    EXHIBIT
    FINDING
A WOMAN'S PLACE AT VIRGINIA TECH 1921-2021

EDIT PER EXHIBIT In this exhibit you can explore the different phases of Solitude’s history. We begin during the period when this place was indigenous land, and go on to explore its history as a slave plantation in the nineteenth century.

GROUNDS FOR ADVANCEMENT—THE FUTURE OF WOMEN AT VIRGINIA TECH 1921-2021

In 2003, Virginia Tech was awarded a 3.5 million dollar NSF grant to advance the position of women on campus. The Advance grant promoted initiatives to hire, retain and promote female faculty.

Over the last fifteen years, the number of female faculty in several colleges have increased significantly. For example, the College of Engineering had 26 tenured or tenure track faculty in 2003. This number increased to 71 in 2018. In the same 15-year period, the number of female faculty in the College of Science more than doubled. Today, both of these colleges are led by women. The Paul and Dorothea Torgersen dean of Engineering is Dr. Julia Ross. The Colleges of Science is headed by Dr. Sally Morton.

The Hypatia learning community, supports young women in their pursuit of both a degree and career in engineering. By 2012, the Hypatia community expanded to include women pursuing a degree in biological and life sciences.

Undergraduate women in the Hypatia learning community

Dr. Julia Ross, dean of Engineering

Dr. Sally Morton, dean of Science

Dr. Rosemary Blieszner

In recent years, the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences has also been under the direction of women—Dr. Rosemary Blieszner and Dr. Laura Belmonte. This is significant because when majors like political science, sociology, English and history were added to the curriculum in the 1960s, Virginia Tech saw a rapid increase in female students. These areas of study were known to be popular among women at the university level. 
  
Dr. Rosemary Blieszner has served in leadership roles at Virginia Tech for more than 30 years. From 2017-2019, she acted as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Currently, Dr. Blieszner serves as co-chair for the Sesquicentennial Steering Committee. Blieszner’s service to the university as both a professor and in administrative roles is representative of the school’s motto “Ut Prosim” or “That I may serve.” 

Dr. Laura Belmonte was named dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences in 2019. When asked about her appointment, Dr. Belmonte said she was interested in “advancing knowledge, improving society, and celebrating diversity.”  In 1965, the woman with the highest academic record at Virgina Tech graduated with a degree in history. Today, over fifty years later, another woman with a history degree, heads a program that offers 210 undergraduate and graduate programs to students from around the world.

Dr. Laura Belmonte, dean of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

2021 marks the 100th anniversary of women on the Blacksburg campus.  The following quote from Distinguished Professor in the Department of English, Nikki Giovanni seems appropriate to describe the path taken by a century of women at Virginia Tech–
  
“Deal with yourself as an individual worthy of respect, and make everyone else deal with you the same way”

For one hundred years, the women of Virginia Tech have claimed spaces, blazed trails and forged new paths to advancement. Their contributions have helped make Virginia Tech the institution it is today.