President Dr. Charles Steger of Virginia Tech Retires

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell issued the following statement regarding the retirement of Virginia Tech President Charles Steger after 14 years at the helm.

“With the announcement of the retirement of Dr. Charles Steger today, an era has come to an end at Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth will forever be indebted to Dr. Steger for his stalwart leadership and strategic vision in transforming the land grant institution into one of the leading research institutions in the nation.

“Dr. Steger has led Tech to expand its footprint with campuses around the Commonwealth, and has greatly enhanced Tech’s national and international reputation as a scientific research leader. During his tenure, the university’s annual research expenditures have increased more than 300 percent, now topping $450 million. According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), Virginia Tech is the only Virginia university to rank in the top 50 out of 679 universities in the nation in sponsored research. He has also significantly improved the college’s facilities to better serve students, faculty and staff. Since Steger became president, Tech has added over 2.4 million square feet of space, mostly in new construction. This surpasses all growth that occurred over the entire period between 1872 and 1960. And he led the Hokies to join the Atlantic Coast Conference to compete in one of the premier athletics conferences in the nation.

“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Dr. Steger as part of our administration’s ‘Top Jobs of the 21st Century’ initiative to make the dream of a college education more affordable and accessible for all Virginians, and for partnering with us to reach our goal of awarding 100,000 additional college degrees in the next 15 years. He served with distinction as the Chair of the Council of Presidents, The Governor’s Higher Education Commission and is serving on the Higher Education Advisory Committee. He played a key role in advising our administration to ensure success of our aggressive higher education agenda, and has proven a leader to the other college and university presidents to find innovative ways to meet our goals.

“The Hokie nation is greatly indebted to Dr. Steger for his focus, his vision and his exemplary leadership. That leadership was perhaps never more noticeable than during the period following one of the most difficult chapters in the Commonwealth’s history in the spring of 2007. While the Commonwealth will miss Charles Steger, I wish him the best in his retirement and offer the thanks of a grateful Virginia for all he has done to solidify Virginia Tech’s reputation as a premier university throughout the nation and around the globe.”