Raymond Major honored with emeritus status
Raymond Major, professor of business information technology in the Pamplin College of Business, has been conferred the title of associate professor 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 30 years, Major made significant contributions by upholding the Principles of Community in his teaching, research, and service responsibilities. In addition, he served in many important offices and on numerous professional committees on the regional and national level, including the Decision Sciences Institute and the National and Southeast Regions of the Institute for Operations and the Management Sciences.
Major authored or co-authored more than 12 scholarly publications and refereed journal articles and served on numerous committees. He was the first in his department to begin actively publishing in the journals of machine learning and artificial intelligence. In the classroom, he was an outstanding teacher at the undergraduate and graduate levels, placing a strong emphasis on student learning.
Throughout his career, Major actively engaged with the local community through various outreach programs, including organizing workshops and seminars for local businesses and nonprofit organizations and mentoring students in community service projects.
Major received his bachelor’s degree in electrical/electronic engineering, MBA, and Ph.D. in decision and information sciences with a concentration in information systems from the University of Florida.
Written by Emily Southern, a senior majoring in multimedia journalism and student writer for Virginia Tech Marketing and Communications
