BLACKSBURG, Va., June 1, 2006 – The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors named Ennis M. McCrery as its graduate student representative and Gregory J. Sagstetter as its undergraduate student representative for the 2006-2007 academic year. Each will serve as a liaison between Virginia Tech’s student population and the board.
The two student representatives are appointed to one-year terms, and they each sit on a committee of the governing board and serve as ex-officio members on the Commission of Student Affairs. Student representatives are non-voting members and are required to maintain contact with university administrators, including the President’s Office and the Provost, as well as Tech students.
“The Board of Visitors counts on the two student representatives to help communicate the thoughts and concerns of the student body,” said President Charles W. Steger. “I am pleased that two very capable, intelligent, and dedicated students have been selected for the positions.”
McCrery, a native of Blacksburg, Va., and Sagstetter, a native of Sterling, Va., will communicate student issues and perspectives to the Board of Visitors, report back to student body, and serve on the task force and search committees.
McCrery, a graduate student in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, will graduate in the fall of 2007 with a Master's of Fine Arts in creative writing. McCrery was awarded the Alfred Knobler Fellowship and was honored as the graduate student representative for the Creative Writing Committee at Virginia Tech. She is also a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. McCrery has worked extensively as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of English and has had her worked published in Slipstream Magazine.
Sagstetter, an undergraduate student in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, will be graduating in the spring of 2007 with a dual degree in philosophy and political science, along with a minor in African American studies. As an undergraduate, Sagstetter is actively involved with The Virginia Tech Office of Judicial Affairs, and serves as an associate justice with the Virginia Tech Honor System. He is also a peer educator for the women’s resource center, a college ambassador, the treasurer of the Virginia Tech Student Alliance, and a mentor with the Virginia Tech Leadership Experience for Achievement Development (LEAD).
The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors is the governing body of the university. It is composed of 14 members, 13 of which are appointed by the governor and the 14th member is the president of the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who serves ex-officio. The term of office for each member is four years.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 225 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $496 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.