Saving the American chestnut tree, exploring the tiny but mighty role of a valuable fungus, saving southwest Virginia towns, and offering personalized language learning in a state-of-the-art facility – all are covered in recent issues of Outbursts, a publication of Virginia Tech's Outreach and International Affairs.

The two- to four-page monthly news briefing offers readers a look at how Outreach and International Affairs shares the best of Virginia Tech by working side by side with communities around the world.

The current issue showcases the new National Capital Region site of the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute, describing how from the chairs to the multiple-screen technology, the new site was designed with the student in mind.  

Other recent stories include the launch of a monthly Internet video series called Save Our Towns, designed to promote prosperity in the Appalachian towns of Southwest Virginia; a Virginia Tech-led conference in Nepal where scientists and agricultural experts gathered to study a useful fungus capable of fighting off crop-destroying diseases; and a look at Virginia Tech’s involvement in a nationwide effort to save the American chestnut tree.

Upcoming issues of Outbursts are slated to feature more international stories, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Rural University Partnership Program, Virginia Tech’s expansion in Latin America, and a student project in Ecuador.  

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

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