Tim Sands said it is time to start the process of stepping aside as president of Virginia Tech, setting up a leadership transition at the school he has led for the last 12 years. Sands said he will remain in the job until a successor is in place so the changeover is smooth for the university community.
The announcement lands after a long run in which Virginia Tech said undergraduate enrollment grew 30 percent, extramural research expenditures rose 70 percent and the endowment increased 185 percent. During Sands' tenure, the university also said its ranking among national universities in U.S. News & World Report improved by 20 spots, undergraduate applications climbed 200 percent and more than 100,000 Hokies earned degrees.
Sands began serving as Virginia Tech president in 2014, a period the university says matched its push to broaden its reach as a global land grant. In his remarks, he said Virginia Tech has momentum on many fronts and said, in words that fit the moment, that the school is better than it thinks and not quite what it wants to be.
The friction in the transition is simple: Sands is leaving on his own timetable, but not immediately. He said he had shared his commitment with the rector of the Board of Visitors and would stay until the next president is in place, giving Virginia Tech time to choose a successor without breaking stride on enrollment, research, fundraising and admissions.
Sands and his wife, Laura, plan to stay in Blacksburg, which he said is most definitely home. The next chapter for Virginia Tech will be shaped by whether it can keep its current momentum while advancing the priorities the school says now define it: Virginia Tech Advantage, Virginia Tech Global Distinction and Invest to Win.
