Listening Session Summary: Students
Presidential Search Listening Session
Graduate/Professional and Undergraduate Students — May 7, 2026
(AI-generated summary from event transcription)
Session-Level Summary
This constituency wants a president who is recognizably a Hokie in disposition — visibly present, transparent about reasoning, respectful of shared governance, and willing to defend students publicly when external pressures (especially federal) bear down. The strongest single signal is the call to advocate for international students more forcefully than the university currently does, recurring across multiple attendees through the session. Formal governance bodies (Faculty Senate and GPSS) have co-signed a position statement that the next president should have prior provost or president experience at a Carnegie R1; participants urged land-grant experience, given VT’s Commonwealth-wide obligations. A mid-session synthesis by the student representative moderating the session, and confirmed by the attendees, named accessibility, affordability, technology and workforce readiness, belonging, town–gown and faculty–student relationships, sustainability, and VT’s land-grant plus senior military college identity as the themes he had heard. The discussion also revealed unease about timing — three senior leaders changing in months, a compressed search window, and a federal climate participants describe as hostile. Continuity of Sands’ student-engagement and transparency culture is wanted, along with a president who can stabilize the institution without becoming passive in front of external forces.
Cross-Category Observations
The international-student concern threads through three categories at once — qualities (a president who will stand firm and advocate), priorities (international student support and the revenue/intellectual contribution they represent), and challenges (federal hostility, talent loss). It is the single tightest cross-cutting cluster in the session.
There is a real tension between the “stabilizing, non-reactionary” quality and the “stand firm with students against external pressures” quality. Some attendees appeared to hold both views. The committee should not flatten these into a single composite — they imply different postures in concrete situations and candidates will vary in which they emphasize.
The R1-plus-land-grant qualifications connect directly to the financial-sustainability and federal-funding challenges. Participants are not asking for academic credentials in the abstract; they are asking for someone who has navigated complex research-funding environments and understands that VT’s land-grant footprint cannot be evaluated on a per-unit revenue basis.
The accessibility theme operates at two levels that the committee may want to keep distinct. Most attendees asked for symbolic and ceremonial visibility (showing up, being approachable). One participant specifically asked for substantive accessibility on complex issues that don’t belong in public forums — a different, harder structural ask about how presidential time is allocated.
The mid-session moderator recap is itself a cross-cutting signal. Mr. Feely, a student representative to the Board of Visitors, distilled the conversation at roughly the two-thirds mark into a small set of themes — VT Advantage and global distinction; accessibility and affordability; technology/innovation tied to industry partnerships and workforce readiness; belonging; external town and internal faculty/student relationships; sustainability; and VT’s land-grant + senior military college identity. The attendees then confirmed and extended these. For cross-session synthesis, themes named here carry extra weight: they represent both a student leader’s distillation and the room’s group-level affirmation.
Theme Detail
Themes are grouped by category. Within each category, themes raised by multiple attendees appear first; themes raised by a single attendee follow.
Presidential Qualities
- Visibility, accessibility, and engagement with students
Participants want a president who is physically present and reachable on campus — showing up at student events, research conferences, and shared-governance bodies, and being approachable enough that students feel the leader is genuinely available. Sands was repeatedly cited as the model. One attendee sharpened the point by distinguishing surface visibility from substantive accessibility on complex issues that don’t belong in large public forums. - Standing firm with students against external pressures
Several attendees asked for a president who will not preemptively capitulate to federal or other external authorities and will publicly defend students — especially international students and students without citizen status — even when doing so is politically costly. Harvard’s litigation against the Trump administration was cited as a positive model. The framing was explicitly described as not partisan. - R1 / land-grant / senior-research-university experience
Participants want a candidate whose demonstrated leadership style fits with VT’s specific institutional profile. The Faculty Senate and GPSS co-signed a formal position calling for prior provost or president experience at a Carnegie R1 or equivalent. Multiple attendees added that R1 alone is insufficient — land-grant experience is also needed because of VT’s Cooperative Extension footprint and obligations to rural and Commonwealth-wide constituencies. One comment added that experience leading an institution to top rankings would be desirable. - Stabilizing leadership
The next president should hold steady through external upheavals — federal policy shifts, funding pressures, political attacks on higher education — rather than reacting to each new force. This is paired with concern about recent senior-leadership turnover (provost in January, engineering dean in April, president forthcoming) and the resulting risk to institutional continuity. - Servant leadership, openness, and willingness to be critiqued
A leader whose disposition is service-oriented, transparent, and open to feedback — including from students and student organizations. Sands’ practice of meeting with student org leaders and explaining the reasoning behind decisions (not just announcing outcomes) was cited as the standard. - Inclusive of all VT campuses, not just Blacksburg
The next president should treat the multi-campus footprint as central to VT’s identity rather than peripheral. The biotech corridor in Roanoke (Carilion Clinic partnership) was cited as a specific area where presidential attention drives innovation. - Belonging, particularly for students from minority backgrounds
The next president should emphasize belonging in their leadership and give particular attention to affirming students from minority backgrounds. - Strong VT brand storyteller
Effective at telling VT’s stories — to attract students, build partnerships, and gain national recognition — recognizing that VT’s peer competitors are also well-positioned. - Embraces being a Hokie
Genuinely wants to be part of the VT community and embodies its welcoming culture, despite Blacksburg being a small town in southwest Virginia. - Cross-sector / interdisciplinary experience
Supports interdisciplinary work across majors and colleges, ideally with experience working across sectors rather than a strictly traditional academic path. Listening to student voices was paired with this in the same comment. - Whom does the president serve — board or campus stakeholders?
A question about whose priorities the next president would align with, given that the Board of Visitors is technically the president’s only employer but students involved in governance have observed board decisions perceived as “anti-student.” The comment was carefully framed as non-inflammatory, with the Rector present.
Strategic Priorities
- International students: advocacy, support, and institutional priority
Attendees referred repeatedly to international students — both as a population under significant pressure from federal policy shifts (date-of-status changes, I-20 extensions, summer travel restrictions) and as a meaningful revenue source and intellectual contributors to the university. Stronger institutional advocacy is desired from the next president.. - Climate, sustainability, and decarbonization commitments
Continue and deepen VT’s climate work, specifically prioritizing the goals in the Climate Action Commitment now in its five-year revision and pursuing decarbonization/carbon-neutral targets. One attendee framed climate leadership as a global positioning opportunity for VT, particularly through engineering. Sustainability should not be reduced to a buzzword. - Financial sustainability: endowment growth and income diversification
Build VT’s endowment, diversify income sources (foundation, industry partnerships), and reduce reliance on federal funding — partly as a hedge against political attacks and partly because peer institutions have absorbed federal cuts that VT will eventually face. One attendee specifically pointed to graduate-school industry partnerships as an existing direction to expand. - Affordability
Sands’ attention to affordability was praised and should be sustained. One attendee pushed the definition beyond tuition to include the broader financial constraints that prevent students from participating fully in opportunities (research, programs, support resources) that would help them succeed. - Land-grant mission and Commonwealth service
Actively emphasize the land-grant identity rather than treat it as background — including translating VT research into real-world solutions for rural and urban Virginia – and protecting Cooperative Extension’s footprint. - Personal safety and accountability around sexual assault and hate-based incidents
Growing concerns about sexual assault reports and discussions of increased hate crimes based on race, gender, or sexuality. The request is both for tangible safety improvements and for greater accountability — and for a president confident enough to speak up publicly even when it is difficult. Prospective students and parents reportedly raise this issue. - Research funding protection, including for non-STEM and under-resourced departments
Two angles: macro-level reductions in federal research funding (with non-STEM and graduate research most exposed), and intra-institutional disparities (economics cited as under-resourced relative to Pamplin’s well-funded areas). Both call for presidential attention to funding protection and parity. - Technology, AI literacy, and workforce readiness
Treat technological advancement — specifically AI — as a campus-wide concern that affects every major, not only engineering, and ensure all students are educated in emerging tools. Mr. Feely’s mid-session recap connected this to industry partnerships and workforce readiness, framing it as ensuring students have skills employers want at graduation. - Academic integrity and Honor System resourcing
The Honor System has seen AI-related cases increase ~330% over two years; the next president should commit to academic integrity and provide the Honor System the resources to handle the trend. - Mental health, wellness, and student experience
Student experience — including mental health and wellness — should be foundational alongside research and academics, despite rigorous course loads. - National and global positioning, including international research collaborations
Position VT more as a national/global institution, build out programs with that emphasis, and expand international research collaborations beyond current levels. Mr. Feely’s recap named “VT Advantage and global distinction” as themes he had heard. - Faculty–student connection and faculty belonging
Bridge faculty and student communities, ensuring faculty feel they belong, since they lead students’ courses. - Town–gown relationship and regional planning
Continued good communication with Blacksburg and Christiansburg around expansion planning, with attention to housing, cultural fit, and demographic effects on southwest Virginia. One participant added a community/resident perspective on housing decisions (Student Life Village cancellation, possible Living Learning Centers cancellation) and tied on-campus housing to both sustainability and accessibility. - Reimagining systems that no longer serve students
Think beyond traditional boundaries — building on initiatives like Beyond Boundaries and the global distinction — and be willing to redesign systems that no longer serve students. - Cultural elevation of shared governance
Encourage a campus culture of engagement with shared governance, elevating USS and GPSS and showing respect for those bodies.
Challenges
- Federal hostility to higher education and downstream effects on students and research
The current federal posture was framed as actively hostile to higher education — pressuring international students, threatening research funding (especially non-STEM), and reportedly causing some students to redirect to out-of-state or out-of-country institutions. Connects to multiple priority themes (international student support, research funding, standing-firm leadership) but stands as a challenge in its own right. - Compressed senior leadership turnover
Three senior leadership positions (provost, engineering dean, president) are turning over in close succession, creating institutional stability risk. The same attendee proposed Sands stay on in an advisory role for a year as mitigation. - Personal safety on campus
Reports of sexual assault and discussions of increased hate crimes based on race, gender, or sexuality were raised as a growing concern affecting prospective-student and parent perceptions. - Bureaucracy and slow institutional response time
Universities are bureaucratic and slow compared to industry; bottlenecks at the college, VP, and presidency levels make it hard to surface and resolve specific complex issues. The computer science department head was cited as the kind of accessible leader who solves problems quickly. - Demographic decline and recruitment sustainability
Birth-rate decline and a shrinking pool of college-age students mean VT’s business model and recruitment strategy will face structural pressure; long-term planning is needed alongside innovation. - Intra-institutional research funding disparities
Economics specifically was cited as under-resourced relative to Pamplin’s well-funded areas; funding parity across colleges and departments needs attention. - Talent loss due to current climate
Students who had planned to apply to VT are reportedly looking out of state or out of country due to the current climate; accessibility and including students in decision-making are proposed as partial remedies.
What to Preserve
- President Sands’ student- and community-engagement model
Sands was repeatedly cited as the standard for engagement with students, student organizations, GPSS, and the local communities of Blacksburg and Christiansburg. The next president should continue this approach. - Transparency and explained decision-making
Sands and Provost Clark explained the reasoning behind decisions, not just outcomes — a culture to be preserved, especially given a recent trend at peer institutions toward opaque decisions. - Shared governance investment
Sands and Provost Clark invested significantly in shared governance; continued valuation and funding of that system is wanted. - Affordability focus
Sands’ attention to affordability — even though tuition is not directly under presidential control — should continue. - Multi-campus footprint
The DC, Roanoke (Carilion Clinic partnership), and other non-Blacksburg sites are a distinguishing strength to be preserved and developed. - Corps of Cadets and senior military college identity
VT’s status as one of six senior military colleges in the country is distinctive; the Corps brings government contracting, military partnerships, and developments such as the Hume Center that benefit students broadly. The next president should support the Corps’ growth and presence. - Service as a defining institutional value
Service is something that makes Tech special and contributes to overall morale; a suggested interview question asked candidates how their leadership reflects on or supports service to the community. - Land-grant identity (preservation framing)
The land-grant mission, including Cooperative Extension’s presence in nearly every Virginia county, must be protected against MBA-style cost-cutting that would eliminate low-revenue-generating units of the university. - Club, organization, and Gobblerfest culture
The club and student-organization culture — and unifying campus events like Gobblerfest — are how new students meet people and build belonging. Sands has played a driving role in these. - Art and cultural centers
Art and cultural centers were personally important to belonging and academic grounding; they should be protected. - Diversity and historical recognition across campus
Historical markers (described as “pillars”) across campus highlight the history of various groups and minorities at VT; the next president should not only maintain this but actively encourage diversity going forward. - Alumni network strength
Alumni connections are a strength that helps students access experience, advice, and career success; the next president should keep them strong. - The welcoming Hokie community
The community is welcoming despite the small-town southwest Virginia setting; that culture should be embodied at the top.
Process
- Concern about the search timeline
A July 1 appointment date implies a one-to-two-month window, flagged as too short for a position of this magnitude, with a direct question to the board about how it had deliberated on the timeline. - Continuity recommendation: keep Sands in an advisory role
A concrete proposal that the board consider keeping Sands in an advisory role for at least a year, if he agrees, to mitigate the recent senior-leadership turnover. - Suggested interview questions for candidates
Two specific questions offered: how candidates’ leadership supports community service, and “How do you believe academic integrity relates to the value of a degree from Virginia Tech?” - Whose priorities will the next president serve?
A process-and-quality question about alignment between the board (the president’s formal employer) and on-campus stakeholders, citing recent board decisions perceived as anti-student. The comment was explicitly framed as non-inflammatory, with the Rector present.