Virginia Tech Board of Visitors appoints Richard Linton as 17th president

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors today appointed Richard Linton as the university’s 17th president. Linton will succeed Tim Sands, who will continue to serve as president until Linton assumes office at the beginning of the 2027 spring semester. Linton, an alumnus who received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, currently serves as president of Kansas State University.

“Virginia Tech is poised to make a generational leap as a public research university, and Richard Linton is the right leader to guide us forward,” said Jim Miller, rector of the Board of Visitors. “As a Hokie, Richard has a deep appreciation for what makes this university and its community so special. His extensive leadership experience, a career dedicated to land-grant institutions, and a strong commitment to fostering a culture of service uniquely position him to lead Virginia Tech into its next chapter. We look forward to welcoming Richard and his wife, Sally, home to Blacksburg.”

“My 40-year journey in the land-grant system began at Virginia Tech,” said Linton. “Having earned three degrees here, the opportunity to return home and serve as president of my alma mater is a true honor. I look forward to reconnecting with the Hokie community and working together to build on Virginia Tech’s proud land-grant legacy, embrace new opportunities, and expand our impact across the commonwealth and beyond.”

Linton became president of K-State in 2022, leading the creation and implementation of a strategic plan which significantly advanced student recruitment and success, research funding, philanthropy, athletics, statewide engagement, economic development, and a facilities master plan. The new university strategy increased undergraduate and graduate student enrollment to over 21,000, enhanced research expenditures by 30 percent, brought in nearly $1.2 billion in philanthropic gifts, and led to over $468 million in state and federal support.

As part of the university’s historic land-grant mission, Linton championed a statewide economic growth plan to leverage K-State research and resources in partnership with corporations and small businesses to foster economic prosperity across the state. The initiative included collaborative efforts to address childcare, affordable housing, health care, and other challenges facing Kansas communities.

Before joining Kansas State University, Linton served as dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University (2012-2022), department chair of food science and technology at The Ohio State University (2011-2012), and a faculty member in the Department of Food Science at Purdue University (1994-2011). At Purdue, Linton was the founding director of the Center for Food Safety Engineering and the associate director of agricultural research programs.

Linton has held several key national leadership roles, including membership on the Food and Drug Administration’s Science Advisory Board and serving as chair for the Binational (Israel/U.S.) Agricultural Research and Development Fund, a position he was appointed to by the U.S. secretary of agriculture in 2018. He also previously chaired the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Healthy Food Systems, Healthy People Steering Committee; and the North Carolina governor’s Task Force on Food Manufacturing.

Linton earned his bachelor’s degree in biology (1988), master’s degree in food science (1991), and Ph.D. in food science (1994) at Virginia Tech. Linton participated in the Food Systems Leadership Institute from 2009 to 2011 and completed the Harvard Graduate School’s Institutional Educational Management Program in 2018.

Linton’s wife, Sally, will join Virginia Tech as university ambassador and first lady. The Lintons have two children: a daughter, Lily, and a son, Chris.