Virginia Tech’s Beyond Boundaries vision, first launched in 2015 to inspire the university community and provide context for a new strategic plan, has been refined to support continuing engagement in a changing higher education environment and the university’s growing network of innovation throughout the commonwealth and the world.

“Beyond Boundaries challenged us to imagine the future without constraints and barriers,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said. “Anticipating the challenges and opportunities of the next generations requires a sustainable vision that adapts to a changing environment.”

Beyond Boundaries informed the development of the university’s strategic plan, The Virginia Tech Difference: Advancing Beyond Boundaries, which was adopted by the Board of Visitors in 2019. Less than a year later, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the higher education landscape.

“The pandemic drove the early development of some elements of our long-term vision, such as remote learning, and created opportunities to think beyond the traditional campus models of learning and partnerships,” Sands said. “We wanted to check in with the university community and explore how these experiences might alter our long-term vision of what is possible.”

In early 2023, Sands asked Julie Ross, Virginia Tech’s Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Engineering; France Bélanger, the R.B. Pamplin Professor in the Pamplin College of Business and a University Distinguished Professor, and Sylvester Johnson, founding director of the Virginia Tech Center for Humanities, to work with the Office for Strategic Affairs — now renamed the Office of Inclusive Strategy and Excellence — to solicit feedback and update Beyond Boundaries by envisioning how learning, research, and discovery will evolve by 2050.

During the information-gathering sessions, some commonalities emerged. “In such a rapidly changing world, it is difficult to imagine what life and higher education will be like in 2050,” Bélanger said. “Our communities recognize the need for a university that does more than anticipate future challenges, it actively leads the search for solutions across disciplines and beyond the borders of our campuses and the commonwealth.”

The updated Beyond Boundaries vision is streamlined into three key concepts:

  • The Future of Learning, focusing on disciplinary depth and interdisciplinary experience, service, and global citizenship
  •  The Future of Research and Discovery, focused on deep expertise, high impact scholarship, innovation hubs, and transdisciplinary teamwork
  • The Future of Engagement, supporting the university motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), and the land-grant mission with problem-based solutions, teaching, research, and discovery in a connected global environment

“To move in direction outlined in the vision, we have to work on all the future directions simultaneously,” Ross said. “They do not stand alone but are integrated by nature. Of course, we will need to sequence our work because we don’t have unlimited capacity, but we need to be thinking holistically as we put together the plan.”

Ten years since the launch of the original Beyond Boundaries visioning process, the strategic plan it inspired has guided the achievement of significant milestones, including surpassing $1.9 billion in the market value of the university's endowment, exceeding extramural research expenditure goals ahead of schedule, and enrolling 30,000-plus undergraduate students.

Additionally, the university will expand its network of innovation when it opens its new academic building in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area. The 11-story Academic Building One in Alexandria will support new outreach and partnerships that advance research and education in artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent interfaces, quantum science, and next-generation technology.

Menah Pratt, vice president for inclusive strategy and excellence, said the updated vision can inspire new opportunities for students, faculty, and partners to address global-scale problems while embodying the individual and institutional commitment to Ut Prosim in the spirit of inclusive communities, education, and excellence.  

“The vision and our ongoing work toward InclusiveVT’s commitment to community building has established a strong network of human-centered innovation,” Pratt said. “Through our growing interdisciplinary institutes, research centers, and community integrated innovation sites, Virginia Tech is positioning itself to lead academic and technological advancement.”

The spirit of the updated vision is also reflected in Sands’ presidential strategic priorities for the university: 

  • Virginia Tech Global Distinction focuses on supporting impactful research and scholarship activities; building on faculty strengths and considering future needs; and attracting, enabling, and championing talent and partners.
  • Virginia Tech Advantage emphasizes affordability and accessibility, ensuring that financial constraints do not limit students’ potential or their ability to take part in the full educational experience. Experiential learning opportunities, along with expanded scholarship support, are cornerstones of the initiative.

“I look forward to continuing this transformative journey with the Virginia Tech community,” Sands said. “Our boundaries have become opportunities, and we are well-positioned to lead positive change across the commonwealth and the world.”

Sands’ State of the University Address on Feb. 5 will offer more insight into the Beyond Boundaries vision and the future of Virginia Tech.

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