On the occasion of opening Virginia Tech’s Academic Building One in Alexandria, Sands reflected on his time at the university and shared his hopes for its future growth and successes.

How does Virginia Tech’s presence in Alexandria help position the university as a leading 21st century land-grant?

I think the land-grant mission is one that we really resonate with. Everyone at Virginia Tech who’s been here a while, who has worked with Virginia Tech, understands the role that we have in terms of access for students who might not have access otherwise, the ability to drive the economy because the work that is done at Virginia Tech is very much tied to the local, regional, and state economy. It’s always been part of our DNA, our commitment to Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) is about serving the communities that we impact and being engaged with them.

What’s really exciting about the new building and the way this helps us enhance our network of innovation is that we are located with our partners. We’re not all sitting in Blacksburg working remotely. We’re in the places they are, deeply engaged, and it’s thematic. Whatever that community needs, that’s what we bring, and we work with them directly.

How does this new location create opportunities?

I think the new location creates opportunities for the university beyond just attracting partners and talent. Our alumni in the greater Washington region have a home base that is very welcoming. It has spaces that they can use to gather and be together as Hokies.

Also, I see it as a front door to Virginia Tech in a place where there is an incredible concentration of talent and opportunity. I think what we’re going to get out of that front door is immediate access to people and companies and organizations that we want to work with because we’re right there. You can just say, “Hey, drop by.” Then, we can connect them to all the assets we have in the other parts of the commonwealth and eventually the world.

Would you characterize this milestone as an inflection point for the future?

We have been growing what I would characterize as our innovation network for decades. This is not the first or the last opportunity we have to really plant ourselves in a community that has so much need for us and also so much opportunity to advance the impact of Virginia Tech. I would call this one of the most significant, if not the most significant moves we’ve made into a community. I think our Health Science and Technology campus in Roanoke is another one that started 15 years ago.

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