Ray Van Dyke has been named director of academic assessment at Virginia Tech. The announcement was made by Terry Wildman, assistant provost for faculty development and assessment.

In his new position, Van Dyke will provide leadership to faculty, departments and colleges in the assessment of student learning outcomes across all academic programs. Other responsibilities include providing resources and technical assistance to the university community related to assessment plans and methods, working with the staff of the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia to coordinate assessments required of all colleges and universities in the state, and collaborating with other units across campus that also engage in assessment activity.

Van Dyke comes to Virginia Tech following many years of distinguished service in the Montgomery County (Va.) Schools. He served as principal of Kipps Elementary School in Blacksburg from 1994 to 2006. As a school leader, Van Dyke has been involved with developing assessment strategies that inform continuous improvement of instructional programs leading to full accreditation. He has led numerous times the self-study processes required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and in his role as director of the Basic School Eastern Consortia, he has worked with schools across the eastern states to conduct self studies and implement change consistent with the Basic School movement. He has a special interest in school change, which has been a topic of his regional and national presentations.

Van Dyke received a doctorate degree in educational leadership and policy studies from Virginia Tech. He has taught for both Virginia Tech and Radford University during the past five years, and has been consistently involved with education programs at Virginia Tech for many years.

The Office of Academic Assessment will be located in the Center for Undergraduate Education, 101 Hillcrest Hall.

Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech is the most comprehensive university in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is among the top research universities in the nation. Today, Virginia Tech’s eight colleges are dedicated to quality, innovation, and results through teaching, research, and outreach activities. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.

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