Paul Metz honored with emeritus status
Paul Metz, professor and administrator in University Libraries, has been conferred the “professor emeritus” title by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The title of emeritus may be conferred on retired professors and associate professors, administrative officers, librarians, and exceptional staff members who are specially recommended to the board of visitors by Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board of visitors receive an emeritus certificate from the university.
A member of the university community for 33 years, Metz oversaw the library’s collections as principal bibliographer and director of collection management. He led a guided and aggressive shift from print to digital materials that transformed the library’s use of space and improved methods for accessing its resources.
Metz was active in university governance and served a term as president of the Faculty Senate. He also served in various capacities involving the Virtual Library of Virginia’s consortium that promoted resource sharing and cost savings as well as a culture of institutional cooperation among academic libraries across the state.
Additionally, Metz was actively engaged in key professional organizations such as the Association of Research Libraries, the American Library Association, and Phi Beta Kappa. He made important contributions to the profession of academic librarianship through his research and publishing activities, consulting work, editorial board service, and mentoring of younger faculty.
Metz received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
