Richard Linton will be the 17th president of Virginia Tech. The school's Board of Visitors voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to hire Linton.
A few moments later, Linton was introduced at a news conference on the Blacksburg campus.
Linton called it a full-circle moment and said he understands first-hand the impact a Virginia Tech education can have. "It’s not going to take any time to love this place. I’ve loved this place for 42 years," Linton said.
"When people talk about the very best land grant universities in the country, I want Virginia Tech to be at the top of that list," Linton said. "Achieving this will require bold thinking, strategic investments, responsible stewardship of our resources and a shared commitment to excellence." He added the university must be committed to excellence in teaching, student success and experience, and efforts to maximize outreach.
"Higher education faces growing challenges in demonstrating its value and its relevance. But I believe land grant universities are unequally positioned to meet this challenging moment."
Linton will begin serving as president at Virginia Tech at the start of the spring 2027 semester, according to an announcement.
Linton has been president at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas since 2022. He earned a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and a Ph. D. from Virginia Tech. He held faculty positions at Purdue and Ohio State and was dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University.
During the brief meeting where Linton's hiring was approved, members of the Board of Visitors gave outgoing president Timothy Sands a round of applause. Sands has been president at Virginia Tech since 2014. Sands said it has been "an absolute privilege to serve Virginia Tech."
Sands said he has known Linton for about 20 years. "One of my hopes and dreams was that my successor would be someone who could steward this institution forward, making perhaps different decisions than I would as is healthy for an institution, but someone who really understands what it means to be a Hokie. And you couldn’t have gotten a better individual than Richard Linton.”
