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Four AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers will spend the coming year in Southwest Virginia to help build the capacity of area nonprofit organizations by coordinating projects for student volunteers. These projects include the new Seasons of Service initiative, which is a way of integrating service into the lives of students throughout the school year. As a result, students begin to shift from a focus on one-time service events to a longer commitment.

For years the U.S. Army has worked to entice schoolchildren to develop interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Under a $17.2 million grant, Virginia Tech and partners will determine which programs work best.

Chad Brodkin, the new executive chef running things at The Inn at Virginia Tech, talks about his plans.

It's common knowledge that many service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD and depression. A Virginia Tech-led survey of 2,000 Virginia veterans found that U.S. military screening procedures allow veterans with diagnosable injuries to slip through the cracks.

Want to buy food produced locally? Looking for farmers markets and local-foods restaurants nearby? The Roanoke Valley Locavore Directory is out, produced with the help of VT EarthWorks.

Under a $1.67 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, College of Engineering faculty will provide the kind of technical assistance that allows companies to grow and create jobs, says John Provo, interim director of Virginia Tech's Office of Economic Development

For three days, community members can join with students, faculty, and staff on and off Virginia Tech's campus to explore issues ranging from sustainable local agriculture to short- and long-term ideas to address global hunger.

Kevin and Bryan Matheson, who recently attended the two-week festival Viva Virginia, teach schoolchildren in Southwest Virginia as part of Virginia Tech's Fine Arts Initiative.

Three workshops in October and November aim to help presenters increase their knowledge of emerging technologies. Virginia Tech's Continuing and Professional Education Department is offering the courses in Roanoke: Ten Technology Tools to Use Today, Emerging Technologies for Business, and Second Life in Business.

Twenty-five partners in a Virginia Tech-led team will help make health care workers proficient in the new world of electronic medical records.

Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general and prominent figure on the modern international stage, will give his perspectives on peace in a speech at Virginia Tech on Oct. 28. The speech is free and open to the public.

March 2011 will be a big month at the Reynolds Homestead -- under a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant, the Virginia Tech center will host The Big Read, Patrick County's first. The lyrical poetry of Emily Dickinson will be the focus.