Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff
Welcome to the start of the 2026-27 academic year! In many ways, this academic year is beginning like every other. I know summer is over on the Blacksburg campus when the Corps of Cadets launches Forge Week. Fall sports are already underway, and the campus looks fantastic with all the improvements made over the summer by those who care for our facilities and grounds.
In other ways, though, this academic year will be unique. We are dealing with the emergence of artificial intelligence, cutbacks in federal support for research, increasing challenges for international students seeking to study and stay in the U.S., the indirect impacts of the demographic cliff, and a related focus by parents and students on affordability. Families and the public in general are questioning the value of higher education despite the overwhelming evidence of a strong return on investment for most students.
Virginia Tech feels all these pressures to some degree, but our forward-looking work over the past decade brings us to this new academic year in a very strong position. Virginia Tech Advantage continues to reduce the net price for lower-income Virginia undergraduates, Virginia Tech Global Distinction has propelled our research enterprise to 50% growth in extramural expenditures since 2021, and Invest to Win has our athletics program on the ascendancy. Virginia Tech is known for our bridge experiences including internships and undergraduate research, our strong alumni network, and outstanding career outcomes. Our Virginia Tech Innovation Network continues to grow across the Commonwealth of Virginia, bringing the impact of our research, innovation, and graduate programs directly to the communities we serve.
Continuing to build institutional strength combined with the judicious reallocation of reenvironment. Addressing each challenge in depth would require several pages, so for this message I will focus on AI because it illustrates that opportunity often comes with rapid change
Artificial intelligence and Virginia Tech
Although generative artificial intelligence seemingly hit us like a tsunami in November 2022 with the release of ChatGPT, AI as a field has been evolving since the 1950s. The release of ChatGPT marked a tipping point. AI is now an element of every conversation about the future of higher education, the global economy, and even what it means to be human. AI is fraught with challenges, but its emergence is also a generational opportunity and responsibility for Virginia Tech to fulfill its role as an institution committed to elevating the human condition with a service mindset. We have an opportunity to shape the interface between humans and machine intelligence, to participate in the establishment of principles and guardrails, and to ensure that the transformational tools of AI are available to everyone.
Last spring, I appointed the AI Futures Working Group co-chaired by Rishi Jaitly, professor of practice in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, and our new dean of the College of Engineering, Warren Dixon. Over the summer, the Working Group drafted a differentiating vision statement and embarked on defining guardrails and operative principles for our institution. This fall they will engage the campus more broadly. In the meantime, I am heartened by the rapid progress at the college, unit, and university levels, including the establishment of an interdisciplinary AI minor, and the launch of HokieAI, a new university-supported artificial intelligence platform available to students, faculty, and staff. In making resources available we are establishing expectations and charting a future for Virginia Tech as a leader in this important space. With its impact on the pace of scientific and technological advancement, the potential for cognitive displacement, and the recalibration of entry-level positions in the workforce, AI promises to enhance the importance of human creativity and the durable skills of adaptability, communication, critical thinking, leadership, and collaboration. All of these are best practiced in a residential campus environment and our engaging presence in the communities we serve. Hokies are ideally positioned to lead us into an AI-enabled future — and lead we will!
This changing paradigm in technology and learning is an opportunity for us to lean into our unique spirit of community, empathy, and humanity. These signature strengths, combined with the Ut Prosimcommitment to service and impact, will define your role and opportunities in the years to come, and affirm Virginia Tech’s value and leadership in higher education
Go Hokies!
