Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 16, 1993 TAG: 9302160195
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
VA. TECH TO DISCOUNT SUMMER-SCHOOL TUITION
Virginia Tech students who return to school during the summer months will get a 15 percent discount on tuition, the Board of Visitors decided Monday.Making the summer sessions cheaper is part of an effort to attract more students to school during that time, said Minnis Ridenour, Tech's chief business officer.
"This is an effort to increase enrollment and an effort to let students finish their degrees on a faster track," he said.
Because many students work during the summer months, Tech decided to offer a sort of summer sale. More students would mean more program choices during those months, too, Ridenour said. And if they were to graduate earlier, it would mean more overall savings.
Recently, the State Council of Higher Education urged colleges to look for ways to help students finish their degrees faster for less money. "Building the summer session so that at some point it becomes as full and rich as two standard semesters has been talked about for a time," said Tech Provost E. Fred Carlisle.
Early projections would put about 7,500 students in school during those sessions, about 800 more than attend now, according to a report presented to the board.
In other business, the board appointed Charles Steger, dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, as vice president for development and university relations. The move will be effective March 1.
Tech has had a number of interim deans and vice presidents on campus over the past two years. When Steger moves to his new position, it will fill one hole but open another. Tech expects to begin a search for a new dean soon.
Tech President James McComas said Monday that he was pleased to see the leadership position go to one of Tech's own. Two other finalists for the position were from outside the university.
Steger will be the university's chief advancement officer. He will be responsible for fund raising, maintaining public and private support for the university while communicating its role and mission.
Steger's "strong vision and ideas about the needs and future direction of our university impressed all with whom he met," McComas said. "He is nationally recognized in his field and I believe he will be nationally recognized in his new field."
Steger, 45, has been dean of Tech's College of Architecture and Urban Studies since 1981.
His college now ranks third in the nation among public and private architecture schools in terms of research activity.
"One of the critical tasks we face is to position the university to deal with the challenges of the next decade and century," Steger said. "We must deal with key public policy issues relative to financial support and ensure society has a clear understanding of higher education's many roles."
Steger was instrumental in developing Tech's European Studies Center in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland.
During Monday's meeting, the board also passed a resolution that would see the center used for Study Abroad programs. The board also passed a resolution, though not unanimously, to request $1 million from the Tech Foundation for renovating the center.
After a lengthy executive session, McComas also announced more specific plans for the New Virginians, Tech's repertory group.
For what college administrators called "funding and equity purposes," Tech withdrew much of the staff support from the group.
On Monday, McComas announced that the group, made up of 78 students, would be limited to about 20 people with a support staff of five. By April, he said, the university will have more of an idea of how the group will be used.
The group was created more than 20 years ago with a mission of being ambassadors for the university.
McComas said that mission likely would continue, as would the group's performances of pop and patriotic music.
The group also would keep its name, McComas said, which is associated with university tradition.
Tech also approved a capital outlay plan for the next six years during the meeting, though budget requests will be filed with the state every two years and can be updated and changed.
The proposal for 1994-1996 includes $172.7 million for 23 projects in the instructional division and $29.5 million for five projects in the research division. Projects would include a special facility that would integrate technology in the classroom and an agriculture and forestry research facility.