Scott Fralin brings ideas to life through exhibit design

I'm Scott Fralin, exhibit program manager here at Newman Library. And I've been designing exhibits here for over ten years. I grew up on a farm out in Floyd, and we spent a lot of time outside doing stuff—just playing with things, breaking things, building things. I also saw people like my dad and uncles on the farm who, when something breaks, you can't just go buy a new thing—you have to repair it or fix it. You have to be creative and you have to be resourceful to king of make things continue to work, and you have to do a lot of things yourself. I think it prepared me for what I'm doing today by making me somebody who is able to improvise, someone who's really open to different ways of looking at things or different ways of approaching problems. And It also prepared me by making me someone who is like, resourceful and able to use what's on hand, if possible, to help solve a problem, or fix a thing, or put something together. I really enjoy that I have the freedom to explore so many different topics and ideas through my job. And also, I get to try and find meaning in them for myself and express that in a way that I think is going to make sense to a large group of people and get to share those things with everyone here at the University.

culture 1:29 Scott Fralin brings ideas to life through exhibit design

By:

Chase Parker

7 Apr 2026 72

Scott Fralin’s path to exhibit design for University Libraries began on a Floyd County farm, where creativity and resourcefulness were a way of life. Today, those same instincts shape how he transforms ideas into meaningful, engaging exhibits for the Virginia Tech community.

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