University Libraries celebrates Virginia Tech authors and their impact

It is a privilege to be with you tonight as we celebrate the work of outstanding faculty authors across Virginia Tech. Writing asks us to move beyond hot takes and instant reactions. It requires us to develop an argument, to test it, to refine it, and to stand behind it. That kind of work feels especially significant right now. This is the Virginia Tech author's reception. So we celebrate faculty, staff, and students who've published a book in the last year. So this would be for 2025. We have this really amazing time celebrating all of them. We have their posters around, their books out. And it's just it's truly a fantastic event and an opportunity for people to celebrate just how much work that went into creating these publications. Oh, it's such a great honor. I admire my peers and my colleagues so much. So to be here with them and celebrating their books with mine is really a great honor. There's just so much that goes into making a book. There's so many people involved. I think the hardest part is, really just like letting go and letting the book become the object that it needs to be. It's a lot of work to do. There's a lot of learning that goes on when utilizing and reading these books. And, you know, we want to celebrate that. We want to publicize it and promote the fact that these books exist. I was just blown away by the diversity of topics. The diversity of scholarship being recognized this evening. We've got authors from all nine academic colleges at Virginia Tech, but also some administrative units, research centers, and institutes. It's really quite extraordinary. And as I walked through and I looked at all the titles, I just kept thinking, this is what it means to be a comprehensive university.