Susan E. Short named senior associate vice president

Rich Mathieson

2 Sep 2025

Susan Short speaking with a group of people inside the Steger Center — Susan E. Short, senior associate vice president for outreach and international affairs, talks with alumni and family members at the Steger Center for International Scholarship. Photo by Jacopo Martinoni for Virginia Tech.

If you’ve ever driven through Blacksburg and spotted a Virginia Tech license plate that made you smile, it might have belonged to Susan E. Short. Her plate hints at a devotion that runs deeper than cheering at football, women’s basketball, or wrestling. For Short, being “Hokie crazy” is as much about championing students, communities, and partnerships as it is about celebrating touchdowns.

That passion has carried her through more than two decades of leadership at Virginia Tech — and now to a new role. Short has been promoted to senior associate vice president for outreach and international affairs, providing vision and leadership for programs in Blacksburg, across the commonwealth, and around the globe.

The position includes oversight of Continuing and Professional Education, the Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement, the Language and Culture Institute, TRIO Programs, the Center for Economic and Community Engagement, four Commonwealth Campus Centers and the Reynolds Homestead, the Catawba Sustainability Center, the Executive Briefing Center in Arlington, and the Steger Center for International Scholarship in Switzerland.

“Susan has long exemplified what it means to be a servant leader,” Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke said. “She has built programs that connect our university to communities across Virginia and beyond, and she has done so with creativity, humility, and a steadfast belief in the power of education to transform lives. I congratulate Susan on her promotion and look forward to the future impacts she will have on Virginia Tech and those we serve.”

Guru Ghosh, vice president for outreach and international affairs, praised Short’s ability to strengthen connections across Virginia Tech and with partners worldwide.

“Susan’s leadership has been instrumental in advancing outreach and engagement as a defining part of Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission,” Ghosh said. “Her vision and her dedication will ensure that our students have more opportunities to engage globally, our faculty have stronger connections with communities, and our university continues to make an impact that stretches far beyond campus.”

Short’s leadership extends well beyond Virginia Tech. For more than 20 years, she has served on the board of directors for Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, the official destination marketing organization for the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Botetourt, Franklin, and Roanoke.

“Dr. Susan Short has been a tireless champion for tourism and regional collaboration in Roanoke’s Virginia’s Blue Ridge region,” said Landon C. Howard, president of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. “Through her leadership and dedication, she has helped strengthen the partnership between Virginia Tech and our regional tourism efforts — supporting everything from destination development to major events and workforce initiatives. Her ability to connect people and ideas has had a direct impact on elevating Virginia’s Blue Ridge as a vibrant place to visit, live, and invest.”

Nationally, Short has earned recognition for advancing the practice of engaged scholarship. She has held leadership roles with the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, a leading international network of universities dedicated to advancing community-engaged scholarship, and played a pivotal role in bringing its annual conference to Roanoke this October.

“Susan Short embodies the very best of engaged scholarship — not only through her deep expertise and leadership, but through the warmth, generosity, and genuine care she brings to every relationship,” said Laurie Van Egren, vice provost for public engagement at the University of Minnesota and the consortium's president. “Her infectious enthusiasm and unwavering commitment to reciprocity and connection across boundaries make her a national model for how institutions can make meaningful impact through community-engaged work.”

Short joined Outreach and International Affairs as director of the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center and later became director of Outreach Program Development. She was named the inaugural associate vice president for engagement in 2011. Along the way, she served on the AP Faculty Senate and chaired the University Athletics Committee from 2020-24, building opportunities for student-athletes to excel in the classroom and in competition.

She earned her Ph.D. in community college administration from Virginia Tech, a master’s degree in counseling and student personnel administration from Shippensburg University, and bachelor’s degrees in music education and music therapy from Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music. In 2009, she graduated from the first class of Virginia Tech’s Executive Development Institute, a program designed to cultivate leadership across the university.

“It is truly an honor to serve alongside and learn from the remarkable leaders, faculty, students, and community partners at Outreach and International Affairs,” Short said. “Together, we are building collaborations that create knowledge, strengthen communities, and bring Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission to life every day.”

Virginia Tech to host Engagement Scholarship Consortium Conference in October