Spectrum - Volume 19 Issue 09 October 24, 1996 - Moss donation funds four initiatives

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Moss donation funds four initiatives

By David Nutter

Spectrum Volume 19 Issue 09 - October 24, 1996

Thomas W. Moss Jr., speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, has committed $500,000 to Virginia Tech to establish four special funding initiatives at his alma mater.

"We are greatly honored that Speaker Moss has made such an important contribution to the well-being of the university. Through his generous support Virginia Tech will be better able to help students and continue to attract distinguished faculty members to the university," said President Paul Torgersen. "Tom Moss has done so much to improve the lives of so many people across this state. This gift is just one more example of how Tom Moss personifies Virginia Tech's motto, Ut Prosim -That I May Serve."

"I am delighted to be able to take this action on behalf of my alma mater and the German Club at Virginia Tech. Both have meant so much to me during my lifetime in so many ways, that I feel this is the least I could do to repay what Virginia Tech and the German Club have contributed to me," Moss said.

Specifically, Moss' financial commitment will establish the Thomas W. Moss Jr. Professorship in Public Administration in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. The $250,000 gift will be used to endow the professorship to attract eminent scholars and nationally recognized individuals to the campus.

Moss will establish the Thomas W. Moss Jr. Endowed Scholarship in Industrial Design in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. The $50,000 scholarship will be used to award scholarship aid to undergraduate students in the industrial-design program. Recipients of the scholarship aid will be chosen on the basis of scholastic achievement and demonstrated potential in the field of industrial design.

"These two gifts reflect Speaker Moss' interest in government and policy making as well as educational opportunities for deserving students," said Patricia Edwards, dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. "We deeply appreciate his interest and generosity."

Moss' gift will establish the Thomas W. Moss Jr. Fund for University Priorities. "This $100,000 commitment gives Virginia Tech the flexibility to apply private resources to a changing environment," said Torgersen. "Unrestricted gifts, like this, will permit Virginia Tech to address needs in the future that are not yet fully identified."

Finally, Moss has committed to establishing the Thomas W. Moss Jr. Fund for the German Club. The $100,000 endowed fund will benefit the German Club, a registered student-service fraternity that has been affiliated with Virginia Tech for 104 years. Moss was a member and leader of the German Club during his student days at Virginia Tech.

Moss graduated from Virginia Tech in 1951 with a degree in building construction. He later earned his law degree from the University of Richmond.

An active alumnus, Moss has served as president of the Tidewater Chapter of the Alumni Association and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association. He was awarded the university's Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1994. Moss was honored by the Virginia Tech Foundation in 1993 when the Thomas W. Moss Jr. Endowed Leadership Scholarship was created.