Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 29, 1993 TAG: 9309290103
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
McComas played a leading role in forging ties between Tech and the city, Herbert said, and his legacy will remain after he is gone.
"If it was just Jim McComas, that would be a grave concern," he said. "But he has left a team of people and an organizational structure that will continue the ties."
Roanoke, a city without a state-supported, four-year public college, adopted Tech as its own during the McComas era.
Mayor David Bowers said McComas recognized the mutual benefits of a close working relationship between Tech and the city. "He understood that the influence of a land-grant university extends beyond the campus boundaries," Bowers said. "We've had a marvelous relationship with Tech, and given the leadership at Tech, I expect it to continue."
Herbert said he already has been assured by Tech officials that McComas' retirement will not cause any change in the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center project.
Besides the hotel, the ties include the Roanoke Valley Graduate Center, the proposed "smart" highway aimed at speeding travel between Blacksburg and Roanoke, the Roanoke Valley-Tech Advisory Council and the New Century Council.
The advisory council, composed of business leaders, educators and governmental officials, was created by McComas soon after he came to Blacksburg.
The council is expected to remain intact. "He has put a structure in place that has deep roots and a commitment to continuing the ties," Herbert said.
McComas has been a leader in the creation of the New Century Council, a group that is to develop a strategic vision for the Roanoke and New River valleys.
Carilion Health System President Thomas Robertson, who has spearheaded the formation of the council, said McComas has provided leadership in the effort to stimulate economic growth. The Tech president will be missed, but "I think we can carry on," Robertson said.
Instead of jeopardizing the ties between Tech and Roanoke, McComas' illness and retirement might cause city and university officials to renew their commitment to working together, Bowers said. "I think that is what he would want," he said.
McComas is one of three Virginians on the board of First Union Corp., the parent of Roanoke-based First Union National Bank of Virginia. As of late Tuesday, he had not resigned that position.
McComas, who had been a director of Dominion Bankshares Corp. when it was acquired by First Union, was named to the company's board along with Warner Dalhouse, the Virginia bank's chairman.
Dalhouse on Tuesday credited McComas with grasping the influence of Tech and directing it toward integration of the university into the economies of both Western Virginia and the Roanoke Valley.
Before McComas, Dalhouse said, there had never been such a concentrated effort to make the university an economic influence of such dimensions.
"Jim's quiet effectiveness has made him an ideal president for Virginia Tech," Dalhouse said.
Staff writer Mag Poff contributed information to this story.
by CNB