Browse Items (205 total)

Interview with Caroline Ickes regarding her affiliations with the LGBT community at Virginia Tech and in her personal life. Ickes discusses her identity as a straight individual who has been and advocate for and associated with the LGBT community.…

Aaron Wilson was born in Lynchburg, Virginia and currently resides in Palo Alto, California. Wilson graduated from Virginia Tech in 2006 with a BS in Computer Science. He works as a Software Engineer at Olark in San Francisco, California. In…

John Gray Williams is a Career Advisor in Career Services at Virginia Tech. From 2005 to 2008 he also attended Virginia Tech as an undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Arts in Public and Urban Affairs program. He has been active in LGBTQ activism…

Mark Alan Weber, class of 1987, was born and raised in Northern Virginia. When he was a student at Virginia Tech, he served first as secretary and then as president of the gay student group, Lambda Horizon. He earned a bachelor’s of business…

Jo Ann (Murphy) Underwood pioneered tolerance of sexual minorities on the Virginia Tech campus. She and her family came to Blacksburg in the mid-1970s. She worked as a registered nurse at Virginia Tech’s Student Health Services and was appointed…

Michael Sutphin was a student at Virginia Tech from 2002-2006. While at Tech, he was a student activist involved with LGBTA (now HokiePRIDE) and a writer and editor for the Collegiate Times. During his time on campus he organized the first Freedom to…

Dr. Edward Spencer worked in student affairs administration at Virginia Tech from 1982 to 2012, most recently serving as Vice President for Student Affairs from 2008 to 2012. From 1983 to 1989 he served as Director of Housing and Residence Life,…

Aaron Slusher was a student at Virginia Tech from 1988 until 1992. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1992 with a degree in Biology. In 2011, Aaron returned to Virginia Tech to pursue a degree in Veterinary Medicine. In 2012, he transferred to…

Christian Matheis is a Doctoral Candidate in the Virginia Tech Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought (ASPECT) Program working on a dissertation concerning liberation. He has several research interests including philosophy,…

Jeff Mann is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Virginia Tech. Mann started as an instructor in the English department in August of 1989, was appointed Assistant Professor in 2003,…

Mr. Eugene Lawson and Mr. Scott Sterl are both graduates of Virginia Tech, where they met and began their relationship that is still continuing today over 42 years later. As a couple they have been very active in the communities they have lived in,…

Ann Kilkelly is a Professor of Theatre Arts and Women's Studies at Virginia Tech. She teaches a variety of performance and theater classes, women's studies seminars and undergraduate courses about community and culture, and tap classes. Since coming…

David Hernandez attended Virginia Tech from 2010 to 2014 and graduated with a degree in Computer Science. In Fall 2012, Hernandez founded the Virginia Tech chapter of Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (oSTEM), an organization…

Shelli Fowler was a member of the Virginia Tech faculty from 2003 to summer 2015, serving as an associate professor of English and senior director for Networked Pedagogies and Professional Development in Technology-enhanced Learning and Online…

Howard Feiertag, an instructor of hospitality and tourism management in the Pamplin College of Business, has been a Virginia Tech faculty member since 1989. In 2015 he was awarded one of the Top 30 CMP Influencers Award, which recognizes the top 30…

Tori Elmore grew up in Wytheville, VA, and graduated from Virginia Tech in 2009 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Elmore currently lives in the Blacksburg area and works as a maintenance engineer at the Celanese chemical plant in Narrows, VA. In…

Jean Elliott is the Director of Communications for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. Before coming to VT in 1999, she earned degrees from Western Maryland College and Salisbury University, then worked in sports…

Mary Beth Dunkenberger is the Senior Program Director at the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance. She joined Virginia Tech in 2001, after working in the international trade field and as an attorney in Washington, D.C.

In this oral…

Dolly Davis is a former Virginia Tech student, who is a self-employed architect in Roanoke, Virginia. She is also a transgender activist who works closely with VT students and alums. Recently, she became involved in healthcare activism in southwest…

Tom Brobson graduated from Virginia Tech in 1982. After working in Washington, D.C., for several years, he returned to work for Tech in 1989, working as a fundraiser for the Department of University Relations. A diabetic himself, Brobson went on to…

Luther Kennedy Brice, Jr. began working at Virginia Tech as assistant professor of chemistry in 1954. He earned tenure two years later and became a full professor in 1966. He served as professor of chemistry and Acting Head of the Chemistry…

Luther Kennedy Brice, Jr. began working at Virginia Tech as assistant professor of chemistry in 1954. He earned tenure two years later and became a full professor in 1966. He served as professor of chemistry and Acting Head of the Chemistry…

Katherine Allen is a professor of Human Development at Virginia Tech. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, she completed studies at the University of Connecticut and Syracuse University before joining the Virginia Tech faculty in 1989. Allen came to…

Interview with James L. Garret. Garret was hauling hay in a truck when he was stopped by the mob and he witnessed the lynching of Cordie Cheek.

Two interviews of Dixie Stone, Fate Cheek, and Dr. Alva W. Taylor about the events of Cordie Cheek's lynching. They discuss the men who were looking for Cordie and the family members they violently interrogated to find him.

In this interview, Bill Kenealy discusses what it felt like to return to campus after forty years, the Gay Student Alliance in the late 1970s, summer resort jobs in New England, gay discos, Denim Day preparations, his time in the United States Navy…

In this interview, Beth Benoit talks about computer science classes and the campus climate for gay men and lesbians at Virginia Tech in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She recounts how it felt to come out publicly in the school paper while having…

William Simpkins discusses his experience coming to Virginia Tech as a student from the local area in the late 1990s and coming out as gay while here. He talks about the history of gay student groups at Virginia Tech in the late 1990s and their…

Susan Manero talks about her time at Southern Seminary College (now Southern Virginia University) decision to transfer to Virginia Tech, surprise at the lack of denim on Denim Day in 1979, coming out, the gay and lesbian community in Blacksburg, the…

A staged reading of articles and letters to the editor about Denim Day from the 1979 Collegiate Times interspersed with clips from the Denim Day at Virginia Tech 40th Anniversary Oral History Collection.

Sherry Wood was the editor of the Collegiate Times in 1979 when the first Gay Awareness Week, and Denim Day, occurred. In this interview, she discusses the volume of letters to the editor received by the Collegiate Times in response to Denim Day and…

In this interview, Sueann Brown talks about realizing her sexuality and becoming involved with the Gay Student Alliance at Virginia Tech, her experience of Denim Day in 1979, and her experience as an openly lesbian architect with the National Parks…

Scott Beadle was a member of the Gay Student Alliance during the first Gay Awareness Week and helped to plan Denim Day in 1979. During his time at Virginia Tech, he studied engineering and theater arts and served as president of the Gay Student…

This interview is coming soon.

Andrew Alvarez was a founding member of the Gay Student Alliance in the late 1970s. In his interview, he talks about living on campus at Virginia Tech, being a guest speaker for the Social Deviance class in the sociology department, planning and…

Lisa Barroso arrived at Virginia Tech in the fall after Denim Day happened. She became an active member of the lesbian community and the Women's Space group. Her brother, Mark Barroso, was an editor at the Collegiate Times and is remembered by many…

In this interview Steve Noll discusses accepting his sexuality as a young man, the unnamed gay student group before the Gay Student Alliance and the support it received from Cooper House, and reactions to Denim Day from the communities surrounding…

In this interview, Helene talks about realizing her sexuality in Catholic school in the early 1970s and her time as a lesbian at Virginia Tech in the late 1970s. She talks about the difficulty being out while keeping that part of her life separate…

In this interview, Nancy talks about her time as a lesbian at Virginia Tech in the late 1970s and her memories of the Denim Day event planned by the Gay Student Alliance as part of Gay Awareness Week in 1979.

In this interview, Sewell discusses the classes he was teaching as a member of the Department of Communications in 1979 during Denim Day. He recalls some of the responses he observed to the event, including the university's official stance on the Gay…

Interview with Andrea Mosquera for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Andrea, 30, is a single mother from Colombia seeking a degree in public administration. She, her mother, and her…

Interview with Yulizia Otanez for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Yuliza Otanez, 21, is a retail worker and a student at Liberty University. Her parents in Roanoke, grandmother in…

Interview with Brigitte Sanchez Robayo for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Brigitte Sanchez Robayo is an instructor for public school math teachers and very active in the Colombian…

Interview with Johan Castañeda for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Johan Castañeda, 21, is a student at New River Community College and an activist from Colombia. His grandfather…

Interview with Sandra Escobar for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Sandra is originally from Bogotá, Colombia. She currently lives with her husband and son in Blacksburg, VA and has…

Interview with Dulce Diaz for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Dulce Diaz, 30, is a single mother from Honduras who moved to Roanoke, VA a year ago from New Jersey. She lost her…

Interview with David Hernandez for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. David is originally from Mexico. He is married with children and his family was affected financially by the…

Interview with Carolina Smales for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Carolina Smales, 40, is a healthcare analyst originally from Venezuela with several family members who have died of…

Interview with Maria Cantanero for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Maria is originally from Honduras but has lived in the area for several years. She is currently a stay-at-home…

Interview with Thania Torres for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Thania Torres, 32, is the volunteer coordinator for Casa Latina in Roanoke, VA. Casa Latina is a non-profit social…