The Global Change Center (GCC) held a retreat for GCC-affiliated faculty on Friday, February 19, 2016. This strategic planning and visioning event was held at the Skelton Conference Center and 30 faculty members from across campus participated in a full day of activities.

Retreat highlights:

Dr. Dennis Dean, Director of the Fralin Life Science Institute, provided opening remarks regarding Virginia Tech’s plans to identify “Destination Areas”, or cross-university signature strengths. These proposed areas will be used to differentiate Virginia Tech in the future.

Dr. Bill Hopkins, GCC Director, provided a “State of the Center” overview, which included updates on both the Global Change Center and the Interfaces of Global Change graduate program.

Results from a pre-conference survey were also reviewed in the morning session. These results were used to drive the agenda for the remainder of the day.

Small groups of faculty participated in afternoon breakout sessions, followed by group discussions of these unifying concepts

  • Encouraging Scientific Collaboration & Innovation
  • Balancing Growth with Cohesive Community
  • Demonstrating Value
  • Faculty Recruitment and Hiring

The group discussion provided an opportunity for all participants to share insights and make recommendations for next steps in the development of the GCC.

The day closed with a reception to provide faculty with the opportunity to socialize and reflect on the productive day.