Class of 2027 ring namesake and sponsor named

Fay H. Street ’77, member of the board of directors for The United Company Foundation, has been named the Class of 2027 class ring namesake, and Frances Keene Ph.D. ’16, vice president for Student Affairs, has been named class sponsor.

The ring namesake and sponsor are honorary roles selected by members of each class. Street and Keene were honored at Ring Premiere on Sept. 29 and will be recognized at Ring Dance in March.

Street grew up in a family with strong ties to Virginia Tech and joined the Hokie Nation in 1977 with a major in finance.

After graduating in 1977, she continued her education at the University of Richmond and earned her law degree in 1979.  Street currently serves on the United Company Foundation, a charitable organization devoted to promoting opportunities in education, health care, and the arts across the Southwest Virginia region.

Street previously served on the Virginia Tech Foundation Board and the Capital Campaigns Board and was a founding member of the Women in Leadership and Philanthropy Council. In 2019, she and her husband, Nicolas Street ’53, were honored as Foremost Benefactors for the university.

The Street family’s support has enabled the development of facilities, programs, and scholarships for Virginia Tech. Their legacy can be seen across campus with the Street and Davis Performance Hall at the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, the W.A. and Mae Street Olympic Sports Complex, and the Corps Leadership and Military Science Building.

Keene has been a member of the Virginia Tech community since 2002, when she began her career as victim services adjudication coordinator. Since then, she has held leadership roles within Student Affairs, such as director of student conduct, chief of operations for the senior associate vice president, and assistant vice president and chief of staff to the vice president.

Keene earned her Ph.D. in higher education from Virginia Tech. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from William & Mary and a master’s degree in counselor education from the University of Virginia.

As vice president for Student Affairs, Keene manages the day-to-day activities and functions of the department and works closely with students and faculty to provide support in and out of the classroom.

Keene is also an advocate for The Market of Virginia Tech, a program intended to eliminate food insecurity for students. In 2016, she received the Aspire! Award for her work in the community and spirit of service.

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 John R. Lawson ’75, president and chief executive officer of W.M. Jordan Company Inc.; Debbie ’78 and Jim ’80 Petrine, Pamplin College of Business alumni; and Barbara J. Pendergrass ’87, first Black dean of students.

Officers for each class also chose a university faculty member or administrator to serve as honorary sponsor. Recent sponsors have included Bob Broyden ’87, ’89, former vice president for campus planning, infrastructure, and facilities; Kim O’Rourke ’93, ’96, vice president for policy and governance; and Brandy Faulkner, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science