Executive vice president Jim Hyatt retires; university to realign several positions

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jim Hyatt, who has been in his role since July 2004, is retiring from the university, effective Jan. 9.

“We thank Jim for his three-and-a-half years of service helping Virginia Tech to become among the best research and teaching universities in the nation. We are happy for Jim as he takes this next step on his life’s journey and wish him the very best in retirement,” said Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger.

“Jim oversaw the passage of the landmark Higher Education Restructuring Act of 2005, expanded sustainability initiatives throughout campus, created the ‘surge building’ concept to temporarily house offices displaced by building renovations, helped streamline administrative processes through the use of digital signatures and workflow processing, and began the process to significantly upgrade the campus power plant infrastructure,” said Steger.

There are no immediate plans to fill the executive vice president slot.

“I want to streamline the management team and further evaluate the most effective management structure. In light of the budget reductions, I will need to place special focus on resource management,” said Steger.

Most of the duties will be split among other vice presidents including Dwight Shelton, vice president for budget and financial management, and Sherwood Wilson, vice president for administrative services. Shelton will become vice president for finance and chief financial officer. Both will report directly to the president.

The Virginia Tech Police Department will now report to Wilson.