad students. Theydid a great job.”Andrea BrunaisKelsey Thurman(top) Hikers on the trail(bottom) Master’sstudents Swetha Kumarand Melissa Zilke in classo u t r e a c hNOWMore content, including video,at www.outreach.vt.edu/nowOutreach NOW 18

Working to Better aBlightedDowntown ByAndrea BrunaisJim StroupRoanoke, Va., was once a thriving center of commerce,transportation, and culture. A few decades ago, the citybegan to fade, and eventually sections of the downtownstruggled with crime problems and were virtually deserted.“Roanoke had been cursed with a lack of economic growthfor years,” says W. Robert Herbert, city manager in the1990s and now a Virginia Tech Fellow with the Center forOrganizational and Technological Advancement. “The citywas working hard to maintain population and tax base.”Some people may be surprised to learn that an “invisiblehand” of sorts helped write the revitalization of Roanoke’sdowntown during the past 20 years. Leaders from the cityand the university joined to halt the decline and, moreimportantly, inspire some smart new projects to generateeconomic growth.The result can be seen in downtown’s people-friendly businessareas. A short walk across the railroad tracks takes oneto the Roanoke Higher Education Center, where VirginiaTech offers graduate degrees and professional-developmentcourses. The establishment of the Hotel Roanoke &Conference Center created jobs and prompted a flood oftax revenues into city coffers. Student- and community-ledprojects have lifted levels of literacy.Some background: Roanoke is without a major researchuniversity, while Virginia Tech is a situated on a thrivingBlacksburg campus without a major airport and with limitedcommercial or retail services. A city-university marriageseemed inevitable. An opening occurred in 1989 whenNorfolk Southern closed its landmark, century-old hotel.Roanoke Mayor David A. Bowers told the magazine VirginiaTown & City: “We faced the prospect of the HotelRoanoke being bulldozed. That would be like Richmondlosing the Capitol or Norfolk losing the bay.”Fortunately it never came to that. The railroad turned thehotel, known as “The Grand Old Lady,” over to VirginiaTech’s foundation. The foundation carried out a $28 millionOutreach NOW 19

Jim StroupAndrea Brunais“Partnering with Roanokehas benefitted VirginiaTech in many ways,including the opportunityto reaffirm ourunderstanding of andcommitment to whatit means to be a greatland-grant university inthe 21st century.”– John Dooley, former vice presidentof Outreach and International Affairscitizenship preparation. The program came about througha collaboration of the university, the Roanoke HousingAuthority, and the Catholic Church’s Refugee and ImmigrationServices. In 2011, two Virginia Tech students whohave since graduated — Brittany Gianetti of Oneida, N.Y.,and Katherine Lodge of Centreville, Va. — won awards,including the Governor’s Volunteerism and CommunityService Award, for their work with the coalition.Unrelated to the resettlement project but also benefittinga refugee group, VT Earthworks’ Growers Academy, heldat the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center, has trained a groupof Roanoke’s Somali Bantu. Like other participants signingup for the eight-week course, the Somali Bantu learned notonly about soil types and planting practices but also aboutbusiness planning. After training, the refugees felt confidentenough to start their own business, naming it Juba Farm.They have leased a small plot of land at Virginia Tech’sCatawba Sustainability Center, about 20 minutes fromRoanoke, where they’ve planted vegetables and flowers togrow for sale.The Science Museum of Western Virginia is also a projectgenerating excitement over outreach programs made possiblewhen the museum joined forces with Virginia Techin 2011. The museum’s free Saturday programs connectVirginia Tech undergraduate and graduate students withunderserved children. This gives the museum a way toreinvent itself to become a regional hub for STEM (science,technology, engineering, and math) education and givesVirginia Tech students valuable experience. Currently situatedin Tanglewood Mall, the 32-year-old museum expectsto move back to its downtown digs when Center in theSquare renovations are complete.No examination of the Virginia Tech-Roanoke partnershipis complete without mentioning the Virginia Tech CarilionSchool of Medicine andResearch Institute. Justas the award-winningcomplex housing two institutions transformed the city’sskyline in 2010, the institutions themselves are bringinginnovation to the region. Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine,visiting the school and research institute, celebrated their“very palpable effect on the Roanoke regional economy.”U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also visiting, noted the“exciting transformative research.” The institute, with morethan $11 million in its annual research portfolio, has alreadyassembled 19 research teams and employs more than125 people.The connotation of “town and gown” is not necessarilypeaches and cream. Often employed to accent differences,the term’s adversarial nature dates at least to medieval times,when students who gathered in university towns spokenot the local dialect but Latin. According to Wikipedia,crediting The Catholic Encyclopedia, the popes themselvesintervened to protect scholars against encroachments bylocal civil authorities. None of that, of course, pertains tothe rewarding relationship that has developed between thecity and Virginia Tech who, with the help of the railroad,began the revitalization of Roanoke.As Herbert describes it, “The fact that Virginia Techwas willing to invest its intellectual and financial assetsallowed Roanoke to become more vibrant. University andcity working together in a business partnership createda synergy that was greater than the two entities workingseparately to effect change.”o u t r e a c hNOWMore content, including video,at www.outreach.vt.edu/nowOutreach NOW 21

Short TakesThe mission of Outreachand InternationalAffairs is to share thebest of VirginiaTechby working side byside with communitiesthroughout the world.Merle ShepardFighting the badguys in the insectworldLike a modern-day superhero, VirginiaTech researcher Muni Muniappan travelsthe world fighting bad guys. Only inhis case, the bad guys are not humanbeings. They are insects.On one trip to southern India in 2008,Muniappan discovered the papayamealybug infesting papaya in anorchard at Tamil Nadu AgriculturalUniversity. Papaya is a huge crop insouthern India; its demise would meannot just a loss of income for the farmerswho cultivate it, but a loss of livelihoodas well.Publicity about the discovery led tofarmer requests for help. Muniappansteered government officials towardan antidote — in this case, using thebiological control method of releasinga special kind of parasitic wasp — andMuni Muniappan examinesgiant whitefly damage toa chayote leaf in Bogor,Indonesia.within five months, thousands of farmerswere again able to profitably growpapaya.The USAID-funded program that Muniappandirects and that allows him toresearch these pests is the IntegratedPest Management CollaborativeResearch Support Program. Managedby Virginia Tech’s Office of InternationalResearch, Education, and Development,the effort has brought in $50 million insponsored funding. The program developssuccessful pest-control techniquesoverseas that could aid when theseinvasive pests show up on Americanshores.The program’s work is paying off.According to agricultural economistand fellow Tech researcher GeorgeNorton, “This one intervention alone —the release of a parasitoid to controlthe papaya mealybug in India — hasresulted in such huge benefits that itpays for the entire research supportprogram over its lifetime.”Muniappan is currently working to raiseawareness about another pest: thecycad scale. He recently discoveredthis pest in Indonesia attacking severalendemic species of cycads, ornamentalplants that date back to the Jurassicera. While the economic loss to theornamental plant industry would besignificant, losing an endemic specieswould be tragic. “When the endemicspecies are gone, they are gone fromthe earth,” Muniappan says.‘Farm fresh’cooking demosAside from local eggs and freshlypicked peaches and tomatoes, peoplehave a new reason to pay the BlacksburgFarmers Market a visit: local foodprepared onsite. A collaboration of students,community members, and twoCollege of Architecture and Urban Studiesfaculty members led to creationof a mobile kitchen. The kitchen is setto be the center of the “Chef Roulette”program in which local culinary artistsdemonstrate world-class fare.Ferguson (a local kitchen, bath, andlighting store) donated a Wolf Stove,and the program became an immediatehit. But a problem emerged, onethat required a creative solution. “Thestove is 600 pounds, so it’s not verymoveable,” says faculty memberOutreach NOW 22

Elizabeth Gilboy, director of the CommunityDesign Assistance Center. “Wecame up with the idea to make it into amobile chef’s kitchen.” Besides beinga farmers market novelty, the kitchencould also be used to demonstratenutritional meal preparation in theregion’s low-income areas.With a budget of $5,000 and a teamof student builders, Andrew McCoy, assistantprofessor of building construction,retrofitted the chassis of an oldRV as the base for the trailer. Workingwith a small budget meant relying ondonated materials and more than a dollopof creativity. For example, a communitymember donated old fence posts,which students planed and sanded toform the trailer’s exterior.For their collaboration, Gilboy and Mc-Coy received the 2011 Alumni Awardfor Outreach Excellence.Caring, one greenwristband at a timeThoughts of “changing the world” maybring politicians or United Nationsambassadors to mind. Less oftenpictured may be someone takinga simple action that could set off achain reaction of kindness, like smilingat a stranger. Sophia Teie, a fifth-yearVirginia Tech student from Washington,D.C., studying psychology and sociology,believes in this possibility.Teie is a member of Actively Caring forPeople (AC4P), a nonprofit organizationthat began in fall 2008 at Virginia Tech.The organization distributes greenwristbands, some of which have circulatedthe globe, as rewards for randomacts of kindness. With its growth, AC4Phas developed anti-bullying programsthat have been implemented in middleschools in Blacksburg and shared atsummits across the nation. Whenasked what motivates her, Teie replies,“Knowing that what we do works.”Currently, 50,000 numbered wristbandsare in circulation, includingNo. 240, which an Appalachian StateUniversity student received after helpinga man who had crashed his dirt bikethrough a glass window. The man, whorequired 200 stitches, credited his helperswith saving him from death.Teie says, “Something that I havelearned as a Latina and as a woman isthat we all have different values, andthat needs to be respected.” But shealso learned a greater lesson throughAC4P: People from different backgroundsall share the value of caring forpeople.“This foundation has been the catalystfor people all around the world to acton this value,” she says. “The smallthings that people do every day areimportant.”Educating newforesters in Nepal“Some of my friends died in thathelicopter crash,” says Tom Hammett,professor of sustainability, innovation,and design in the College of NaturalResources and Environment, referringto a 2006 tragedy that killed 24 conservationexperts in the Himalayas.A year later, Virginia Tech partneredwith Yale University and PrincipiaCollege to establish a Memorial Centerof Excellence to commemorate thecontribution of the conservationists atNepal’s Institute of Forestry. Hammett’spersonal stake in the project, alongwith a decade’s worth of experience inNepal, made him the ideal collaboratorto work toward the new center’s goal:Continued on page 24(left) Sophia Teietalks about herpay-it-forwardexperiences.(right) Gilboy andMcCoy with thekitchen model.Jim StroupJim StoupOutreach NOW 23

Tom Hammett, right, and Charlie Koo, senior program associateat the project’s funding organization, Higher Education forDevelopment, plant trees on the institute’s grounds.coverPHOTOfinalistsphoto courtesy of Tom Hammettstrengthening the institute’s resourcesto educate future generations of forestryprofessionals.“My role as partnership director is to getpeople involved with the institute,” Hammettsays. He has held workshops ongreen businesses, professional networking,and proposal writing; helped improvethe library’s holdings; and accompaniedVirginia Tech faculty from across disciplinesto work with their counterparts atthe institute.For a natural resource conservationistlike Hammett, Nepal makes a fascinatingstudy. “You go from 200 feet to 8,000 feetvery quickly, from tropical and subtropicalconditions to almost an alpine environment,”he says. “You see people withdifferent issues up and down that slope.”Nepal’s next generation of forestry professionals,institute trained, will work in asometimes politically tumultuous environment.Outreach NOW 2012cover photo contestfinalists: Ecuador,Annah Latane (top);Jellyfish DenverAquarium, Jana DavisPearl (right); “CulturalIntegration,” NancyPruitt (bottom left);New Zealand, KyleWolf (bottom right);Fruit stand, SamLinkous (back cover)“What has kept me going back are thepeople,” Hammett says. “They are veryfriendly, very open, and very hospitable.Working with the villagers, with their localproducts, is very captivating for me.”o u t r e a c hNOWMore content, including video,at www.outreach.vt.edu/nowOutreach NOW 24

2 3174 5869studentPHOTOcontestTop photos entered in the annual Education Abroad photo contest:1 | Faculty/Staff Winner: “This little fella wants to be a Hokie, too!” – taken on Cuverville Island, Antarctica (64°41’S, 62°38’W) by Lori Blanc,biological sciences research scientist at Virginia Tech and director of the Hokies Abroad study abroad programs in Antartica, Australia, NewZealand, and Fiji. 2 | Hokies Abroad Finalist: Untitled – taken in Cannes by Ahad Ali Subzwari, junior, economics, College of Science.3 | People/Culture Finalist: “Moni! Hello from the ‘Heart of Africa’” – taken in Malawi by Kelsey Muffler, junior, psychology, College of Science.4 | People/Culture Finalist: Untitled – taken in Chile by Mika Maloney. 5 | Urban Landscape Winner: “Taj Mahal” – taken in Agra, India, by MikaMaloney, junior, Spanish major, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. 6 | International Education Winner: “Didgeridoo Lesson withModern Aborigines” – taken in Yungaburra, Queensland, Australia, by Stephanie Chin, senior, biological sciences, College of Science.7 | Hokies Abroad Winner: “Bold Rainbow Lorikeets” – taken in Horseshoe Bay, Queensland, Australia, by Stephanie Chin, senior, biologicalsciences, College of Science. 8 | Natural Landscape Winner: “Edinburgh castle from the cliffs” – taken in Edinburgh, Scotland, by ThomasKane, senior, mechanical engineering, College of Engineering. 9 | People-Culture Winner: “Child in Kolkata” – taken in Kolkata, India, by LydiaMichailow, senior, human development, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

News &NUMBERSJerome ‘Jerry’ Niles isinterim vice presidentJerome “Jerry” Niles beganserving as interim vicepresident for Outreach andInternational Affairs onApril 1, succeeding longtermvice president JohnDooley, who now leads theVirginia Tech Foundation.Senior Vice President andProvost Mark G. McNameecalled Niles out ofretirement for the secondtime. In 2008 Niles, deanemeritus of Virginia Tech’sCollege of Liberal Arts andHuman Sciences, was alsoasked to lead the Institutefor Advanced Learning andResearch on an interimbasis before the hiring ofExecutive Director LiamLeightley. Niles will servethroughout the 2012-13academic year as McNameeleads the university’ssearch for a permanent vicepresident.Dave ElmoreSusan E. Short isassociate vice presidentfor engagementSusan E. Short (above) becameVirginia Tech’s firstassociate vice president forengagement in October2011. Previously, Shorthad headed two key areasof Outreach and InternationalAffairs: OutreachProgram Developmentand the Virginia TechRoanoke Center. VirginiaTech’s CommonwealthCampus Centers (see pages30 and 31) report to theassociate vice president forengagement, along withthe Office of EconomicDevelopment, the Institutefor Policy and Governance,the Center for Organiza-tional and TechnologicalAdvancement in Roanoke,and other centers withinOutreach and InternationalAffairs.Resurrecting quail inCatawbaVirginia, like many otherstates, has seen drasticdeclines in the populationof the once-ubiquitousbobwhite. Quail huntersfancied the bird withits distinctive call that, insome places, youngstershave never heard. Stateagencies that want to workwith landowners to increasequail habitat founda receptive community inCatawba.$72 million$1.7 millionspent annually by international students at the university andin Montgomery County for academic and living expenses.a three-year federal grant project spearheaded bythe Office of Economic Development to create newjobs in Southwest Virginia’s transportation equipmentmanufacturing industry.Outreach NOW 26

Illustration by Michael St. Germain/Conservation Management InstituteAt the core of the effort:the Catawba SustainabilityCenter, 377 Virginia Techownedacres situated in theUpper James River Basinin the headwaters of theChesapeake Bay watershed.The center was instrumentalin two ways. First,warm-season grasses havebeen grown on the propertysince 2008. Second,Christy Gabbard, the center’sformer director, helpedunite Catawba landowners(through the communitygroup Catawba Landcare)with Virginia Tech’s AndrewRosenberger, a privatelands biologist for SouthwestVirginia working withthe Virginia Department ofGame and Inland Fisheriesand the USDA NaturalResources ConservationService.After the centerheld a quailhabitat-restorationworkshop,Rosenberger andthe landownershatched aplan. They wouldencourage thecommunity to createa quail-habitatquilt throughoutthe Catawba Valley. Thequilt would consist of asmany plots of warm-seasongrasses as possible. Quaillove the grasses becausethey provide cover fornesting and hiding frompredators.“I see this as a way ofmaximizing our tax dollars,”Gabbard says. “Theuniversity showcases landmanagementpractices,and landowners act as themessengers, which resultsin changes on the ground.”John McCormickBig year for Preston’sWine aficionados have anew way to learn aboutwine through Preston’s,the restaurant at The Innat Virginia Tech. The newWine Society entitlesmembers to free educationand-tastingevents as wellas glassware and a giftcertificate toward a meal.Discounts on wine from a“secret list” are also available.But the wine societyisn’t all that’s new. Preston’s,one of Blacksburg’s favoriteContinued on page 28$45.5 million54Senegalese scholars and investorswho visited Virginia Tech through aUSAID program aimed at improvingagriculture in Senegal.gross sales at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center generated bythe Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement from2004 to 2012.11organizations that partnered with theVirginia Tech Roanoke Center to presentthe region’s 2012 Technology Expo.5,000agriculture textbooks that Virginia Tech faculty, staff, andstudents have sent to help stock South Sudan universitylibraries.Outreach NOW 27

The 2011-12 school year saw the unveiling of a new program:A group of gifted students came to Blacksburg from SaudiArabia to study before entering U.S. universities for theircollege careers. Here, Amaal Tashkandi and AbdulrahmanLinjawi solicit donations for the i-Can competition to fighthunger in the New River Valley. The students’ study programgrew from a partnership of King Abdullah University ofScience and Technology, the Virginia Tech Language andCulture Institute, and the College of Science.Photo courtesy of the Language and Culture Institutefine-dining restaurants,also recently unveiled twoprivate-label wines — amerlot and a chardonnay.The wines are produced atPrince Michel Vineyardsand Winery in Madison,Va.Preston’s has also reachedanother milestone: Itsfirst executive chef, JasonSmith, came on board inlate 2011. Smith, whowas raised in Floyd, beganhis culinary experience atChateau Morrisette in highschool, where he specializedin desserts and learnedthe art of garnishing. Hemoved on to a three-yearapprenticeship at theHomestead resort in HotSprings, Va. Before join-ing Preston’s, Smith wasexecutive chef at The RiverCompany Restaurant andBrewery near Radford.What’s more, a new dinnermenu instituted during thepast year ramped up qualitywith focus on local suppliesand fresh ingredients. Eachweekday lunch buffet nowhas a theme, with Wednesdays,for example, beingVirginia Farm Day, andTuesdays featuring internationaldishes. All the attentionand effort has paid off,with the Roanoke Times’food critic praising thedinner service in a reviewfilled with adjectives suchas “wonderful,” “excellent,”and “fabulous.”SENTEC adds hightechimpact tosouthern VirginiaThe newest addition tothe skyline at the Institutefor Advanced Learningand Research in Danvilleshould help make southernVirginia a leading locationfor marketable researchand enable the region tocontinue to embrace newtechnology. The SustainableEnergy and TechnologyCenter (SENTEC)adds 25,000 square feet ofresearch laboratories andoffices. The building’s sustainablefeatures include itsvegetated roof, a rainwatercistern, recycled flooring,and advanced HVACsystems.“SENTEC will be a primarycontributor for thedevelopment of a bio-basedindustry in the TobaccoCommission region,” LiamLeightley, the institute’s director,says. “SENTEC willbe able to transfer knowledgefrom throughout theworld for the benefit ofsouthern Virginia.”SENTEC’s anchor tenantis Virdia Inc., a leadingdeveloper of advancedcarbohydrates. Virdiahas developed an innovativeprocess of convertingbiomass to cellulosicsugars and lignin for use inthe renewable chemicals,bioenergy, and nutritionindustries. Applicationsfor the sugars includerenewable fuels and fuel90Fulbright Scholars from other nations who have come to the Virginia Tech Language andCulture Institute for preacademic training.7years10,000that Virginia Tech has been named to the President’s HigherEducation Community Service Honor Roll as one of the nation’sleading colleges in service.people at more than 160 sites whohave been served by the Institute forAdvanced Learning and Research’sSTEM Mobile Learning Lab.Outreach NOW 28

Jordan Bragg and Victoria Wade of Narrows HighSchool were part of a contingent that organizeda fashion show to call attention to teen drug andalcohol abuse. The event sprang from a RobertWood Johnson Foundation grant involving theVirginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance.intermediates, renewablechemicals and materials,and nutritional additivesfor the animal-feed industry.Virdia’s sugars are beingtested for use in severalindustries, most recentlyby Virent as a feedstock forhigh-performance jet fuels.SENTEC was funded bymore than $8.5 million inawards and grants, primarilyfrom the VirginiaTobacco Commissionbut also from the Higher21Education Trust Fundand Danville. In addition,Virdia has investedalmost $10 million.“The development ofsustainable and cleansources of energy is anecessary component ofour ‘all of the above’ energystrategy, and Virginia isproud to welcome Virdiato the state in pursuancerecord-setting number of first-year students residingin the SERVE (Students Engaging and Respondingthrough Volunteer Service) community in PritchardHall.Photo courtesy of Narrows High Schoolof cleaner energy, scientificinnovation, and economicstimulus,” Virginia Gov.Bob McDonnell says.o u t r e a c hNOWMore content, including video,at www.outreach.vt.edu/nowPhoto courtesy of VirdiaNews & NUMBERSOutreach NOW 29

COMMONWEALTHCAMPUS CENTERSVirginia TechRoanoke Centerwww.vtrc.vt.eduClasses inspire creative thinkingin Roanoke employeesThe Virginia Tech Roanoke Center isdeveloping and delivering workshopsand classes for Roanoke city employees.Calling on the expertise of universityfaculty, the center provided fivecourses that focused on skill development,including helping first-line supervisorsmake the transition to higherlevel positions while creating a coachingand mentoring environment.The city’s Gwin Ellis, coordinator oforganizational development and learning,requested a workshop on creativityand innovation in the workplace. Theworkshop addresses the importance ofa leader behaving as an effective managerand one who can engage the talentsof employees to accomplish goals.“I want to see participants, particularlythose in leadership roles, understandhow to make the workplace conduciveto creative thinking,” Ellis says.Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrillsays, “With fewer employees and increasingservice demands, it is morecritical than ever that our employeeskeep abreast of best practices, buildleadership skills, and learn how to developcreative solutions to the growingchallenges our communities face. Weare fortunate to have the expertise andcommunity focus of the Virginia TechRoanoke Center.”Kay Dunkley, director of the RoanokeCenter, says, “The series is a goodOutreach NOW 30example of the way the center can createcustom training for an organization,government, or business.”To show impact, Ellis and Dunkleydeveloped metrics to measure andevaluate effectiveness. They will examinewhether supervisors reinforcedbehaviors of creativity and innovation,for example, and whether employeesbelieved the coaching strategies wereeffective. Feedback will be used to planthe 2013 course offerings.Reynolds Homesteadwww.reynoldshomestead.vt.eduSTEM-H camp challengesPatrick County studentsDesigning robots, learning about geometricconstruction, and catchingdragonfly nymphs are just some ofthe activities Patrick County studentsenjoyed at the STEM-H ChallengeCamp held during June 2012. “It wasa great collaborative effort that providedstudents with an intellectuallystimulating and fun experience,” saysPhoto courtesy of Julie Walters-SteeleJulie Walters-Steele, director of theReynolds Homestead.The Reynolds Homestead coordinatedthe camp in partnership with PatrickCounty public schools and the Institutefor Advanced Learning andResearch. More than 40 students ingrades four through eight participatedin the weeklong camp designed to introducestudents to career opportunitiesin science, technology, engineering,math, and health.A visit to the Institute for AdvancedLearning and Research in Danvillefocused on technology; math was thefocus during a visit to Virginia Tech’sMath Emporium in Blacksburg; engineeringworkshops were held at theReynolds Homestead; health and wellnessactivities were featured during atrip to Primland Resort; and environmentalscience was highlighted duringa visit to Fairy Stone State Park.“It is very exciting to have a summerSTEM Academy where our giftedstudents learn so much about science,technology, the environment, andBailey Morrison, a fifth grader from Woolwine Elementary School,looks out of the hatch of a prototype armored vehicle during a visitto the Advanced Vehicle Research Center in Danville, Va.

PennyMcCallum,center director,in foreground,third from left,with teachersin AbingdonPhoto courtesy of Sonia Vanhookmathematics, as well as future job opportunitiesin these fields,” says AnitaBailey, gifted coordinator for PatrickCounty Schools.At the concluding cookout, campersreceived a certificate and shared theirfavorite memories of the week.Virginia TechSouthwest Centerwww.swvac.vt.eduRegion’s teachers focus onreading improvementThe Southwest Center in Abingdonhosted the Leading in Reading grantprogram throughout the 2011-12school year. More than 170 teachers in30 schools participated in the yearlongprofessional-development opportunityto increase knowledge in researchbasedreading strategies. As a result ofLeading in Reading, all schools implementednew reading initiatives andmeasured results, which were shared ata conference via posters and presentationsby teachers.Leading in Reading is a partnershipamong Virginia Tech, Radford University,and nine school divisions. VirginiaTech faculty member Heidi AnneMesmer, principal investigator, leadsthe collaboration with Radford facultymember Jennifer Jones. Rhonda Phillipsof Virginia Tech is also a contributingfaculty member.The project is expanding in 2012-13to include more schools. The Leadingin Reading program is funded throughthe federal Improving Teacher QualityState Grants Professional Devel-opment Program administered by theState Council of Higher Education forVirginia.Southwest Center Director Penny Mc-Callum says, “Instilling a love of readingin children is one of the most criticalgoals of a teacher. I’m so pleased thatLeading in Reading was instrumentalin making so many of Virginia’s greatteachers even better at their jobs.”Virginia Tech Richmond &Hampton Roads Centerswww.richmond.vt.eduwww.hrc.vt.eduVirginia Tech expands eastMelissa Maybury Lubin, director ofboth the Hampton Roads and Richmondcenters, has created a new emphasis:a regional approach. “Thatway we can more efficiently target theprofessional development needs of ourworkforce by extending our programmingreach from the greater Richmondregion through the peninsulaof Virginia, onto southside in VirginiaBeach, and into the Eastern Shore,”Lubin says.Industry and business demands of VirginiaBeach and Richmond are clearlydistinct, but there are plenty of overlapsas well, she says. The goal is to findconnections between the two centersand collaborate.“The success of our project-managementcertification course is an exampleof how working as one cohesive unitcan have a greater impact on the region,”Lubin says.Employing videoconferencing technology,both centers were able to offeran eight-week, synchronous, livebroadcastcourse with one instructorwho rotated from center to center eachweek. “By having to hire only one instructor,we could reduce tuition to anamount that was more palatable forthe participants,” Lubin says.Sharing staff time also maximizes effectivenessof collaborations. Lubinenlisted outreach Program ManagerStacy Harvey to lead the meetingmanagementcontract with Virginia’sDepartment of Behavior Health andDevelopmental Services. “As a certifiedmeeting planner, Stacy was the idealchoice to manage this important contractfor us in Richmond. Even thoughshe resides in Virginia Beach, her expertisetranscends the distance becauseof our long-established relationshipwith this agency.”Lubin expects the regional approach toserve the centers well because VirginiaTech is pursuing new space. “With astrong presence in Richmond and VirginiaBeach, and now Newport News,Virginia Tech will better serve the interestsof business and industry on thepeninsula of Virginia,” she says. “Andthe best part of this expansion is thatwe are also heightening our partnershipwith the University of Virginiato co-locate in Newport News.” Inan unusually cooperative rather thancompetitive mode, the universitiescan share resources such as classroomspace and technology, while playingoff of each other’s strengths in the newmarket.o u t r e a c hNOWMore content, including video,at www.outreach.vt.edu/nowOutreach NOW 31

Outreach and International AffairsJerome A. NilesInterim Vice President319 Burruss Hall (0265)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-3205niles@vt.eduwww.outreach.vt.eduGuru GhoshAssociate Vice PresidentINTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS319 Burruss Hall (0265)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-7888gghosh@vt.eduSusan E. ShortAssociate Vice PresidentENGAGEMENT319 Burruss Hall (0265)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-9497sshort@vt.eduInternational AffairsMichael Bertelsen, Associate DirectorOFFICE of INTERNATIONALRESEARCH, EDUCATION,and DEVELOPMENT526 Prices Fork Road (0378)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-6338bertel@vt.eduwww.oired.vt.eduPaul Knox, International FellowCENTER FOR EUROPEANSTUDIES andARCHITECTURE123C Burruss Hall (0205)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-1695knox@vt.eduorDaniela Doninelli, Managing DirectorVilla Maderni, Via Settala 86826 Riva San Vitale, SwitzerlandPhone: 011-41-91-6483651daniela@vt.eduwww.oired.vt.edu/cesaOffice of EngagementScott Weimer, DirectorCONTINUINGand PROFESSIONALEDUCATION702 University City Blvd. (0364)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-7887weimers@vt.eduwww.cpe.vt.eduMax O. Stephenson, DirectorINSTITUTE FOR POLICYand GOVERNANCE205 W. Roanoke St.Blacksburg, VA 24060540-231-6775mstephen@vt.eduwww.ipg.vt.eduDonald Back, DirectorLANGUAGE andCULTURE INSTITUTE840 University City Blvd. (0273)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-9814dback@vt.eduwww.lci.vt.eduJohn Provo, DirectorOFFICE of ECONOMICDEVELOPMENTVirginia Tech702 University City Blvd. (0373)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-4004jprovo@vt.eduwww.econdev.vt.eduKimberly Andrews, DirectorUPWARD BOUND/TALENT SEARCHHillcrest Hall–Lower Level (0146)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-6911krandrews@vt.eduwww.ubts.vt.eduOutreachNOW 32

Jane Swan, DirectorFINANCE andADMINISTRATION319 Burruss Hall (0265)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-2021jswan@vt.eduScott Farmer, DirectorOUTREACHINFORMATION SERVICES702 University City Blvd. (0364)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-5633sdf@vt.eduAndrea Brunais, ManagerCOMMUNICATIONS702 University City Blvd. (0364)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-4691andreab1@vt.eduGary Kirk, DirectorVT ENGAGE: THECOMMUNITY LEARNINGCOLLABORATIVE113 Burruss Hall (0168)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-0691garykirk@vt.eduwww.engage.vt.eduDonna Augustine, DirectorYOUTH SCIENCECOOPERATIVEOUTREACH PROGRAM(STEM–Science, Technology,Engineering, and Mathematics)702 University City Blvd. (0364)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-6120donna.augustine@vt.eduwww.usaeop.comCenter for Organizationaland TechnologicalAdvancement (COTA)Jeri ChildersEngagement and New Initiatives108 North Jefferson St., Suite 701Roanoke, VA 24061540-767-6145jlc@vt.eduE. Wayne HarrisSchool Leadership702 University City Blvd. (0364)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-761-1488ewharris@vt.eduRobert HerbertEnvironmental ManagementThe Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center110 Shenandoah Ave. (0175)Roanoke, VA 24016540-853-8275bherbert@vt.eduCommonwealthCampus CentersMelissa M. Lubin, DirectorHAMPTON ROADS CENTER,VIRGINIA BEACH1444 Diamond Springs RoadVirginia Beach, VA 23455757-363-3930vthamptonroads@vt.eduwww.hrc.vt.eduHAMPTON ROADS CENTER,NEWPORT NEWS600 Thimble Shoals Blvd.Newport News, VA 23606Julie Walters Steele, DirectorREYNOLDS HOMESTEAD463 Homestead LaneCritz, VA 24082-3044276-694-7181jws@vt.eduwww.reynoldshomestead.vt.eduMelissa M. Lubin, DirectorRICHMOND CENTER2810 North Parham Road, Suite 300Richmond, VA 23294804-662-7288vtrichmond@vt.eduwww.richmond.vt.eduKay Dunkley, DirectorROANOKE CENTER108 North Jefferson St., Suite 701Roanoke, VA 24016540-767-6100vtroanoke@vt.eduwww.vtrc.vt.eduPenny McCallum, DirectorSOUTHWEST CENTERP.O. Box 1987, One Partnership CircleAbingdon, VA 24212-1987276-619-4310pmccal5@vt.eduwww.swvac.vt.eduConference FacilitiesGary Walton, Vice President andGeneral ManagerTHE HOTEL ROANOKE &CONFERENCE CENTER110 Shenandoah Ave.Roanoke, VA 24016540-985-5900GWalton@HotelRoanoke.comwww.hotelroanoke.comTom Shaver, Hotel ManagerTHE INN AT VIRGINIATECH and SKELTONCONFERENCE CENTER901 Prices Fork Road (0104)Blacksburg, VA 24061540-231-8000tshaver@vt.eduwww.theinnatvirginiatech.comFaren McNabb, ManagerEXECUTIVE BRIEFINGCENTER – ARLINGTON900 N. Glebe Road, 2nd FloorArlington, VA 22203571-858-3030www.ncr.vt.edu/arlingtonSouthsideLiam Leightley, Executive DirectorINSTITUTE FOR ADVANCEDLEARNING and RESEARCH150 Slayton Ave. (0175)Danville, VA 24540434-766-6700liam.leightley@ialr.orgwww.ialr.orgVT/912/9M/130427/TP

O U T R E A C HVIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITYOutreach NOWVirginia Polytechnic Instituteand State University702 University City BoulevardBlacksburg VA 24060-2706NONProfitOrganizationU.S.PostagePaidBlacksburgVA 24060Permit No. 28O U T R E A C HSam Linkous tries to never be caught without a camera inhand. He is always looking for art in everyday objects andparticularly looks for interesting colors and textures. Heshot this at a produce market in Cana, Va. Linkous worksin Continuing and Professional Education as a programcoordinator.www.outreach.vt.edu