Austin Larrowe, Ashley Francis named 2014-15 board of visitors student representatives

26 Mar 2014

At its March 24 meeting the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors selected new undergraduate and graduate student representatives who will serve as liaisons between the student body and the board starting July 1.

The two student representatives are appointed to one-year terms. They will serve as ex-officio members on the Commission of Student Affairs and sit on a committee of the governing board. These non-voting members are required to maintain contact with university faculty, administrators, and Virginia Tech students.

Undergraduate Student Representative

Austin Larrowe of Woodlawn, Va., is a fourth year University Honors student majoring in applied economic management and agricultural sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He previously served as a member of the student advisory committee to the undergraduate representative to the board of visitors.

Larrowe is a member of University Council and serves as a Student Government Association senator. He is a member of the German Club, as well as Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society.

Larrowe’s service and volunteer work include founding Feed by Seed, an international agriculture education non-profit. He has dedicated countless hours of international community service in Nicaragua, Zambia, and Costa Rica. Larrowe has served as Virginia state vice president of the National FFA Organization.

Graduate Student Representative

Ashley Francis of Blacksburg, Va., is a master’s degree student in public health in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. She works as a graduate assistant in graduate student services with a focus on program planning and development for the Graduate Life Center.

Francis received her undergraduate degree in human nutrition, foods, and exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech. She served as a health educator and outreach coordinator for the Richmond City Health District. She also taught high school biology, engineering for the future and earth science in the Teach for America program in Gaston, N.C.

In addition, Francis is a professional actress, performing in stage, television, short film, and commercial roles.

Francis serves as a graduate honor system panelist and graduate representative to the Task Force for a Healthier Virginia Tech Community. She also volunteers at LewisGale Hospital Montgomery in Blacksburg.

She has been recognized by the United States Navy for her work in sexual assault prevention and response. She is also the recipient of a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award.

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors is the governing body of the university. It is composed of 14 members 13 of which are appointed by the governor and the 14th member is the president of the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services who serves ex-officio. The term of office for each member is four years.

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.