Paul Knox honored with emeritus status
Paul Knox, University Distinguished Professor and most recently dean of the Virginia Tech Honors College, has been conferred the title of dean emeritus and distinguished professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emeritus title may be conferred on retired faculty members who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.
A member of the Virginia Tech community for more than 40 years, Knox also served as a faculty member in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, as dean of the former College of Architecture and Urban Studies — now the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design — as interim director of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, and as interim executive director of the Calhoun Honors Discovery Program.
He made significant contributions to the field of urban affairs by authoring more than 25 books, which have won multiple national awards and been translated into nine languages around the world.
In 1996, he was appointed as a University Distinguished Professor, the highest distinction a professor can attain at the university.
In addition, he has published more than 100 articles and book chapters and has served on the editorial board of seven international journals. He served as a senior fellow for international development and was responsible for the renovation and expansion, academic programming, and administration of the Steger Center for International Scholarship in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland.
Knox established an undergraduate study-abroad scholarship to support Honors College students with demonstrated financial need who plan to study abroad at the Steger Center. He served as a senior fellow and led the long-term planning process that produced the university’s 2012-18 strategic plan that emphasized enhancing research and innovation.
Throughout his career, Knox founded numerous programs including the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, the former School of Architecture and Design, the School of Public and International Affairs, the Virginia Tech Global Forum on Urban and Regional Resilience, and the Honors College. As founding dean of the Honor’s College, he transformed the former University Honors Program into a nationally recognized college with innovative curricular structure.
Knox received his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in geography from the University of Sheffield.
Written Emily Southern, a senior majoring in multimedia journalism and student writer for Virginia Tech Marketing and Communications
