Andrea Christine Todd named Language and Culture Institute associate director

Andrea Christine Todd has been names to head the expansion of Virginia Tech's Language and Culture Institute into the National Capital Region.

Todd joins the institute as associate director, with extensive experience in program administration and teaching English as a second language within university settings. She comes to Virginia Tech from National Defense University where she was formerly director of graduate affairs for the College of International Security Affairs. Prior to this, she managed the Higher Education Administration Doctoral Program at George Washington University.

Todd has been in the English as a second language (ESL) profession for 20 years, having taught with National Defense University, Northern Virginia Community College, Washington Business School, and Fairfax County Adult and Community Education. Her teaching portfolio includes the spectrum of ESL levels and skills, university-level writing for the thesis, computer-assisted learning and web-supported instruction.

Todd earned her doctorate in Education at George Washington University. She holds a master of arts degree in English linguistics from George Mason University and earned her bachelor's degree in languages from Georgetown University. She is proficient in Spanish and Italian.

This new location in the National Capital Region is part of the institute’s expanded mission to offer its English training program for international students at other Virginia Tech locations throughout the commonwealth.

The primary role of the English Language Program is to prepare internationals for Virginia Tech admission. The program increases diversity in the university's student population and enables outstanding candidates to meet English language admission requirements. In addition to English language, and in partnership with Foreign Languages and Literatures, the institute will provide foreign language training in the region on a contract, non-degree basis.

Additional information is available on the program’s Web page or by contacting Donald Back at (540) 231-6963.