The College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences will celebrate outstanding alumni during its first Hall of Honor and Alumni Awards ceremony this month. 

During the April 25 event, the college will recognize alumni from each school and department with Distinguished Alumni or Rising Star awards. In addition, three alumni will be inducted into the college’s Hall of Honor. The ceremony will be held from 6-9 p.m. at The Inn at Virginia Tech's Solitude Room. 

Across the globe, there are about 65,000 living alumni of the college.

“The College of Liberal Arts and  Human Sciences has such a broad alumni base," said Sarah Turner, the college's director of alumni relations. "We have alumni all over the world doing some pretty phenomenal things. Starting the alumni awards program gives us the opportunity to recognize some of these outstanding alumni and showcase the work they are doing –  not only to the college, but to the broader Virginia Tech community.”

2025 Hall of Honor recipients

Hall of Honor inductees represent alumni who exemplify the importance of a liberal arts education and have made significant contributions to their professions, communities, and Virginia Tech. Alumni at least 10 years beyond graduation are eligible for this distinction.  

  • Hoda Kotb graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism in 1986. She served as the host of the “Today” show from 2007-25 and won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2010. She delivered the university’s commencement address in 2008 and received the University Distinguished Achievement Award in 2022. In 2024, through the generosity of Conagra Brands, the university established The Hoda Kotb Scholarship in her honor.
  • Kelly Clements graduated in 1988 with degrees in international studies and French. She also holds a master’s degree in urban affairs from Virginia Tech. Clements has dedicated her career to refugee and displacement issues. After a 25-year career with the U.S. Department of State, she joined the UN Refugee Agency in 2015, where she serves as deputy high commissioner.
  • Jerry Hulick graduated in 1973 with a degree in political science. In 2004, he started The Washington Group Special Care Planning Team, which specializes in financial planning for people with special needs. In 2014, he founded the Caring Consulting Group, which provides consulting services to nonprofit organizations, businesses, and educational institutions with the mission of enhancing the quality of life of people with special needs and their caregivers. Hulick was an inaugural member and past chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Roundtable Advisory Board and has served on the Dean’s Roundtable.

2025 Rising Star Award recipients

Rising Star Award recipients must have graduated within the last 10 years and demonstrate emerging and unique innovation, creativity, and career success.

  • Jason Chavez earned his bachelor’s degree in 2019 and his master’s degree in 2020, both in political science. He was a member of the Native at VT student organization, and helped lead the effort to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day at Virginia Tech. He was appointed director of tribal affairs by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2023 to revitalize the Governor’s Office on Tribal Relations and strengthen relationships with tribal communities across Arizona. Prior, he served as an election outreach manager in Arizona’s Secretary of State Office. 
  •  Téa Ivanovic graduated in 2014 with a degree in international studies. She earned her master’s degree in in international economics and in European and Eurasian studies from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She co-founded Immigrant Food in 2019, a Washington, D.C.-based restaurant group that has received recognition for its innovative model of incorporating a social advocacy component into its business model. In 2023, she was named to Forbes’  annual list of 30 entrepreneurs who are under 30 years old in the food and drink category.
  • Tahreem Alam graduated in 2021 with degrees in multimedia journalism, international relations, and Arabic. She earned her master’s degree in Middle East studies from George Washington University in 2023. She currently serves as a legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives at the office of Ilhan Abdullahi Omar in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. Among her many extracurricular activities as a student at Virginia Tech, she served as programming assistant for the Asian Cultural Engagement Center and as vice president of the Muslim Student Union.

2025 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients

The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes alumni who bring distinction to Virginia Tech through extraordinary achievements in their fields of discipline and have demonstrated records of distinguished service.

  • Deirdre Hand ’08, ’12, bachelor’s in history, master’s in education
  • Carla Coates ’10, Ph.D. in sociology
  • Glenna Moore ’76, master’s in urban affairs
  • Nada Berrada ’16, ’20, master’s in public and international affairs, interdisciplinary Ph.D. in political science and sociology in the Alliance for Social, Political, Cultural, and Ethical Thought program
  • John B. Gordon III ’12, Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies
  • Katherine Hertlein ’04, Ph.D. in human development, marriage and family therapy
  • Laura Dumin ’99, bachelor’s in religion and culture
  • Pierre Thomas ’84, bachelor’s in communication studies
  • Peter Velz ’11, bachelor’s in English
  • Julia Monroe ’19, bachelor’s in international public policy, Spanish
  • Tyrod Taylor ’10, bachelor’s in property management
  • Eric Hulett ’90, bachelor’s in philosophy

Hall of Honor inductees were chosen by Laura Belmonte, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, and other members of the college's leadership team. Rising Star and Distinguished Alumni award nominees were nominated by former professors, classmates, and colleagues. A selection committee reviewed the nominations and chose the final recipients.

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