Options in Education Driving Change RANKED THIRD IN THE NATION AMONG Virginia Tech program supports diverse students through online instruction BY ROSE QUINN support, networking and telecommunica-tions. To maintain flexibility, certification programs are also offered to students look-ing to hone specific skill sets in those areas. Reaching for the Ideal graduate computer information technology programs by U.S. News & World Report , Vir-ginia Tech’s Online Master of Information Technology offers 100% online instruction to prepare the next generation of leaders in critical and emerging technology fields. Think the convenience of Netflix or On-Demand, except for continuing education. “We’ve got to adapt to the way people need to learn,” says Robert Sumichrast, dean of the university’s Pamplin College of Business, noting the degree was initially de-signed in part to address the large number of well-paying IT jobs going unfilled in Virginia and across the United States. Robert “Virginia Tech was inter-Sumichrast ested in providing education pathways,” he says of the program, a collaborative effort with Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and Pamplin College of Business. The program is also ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the second-best online information technology program for Janice veterans. “We are the only Branch Hall graduate IT program for veterans. … We value that population and try to promote it,” says Sumichrast, an effort that mirrors the university’s overall objective of inclusivity. Since its inception 17 years ago, the VT-MIT program continues to accelerate its pace of change. Today, more than 1,000 VT-MIT alumni, students and faculty are engaged at the forefront of engineering, computer science and business to meet the technological challenges of the 21st Century. Connecting with Students Sumichrast, who has been dean of the col-lege since July 2013, began his faculty career at Virginia Tech in 1984. Before he left in 2003 to become dean of the E.J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University, Sumichrast played what he describes as “a small part” in developing and then implementing the MIT program, which launched in 1999. “The degree was for working profes-sionals and at the time I think innovative,” says Sumichrast, and efforts to keep the program fresh are continuous, including gaining input from an advisory board. Courses that were initially offered through video-conferencing became asyn-chronous in 2015, allowing students — the majority of whom are employed and enjoy the support of their companies through both tuition reimbursement and flex time — to connect from home, the office or a coffee house, on their time line. “I find it extremely exciting. I really feel we are able to keep up with the changes and in some ways get ahead of them,” Sumichrast says. “Virginia Tech and the Pamplin College of Business are paying attention to what stu-dents and the community want, and paying attention to the job market of the future.” Since implementing the 100% online instruction format, student enrollment jumped from about 350 students in 2013 to more than 800. The elimination in 2014 of a tuition premium for out-of-state students also boosted the potential student base, says Sumichrast, noting a number of West Coast students who are currently enrolled. The degree program offers a blend of coursework in seven IT areas include health information, software, information secu-rity, business information systems, decision As the program moves forward, Janice Branch Hall was appointed the college’s first director of diversity and inclusion in January. Hall’s work includes partnering with department heads and working to proactively create opportunities for outreach and engagement with other university and community partners, as well as national organizations, to identify ways to increase and retain underrepresented faculty. Hall’s resume includes positions at both the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the Wake Forest University School of Busi-ness, where she led diversity initiatives. In addition, she has facilitated leadership workshops for participants ranging from Fulbright scholars to Pamplin College of Business graduate students. Hall’s been leading an effort to bolster stakeholders across the ranks, specifically women, who currently represent 30% of the faculty, and underrepresented minorities, who represent 7% of the current faculty. She has assessed hiring protocol, from employment advertising wording and placement to the interview process, in an effort to eliminate any implicit biases. “We are intentional about attracting individuals who will add value,” Hall says, with the goal of creating “aspirational but attainable metrics.” The ideal is a faculty that is aligned with student representation. While her focus now is on faculty, Hall says she foresees her role evolving, find-ing ways to foster an environment that is welcoming and beneficial to all “citizens” of the Pamplin community. n 78 Diversity in Action | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 TOP PHOTO COURTESY OF ROBERT SUMICHRAST; BOTTOM PHOTO COURTESY OF JANICE BRANCH HALL