Statement on the Search for the 17th President of the University

April 24, 2026

The Faculty Senate thanks President Sands for his leadership since 2014, his commitment to student experiences, growth in faculty scholarship, and a re-envisioning of shared governance that is a model for all universities to follow. President Sands routinely and openly engaged with the Faculty Senate, for which we express our appreciation. His resignation will be felt deeply as we transition to our next leader.

Transitions can provide opportunities for growth and improvement, but transitions of university leadership must be carefully undertaken to ensure institutional stability and continuation of core university priorities and principles. The process must be conducted in a manner that serves the best interests of the institution, and we trust the Board of Visitors will do so.

The Faculty Senate acknowledges that it is the duty of the Board of Visitors to appoint a president who it believes will serve as the best leader for the university. At the same time, shared governance is central to the university, and the input and approval of the faculty are essential for any president to succeed at implementing their vision for the institution. The Code of the Commonwealth of Virginia, §23.1-1303(B)(17), and Article I, Section 2 of the Bylaws of the Board of Visitors require that the Board consult the Faculty Senate before undertaking a search for a new president, and we look to them to do so in good faith.

The Faculty Senate of Virginia Tech calls upon the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors to adhere to the following principles in its search for the next president of the university.

1. The search will be open and national in scope, and the call for applications will be of sufficient duration to allow for the best possible pool of candidates. It will rely on established, merit-based processes that the university employs for hiring tenured faculty of preeminent stature. 
2. The search will be overseen by a search committee that includes representation from all constituency groups across campus – the teaching and research faculty, administrative and professional faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students – as voting members. Previous searches, including the one that led to the appointment of President Sands, included substantial faculty representation on the search committee, and we suggest that members of the university community constitute the majority of members on the search committee, in a manner that represents all constituencies appropriately.
3. While there is a desire and reasonable need to move with expediency, the search process will be deliberative and include opportunities for representatives of the five Senates to engage with finalists during the Fall 2026 academic semester. Undergraduate students and many faculty are away from the university over the summer, and while the search can and should begin promptly, there is strong precedent for allowing a search to unfold over several months, to sufficiently allow for evaluation of candidates and engagement with representatives of the campus community. Meetings with Senate representatives should happen no sooner than the start of the Fall 2026 academic semester.
4. The search will be aided by individuals from the Office of the Provost and the Office of Faculty Affairs to aid with internal hiring processes and application of university policies, or with representatives of these offices explicitly as voting members of the search committee. These representatives should complement the services of an external search firm who specializes in senior leadership searches.
5. The search will include substantive engagement across the entire innovation network of Virginia Tech – its campuses in Blacksburg, Roanoke, the Greater Capital Region, and the Agricultural Research and Extension Centers.

Further, the Faculty Senate of Virginia Tech calls upon the Board of Visitors to ensure that the next president of the university has the following professional credentials and experience.

1. A terminal degree and a substantial record of scholarship in their chosen area of study.
2. Previous experience as a senior leader at a major research university, preferably as provost or president at a comparably sized Carnegie R1 institution.
3. Demonstrated success as a strategic leader, capable of leading and managing a comprehensive university as a complex, public, global, land-grant, academic, enterprise-scale organization and associated engagement with external partners in both public and private sectors.
4. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with constituencies with differing needs and responsibilities to model Ut Prosim and advance Virginia Tech’s tripartite mission of research, teaching, and engagement within the university and across the Commonwealth.
5. Demonstrated commitment to fostering an environment that embraces freedom of expression, academic freedom, and shared governance.