Class of 2026 ring namesake and sponsor named

John R. Lawson ‘75, president and chief executive officer of W. M. Jordan Company Inc, has been named the Class of 2026 class ring namesake, and Bob Broyden ‘87, ‘89, former vice president for campus planning, infrastructure, and facilities has been named class sponsor.

The ring namesake and sponsor are honorary roles selected by each class. Lawson and Broyden will be honored at Ring Premiere on Sept. 30 and at Ring Dance in March. 

The announcement was revealed at the Sophomore Springfest on April 5.

Lawson joined the Virginia Tech community in the 1970s as a geophysics major. After graduating in 1975, he went on to work for his father’s construction company, W.M. Jordan Company Inc. Under his leadership, the company is now one of the largest construction managers in Virginia.

He also served on Virginia Tech’s board of visitors from 2002-2012, serving as rector from 2008-2010. Lawson is a co-founder of the Myer-Lawson School of Construction, named in honor of him and his fraternity brother, A. Ross Myers. He also serves as a member of the school’s board.

Lawson is also a member of the Ut Prosim Society’s President Circle. In 2012, he was presented with the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his contributions to the university.

Lawson is also a champion for his communities outside of Virginia Tech. He is currently a board member of the Christopher Newport University Board of Visitors, chairman of the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters’ $60 Million Mental and Behavioral Health Capital Campaign, and serves on the board of directors for TowneBank and The Mariner’s Museum.

Broyden has been a member of the Virginia Tech community since the 1980s. He earned a Bachelor of Science in 1987 and Master of Science in 1989. His 30 years of service to the university have included leadership roles in financing and financial management, capital outlay, campus planning, real estate management, business practices, and commercial partnerships. 

Before his retirement this past June, Broyden led a team of over 500 university employees while supervising Virginia Tech’s campus planning, construction, space management, real estate and leasing, facilities operations, sustainability, energy management, and utility operations, which includes the Virginia Tech Electric Service. 

The team’s stewardship includes Virginia’ Tech Blacksburg campus, the Innovation Campus, the Health Sciences and Technology campus in Roanoke, sites in Newports News and Richmond, educational and research facilities across Virginia, a study abroad site in Switzerland, and an agricultural research farm near the main campus.

Beginning with the Class of 1991, the class ring design process has included the recognition of a distinguished Virginia Tech alumnus, alumna, university president, faculty member, or administrator as ring collection namesake.

Recent namesakes include Virginia Tech’s first Black dean of students, Barbara Pendergrass '87; College of Engineering and Pamplin College of Business alumni Debbie '78 and Jim '80 Petrine; and the first Black student admitted to Virginia Tech, Irving Peddrew III.

Officers for each class also chose a university faculty member or administrator to serve as honorary sponsor. Recent sponsors have included Brandy Faulkner, the Gloria D. Smith Professor of Black Studies and assistant professor in the Department of Political Science; Kim O’Rourke, vice president for policy and governance; and Bevlee Watford, associate dean for equity and engagement and executive director of the Center for Enhancement of Engineering Diversity.