John Cosgriff honored with emeritus status
John C. Cosgriff of Pearisburg, Va., college librarian for the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, was conferred with the title "associate professor emeritus of the University Libraries" by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors during the board’s quarterly meeting March 27.
The title of emeritus may be conferred on retired professors and associate professors, administrative officers, librarians, and exceptional staff members who have given exemplary service to the university and who are specially recommended to the board of visitors by Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board of visitors receive an emeritus certificate from the university.
A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1974, Cosgriff pioneered the use of personal computers in the work of the library. By 1983, he had developed and conducted training classes for library faculty, staff, and others on the effective use of computers in their work. Cosgriff introduced the use of personal data management software into the work of the library in 1985, and taught library faculty and staff how to make effective use of this software in managing their textual data.
In his capacities as both a technical services and public services librarian, Cosgriff taught others how to use the intellectual and computing tools necessary for the storage and retrieval of information in all formats. He was an early adapter of electronic methods for conducting geological research, and his book, “Turbo Genealogy” remains a popular instruction to this topic.
Cosgriff received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, a master’s degree from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree from Virginia Tech.
Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become among the largest universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech’s eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.
