Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, or Virginia Tech for short, is a university in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA, in the New River Valley of western Virginia near the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia Tech is best known for academic programs in agriculture, architecture, computer science, engineering, and veterinary medicine, and recently for the success of its football program.

Famous alumni

Sports

• Frank Beamer, Class of 1969--football Coach at Virginia Tech, creator of Beamer Ball
• Vernell "Bimbo" Coles--member of the United States 1988 Olympic Basketball team; played in the National Basketball Association, ending his career with the Miami Heat
• André Davis, Class of 2001--football wide receiver
• Antonio Freeman--former football wide receiver
• Kevin Jones--football running back; drafted by the Detroit Lions of the NFL
• Bruce Smith--football defensive linesman
• Michael Vick--football quarterback
• Johnny Oates--baseball catcher, manager
• Franklin Stubbs--baseball first baseman

Military

• Antoine A.M. Gaujot, Class of 1901, Awarded the Medal of Honor for actions as an army corporal at the Battle of San Mateo during the Phillippine Insurrection.
• Julien E. Gaujot, Class of 1894, Awarded the Medal of Honor for actions on the Mexican Border in 1914, the only soldier ever awarded the Medal for actions of a peacekeeping nature, brother of Antoine Gaujot.
• Earle D. Gregory, Class of 1923, Awarded the Medal of Honor for actions as an army sergeant during the Meuse Argonne Offensive in World War I.
• Herbert J. Thomas, class of 1944, member of Virginia Tech's Athletic Hall of Fame, Awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Bougainville Island in World War II.
• Jimmie W. Monteith, Class of 1944, Awarded the Medal of Honor for actions as an army lieutenant at D-Day during World War II.
• Robert E. Femoyer, class of 1944, Awarded the Medal of Honor for actions as an Army Air Force B-17 navigator on a bombing mission over Germany.
• Richard Shea, class of 1948, Awarded the Medal of Honor for actions as an army first lieutenant at Pork Chop Hill during the Korean War.
• Maj Lloyd Williams, Class of 1907, Williams has been attributed with one of the more famous quotes of World War I: "Retreat? Hell! We just got here!"
• Lieutenant General Lewis A. Pick, USA, Class of 1914.
• Lieutenant General Wallace H. Robinson, USMC, Class of 1940
• Lieutenant General John H. Elder, Jr., USA, Class of 1941
• Lieutenant General Joseph G. Wilson, USAF, Class of 1942
• Lieutenant General Howard H. Cooksey, USA, Class of 1943
• Lieutenant General Walter D. Druen,Jr., USAF, Class of 1951,commander of Allied Air Forces Southern Europe and deputy commander in chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Southern Area
• Lieutenant General Robert L. Moore, USA, Class of 1952, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Missile Command
• General Thomas C. Richards, Four Star General, Class of 1956, Deputy Commander in Chief of US European Command.
• Lieutenant General Lance L. Smith, USAF, Class of 1969
• Lieutenant General Joseph R. Inge, USA, Class of 1969, Deputy Commander, United States Northern Command, and Vice Commander, U.S. Element, North American Aerospace Defense Command
• Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, USA, Class of 1971, Assistant Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence

Business, government and academia

• Donaldson Brown, Class of 1902, financial executive and corporate director with both DuPont and General Motors
• Robert B. Pamplin, Sr, Class of 1933, CEO of Georgia Pacific Corp
• Clifton C. Garvin, Class of 1943 (BS) and 1947 (MS), Chairman and CEO of Exxon Corp.
• Clifford A. Cutchins III, Class of 1944, Chairman and CEO of Sovran Bank
• Chris Kraft, Class of 1944, NASA architect of Mission Control and the first flight director
• Thomas L. Phillips, Class of 1947, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Corp.
• Robert C. Richardson, Class of 1958 (BS) and 1960 (MS), physicist at Cornell University, shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1996 for the discovery of superfluidity in He-3.
• Homer Hickam, Class of 1964, NASA employee and author of Rocket Boys
• Roger K. Crouch, Class of 1968 (MS) and 1971 (PhD), NASA astronaut
• James K. Asselstine, Class of 1970, Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during Three Mile Island incident
• Richard Baker -- game designer
• William Lewis - Rhodes Scholar, Founding Director of McKinsey Global Institute
• Mark Embree - Rhodes Scholar, currently Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Rice University
• Charles J. Camarda, Class of 1983 (Ph.D) -- Astronaut on board the space shuttle Discovery for the STS-114 mission.