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Principles of Community

Virginia Tech is a public land-grant university, committed to teaching and learning, research, and outreach to the Commonwealth of  Virginia, the nation, and the world community. Learning from the experiences that shape Virginia Tech as an institution, we acknowledge those aspects of  our legacy that reflected bias and exclusion. Therefore, we adopt and practice the following principles as fundamental to our on-going efforts to increase access and inclusion and to create a community that nurtures learning and growth for all of  its members:

  • We affirm the inherent dignity and value of  every person and strive to maintain a climate for work and learning based on mutual respect and understanding.
  • We affirm the right of  each person to express thoughts and opinions freely.  We encourage open expression within a climate of  civility, sensitivity, and mutual respect.
  • We affirm the value of  human diversity because it enriches our lives and the University.  We acknowledge and respect our differences while affirming our common humanity.
  • We reject all forms of  prejudice and discrimination, including those based on age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, and veteran status. We take individual and collective responsibility for helping to eliminate bias and discrimination and for increasing our own understanding of  these issues through education, training, and interaction with others.
  • We pledge our collective commitment to these principles in the spirit of  the Virginia Tech motto of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).

September 29, 2014 
The "Virginia Tech Principles of Community" were reaffirmed on September 29, 2014 by the following eight individuals/organizations: 

  • Deborah Petrine, rector, Board of Visitors
  • Timothy Sands, president, Virginia Tech
  • Bernice Hausman, president, Faculty Senate
  • Dan Cook, president, Staff Senate
  • Elizabeth Lazor, president, Student Government Association
  • Greg Purdy, presidents, Graduate Student Assembly
  • Matt Winston Jr., president, Virginia Tech Alumni Association
  • Aaron Bond, chair, Commission on Equal Opportunity and Diversity

March 14, 2005
The "Virginia Tech Principles of Community" were first endorsed by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors on March 14, 2005, by the following eight individuals/organizations:

  • Ben J. Davenport Jr., rector, Board of Visitors
  • Charles W. Steger, president, Virginia Tech
  • W. Samuel Easterling, president, Faculty Senate
  • Sue Ellen Crocker, president, Staff Senate,
  • Sumeet Bagai, president, Student Government Association,
  • Myrna C. Callison and Yvette Quintela, co-presidents, Graduate Student Assembly
  • Raymond V. Plaza, chair, Commission on Equal Opportunity and Diversity
  • Kimble Reynolds, Virginia Tech Alumni Association

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