Virginia Tech is wrapping up celebrations that mark the university’s 150th birthday.
A small group of faculty, staff and students gathered today/Tuesday in the center of campus to seal a time capsule.
"This is a very special day because it’s kind of the culmination of more than about a year and a half of celebration events around the sesquicentennial," Tom Tillar noted. "And it’s special because we’re also sealing a time capsule that we’ve worked on for most of that time."
Tillar is former vice president for alumni relations at Virginia Tech. He led a committee that selected more than 100 items to place in the time capsule, including newspaper articles, yearbooks, and other historical artifacts from the past 150 years.
Tillar said the growth of the university’s academic programs, the expansion of the campus itself is represented in the capsule, as well as the tragic shooting in 2007. "Clearly the tragedy in 2007 is something that will always be on the minds of Hokies, past and future. That’s something we also acknowledged," Tillar pointed out.
The time capsule will be sealed for 50 years and will be opened at Virginia Tech’s bicentennial in 2072.
The university has been marking the 150th anniversary with a series of events over the past 18 months. Two simultaneous closing events will take place Wednesday night in Roanoke and Washington, DC.
