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DIRECTOR APPOINTED TO SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
AFTER FOUR QUARTERS OF THE GLENNON ERA, BEAMER PULLS TAYLOR’S REDSHIRT. SEE SPORTS, PAGE FOUR.
honor Clark
Gerry Kearns, senior lecturer from University of Cambridge, was named director of the School of Public and International Affairs in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. Kearns currently serves on several editorial boards and has recently finished a book focusing on the similarities between twentieth-century British imperialism and recent United States imperialism.
BECCA THOMAS
ct news reporter
GREENBERG TO COACH IN CHARITY TOURNAMENT Men’s basketball head coach Seth Greenberg is one of many Division I coaches who will participate in the 16-team “Chairman of the Board” Charity Tournament. The event will benefit families affected by GREENBERG September 11 attacks.
PROFESSOR AWARDED ENGINEERING TITLE Maury Nussbaum was named Hal G. Prillaman Professor Fellow of Engineering in Operations Research and will hold this title for the next two years. This fellowship selects individuals who stand out because of their exceptional work. He served as an adviser, peer reviewer and researcher on more than $10 million in sponsored projects.
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weather SUNSHINE high 89, low 52
MICHAEL SHROYER/SPPS
With poor offensive line play in Tech’s weekend loss to East Carolina, Beamer re-instated Taylor to bolster the rushing attack.
see CLARK, page two
BT aiming for biodiesel change-over Princeton KATIE O’CONNOR
ct news staff writer There are 36 Blacksburg Transit buses in total, but one bus is different from all the others. For a year, there has been a sticker on the bottom bumper of this bus that reads, “This Vehicle Operates on Biodiesel.” For now, that bus is one-of-a-kind. But not for long. In August of 2007, one of the BT fleet was converted to run on B20 biodiesel, meaning the fuel is 20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent diesel. When BT made the switch, it promised that others busses would follow suit. That plan is now scheduled to culminate in the transition of every one of the BT vehicles to biodiesel by next summer. “We (were) able to convert and operate the biodiesel bus using B20 borrowed from the Public Works department,” said Fiona Rhodes, marketing specialist for Blacksburg Transit. Public Works, the department responsible for waste disposal and construction, was able to lend BT alternative fuel because it, too, is going green. BT’s decision to switch fuel sources is just part of a town-wide initiative that began in April of
2007. After seeking advice from experts, including the Virginia Tech Physical Plant Department, Public Works drafted a plan to convert all of its vehicles to run on B20 biodiesel. On recommendation from the National Biodiesel Board, it chose to use Virgin Soybean Oil as its biological source. Implementation began last May, and as of this fall, every dump truck, every pickup, every street sweeper and every construction vehicle owned by the town now runs on biodiesel. “Now that we are more conscious about our fuel source, we are also looking at making sure our vehicles are sized appropriately and reducing the vehicle miles traveled,” said Kelly Mattingly, director of Public Works. Mattingly is a proponent for biodiesel and also pushed for the addition of hybrid vehicles to the town’s fleet. In May 2008, Public Works received eight new Ford Escape hybrids, one of which Mattingly uses to travel back and forth from field projects. The town of Blacksburg and its public transportation systems are becoming more accountable for their carbon footprint, but they are still encountering opposition. Mattingly said that people are
Review re-evaluates rankings Princeton Review: campus food rankings 2009 1. Wheaton College, Illinois (2,000 Students)* 2.Bowdoin College, Maine (1,700 Students)* 3. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg (29,000 Students) *private schools
BEN MACDONALD
KATIE D’AMICO
ct news staff writer
ROY T. HIGASHI/SPPS
While maintaining only one biodiesel bus so far, Blacksburg Public Works aims to have the whole fleet on biodiesel by 2009. upset with the town’s choice to use biodiesel because of its effect on global food shortages. “It is a legitimate concern, and a good question,” Mattingly said.
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Classifieds..............7 Sports....................6 Sudoku..................7
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year issue 76
“There are other things we can look into, some folks out there are using leftover grease, we just have to keep asking, ‘is what we’re doing going to be enough?’”
Capital Campaign nears goal CANDACE SIPOS
ct politics editor
initiative and athletics program. The money will also be used to build new facilities, and, among other goals, add to the president’s discovery fund. According to John Lawson, a co-chair of the campaign, Tech hired consultants who have helped with other $1 billion campaigns to work with the campaign during the feasibility study. They advised that an $800 million goal
In 1998, Virginia Tech’s last capital campaign left the university $337 million richer. At the end of December 2010, Tech should be $1 billion richer than it was in 1998. President Charles Steger announced the university’s goal of $1 billion on Oct. 20, 2007. As of July 31 of this year, the “Campaign for Virginia Tech” had raised $690.1 million. “We’re satisfied,” Michael Kiser, communications director for the campaign, said. “We’re in a good place. We have a lot of work to do still.” In fact, funding is “marginally ahead of schedule,” Kiser said. If the campaign does not reach its goal by December 2010, Kiser said it’s common practice for camnecessary for paigns to extend the deadline. However, Tech will address that projected completion problem if it arises. Kiser also by Dec. 2010 warned against fixating on just the dollar goal. “When people think about the campaign, they tend to focus on the dollar goal,” Kiser said. “Clearly that’s important, but that dollar goal is sort of defined by what it can accomplish. It’s not just about how quickly can you raise a billion dollars.” Tech aims to use the money from the campaign to add to its libraries, enrich the graduate programs, and also give to the arts
was attainable, but the university decided to aim higher. “The fact is we need to grow our endowments substantially in order to compete with other universities,” Lawson said. While he said the goal was a “stretch,” he added that the university is on track to reach it. “I personally feel like everybody has the obligation to give back within their means,” Lawson said, adding that it also makes donors feel good, and he would know. Lawson has donated over $10 million to Tech. As a leader on the Campaign, he said he felt the need to set an example for others. He sees it as immediate change to the university. As a Board of Visitors member, he watches Tech’s progress closely. “The university is so large and diverse, and there are so many strengths that we have, and also needs that we have,” Lawson said. He added that donors could give to the area of the university where they want to see change. As a businessman, he needs good graduates to build his company, W.M. Jordan Company, Inc., so he has donated to the construction department, as well as the engineering and athletics departments. “There are lots of ways to have an emotional tie to your alma mater,” Lawson said.
Capital Campaign Progress Report
Check out the Multimedia section to see video from the ‘Untitled’ forum Monday night.
The Ryan Clark Scholarship and Community Service Award has been established in honor of Ryan Clark, a victim of the April 16, 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. Clark, scheduled to graduate in May 2007 as a triple major in biology, psychology and English, is remembered for his countless hours of volunteering and community service. Julie Miller, Columbia County Community Connections executive director, started planning for this award about a year after the tragedy. “Something about it struck me that we should do something,” Miller said. “I was with what I had CLARK impressed heard about Ryan, always wonderful things.” Miller first wrote a letter to Letitie Clark, Ryan’s mother, about establishing a scholarship in honor of her son. Miller wanted to know if Letitie Clark was willing to work with Community Connections. “When you honor Ryan, you honor me,” said Letitie Clark in an e-mail. “I am humbled and confirmed by my community, that the sacrifices parents make for their children is what a parent should do.” Security Federal Bank in Evans, Ga. is also
309.9 million
690.1 million July 31, 2008
After spending a year at number one, Virginia Tech has dropped two places on the Princeton Review’s “Best Campus Food” list in this year’s edition of “The Best 368 Colleges.” Wheaton College, a private Christian school in Illinois with just over 2,000 students, replaced Tech at number one; Bowdoin College, a 1,700-student private school in Maine, placed second, while Tech finished third. “The two schools that are above us are tiny, highend schools. They practically have catered meals,” said Mark Bratton, executive chef at West End Market. “With 29,000 students (at Tech), you put that into perspective; what we’re doing and what they’re doing, it’s incredible we’re in the top five.” Bratton said that he and other chefs at West End, along with all the other dining hall employees at Tech, aim to provide students with delicious food of exceptional quality. “That’s our goal, to be restaurant quality or above for our guests, to exceed expectations for food quality,” Bratton said. He stressed Tech’s chefs take great care in their food production. “I think the amount of integrity we put into it, acquiring the best products for the best price (makes the food so good),” Bratton said. In reaction to the ratings, however, he said that he does still wonder why Tech dropped two places. Senior editor of the Princeton Review’s “The Best 368 Colleges” Laura Braswell said that all 62 ranking lists are based on student opinion. “It’s not the Princeton Review, it’s not the editors, it’s the students who decide the ranking,” Braswell said. “We’re listening to students and getting their views on what campuses are like.” In addition to the decline on the “Best Campus Food” list, notable rankings include Tech coming in at number 11 on the “Class Discussions Rare” list and receiving a 90 on the Princeton Review’s new “Green Rating,” which examined the environmentally-friendly practices of 534 colleges. “We pretty much get great feedback from administration,” Braswell said. “We absolutely want to hear from students.” Each year, students fill out surveys on how representative the current profile for their school is, and 81 percent claim the profile for their school is very or extremely accurate, Braswell said. As for the reaction of Tech students to the change in rankings, freshmen and seasoned students alike remain supportive. “Maybe it’s not that our food quality has declined, but that the other schools may be dealing with small amounts of students,” said Bryan McDaniel, a senior biology major. “I think the food is awesome and there’s a wide variety of choices, many healthy options.” Freshman university studies major Morgan Findley is also unfazed. “It’s still amazing,” Findley said. “We’re so lucky to have the food we do.”
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