Virginia Tech Announces Advisory Board For Innovation Campus

ALEXANDRIA, VA — An advisory board has been announced for the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, which has welcomed its inaugural class remotely.

The Innovation Campus Advisory Board will offer strategic direction and counsel to senior leaders such as Virginia Tech President Tim Sands and Innovation Campus Executive Director Lance R. Collins, according to a news release from Virginia Tech. More specifically, the guidance will focus on strategies for the campus to "serve as an economic catalyst for the region and elevate its work and influence for local and global impact through research, startups, and more."

The board consists of company leaders along with several tech pioneers. Members include Sanju Bansal, founder and CEO of Hunch Analytics; Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of Boeing; Ted Colbert, executive vice president of Boeing; Joe DeSimone, professor at Stanford University and executive chairman and co-founder of Carbon; Lynne Doughtie, former chairman and CEO of KPMG; Regina Dugan, CEO of Wellcome Leap; Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm; Russ Ramsey, board chair of Greater Washington Partnership; Kathy Warden, CEO, of Northrop Grumman Corporation; Glenn Youngkin, co-chief executive officer of The Carlyle Group.

"This is an incredible group of leaders who will help shape and lead the campus," said Bansal, founder and CEO of Hunch Analytics, who will be chair of the advisory board. "Virginia Tech is making exciting progress on the construction plan for its new campus and ramping up with its first class of Innovation Campus students starting this fall. We look forward to working with the leadership team to build on this momentum."

The campus, announced as a factor for Amazon choosing Arlington for its second headquarters, will seek to develop tech talent for the region. The first students enrolled at the Innovation Campus in fall 2020, but classes are online this semester due to the coronavirus pandemic. Those 79 students based in the DC region are pursuing master’s degrees in computer science and computer engineering. The main Virginia Tech campus opened for the fall semester and keeps track of coronavirus cases and testing data on an online dashboard.

Virginia Tech is currently utilizing its existing space in Falls Church for faculty offices and course instruction while the new campus is being constructed. It is also setting up start-up space at the National Industries for the Blind building at 3000 Potomac Avenue for the executive director's office and a café-style area for student work groups, seminars, and community engagement.

The first academic building is expected to start construction in 2021 and open in August 2024. Approvals from Alexandria City Council in June allow construction of roads, utilities, and other infrastructure to start later this year.

The campus will be part of a 65-acre mixed-use development by JBG Smith in Potomac Yard. As the campus grows over a decade, Virginia Tech anticipates up to 750 master's degree students enrolling, along with hundreds of doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows.