Governor appoints two, reappoints two to board of visitors

Gov. Tim Kaine has appointed two new members and reappointed two current members to the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

James R. Smith of Roanoke, Va., chief executive officer of Smith/Packet MedCom in Roanoke, and Lori L. Wagner of Richmond, Va., manager of Spectra Technology for Honeywell International in Colonial Heights, Va., were appointed to the board.

Ben J. Davenport of Chatham, Va., chairman of First Piedmont Corporation, and John R. Lawson II of Newport News, Va., president and chief executive officer of W.M. Jordan Company of Newport News and Richmond, Va., have been reappointed.

All will serve four year terms expiring June 30, 2010.

Smith is a 1974 graduate of Virginia Tech’s former College of Arts and Sciences (today, the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences). He is the founder of Smith/Packet MedCom, the largest healthcare facility developer in the country. He serves on the Pamplin College of Business Advisory Council and volunteers on the campaign steering committee for the College of Liberal Arts and Humans Sciences.

Wagner, who holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. from the College of Engineering, has served on the College of Engineering Advisory Committee and the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity Advisory Council. She currently serves on the college’s Committee of 100 and the Chemical Engineering Advisory Board. In addition, she has cultivated Virginia Tech’s partnership with Honeywell International through recruitment and philanthropic support.

Davenport is serving his second term on the board and completed a two-year term as board rector June 30. Lawson, also serving his second term on the board, is currently the board’s vice-rector.

Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech is the most comprehensive university in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is among the top research universities in the nation. Today, Virginia Tech’s eight colleges are dedicated to quality, innovation, and results through teaching, research, and outreach activities. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.