BLACKSBURG, Va., Sept. 17, 2004 – Brooks Saville Jr., of Blacksburg, equipment service and repair technician at Whitethorne Farm, a part the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has received the university’s 2004 President’s Award for Excellence.
The President’s Award for Excellence recognizes selected and staff and administrative faculty members for their outstanding contributions to Virginia Tech and sustained excellence in the performance of job duties and responsibilities. Nominations are received from all areas of the university. Recipients are selected by a committee of classified and administrative faculty members appointed by the president.
In his position as lab technician, Saville’s expertise in operating, maintaining, and repairing farm equipment is unmatched. He also is invaluable in assisting researchers because of his unique capacity to assess equipment-related problems and provide inexpensive, yet effective solutions.
Saville is known for his keen sense of humor and capacity to help cultivate a positive attitude among his co-workers. Without exception, those who seek his advice in solving equipment-related situations are provided a good laugh and practical solution to their problems.
Consistently ranked by the National Science Foundation among the top 10 institutions in agricultural research, Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers students the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s leading agricultural scientists. The college’s comprehensive curriculum gives students a balanced education that ranges from food and fiber production to economics to human health. The college is a national leader in incorporating technology, biotechnology, computer applications, and other recent scientific advances into its teaching program.
Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become among the largest universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech’s eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.