| Line 12: |
Line 12: |
| | }} | | }} |
| | '''Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University''' ("Virginia Tech", formerly "Virginia Polytechnic Institute" or "VPI") is a public land-grant [[university]] founded in 1872, serving, according to its mission statement, "the Commonwealth of [[Virginia]], the nation, and the world community." It is taxpayer-supported. | | '''Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University''' ("Virginia Tech", formerly "Virginia Polytechnic Institute" or "VPI") is a public land-grant [[university]] founded in 1872, serving, according to its mission statement, "the Commonwealth of [[Virginia]], the nation, and the world community." It is taxpayer-supported. |
| | + | |
| | + | This government school was the location of the worst school shooting in American history, when one of its seniors, Seung-Hui Cho, massacred thirty-two students and faculty on April 16, 2007, before killing himself. Cho had written and submitted as coursework disturbing papers that, in [[hindsight]], appeared to reflect an unstable person obsessed with violence. |
| | + | <div align="center">[[Image:800px-2007 Virginia Tech massacre candlelight vigil.jpg|400px|thumb|center|Virginia Tech students gather for a prayer vigil after the 4/16/2007 massacre that took thirty-two lives.]]</div> In 2011 another shooting there left two dead. |
| | | | |
| | It has 26,370 students on-campus, about 17% of whom are graduate students. It has strong [[sports]] and [[engineering]] programs, resulting in much larger percentage of male students than most colleges: 58.1% male and 41.9% female. Many of its students are from foreign countries. | | It has 26,370 students on-campus, about 17% of whom are graduate students. It has strong [[sports]] and [[engineering]] programs, resulting in much larger percentage of male students than most colleges: 58.1% male and 41.9% female. Many of its students are from foreign countries. |
| Line 17: |
Line 20: |
| | Virginia Tech was founded in 1872 as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, with 132 students, a president and three professors: one each in [[English]]; natural [[philosophy]] and [[chemistry]]; and technical agriculture and mechanics.<ref>Heatwole, Cornelius Jacob (1916), ''A History of Education in Virginia,'' [http://books.google.com/books?id=BuscAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA204&dq=%22virginia+polytechnic+institute%22&as_brr=1#PPA207,M1 pp. 204-7]</ref> | | Virginia Tech was founded in 1872 as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, with 132 students, a president and three professors: one each in [[English]]; natural [[philosophy]] and [[chemistry]]; and technical agriculture and mechanics.<ref>Heatwole, Cornelius Jacob (1916), ''A History of Education in Virginia,'' [http://books.google.com/books?id=BuscAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA204&dq=%22virginia+polytechnic+institute%22&as_brr=1#PPA207,M1 pp. 204-7]</ref> |
| | | | |
| − | Great expansion took place between 1890 and 1896, the student body growing to about four hundred and its name was changed to "Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute."<ref name=histnotes>[http://classof2004.alumni.vt.edu/chapters/volunteers/handbook/Chapter01.html#Section2 Virginia Tech History Notes]</ref>. In 1944, the name became "Virginia Polytechnic Institute," and in 1970 "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University", with "Virginia Tech" being used for informal purposes such as athletics. | + | Great expansion took place between 1890 and 1896, the student body growing to about four hundred and its name was changed to "Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute."<ref name=histnotes>[http://classof2004.alumni.vt.edu/chapters/volunteers/handbook/Chapter01.html#Section2 Virginia Tech History Notes]</ref> In 1944, the name became "Virginia Polytechnic Institute," and in 1970 "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University", with "Virginia Tech" being used for informal purposes such as athletics. |
| | | | |
| | The name change rendered the previous school cheer obsolete, and in 1896 a contest was held to create a new one. The winning entry was written by one O. M. Stull, and was: | | The name change rendered the previous school cheer obsolete, and in 1896 a contest was held to create a new one. The winning entry was written by one O. M. Stull, and was: |
| Line 47: |
Line 50: |
| | | | |
| | In 2003, Virginia Tech's Terascale Computing Facility made national news for building the third-fastest supercomputer in the world. What made the news was not that that it was fast, but the way in which it was built. It was assembled from 1,100 ordinary off-the-shelf desktop computers (Apple Power Mac G5), networked via Infiniband technology. The result was an extraordinarily cost-effective system: Virginia Tech's 10-teraflop "Big Mac" cost $5.2 million; by comparison, the then-record-holding 35-teraflop Earth Simulator cost an estimated $350 million.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2003/11/61252 Mac Supercomputer Joins Elite], Wired, November 15, 2003</ref> | | In 2003, Virginia Tech's Terascale Computing Facility made national news for building the third-fastest supercomputer in the world. What made the news was not that that it was fast, but the way in which it was built. It was assembled from 1,100 ordinary off-the-shelf desktop computers (Apple Power Mac G5), networked via Infiniband technology. The result was an extraordinarily cost-effective system: Virginia Tech's 10-teraflop "Big Mac" cost $5.2 million; by comparison, the then-record-holding 35-teraflop Earth Simulator cost an estimated $350 million.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2003/11/61252 Mac Supercomputer Joins Elite], Wired, November 15, 2003</ref> |
| − |
| |
| − | The school received international attention after one of its seniors, Seung-Hui Cho, massacred thirty-two students and faculty on April 16, 2007. Cho had written and submitted as coursework disturbing papers that, in [[hindsight]], appeared to reflect an unstable person obsessed with violence.
| |
| − | <div align="center">[[Image:800px-2007 Virginia Tech massacre candlelight vigil.jpg|400px|thumb|center|Virginia Tech students gather for a prayer vigil after the 4/16/2007 massacre that took thirty-two lives.]]</div>
| |
| | ==Athletics== | | ==Athletics== |
| | [[Image:450px-2006 Clemson at Virginia Tech celebration.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Students celebrate on the drillfield following Tech's 2006 victory over then #10 [[Clemson University]].]]Virginia Tech's sports teams compete in the [[Atlantic Coast Conference]], which they joined in 2004, along with [[University of Miami|Miami]] and, later, [[Boston College]]. Tech's [[American football|football]] team competed for a national title against [[Florida State University|Florida State]] following the 1999 season and in 2004, captured the ACC crown in its first year in the conference. The [[college basketball|men's basketball]] team, after a ten-year drought, returned to the [[NCAA tournament]] following the 2006-07 season. In 2007, Tech's softball team shut out [[Georgia Tech]] 2-0 to capture the ACC championship, and in golf, the Hokies split the conference title with the Yellow Jackets. | | [[Image:450px-2006 Clemson at Virginia Tech celebration.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Students celebrate on the drillfield following Tech's 2006 victory over then #10 [[Clemson University]].]]Virginia Tech's sports teams compete in the [[Atlantic Coast Conference]], which they joined in 2004, along with [[University of Miami|Miami]] and, later, [[Boston College]]. Tech's [[American football|football]] team competed for a national title against [[Florida State University|Florida State]] following the 1999 season and in 2004, captured the ACC crown in its first year in the conference. The [[college basketball|men's basketball]] team, after a ten-year drought, returned to the [[NCAA tournament]] following the 2006-07 season. In 2007, Tech's softball team shut out [[Georgia Tech]] 2-0 to capture the ACC championship, and in golf, the Hokies split the conference title with the Yellow Jackets. |