Neal Vines honored with emeritus status
Neal Vines, director of information technology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of director emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emeritus title may be conferred on retired faculty members who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.
A member of the Virginia Tech community for more than 24 years, Vines made significant contributions to the residents of Virginia and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as an Extension farm management agent, computer resources agent, and director of information technology. He was an early leader in information technology at the state, regional, and national levels, contributing to the early adoption of computer technology and software applications in county Extension offices, Agricultural Research and Extension Centers, and 4-H Educational Centers.
Vines led projects to install the first local area networks in all Virginia Cooperative Extension offices and Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station centers, most of which are still in operation today. He also managed the statewide initiative to deploy computers to all those faculty and staff along with an in-depth training program on the use and application of the equipment and associated software.
In addition, Vines worked with his communications counterpart in the college, Charlie Stott, to build the first Extension website and one of the first Extension websites in the country showcasing publications and educational program offerings. Working with the university’s Division of Information Technology, he supported the implementation of the first statewide data network linking all Extension and and Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station locations with the Blacksburg campus, deploying the campus telephony system to field offices, and a build-out of a fiber network to more than 80 percent of the college’s locations.
Vines received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia Tech.
